43 Best Hotels in Northern Thailand, Thailand

The Anantara is one of the Golden Triangle's greatest hits, a symphony of styles created by Thailand's leading interior designer and architect, Bill Bensley. Mythical figures line the way to a palatial entrance, which leads into an open-plan, two-floor area encompassing an excellent restaurant, opulently furnished lounge, and the longest bar in northern Thailand. Rooms are luxuriously furnished in indigenous woods and draped with handmade Thai fabrics. Louvered glass doors lead to bathrooms with terra-cotta tubs big enough for a pool party. Beds are equally huge, and seven different types of pillows are offered. Picture windows opening onto private balconies command spectacular views of the confluence of the Mekong and Ruak rivers. Daytime activities include mahout training courses, excursions to the Golden Triangle, boat trips on the Mekong, and cooking lessons.

Set near the borders of Laos and Burma and about a 90-minute drive from Chiang Rai, this property is an unparalleled member of the Four Seasons portfolio, with 16 tents spread around the edges of a riverside bamboo jungle and designed to evoke luxury safaris. The tents are outfitted with en-suite bathrooms, clawfoot tubs, outdoor showers, luxe linens, and a polished colonial-style decor. Some are tucked high along the winding hill paths and others are closer to the main buildings, but all have unbroken views of the Ruak River, the jungle, or Laos's mountain ranges. Facilities include a free-form riverside pool, two open-air spa tents for nature-based treatments, a clubby restaurant serving international fare, and a thatched-roof bar and wine cellar. The real highlight, though, is the on-site Elephant Camp, where guests can experience walking with the gentle giants. Jungle treks, bird-watching, cooking and craft lessons, boat rides, and excursions to the Golden Triangle can also be arranged. Two-, three-, and four-night package rates include all meals (with house alcohol), half-day elephant experience, Golden Triangle excursion, one spa treatment per person, private transfers from Chiang Rai airport, and more. Note that the camp requires a two-night minimum and accommodates children over 12 only.

Large, tastefully furnished rooms, vast bathrooms, secluded terraces, an open-air gourmet restaurant, and unrestricted views of the distant mountains make it easy for The Legend to live up to its name. Furnishings are in an eclectic Asian-fusion style, with the Lanna look of dark woods and stucco walls offset by delicate examples of local Thai handwork. For real seclusion, book one of the villas, which have their own private pools. One of the restaurants is in a garden along the Mae Kok River, the second is on a breezy terrace, and the third—a combination wine bar and trattoria—is inside.

This attractive resort blends so well with the outskirts of Sukhothai Historical Park that it could easily pass for a creation of King Ramkhamhaeng himself. One of the park's most interesting temple ruins, the outlying Wat Chang Lom, is a 3-minute walk away. The hotel's low-eaved bungalows are grouped around either the saltwater swimming pool or immaculate gardens, a profusion of sweet-smelling shrubs and trees. Rooms are cream stucco and glistening teak and have half-timbered ceilings. The Nham Khang Sukhothai Restaurant, one of the best in Sukhothai, features nightly cultural shows.

This remarkable resort, a combination of hotel and outdoor education center, is in a beautiful Kok River location with sweeping views of the winding waterway, rice paddies, maize fields, orchards, and mountains beyond. The rooms are modern and the villas have built-in teak furniture. The education center, which attracts young people from throughout the world, is part of the same complex but with separate facilities and grounds.

Swank is the word for this luxury resort at just about the midpoint between the historical parks in Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai. Rooms are in low-rise buildings whose exterior design flirts with the past but skews heavily contemporary. Soft lighting, rich surfaces, and gold and crimson accents add up to a romantic atmosphere in the accommodations, which include six spacious suites equipped with Jacuzzis.

The Ananda has redefined the concept of luxury lodging in Sukhothai; as you might expect from a hotel that is also an art gallery, the rooms are well composed, their design informed by a deep sense of minimalism along with a healthy dose of feng shui. The hotel's open-air Celadon restaurant, set in a lovely garden, is also a relaxing place to dine.

This stylish resort in the mountains near Doi Ang Khang is now part of the Mosaic Collection. Rooms have all the comforts of the group's downtown digs, with teak furnishings and locally woven fabrics. All rooms have private balconies, many of them with spectacular views of the mountains. The on-site restaurant, Camellia, uses locally grown produce from the neighboring royal project gardens.

This chic and sleek designer property takes a modern approach to local architecture, with terra-cotta bricks framing the mostly teak-wood house and the interior sprinkled with mid-century furnishings. The hotel overlooks the stunning 700-year-old ancient Athi Ton Kaew temple.

Hiding in a quiet soi within walking distance of the night bazaar, this budget hotel has small but clean rooms with hot showers, refrigerators, and air-conditioning. The airy open common spaces are decorated with plants and a bubbling fountain, perfect for recharging your batteries before or after a day out. The owner and staff are kind and attentive.

This quiet guesthouse feels like a hotel, with bright clean rooms that have hot showers, refrigerators, work desks, televisions, and fans or air-conditioning. The knowledgeable English-speaking staff can tell you everything about the nearby attractions, as well as wash, iron, and fold your clothes. Free instant coffee and bananas are provided at the communal space near the reception.

The brook babbles right outside your cabin window if you ask for a room with a view at this little resort. The cabins are tiny but clean; two villas, also timber-built, are more spacious. Accommodations at the water's edge have terraces where you can soak up the uninterrupted view of sugar cane fields and the mountains beyond.

The chatter of gibbons wakes you up at this remote mountain lodge between Pai and Mae Hong Son. The cave after which it is named, just a short walk from the lodge, is one of the region's most spectacular caverns, with wall paintings and prehistoric coffins. The Australian owner of the lodge organizes treks and river tours in the surrounding jungle.

Describing itself as a mini-resort, the Nest consists of two groups of cabins, a mile apart from each other, nestled at the foot of Chiang Dao mountain. Nest 1 has more facilities (table tennis, children's playground, and a pool), but the snug timber-built chalets at Nest 2 offer the same high standard of comfort. This is an "ecologically aware" resort, so rooms have no TV, DVD player, or phone. At night the only sounds you'll hear are those coming from the jungle.

Most rooms at this small, Lanna-style hotel 1 km (½ mile) east of the National Museum directly overlook the Mekong, with sweeping views across its swirling waters to the hills of Laos on the opposite bank. They are, however, more than double the price of rooms looking landward. The comfortable and scrupulously clean hotel is run by a friendly local family. Rooms are furnished in light veneers and pastel textiles.

The room rates can be a bit pricey here, but they'll get you spacious bungalows built in steep-eaved Shan style, set over a valley of former rice paddies. Close to a bubbling stream, all the bungalows are comfortably furnished in bamboo and teak and have private terraces. The rooms have no TVs or telephones—the owners of this eco-resort want to guarantee an away-from-it-all experience.

The name is no misnomer—this impressive hotel is very grand indeed. A lofty cream-and-gilt lobby lined by massive pillars leads to a wide, winding staircase of imperial proportions and several floors of comfortable rooms decorated mostly in shades of gold and blue. A good base for touring Phitsanulok and Sukhothai, the hotel is within walking distance of restaurants, bars, and the city's main temple.

Set among mature teak trees, this fine hotel was designed to blend in with the surroundings—bungalows in landscaped gardens have both front and back porches, giving the teak-floored and bamboo-furnished rooms a light-and-airy feel. Golden Teak, which serves excellent Thai, Chinese, and European dishes, has a glassed-in section for chilly mornings and evenings. The restaurant and bar face the valley, as does the beautifully landscaped pool area.

A large glass-enclosed lobby with high ceilings and a permanent art gallery sets the stylish tone at this riverside hotel. From here, guests can wander out to an elegant terrace with an infinity pool and dramatic views of Chiang Rai. Rooms are a tasteful fusion of Thai and European style, with dark stained woods and pastel silks.

A friendly Thai family runs this hotel, which offers basic rooms in its main building and larger, more luxurious options in a separate two-story villa. Guest room balconies in the villa are large private vantage points for soaking in the stars at night and the sunrise in the morning. The owners are happy to make you breakfast and dinner if you let them know in advance.

Large and luxurious, this hotel commands a stretch of the Mae Kok River and views of the northern mountain range. While the exterior design is influenced by the graceful Sukhothai style, the interior decor features a modern Asian-fusion style, employing sleek dark woods and fine fabrics with discreet use of Thai traditional crafts. Rooms are large and romantically lighted. Gardens reaching down to the river have an attractive, sinuously shaped swimming pool.

Travelers on a tight budget rank this riverside guesthouse, about 2 km (1 mile) west of the bridge, as the best in Mae Sai. It's certainly among the cheapest. A small garden area, running down to the river, surrounds the main building.

The border hills of Myanmar lie just beyond the grounds of this resort hotel, whose timber-built chalets have fine views of tea plantations and the surrounding mountains. The teak-walled rooms are small but cozy and comfortable, with tiny terraces.

It may not be palatial---despite the name---but the Maeyom Palace does have comfortable rooms with Lanna touches like distinctive carvings on the walls. The many amenities include a pleasant outdoor pool and bar and two restaurants that serve Thai and Western dishes.

Only the tropical vegetation hints that this highly stylish, modern hotel is in Thailand and not a boutique establishment in central Milan or Munich. Rooms are furnished in a sleek Italian style, with retro-looking primary colors, crisp white linens, and claw-footed, stand-alone bathtubs in some of the suites. Most rooms are grouped around a secluded pool and a large wooden sundeck.

In the heart of Phrae's Old Town, this modern bed-and-breakfast is basic but convenient and clean, and they have free bicycles for exploring the neighborhood. It's a good base if you're planning to spend a few days touring the area. 

This hotel edges the south bank of the Mekong River, and most of the rooms---which are decorated in northern Thai style, using local woods and fabrics---have unobstructed views to the hills of Laos on the other side. The extensive gardens drop to the water's edge—a pleasant spot for an evening stroll.

Boutique hotels are rare in rural Thailand, so this small and modern space is very much in a class of its own. Guests can choose between king-size double beds and large singles, both of which feature local fabrics and handicrafts that are unmistakably Thai.