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The 10 Best Hotels In Chiang Mai's Old City

Mo Rooms
Mo Rooms | © Courtesy of Mo Rooms

The remnants of Chiang Mai’s ancient walls surround the old city to this day. You’ll find numerous dazzling temples, ancient monuments, sumptuous restaurants and other exciting sights in the old city. A variety of magnificent hotels are just waiting to welcome visitors and pamper them with all the latest amenities. Read our guide to the places to stay.

Green Tiger Vegetarian House

Hostel, Hotel

Green Tiger House is perfectly reflective of Chiang Mai’s character. It’s an intimate, friendly, peaceful and relaxing setting. It has a small pool area and the staff here offer really sound advice on what to do in the surroundings of the hotel without having that pushy, commission-driven air about them. Rooms are cozy and minimal, in keeping with clean and simple environment. The best part of this hotel is the dazzling decking area. Go outside and watch the sunset over the city while you enjoy one of their uber-healthy, cleansing juices.

Tamarind Village Hotel

Boutique Hotel

Getting it’s name from the ancient Tamarind tree, a beautiful courtyard forms the heart of this stunning retreat. Its airy yet friendly feel allows you to completely unwind after a day of sightseeing, you can achieve total relaxation by reading a book under the shade of their imposing tree. Perhaps these are overused adjectives when it comes to describing Thailand, but this hotel truly is lush and green. The rooms of the Tamarind Village Hotel are simple but set in an attractive Lanna style, and the hotel itself is well-located and central.

Mo Rooms

Hotel, Boutique Hotel

Stay at Mo Rooms if you’re looking for something quirky and unusual. Each room is named after a Chinese birth sign, ranging from the bold simplicity of the ox to the fun monkey option. Mo Rooms has an effortlessly cool atmosphere that is more commonly associated with the Nimmanhemen University area in the other side of the city. The staff here, like the hotel, is lively and refreshing. They offer amazing cocktails too.

Bodhi Serene

Boutique Hotel, Hotel

Put quite simply, this is an all-round hotel that allows you to relax to the full whilst simultaneously offering exciting amenities. Bodhi Serene has a peaceful atmosphere. You can come here with the family and it’s also a great place to come with a partner or a group of friends. The large pool allows you to cool down after a day in the heat. Located right in the center of Chiang Mai, this place somehow manages to achieve the feeling of a resort more than your standard city hotel. Rooms are spacious and most have attractive balconies.

The Buri Gallery House Hotel

Boutique Hotel

Set in a quintessential Lanna-style, here you’ll feel as if you’ve been transported back in time several hundred years. As the ‘gallery’ bit of the name suggests, this place is home to traditional culture and artwork which can be seen in every corner. The place is worth visiting for the artwork alone. However, The Buri is unique because it makes guests feel like they’re staying in a traditional Thai home more than a hotel, and the feeling is helped by the informal and super-friendly staff. Excellent coffee is served in a shaded and relaxed courtyard area. The Buri Gallery House Hotel provides a great blend of magical and comfortable with its environment.

De Lanna Hotel

Boutique Hotel

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© Courtesy of De Lanna Hotel

Something which isn’t achieved by all Chiang Mai hotels is combining ornate Lanna-style beauty with modern comfort and efficiency, but De Lanna Hotel provides just that. Traditional artworks are proudly on show, and contemporary amenities have been appropriately fused into the hotel’s everyday workings. The large balconies and spacious rooms feature wooden furniture, the bathrooms are sleek and the showers powerful. The stunning garden and pool area along with the warm but unobtrusive service make this place worthy of the awards and praise it has received.

Rachamanka Hotel

Boutique Hotel, Eco Hotel

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© Ong-ard architects/WikiCommons

Somehow grandiose and impressive without being pretentious, the Rachamanka Hotel stands next to the equally inspiring Wat Prah Singh temple, which appears no accident. As you come off the busy city streets, you´ll marvel as a stunning courtyard opens up infront of you, seemingly out of nowhere. And despite being so central, the hotel offers an almost unbelievable degree of peace and quiet. A refreshing thing about Rachamanka is that it doesn´t set out to offer the wow-factor simply to make profit or get star ratings, it just seems content offering a tranquil stay to its guests at every turn.

Villa Duang Champa Chiang Mai

Hotel

This beautifully renovated colonial-style hotel takes intimacy and care to a level that sets it apart from its rivals. With only ten rooms on offer, you have to make a reservation with time but it really is worth the patience and persistence. Rooms are charming, with the furniture carefully thought out to give them a comfortable yet luxurious feel. Chill out and soak in the stunning mountain views, and if you get bored of that, the mesmerizing tiling and lighting will have you transfixed. The Villa Duang Champa Chiang Mai’s prices are reasonable considering the experience it provides.

U Hotel

Boutique Hotel

This hotel is the sort of place that makes you realize why you came to Thailand in the first place. With authentic and unique beauty coupled with excellent service and reasonable prices, the U really offers that authentic experience that is slowly becoming more difficult to find in an increasingly modernized Thailand. The attention to detail here is exceptional, and the restaurant serves great food – try the Thai soups. The U Hotel has achieved a well-balanced hotel experience, offering luxury and quirkiness in one swoop.

Chompor Lanna Hotel

Boutique Hotel

Some hotels are guilty of creating a faux-natural setting after the place is built, but the Chompor Lanna Hotel has apparently done the opposite. The hotel has successfully integrated a beautiful building into the northern Thai natural landscape. There is stunning lake area where you can drink tea and relax, and the hotel takes great pride in the food it serves. Try the jackfruit curry and top it off with the coconut icecream. With the hotel being built only a few years ago, the rooms are simple, comfortable and clean.

About the author

Lena was born in rural Germany and showed a passion for philosophy and linguistics from an early age. Her journeys would lead her from being a trainee in a Greek diving centre to an English teacher in Thailand, to finally becoming a student of politics and languages at Royal Holloway. In recent years Lena has focused on developing her personal and academic skills through her very own Ted Talk and internships in journalism and TV presenting. Lena's multiple talents and curious personality have led her to seek out ever new challenges and travels, not setting herself any limits.

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