You can reach Siri Sala by car, then walk along a path bordered by fragrant herbs and high walls that announce the property’s complete privacy. Or you can arrive by boat, as in the third season of The White Lotus, since several scenes from the successful television series were filmed here. Siri Sala is Bangkok’s first and only private villa of its kind, inspired by the Thai-style wooden houses lining the many canals that embrace the Chao Phraya River.
Love at first sight in Bangkok Noi
But let us begin at the beginning. Siri Sala was born of love at first sight. In 2015, during a boat trip along a canal in Bangkok Noi, its future owners, the couple Irma Go and Kirati Thepsoparn, noticed an old Thai stilt house, dilapidated and weathered but irresistibly charming. Everything spoke of a bygone era: the antique wooden panels, the curve of the roof, the barred windows and the many scattered details: gas lanterns, old bottles from vanished brands, flowers fallen onto aged wood. Unfortunately, they were unable to contact the owner. The following year, while once again looking for a riverside home, fate brought them back to the very same place: behind an anonymous gate, beyond a modern building, lay the house they had seen from the canal. It was immediately clear that it would become their home.
“We wanted to welcome travellers to Bangkok in the same way that we travelled ourselves. We often went away with family members, young and old, or with groups of friends from all over the world who wanted to reunite. We have always preferred staying in places such as villas, country houses or castles: places with a history and a role in the context of their cities. When we first saw the Siri Sala site, we were immediately captivated by the beauty of Thai architecture and intrigued by the untold stories the river might share. This, together with the extraordinary local cuisine and cultural activities, was what we wanted to share with others”, explain Irma Go and Kirati Thepsoparn, Siri Sala’s owners and founders.
The birth of Siri Sala
And so they created Siri Sala, convinced that true conservation should not only restore the architecture of the past but also promote its original purpose: a house should be both comfortable and suited to today’s way of life. They entrusted the project to Thai architect Piram Banpabutr, who made full use of its riverside setting and the view of Wat Suwannaram temple directly opposite the villa. He skilfully transformed this authentic collection of Thai houses, dating from the reign of King Rama VI, into a project that pays tribute to the charm of peaceful Thai living, where the spirit of the past can still be felt.
It took five years of work to preserve and reinvent a Thai house for modern living, before its inauguration in 2022. Three teak structures, known in Thai as ruen, with their characteristic pitched roofs, cover more than 1,800 square metres in total. Six suites with exotic names each have separate sitting, bedroom and bathroom areas. Five suites are on the first floor, while the sixth, in the tai thun, the open ground-floor area beneath the main body of the house, can be converted into a private spa. Every suite was designed to allow guests to enjoy both indoor and outdoor spaces. Also in the tai thun are a library lounge, a large living and dining room with an open kitchen, an outdoor bathtub surrounded by ferns, and a pond where Siamese fighting fish dart beneath floating lotus flowers. At the centre of the villa, a single staircase leads to the first-floor suites. Guests also have a bar and a twenty-metre saltwater pool.
The interiors were designed by Nicoletta Romei. Italian but based in Bangkok, she has captured the villa’s soul and history, weaving fragments of Thai life into a tapestry of colours, textures and design motifs. Traditional Thai craftsmanship blends seamlessly with modern comforts, creating a space that is both familiar and enchantingly innovative. From subtle references to traditional Thai aesthetics to unexpected surprises around every corner, Siri Sala celebrates old and new, past and present, inviting guests to immerse themselves in the beauty of Thai culture. One example? She had the original floorboards reshaped into a dining table for twenty people, and repurposed kitchen furniture as displays for books on Buddhist history and art.
The Heritage House
Dating back a hundred years and rebuilt in the garden behind Siri Sala using around seventy-five per cent of the timber from the oldest of the three houses, The Heritage House is a true jewel of refinement. In The White Lotus it served as the office of Jim Hollinger, who owns the third season’s resort with his wife Sritala. In reality, it is an evocative space with teak floors and walls hung with historic photographs of local life, subdued lighting, a piano and beautiful colonial and Oriental-style furniture. The perfect place for a cocktail, a glass of spirits from a superb selection of artisanal Thai liquors, a glass of champagne or an aperitif, and also for events such as birthday parties, wine tastings, jazz jam sessions and concerts.
Thai experiences at Siri Sala
Since the villa accommodates just one group at a time, guests enjoy complete privacy and exclusive use of the extensive property while taking part in the many activities arranged for them: Thai cooking classes with expert chefs; lotus flower folding, the delicate Thai art of arranging and folding lotus blossoms; making yadom, the balsamic nasal inhaler extremely popular in Thailand for nasal congestion and for refreshing oneself on hot days; or learning the basics of the Thai alphabet by connecting consonants and vowels to form their own names, an entertaining workshop that challenges and amuses guests. For the sporty, there is a session of Muay Thai, Thai boxing that uses all parts of the body in combat. Siri Sala is also an ideal setting for yoga sessions, with mats and guided classes available. And of course there are massages, from Thai and foot massages to aromatic oil treatments, delivered by professional therapists who come directly to the villa. For fans of The White Lotus, Irma Go and Kirati Thepsoparn offer two appealing two- or three-day packages retracing the footsteps of the American series’ characters.
Sources and images: Text by Isabella Radaelli. Photo credits in the captions. All image rights are reserved by their respective rights holders.
