At the recommendation of Fodorites I just returned from a visit to tripadvisor.com and the reviews of our hotel in Chiang Mai (Sheraton - used to be a Westin) were very very mixed. Mainly the reviews for the breakfasts were great but the rooms very much in need of refurbishing, very dark and comments about dirty carpet in the restauraunt. I was very excited to get a reservation there through hoteltravel.com at $60 per night including breakfast. Now I'm considering looking for something nicer as I find tired hotels quite depressing. Any suggestions for good location, decent rate and nice decor?
Sue

The new favorite on this board is Ban Orapin. Do a search for it and read all the great reviews.

That is Baan Orapin

I HEARD FROM A FODORITE FRIEND YESTERDAY who was staying at sheraton....he said the breakfast was ok, pool not good, but that the room he had was huge and quite good....he was on a non-smoking floor...he was pleased with it...

i stayed there maybe 4 years ago and our room was huge and decent...not lux but certainly worth the $65 i paid as i remember...the hotel is not really within walking distance of anything of interest so that is a minor negetive...i would however stay there again...

i personally do not like trip advisor---find it difficult to use and the reviews are not always that good or accurate...

i find fodors the best all around source of info esp. for thailand...

some people on all of these forums comment on things they know little about...for instance i know of two people who have commented on this sheraton and have never stayed there...

We checked out the Sheraton when we were in Chiang Mai in January 05 since we have Sheraton points and thought we might use them to stay. We decided we'd use our Sheraton points elsewhere. Yes, the rooms are a good size but dark and depressing and very worn, as was the carpet in the dark hallways. The bathrooms were dingy and also had not been updated. No, we didn't stay there, but that was because we checked out several rooms and saw enough to make the decision not to stay. Actually staying there would not have given us a different (or better) opinion of the place. There are so many more good choices in Chiang Mai now that if you can pay a little more I think you will be much happier and enjoy your stay in CM more.