Originally Posted by
detroit1010
... As for timing up north, considering we only have ~12 days in total, I don't know that I want to spend >4 days in the north. I am not very well versed on what there is to do in Chiang Mai - would we really be missing out if we didn't stop there in favor of more time on the coast? ...
In my opinion and based on a similar trip last year, I would only do one of Golden Triangle or Chiang Mai if time is an issue. I would choose GT for a first time visit.
Even though Chiang Mai is nice, the downtown area has lots of tourists and does not offer too many experiences you can't have in Bangkok. If you intend to spend most of your time in a resort hotel, you might as well do it in a beach hotel. The excursions from Chiang Mai are probably very similar to what you can do in GT. (Not saying Chiang Mai is not worth going, but maybe keep it for another time.)
Between Bangkok, Golden Triangle and the beach, you will get a good first imression of Thailand.
BTW, we stayed at the FS Golden Triangle and loved it. As someone else has said, it is all inclusive and we did not encore any significant extra charges.