I took a look at the Baan Orapin website and just love that northern Thai (Lanna) styled architecture, and it being surrounded by tall trees.

Does it have a pool?

Are there other places like it in CM with a similiar setting and price?

Is it a little too far from the city center? That could be a plus.

I'm a rookie to CM so I'd appreciate some feedback on what I can expect to have for $60-100 per night.

Baan Orapin doesn't have a pool but is reportedly lovely. Their price is very good.

You can browse the listings at www.sawadee.com in their Chiang Mai section.

We stayed at Yaang Come Village...very nice, just like the pictures. Manager and owner are both lovely. Pool very nice. Location excellent.

In Chiang Mai, transportation is easy and cheap, so choose the place you like for the place and not so much the location within the city. Do be careful, though, as some places say they are in Chiang Mai and are really 45 minutes drive from the city.

Kim, the Yaang Come Village website looked superb.

We really enjoyed our stay there. We stayed in a deluxe room for 5 nights, then went to elephant camp for 2 nights. When we got back to YCV, we stayed in junior suite for our last night in Chiang Mai. While I wouldn't pay the extra for the suite (we just don't spend much time actually in the room), it was an excellent upgrade.

I think it cost 500 or 800 baht for a 2 hour Thai massage in the room...I did that one afternoon and it was very nice. I also very much enjoyed the Oasis Spa, original location...so much so that I went 4 times.

If you want a pool, I think YCV may be the place to stay. I searched and searched for a place that would suit us and I'm pretty sure I didn't overlook any. We were looking for nice looking, friendly, not too big, pool, restaurant, not too far out.

We were tempted by the lower prices of Tamarind Village - don't be. Luckily for us, they were booked out at the time we needed to stay. When we looked at it in person I absolutely hated it. It's very white and felt claustophobic to me. The pool is enclosed in a small courtyard with very few chairs around it and did not look inviting, nor was it being used by anyone although it was quite hot and late afternoon/early evening when we stopped in there. We had dinner there, and it was the worst meal we had during our trip in terms of food and service.

Thanks Kim. I started checking CM posts and found out people either loved it or hated it. I was thinking four nights.

degas, I've chosen Yaang Come Village for my return trip to CM. Last time I was there was 20 years ago, and frankly I found it underwhelming. I had a good time, but really "saw it all" in two days or so. But I'm going to give it another try mostly because a number of people on this boar whose opinions I respect love CM. I would be somewhat concerned that it would be disappointing for you after LP and SR.

Kathie, you make a good point about the order in which you see things. I like to "build in to" an adventure and save the best for last.

The Baan Orapin is superb! Not too far from the action either. A short stroll across the foot bridge and you can be anywhere in minutes!

Really, degas, you can't go wrong with BP!

Tamara

Baan Orapin is wonderful. What makes it so very special is that you feel like you are house guests in someone's home rather than in a commercial hotel. The rooms are lovely and it has everything you can possibly want in an ideal location. No it doesn't have a pool but I see no reason to have one in Chiang Mai. The owners are warm, interesting and incredibly kind.They become friends.

I visited Yaang Comb and it feels much more like a hotel/resort which was not was I was looking for. However, if a pool is that important to you it would be a good option.

Both are very well located.
-- therejgtu

But if the Baan Orpin and Yaang Come Village were booked, are there any other interesting places to shoot for?

Has anyone stayed at or stopped by the Riverview Lodge?

There are just so many to choose, we tend to stick to Novotel and Amora but I doubt those would be what you are after.

A lovely place on the river are Athihan Villas, around USD 75 a night, quite stunning. Good pool.
Baan Singkham is another small boutique style place. Jirung health resort / Spa is out of town, but all suite for USD 80 and up. lanna Accent is about 20-25 mins from town and over USD 110 but class place. Tri Yaan Na Ros Colonial House is another boutique style, but if you want nature and by the river Athihan would be a nice choice if you can't get in at the others.

Pics for Athihan

http://www.r24.org/chiang-mai-hotels...illas/details/

James -This looks nice but doesn't seem very central if I'm reading the map correctly.

I've heard and read some very bad reviews of Riverview.

ttt

any updates?

Yaang Come Village is very nice. We saw a new place when we were there, just opening, Amata Lanna that was really lovely. It's a little boutique place.

First -- Baan Orapin does now have a pool. You won't go wrong here and I've seen nothing even close for the money.
Places like Yang Come Village are much more commercial in feel.

Thanks for the feedback.

degas, if you're interested in that kind of setting and you don't care about being in the city, i HIGHLY recommend Baan Rai Lanna.

We stayed 3 out of 4 nights there last year (it's about a 30 min drive outside of CM)...beautiful teak, Lanna-style individual bungalows overlooking pristine rice patties in the middle of nature. It's exquisite...and it's cheap! Best deal on our trip by a mile!

You can check out their website if this sounds interesting:
http://www.baanrailanna.com

If you have a driver, you can easily get in and out of CM proper for day trips...and then relax at night with fantastic food and a great massage.

Happy travels!

Hi all-It is getting closer to our leaving forour trip-Sgt. Kai has us booked at River View Lodge for 2 nights at the beginning of our 5 day tour of Northern Thailand & 1 night at the end.What is bad about River View??? The web site & pictures looked good-help
We are reserved there October 27-28th & October 31st HELP