WHILE the panoramic view from the five-star Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel of the Chao Phraya River flowing though the ancient capital of Bangkok is certainly inspirational, the professional atmosphere of the 750-room hotel keeps corporate guests from daydreaming.

The hotel’s exclusive Towers floors – three upper floors comprising executive guestrooms, meeting rooms and an executive lounge – have been renovated at a cost of US$7.5million and provide corporate guests with a business environment that is at the same time aesthetically pleasing.

Entering a Towers executive deluxe room, my eyes first rested on an elegant oval glass desk with a padded swivel chair and high-speed Internet connection terminal, before travelling on to the comfortable king-sized bed and the spectacular view of the river.

The room also features practical and luxurious comforts such as a large closet with a safe designed to hold a laptop and a bathroom tiled in black marble with a few Thai decorative items set around a deep bathtub next to a glass walk-in rain shower.

For a bite to eat or an informal pre-meeting session, I did not have to go further than down the hall, to the new Tower Lounge; three rooms set with glass café-style tables suitable for sipping a morning espresso with a colleague or watching the news on a wide-screen plasma TV.

Meetings could be held in one of two small meeting rooms near the Tower Lounge or on the second floor in any of 13 entirely redesigned, fully-equipped meeting rooms, which can hold from 15 to 50 boardroom-style and are supported by an administration, communication and business centre.

The hotel’s Grand Ballroom, which can hold up to 1,250 theatre-style, was also recently revamped at a cost of US$1.7 million for a modern look with indirect lighting and the latest audio-visual equipment. The ballroom and eight meeting rooms enjoy the river view through floor-to-ceiling panorama windows.

All public areas catering to business guests feature wireless high-speed Internet and I could even connect my laptop while lounging beside the second-floor lap-pool. By July, 50 per cent of the other guestrooms on all floors will have high-speed Internet connections.

Renovations on the second-floor business centre are also scheduled for July when it will be expanded to include enclosed glass cubicles for each of the six guest computer terminals and two small meeting rooms with seating for four.

While the view might make corporate guests feel like they are on vacation, the business-like layout and modern corporate conveniences on offer at the Royal Orchid Sheraton should prevent anyone from getting carried away from the business at hand. Verdict Information highway meets ancient waterway.