Where to stay in Chiang Mai
 

We will be there in early November for three nights and are looking for a nice place to stay. We are open to anything clean and comfortable and luxurious if possible. Budget is $250.00 US give or take, would be nice to be able to walk and shop in the neighborhood.

What is the best way to get to CM from Bangkok? I am guessing Thai Air?

While we are at it what are your favorite restaurants in Chiang Mai. Thanks

Aloha!

For $250 a night you could probably stay at the Chedi which is a gorgeous hotel and luxurious. We stayed at the Pak Chiang Mai for considerably less and loved it. Small place with fantastic owner. We enjoyed our time there in a suite.

oops forgot..Bangkok Air flies there as does Asia Air which is a budget airline.

Yay you and Linda moving over here! Hope I will get to meet with you both finally.

For CM there are two sorts of hotels, those in the city near the night bazaar and those on the "hills" that surround the city. I like the following hotels within the price range:

Le Meridien
D2
Ratilana
Sangri-la.

The last two is a bit far to walk to the night bazaar but tuk tuk are plenty.

If you want a resort type of hotels, like the Four Seaons, they are situated out of town and not within walking distance.

Rates for a nice jr suite will be around $200 - 250 all in(inc breakfast and airport transfer) and around $120 for a regular deluxe room.

As for restaurants I will get the info for you on my other computer and I've got some good suggestions for you.

Will be back with more information!

HT, I'm glad you are finally taking Linda back to Thailand (for some SERIOUS shopping...haha). I don't know your travel dates, but it is possible I would be there the last 10 days or so of OCT and the first few days of NOV. No ticket yet.

The Chedi recently got rave reviews from mcbeanie. We always stay at what used to be the Westin Riverside, then Sheraton, then Crowne Plaza... not sure WHAT it is now. We always stayed in a suite. They are HUGE. That said, you need to take a taxi or tuk tuk to the old town area and night bazaar from that area. Not much in that immediate neighborhood for walking around.

To add to Yestravel's post. Another airline is Nok Air but that flies from the old Don Mueang airport.

The Chedi will cost around $300++ for their basic room.

I was last in Chiang Mai in 2006 and we stayed at Yaang Come Village, which was lovely. We stayed there on Dang's recommendation.

i feel a GTG in the air in bkk at the end of Oct...

Thanks you guys, I am checking into all of your suggestions.

Carol, Yes, Linda won the "where are we going on this years trip" question so its back to Thailand and some serious shopping. We will be hitting BKK on 10/30 after 11 days in China and some serious shopping there, the last five days tagging along in Shanghai with B & K. China will never be the same.....

Hanuman, yes finally, I hope you will be in town for a gtg when we are there 10/30 - 11-4 and again from 11/7-11/11. The rhkkmk's and looks like carol will be there too. I will bring the popcorn!

Aloha!

That's such good news HT and we look forward to meeting you with. Bob, Karen and friends will be here roughly around the same time as well so a mega GTG is looming.

More on the the hotels in CM. The hotels I've mentioned are all centered or with emphasis on location next to or near the night bazaar. The area is full of sidewalk shops and kiosks but IMO it's not that charming and rather busy. Another neighborhood that I like in CM is the Nimmanhemin road area, sort of like Melrose ave in Los Angeles. Lots of boutiques, coffee shops and galleries but no good hotels around there.

If you go outside of CM town proper there are a lot of fantastic resorts but you would need to drive at least 30 - 40 minutes to get back into town. Some examples:

http://www.siripanna.com/default-en.html *near to the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi neighborhood
http://www.hill-lodge.com/ *Up the mountains with a great French restaurant - they have a branch downtown as well for the restaurant(Le Beaulieu).

Let me know if you're interested in staying out of town and I will give you a full list of places I like.

For restaurants see my reply to yestravel's post here: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ong-in-pai.cfm

I'll add more to that list when I come back from CM next week. I've been going there once or twice a month now since October 2011! I've stayed at the Four Seasons for a week, the MO Dhara Dhevi for a week and the D2 for a week each time plus my wife's family house in Chiang Mia as well.

We stayed at De Naga Hotel and thought it was great. Good location with plenty of great restaurants around. I did a trip report on CM and this hotel several years ago. But I recommend you look at TripAdvisor for recommendations. I think we paid about $60/night.

We stayed at The Chedi last month and loved it. Haven't done the revue yet but it will be gushing. Great hotel in a perfect location.
Our 4 night stay in a de-luxe room, thats one above basic, booked through Agoda cost us $950.....around $238 per night.

That's an excellent rate Leigh!

Yes Leigh it is a good price,thanks. I just downloaded the Agoda app on my iphone so will be checking pricing daily until Nov in hopes of finding a deal,lol.

Thanks Hanuman, you are the best! I think we've narrowed it down to the Chedi, D2 or Le Meridian. Will have time to check out if any specials come along, one can hope.....

I just reread your report gailmo thanks for all the insight!

Aloha!

Good Morning, All!

Yes ~~ Carol is right. We stayed at the Chedi for a week + last Oct. and can't rave enough about it. We were in a Club Room (about 1200 sq.ft) ~~ BIG ~~ and didn't want to leave. You may be able to get a 3 for 2 rate by going directly to the Chedi website which is a very good rate in your price range. We tried to book them again this year, but the room we want isn't available for our time period. So, we are going to try the Shangri-La. We will be there Nov 15-21. Does that cross with your times?

Pleasant Stay! Sandra (McBeanie)

A Little Bit More!

We have also stayed at the Yaang Come Village and enjoyed that, too. But the Chedi is still our 1st choice. We fly into BKK Oct 31 and leave Nov 3, before returning on Nov 21. Will be meeting B and K and hearing all about China. Maybe we will get to meet you both at some point.

Sandra

OK, what did I miss? What got deleted?

Thanks Sandra for the information. The Chedi sounds just like the place and am now patiently looking for those online deals that would make it even better.

We would love to meet up with you in BKK. I think something may be in the works already. We must be there at the China debriefing to keep rhkkmk's thought process on track,lol.

Aloha!

Hi, HT! We had a great time with the rhkkmks last year, and are booked at the same hotel as they are for the last of Nov. And we will be at the same place on Soi 24 for the 1st couple of days in Nov. A GTG sounds great ~~ just say the word. Bob has our e-mail address, as does Hanuman so we shouldn't be hard to find.

If you need a guide in CM, try Sgt. Kai. He is Tong's friend and we spent 2 days with him last fall ~~ great 2 days!!!!! Will call him again this year.

BTW, I was wondering about the deletion, too ~~ wasn't mine.

Sandra

In Chiang Mai right now and the smog from the slash and burn is very bad.

HT - for an all out splurge either the Mandarin Dhara Dhevi or the Four Seasons. For good modern luxury within 15 - 30 minutes walk to the Night Bazaar then the Chedi or the Shangri La. For inner city with the night Bazaar at your door step then the D2 or Le Meridien. For a hotel with some Thai architectural feeling then the Rachamangkha(in the inner old city) and to a lesser extent the Yaang Come(near the Chedi).

Where ever you're staying I highly recommend a car and driver. I'm compiling more dining choices for you.

Whilst out walking near The Chedi, we came across a hotel called Ping Nakara. Looks very elegant and splendid. Kind of has a Raffles type of look to it. You might want to look at that too.

http://www.pingnakara.com/