andrewp

Sawatdee Khrup!

Greetings from the Mandarin Oriental Chiang Mai!

My wife and I checked into the MOCNX this afternoon and are very impressed with the resort, the staff, and well... everything. Although we hve been married for over a year this trip is essentially our honeymoon and apparently my travel agent made the resort aware of that. Upon arrival at the resort we were greeted by the GM and about 8 other staff members, one of whom prsented my wife with a dozen roses. Every member of the staff congratulated us and the GM took a few minutes to welcome us to Chiang Mai and the resort.

We haven't been here long, but our first impressions are very positive. As previously noted the resort is not yet finished and there is some heavy construction going on at the front of the property. We have yet to be bothered by any noise. Our villa is situated in the center of the property overlooking the rice terrace where all we can hear the pleasant sound of running water and birds chirping.

The villa is stunning.... living area downstairs, bedroom upstairs, and the perfect outdoor patio. We opted for the "Deluxe Villa with Pool" which gives us over 1000 sq ft of indoor space and another 1500 sq ft outdoors. We have a large pool, sauna, outdoor jetted tub (upstairs), and an outdoor cooking and dining area. We have been told that our butler will be happy to prepare and serve a meal to us at any time should we desire

Here are a few high and low points:

High:
- Stunning architecture and furnishings
- Large outdoor pool
- Outdoor living space with day bed, persian rug, coffee and dining tables
- Automatic coffee/espresso machine
- Sauna -> the only thing that can make a Thai afternoon seem cool and refreshing
- Wireless internet access in the room
- The staff -> Some seem nervous, but all are doing an excellent job. During check-in a member of the concierge staff took a copy of our itinerary to re-confirm all onward travel. A representative from the tour desk introduced himself and went over all of our tour details. Later the concierge stopped us in the lobby and asked if we would like him to re-confirm my wife's reservation at the FS cooking school and arrange transportation (we had planned to ask him to do this very thing for us). So far they have been pretty telepatic. Service at the rice terrace restaurant was flawless and the food was excellent.

Low:
- Towels - with a pool, shower, sauna, and tub I would expect a closet full of towels.... there were only two bath towels.
- Pool - It's freezing cold. I'm not sure if there's a heater, but if there is it needs to be turned on.
- Internet access - The access point isn't strong enough to get the signal from the bedrom where it's located to the sitting area downstairs (think two opposite sides on an 'L'. It does work on the outdoor patio...
- Outlets - Although I see a number of outlets all over the room none of them are conveniently placed to plug in my laptop. The hotel will provide extension cords and adapters upon request.
- Stairs are a VERY steep pitch and could be dangerous for anyone elderly, infirm, or drunk.
- Some cabinet and furniture doors are either stuck or don't close. I know that this is due to the fact that they are all handmade in concert with the humiditiy.... very minor gripe.
- The screen (and outer) doors all lock from the inside which is great, but there is no catch to keep them shut when they are not locked... I'll be breaking out the deet.
- Shutle service into town is only scheduled 3 times per day.
- The spa, although operational, is not completely finished yet.
- The trees and shrubs are still very young so the landscaping looks sparse.

I'll post more details as they come up, but overall I'm very pleased. We've taken lots of pictures and I'll post them once we get home.

If there are any details that you would like me to check please let me know and I'll be happy to collect the information.

NWA_Fan

Thanks for the on the spot review. I will be staying here for 2 nights in September and I'm really anticipating it. I haven't really heard anything about the restaurants there? Are they open? If so, how are they? How are food and service prices?

I'd also like to hear your review on the FS cooking school. I want to take one of these classes, and don't know whether to pick the FS or MO classes.

Also, what times do the shuttle into town run?

Thanks, enjoy the rest of your trip.

Canista

Andrew,

Quick question - do you know if there is a difference between a Grand Deluxe villa with a plunge pool and a Deluxe villa with a pool (the deluxe villa is bigger is total space... go figure)...?

Thanks

aa4ever

AndrewP,

Have you stayed at the FS? If yes, how does it compare. If not, when you go over for the cooking school, could you please tell me how the atmosphere compares?

Thanks,
aa

andrewp

So far we've sampled the Terrace Restaurant (overlooking the rice terrace) and Le Grand Lanna (Thai) which has been on the property for a very long time. The food at both was excellent and the service was very good, in fact I would say bordering on flawless. So far these two meals (lunch and dinner) have been the best Thai food that we've had in Thailand.

Other restaurants include a pool bar, Chinese, French (called Farang Ses, which made me chuckle), and a soon-to-open Japanese option.

I'm not attending the class, but I will pass along my wife's impressions. We are in a bit of a unique situation as the FS somehow got word that my wife was a vegetarian (she actually isn't, I am), and offered a private class with the chef this afternoon (all vegetarian dishes).

The shuttle to the city departs at 10:00, 14:00, and 19:30. The shuttle from the city departs at 14:30, 17:30, and 22:30. The pickup and drop-off point in the city is the gas station at one end of the night market area. The hotel also will take you anywhere by limo (older MB stretch or Land Rover) for about $30. Once in the city you can get just about anywhere by taxi or tuk tuk. The resort is about 10 minutes from the night market. Also, keep in mind that you could probably walk off of the property and catch a tuk tuk or taxi at just about any time (although we haven't tried this yet).

The MO is about 45 minutes away from the FS which puts the FS fairly far from town.

andrewp

My TA and I went around and around on this and as far as we could tell the differences are:

"Deluxe" has a larger pool (small lap pool), sauna, and the outdoor jacuzzi tub. "Grand Deluxe" has a smaller pool (see the pics of the square pool on the website), an indoor dining area, and a "study." I think that it all comes down to indoor vs. outdoor space. The "Deluxe" has a much larger outdoor living area whereas the "Grande Deluxe" has a much larger indoor living area. Unless you are coming in the summer "March - August" you may not spend much time inside the room.

andrewp

I have not been there before, but will go this afternoon and post some information here. I'm anticipating the FS to feel more established with fully developed landscaping and a staff more familiar with the day-to-day routine of running a resort. On the other hand, I expect it to feel much more like a hotel rather than a retreat. The scenery around the FS will likely be much more impressive with views of the surrounding mountains. The MO is down in the valley and all that you can see is the resort itself.

We are loving the MO and have no regrets about our decision to stay here.

aa4ever

I have no doubt that you are, but I have reservations at the FS and would like to know how it is. If the MO seems superior, I would consider changing (as I'm taking one week of cooking lessons at the FS, it might be difficult though).

Thanks for the info!

Edited to add: where in Chiang Mai is the MO? Is it easy access to the city? How far is it from the center?

Thanks again

NWA_Fan

Hi again, what type of amenities are found in the bathroom? Brands, how much, replinished daily?

andrewp

Shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and bath gel were all presented in glass decanter bottles. The brand was not displayed and the bottles were refilled daily. The overall quality was excellent (better than the L'Occitane often used by FS). Other amenities included cotton swabs, cotton balls, a shoe sponge, nail files, facial pads, toothbrushes, and a couple of other items. Overall a pretty good spread... I don't think that they provided a sewing kit.

Other amenities included bath robes (waffle weave and lightweight cotton), slippers, and woven sandals.

We are currently getting settled at Trisara and I'll post more MO-CNX info tomorrow. The overall experience was amazing... the staff never disappointed. To sum it up in a few words... attention to details.

BTW - Trisara is pretty cool too... more details to follow.

flamboyant 1

Super report of two outstanding resorts, interested in Trisara as well. I am sure it will be great despite the tsunami a few months ago.

MOCNX is awesome, temple like villas, wonderful.

hairpeace

I love Molton Brown amenities.

andrewp

I have a splitting headache right now so I'm not sure if any of this will make any sense. Please forgive me if I ramble on....

We checked out of the MO yesterday and are now at Trisara in Phuket. We were both very sad to leave the MO as the experience was wonderful. We are already planning a return trip for November. Here are some final notes on the property and staff:

The Room
We loved our room and found it to be very comfortable. The best part was definitely the outdoor living area where we spent most of our time. We never did find out if the pool could be heated as every time we thought of it we were afraid that a member of the engineering staff would be rousted out of bed to come and turn it up. In the coming summer I'm sure that it will be just fine.

I posted a note above regarding bathroom amenities so please refer to that if you are interested. The bathroom was a large open space with two separate vanities so we never felt like we were crowding each other. The shower was large (at least 6' x 6') and included a "rain" head in the ceiling, a handheld nozzle on the wall and a set of wall mounted (horizontal) nozzles. We had a good chuckle over the labeling of the controls as the first time I go in I turned the wrong knob and shot water out of the shower into the bathroom.

The bedroom was large and comforatble with a small desk and sofa. There was a TV and stereo system opposite the bed. The mattress itself was very comfortable and not rock hard like the one in the Peninsula.

The negative aspects of the room were few, but worth noting. First off, as I mentioned before the doors and screens needed to be latched from the inside so upon leaving the room the screen over the front door was open. In addition since all of the doors were double (half doors) opening in the middle there was a gap in the center. Compound this with the materials warping and there were numerous entry points for mosquitos. At night we would see a number of the little *******s all over the room. The hotel provides bug spray and mosquito coils which seemed to do a pretty good job of keeping them at bay.

The second negative was the fact that all aspects of the room were assembled with an eye for design. I've found that many interior designers will often make choices that look amazing but are functionally hadicapped. This was definitely the case here. Although overall we were very satisfied we found that the lighting in the room was very annoying. The entire room was lit with small low voltage spotlights which made for a very dramatic effect, but also made many parts of the room very dark (such as the vanity area and the closet). The light in the bathoom was so bad that I had trouble shaving and my wife just gave up on applying makeup. We will be writing a long letter to the GM with feedback and this will be at the top of the very short list of things that need to be changed.

The Spa

The spa isn't finished yet, but will be a destination on its own upon completion. We did get massages in one of the double treatment suites and were very impressed. The therapists were excellent and both very sweet. The treatment room was nicer and larger than most hotel rooms I've been in to date. In addition to a full bath with steam shower and jacuzzi tub there was a separate room with a table carved out of a single slab of granite that will be used for the various wrap and scrub treatments. The massage room was very peaceful with two double bed-sized massage tables/beds. The exterior of the spa is modeled after the Mandalay Palace in Burma and is and amazing feat of woodworking.

The Grounds

Again... it's not done yet, but were still very beautiful and peaceful. When the landscaping matures you would never know that you are in the middle of Chiang Mai. We saw constant work by a crew of farmers and two water buffalo to get the rice terrace into shape. Although a little sparse now I think that given a few months it will be very lush. All of the buildings are very beautiful and very tastefully done. The quality of the facilities (furniture, artwork, etc) was also very high. This place must have cost a fortune to build... I do wish that they had diverted a little bit of that money into a rennovation of the MO-HKG...

F&B
Food and drink quality were both excellent. We ate at the Rice Terrace Restaurant and Le Grand Lana and couldn't find fault in either. The starting point for the food was obviously for western tastes, but they were happy to make it a little more authentic for the more adventerous. One of the best meals that I had was actually from room service. Again the food was excellent, but the service was the best I've ever seen. Two attendants showed up at the room and set the table outdoors with a full service including tablecloth, placemat, silver, flowers, and cold towels. They wouldn't leave until I sat down (one attendant pulled out the chair and the other draped the napkin on my lap) and made sure that the food was to my liking. They probably would have stayed while I ate had I asked.

The Staff

Best staff ever... hands down. As I mentioned before they are still settling in, but the level of service never suffered. We found some of the nicest and most genuine people on the hotel staff (from the concierge to the rice farmers). Our guide in Bangkok told us that the Northern Thai people are "very sweet" and we found this to definitely be the case. At most expensive hotels the staff members are always very gracious, but this went a step further. The staff at the MO were personally concerned with the quality of our stay. Compliments were always taken with genuine pleasure and followed up with an honest "it was my pleasure."

As I mentioned before the staff seemed to be telepathic and this didn't change as our stay progressed. One morning upon leaving the room we discovered that the shower was leaking through the ceiling onto the patio below. We had intended to mention this when we passed through the lobby, but got side tracked and completely forgot. Upon returning to the room I went to take a shower and noticed that part of the tile had been re-grouted and caulked. We are assuming that the housekeeping team noticed the leak and had facilities come to fix it while we were out. The shower never leaked again. We have numerous stories like this and just can't say enough good things about the staff.

The high point
When the rice farmer asked my wife (a real animal lover) if she would like to ride the water buffalo.

The low point
The mosquitos. Once the landscaping matures and needs less water this should take care of itself.

Compared to the FS
I spent a few hours on the grounds of the FS while my wife was in cooking school. As expected the grounds were more lush and manicured. What I didn't expect was that I prefered the grounds of the MO. At the FS everything is very deliberate, but at the MO (more so once it grows in) felt much more like the forest that we visited on the elephant ride. This is all a matter of taste, but the MO just seemed a little more natural. The rooms at the FS are 4 to a building with 2 per floor. We really preferred having some space and privacy that we would not have had at the FS. The staff at the FS were very good, but seemed somewhat indifferent as to whether or not I was enjoying my lunch.

When we return home we plan to write a letter to the GM at the MO with feedback (mostly positive) on our stay. I will recommend the MO without reservation, but keep in mind that until the resort is finished some may not like the state of the grounds or some of the construction noise (which didn't bother us).

NWA_Fan

Thanks andrewp for the thorough review. Now I am even more excited about my stay there in September. Until then, I am enjoying hearing about others experiences.

eutow

andrewp - thanks for the great review. The MO sounds wonderful, and I am now looking for an excuse to get there later this year!