What's new in Bangkok

TRAVELLERS HAVE BEEN flooding Bangkok, elevating it into the most visited city on the planet.

- SETH SHERWOOD

And it's not just tourists.International five-star hotel chains, global luxury brands and renowned chefs are jockeying for prime spaces amid the traffic-packed boulevards and soaring skyscrapers of Thailand's capital, boosting the street-food mecca into a high-end playground. But Bangkok, which this year is included in The New York Times Travel section's 52 Places to Go, offers much more than bling. Numerous new independent hangouts, back-alley bars, small hotels, easygoing restaurants, are adding to the city's cool factor with less fanfare and more street cred. And with an art scene driven by edgy new galleries and museums, the city is rising as a bohemian getaway as well.

Hotels

You can hardly hurl a pillow menu in Bangkok without hitting a new upscale hotel from Aman, Hilton, Hyatt, Standard or another global-hospitality juggernaut. And this year's expected new openings - including a Fairmont, a Langham and two Nobus, promise even more spas and welcome drinks.

Bangkok's most soulful new places to sleep, however, are more confidential. Are you a fan of the HBO series