All you need to know about the land of silk and smiles
Yaang Come Village
This very friendly Chiang Mai hotel deserves the title affordable luxury. Its 42 spacious room are crammed with amenities and the well-trained team of happy and efficient employees offers true Thai hospitality. The aerial picture on the left shows how close the hotel is to center of the city yet, it is in a quiet oasis of gardens with a large pleasant swimming pool.
All the rooms come with modern bathrooms with a separate tub and shower, hairdryer and luxury toiletries. Other amenities include satellite television, DVD players, IDD telephone, coffee and tea making facilities and a private balcony. The décor is stunning making full use of Thai hardwoods and ce
For the best rates check with the hotel’s website or, if you are planning a longer stay, call the hotel and see how attractive the rates can be.
Other facilities are a 24-hour front desk, a restaurant with Thai and international cuisine and poolside bar open throughout the day, tour desk, babysitting services, car rentals, a meeting room for business and social functions, a library area and the Lanna Come Spa just steps away. There is a choice of rooms which include family roo The joy of this hotel is that you can walk to the hustle and bustle of the night bazaar in a few minutes and then retreat to the peace and quiet which the property enjoys. Contact details: 
ms and junrior suites. The picture shows a deluxe room. Wireless Internet is available 24/7 in the lobby, restaurant and pool area. The more expensive rooms have in-room access.
Centara Duangtawan Hotel Chiang Mai 
The 507-room Centara Duangtawan Hotel Chiang Mai became even more luxurious in September 2008 when it opened its Spa Cenvaree. The spa is located on the fourth floor of the hotel and includes an aerobics studio, pool bar, indoor sauna and Jacuzzi and treatment rooms.
The spa features a west-meets-east menu with treatments ranging from traditional Asian remedies to the latest developments from
The hotel is located in the center of Chiang Mai is located in the heart of downtown Chiang Mai, close to the Night Bazaar, and a 10-minute drive from Chiang Mai International Airport, and the bus terminal and railway station.
The four-star, 24-story property has a choice of rooms and suites. All room have air-conditioning, a minibar, se
parate shower and bathtub, hairdryer, IDD telephone with voicemail, satellite television and wireless Internet access. The business plus rooms and higher grades also have an in-room safe, tea and coffee making facilities, bathrobes, and slippers. The Dynasty Club Level rooms and suites benefit from use of the exclusive 23rd floor lounge, which serves a continental breakfast, evening cocktails, and all day tea and coffee service.
The hotel has a choice of restaurants and bars, a stunning outdoor swimming pool, pictured here, and meetings rooms than can accommodate 800 guests. Other amenities include a jogging track, full service travel agency and a shopping arcade.
This is an expensive hotel – expect to pay 5,000 Baht or more a night. Check the hotel’s website for package deals, which can make staying here a little less expensive.
Contact details: 132 Loykroh Road, Chang Klan, Muang,
Novotel Chiang Mai
Novotel Chiang Mai is a pleasant inexpensive spot ideally suited for the businessman or tourist on a budget. Located in the business and shopping district of Thailand’s second largest city, the hotel is just 10 minutes from the airport. There are 159 rooms (of which 73 are non-smoking) and one suite. The hotel location makes it an ideal center for touring the area with helpful staff at the impressive hotel lobby to give advice on when and what to visit. Do not expect great luxury – do expect lots of smiles from friendly employees.
All the accommodation is neatly furnished and modern. All rooms have good sized bathrooms, air conditioning (which you might not need in the cooler winter weather) cable TV and a minibar. Room service is available 24 hours a day seven days a week. Built in 1995, the hotel has a fitness center, beauty salon and nice outdoor pool. And you get a 
free newspaper every day. The Citrus restaurant has a limited but good International menu and is open from 6am until midnight and provides a special children’s menu. There are two bars; the Mai Thai open from 8am until 1pm and the Tantawan open from noon until 9pm. Both offer snacks. The hotel is well equipped to handle business meetings as it has five different rooms in addition to a well-equipped business center. If a client is thinking of renting a car at the airport it is an easy drive to the hotel: From Chiang Mai airport exit onto Mahidol Road which will become Bum Ruang Rit Road . Take the fourth turn to the right, Mani Noppaharat Road . Take the first turn on the left, Chang Phuak Road . The hotel is on your left. The large blue Novotel letters in front make it easy to find. If they prefer not to drive after the flight, the 24-hour front desk can arrange a car rental with or without a driver. This is a friendly, clean and inexpensive place to stay. Great for the businessman or tourist on a budget who is not expecting luxury. Internet rates go as low as $26 a night if you don’t make changes to your reservations. Add on for the buffet breakfast is a reasonable 250 Baht. Contact details: 183 Changpuak Road, Spi Poom, Muang District, Chiang
Le Méridien Chiang Mai
Located on Chang Klan Road, Le Méridien is the new kid on the block with 384 luxury rooms all with wonderful views of
All the rooms have
high-speed internet access, a high-definition LCD television, sleek, stylish glass and marble bathrooms with rain showers. You have the choice of one king size bed or two double beds. There are two restaurants specializing in international and Italian cuisine, and two bars. There are meeting facilities that can accommodate 1,000 guests. The concierge desk can help with all your tour needs and the 24-hour front desk has safe deposit boxes.
Le Meridien Chiang Mai Spa has a full range of massages and holistic therapies. There is a truly modern gym, a Lanna-style outdoor swimming pool, which is pictured here. Watch out for special deals on the hotel’s website, which normally include breakfast and a voucher for a complimentary at Le Méridien Bangkok. With any luck, you should be able to get a room here in low season for under $130.
Contact details: 108 Chang Klan Road, Tambol Chang Klan, Amphur Muang,
Belle Villa Resort
There is something of an alpine feel about this inexpensive hotel, which is a 25-minute drive up into the mountains from Chiang Mai. The rooms are clean, spacious and comfortable. The bathrooms are large with great water pressure and a good selection of soaps, lotions and quality large towels. All the rooms are air-conditioned, have great views, a balcony, satellite television and IDD telephone.
The gardens are a delight and the area is perfect for a base for hiking. In the winter, it gets cool and the fireplaces in the larger accommodation and in the lobby area are a welcome sight. In the summer, it gets hot and the spacious pool is a great place to cool down. The resort has a children’s playground, spa, tennis court and a jogging track.
The food is good but I found the Thai meals to be far better – and less expensive – than the attempts at international cuisine. The buffet breakfast is good but you need to get there early. For some reason on the mornings I was there, the heaters under the food containers were not lit. As a result, the 
scrambled eggs and bacon were cold. Fortunately, the rice soup, which I adore, was piping hot and excellent.The employees are extremely helpful and friendly. When I checked in the bellmen noticed a handle on my suitcase was hanging off. The damage was caused somewhere between
There are 30 rooms and 15 two-bedroom suites. Expect to pay 2,000 Baht for the rooms and more for the suites. It is good value for money. You are cut off from the city but to some that is why they come to this resort. The resort does operate a shuttle service to the city and the airport.
Contact details: 135 Moo 5, Tumbol Baanpong, Ampur Hangdong, Chiang Mai 50230
Best Western Chiang Mai
The 100-room Best Western Chiang Mai offers quality, inexpensive accommodation and is located five minutes from the airport and just a few minutes more to the city center. Highlight of this new hotel is the glass-lined rooftop function room offering a 360-degee panorama that takes in the 
y rooms, a full-service restaurant , a business center, and a gift shop and newsstand. Items included in the room rates are transfers to and from
The Castle
Here is a bargain hotel that is hard to fault. This 17-room modern property offers clean, comfortable accommodation at an unbeatable 800 Baht per night. And that price includes breakfast, high-speed Internet access and taxes and service. 
Each of the compact rooms have air conditioning, a small work desk, satellite flat screen television, a wet room with toilet, hot water shower and a small outdoor patio area. The lobby area has information on tours and things to see in and around the city. The property has an attractive fountain-decorated exterior, pleasant swimming pool and a bar area for breakfast and day-long dining.
For an inexpensive hotel there is nice use of teak and the colorful fabric made by the hill tribes in
The hotel is located on
Don’t expect luxury, but you will find a friendly team of workers whose lacking linguistic skills are more than compensated by great smiles. Contact details: 8/3 Rajchiangsan Soi 2, Kor Haiya Muang Chiang Mai, Tel 053 209 093. www.thecastlerajchiangsan.com
The Away Maerim
It is very unfortunate that the opening of this stylish resort coincided with the closing of
Undaunted t Contact details: 43/1 Moo 6, Maerim-Samoeng Road Maerim District, Amphur Maerim Chiang Mai 
he property opened with a special bogof deal. You buy one night and you one free. There are a total of 42 rooms here and seven different types of accommodation to suite singles, families and honeymooners. This resort is a country retreat set on 40,000 square meters in the Mae Rim valley. All the rooms are air conditioned and have a mini bar, in-room personal safe, hairdryer, tea and coffee making facilities, satellite television and DVD and CD players. This is the perfect place to relax and rejuvenate. The hotel has a spa, a restaurant serving both Thai and International Dishes. The 24-hour reception area can help with tours, rent cars and has information on all the Chiang Mai attractions and events. This is an expensive place to stay but quality does not come cheap.
