LUZ Bangkok Tapas Bar has a trick no other rooftop in Bangkok can copy. It sits on the 33rd floor of INNSiDE by Meliá Bangkok Sukhumvit, and the hotel’s infinity pool on the 34th floor has a glass bottom that runs over the bar. Order at the counter, look up, and there is someone swimming above your head.

The hotel stands on Sukhumvit Road in On Nut, one BTS stop past Phra Khanong, about 200 metres from On Nut station. It is the first INNSiDE by Meliá in Thailand, opened in July 2023, and it rises 34 floors, so from the top the view runs a long way in every direction.

The Room

LUZ is split in two. The indoor dining room sits behind floor-to-ceiling glass, with deep blue banquettes, soft light and a patterned tiled floor. Outside, the open-air bar wraps around a long glowing counter, right under the pool. The terrace is a modern take on Bangkok’s Giant Swing, and its angled lines and cabling are a nod to the Rama VIII Bridge. Upstairs, a bronze arch stands on the pool deck by the Giant Swing Pool Bar.

From up here the Sukhumvit towers line up toward the centre of town, and the low-rise east side spreads out to the horizon. It is a wide, quieter view than the downtown rooftops, where the skyline sits right on top of you.

What to Order

The kitchen is led by Chef Juan Ignacio García, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu and cooked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Madrid before moving to Bangkok. The menu is Spanish tapas with local Thai produce worked in.

The dishes Meliá singles out are the ensaladilla gallega, sautéed octopus with tender potatoes, a cold gazpacho of tomato and capsicum, and “la tabla”, a board of Spanish cured meats and cheeses. Plates are made for sharing, so order a few and keep going. To drink, there is sangria, a list of Spanish wines, signature cocktails and mocktails. The kitchen adapts dishes for allergies and intolerances.

Hours, Dress Code and Getting There

LUZ is open every day from 4 PM to midnight, which leaves time to settle in before sunset. Book through the button on this page. The dress code asks for closed shoes, so leave the flip-flops at home; smart casual fits the room, and our guide to dress codes covers the rest.

Take the BTS to On Nut and walk about three minutes along Sukhumvit Road. One stop back toward town, Cielo Sky Bar sits on the 46th floor of Sky Walk Residences by Phra Khanong station, so the two make an easy pair for one night out east. If Spanish food on a rooftop is the plan, UNO MAS serves it on the 54th floor of Centara Grand at CentralWorld.

For more around here, the Phra Khanong & On Nut page lists every rooftop in the neighbourhood, and the Sukhumvit page covers the whole road. Planning to sleep nearby? Our Where to Stay page has every Sukhumvit hotel with a rooftop inside.

Photos: Meliá Hotels International.