Luxury hotels, regional highlights

A real sense of northern Thai and even Burmese history is evoked by the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi (www.manadarinoriental.com). Each set of villas built into the rice paddy has been modelled
on the architecture of a particular Thai era.

At the heart of the resort is the Dheva Spa with 18 treatment rooms. There are two enormous pools and a library with more than 5,000 books and 1,500 DVDs.

Sofitel Riverside Chiang Mai
(www.sofitel.com) opened in November 2006. Located by the Ping River, just four kilometres from the airport, the hotel combines traditional Lanna architecture with modern facilities. Each of the 74 deluxe rooms has its own balcony and river views.

The resort’s three meeting rooms can accommodate groups of up to 180 delegates in a theatre layout or 120 guests for a sitdown dinner. The Riverside lawn is suitable for as many as 350 guests at a cocktail reception or dinner for 220 guests.

A short boat-ride up the river on the hotel’s own boat is Jedi Lana Temple, which is a great backdrop for gala dinners. Guests can access the hotel by boat and visit the nearby Night Bazaar, ancient temples and the 13th-century walls that surround the city.

After more than a decade, Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai (www.fourseasons.com) still dominates as Chiang Mai’s most elegant resort. The serene villas, set in eight hectares of teak forest and rice fields, make the resort feel more like a self-contained village than a hotel.

The 64 spacious pavilion rooms and 16 residences are cloaked in teakwood and adorned with Thai art. Each pavilion has its own outdoor sala. A free shuttle makes five daily runs to the Night Bazaar
but there is plenty to do on-site or in the surrounding countryside.

Classes at the cooking school include early-morning market excursions; instruction in fruit and vegetable carving; and tutorials in spicy salads, soups, noodles and Thai curries. The staff can also arrange private tours of an elephant camp or a leisurely bamboo-raft trip.

An instant classic since its 2005 opening, the four-storey Chedi Chiang Mai (www.ghmhotels.com) occupies the former grounds of the British Consulate, a 1920s building retained as the hotel’s centrepiece restaurant and bar.

Nothing else is old-school about this hotel, where the 84 teak-panelled minimalist rooms
have low beds and modern wicker furniture. Club Suite rooms at the end of each northwing
floor have the best river views. There are plans to build a traditional wooden boat for river excursions but for now delegates can set out via Land Rover for hill tribe treks and elephant tours.

Popular with regional Asian groups, the new brand of the Dusit hotel chain, D2 (www.d2hotels.com), is more Soho than Southeast Asia. Urban minimalism is the prevailing theme, but if delegates are looking for local colour they only need step outside the ten-storey hotel and right into the heart of the night bazaar. The kidney-shaped swimming pool or the on-site Devarana Spa offer good options for retreats. Guests in the Club Deluxe rooms get the run of the seventh-floor lounge with private check-in, free Internet and a complimentary happy hour. There’s also a stylish fusion restaurant called Moxie.

All eyes have been on the Shangri-La Chiang Mai (www.shangri-la.com) on Chang Klan Road since it opened last December. The hotel is one of the biggest in the city with 281 rooms. It has proved to be a hit with corporate groups because of the sheer number of meeting venues it offers. Its function rooms can easily accommodate a banquet or event for up to 1,700 guests and a fully equipped auditorium is available.

COMING UP…
The high-rise Le Meridien Chiang Mai (www.starwoodhotels.com) will open on August 1. The 384 sophisticated guestrooms will offer views overlooking the majestic Doi Suthep mountain. All rooms offer high-tech touches such as high-speed Internet access and a high-definition LCD TV. The hotel will offer 11 meeting spaces, with a total of 1,200 sqm.

GALA DINNERS
The 70-seat Sala Mae Rim Thai restaurant at the Four Seasons (www.fourseasons.com)
looks out onto rice paddies. The setting and high-end cuisine make it more than worth the 30-minute drive north out of Chiang Mai. Swing by the adjacent Elephant Bar for a Rice Field cocktail then order a yum hua plee or banana-blossom salad. Hotel guests can request a special five-course set menu, served at an old barn. Reservations are recommended for non-resort guests as
the restaurant fills up very quickly.

In 2003, Danish-born businessman Hans Christensen transformed a pre-war house, located just north of Thapae Gate, into an elegant dining room. Suitably named The House Restaurant Wine and Tapas Bar (Tel: +66 53 419 011), it serves fusion and international food.

The most interesting dining option is the adjacent tapas bar that was added two years
later – a terrace outfitted with Middle Eastern couches that can fit 80 people for a private function. Dishes include grilled shrimp with roasted chilli or chicken satay on lemongrass skewers.

The main restaurant fits 29 guests inside and 18 more outside. There is also a private dining room for ten to 18 people.

Just Khao Soy, named after the traditional curry noodle soup served with meat and condiments and Chiang Mai’s traditional street food, is a clean, air-conditioned restaurant 100 metres north of the Chedi. Soup bowls are served on an artist’s palette surrounded by condiments (pickled cabbage, chillis, lime fish sauce), so delegates can season to suit their personal tastes.