suitesmile

They mentioned that it is temporary. Favola was under renovation when I was there.

llandaff

Are there still restaurants just up the road from the resort? There used to be three or four if you walked right from the entrance, along the main road..

Thank you for the review. One of my favorite places but haven't been for three years.

ftrichard

I liked my two stays here too. But it fell off my list of favourite hotels when they axed the Platinum happy hour drinks in the bar a few years back. That was a welcome reason to return from a day’s sightseeing. This hotel, the Sheraton Hua Hin, the Sheraton Full Moon Maldives, the Four Points Sandakan, Naka Island. The list of properties that stopped providing elites with a drink in the evening over the last few years grows ever longer.

pablos

This weekend, the missus and I (titanium) enjoyed a one-night stay up at Le Meridien Chiang Rai for a quick birthday road trip up from Chiang Mai. We were told there were only about 12 rooms occupied in the entire hotel so it was obviously quite a ghost town. The only restaurant venue that was open was Favola where were enjoyed a scaled-back but very good breakfast (selected as welcome amenity). We were also upgraded (as usual) to a very large Grande Deluxe room overlooking the pool and river. They also did a nice job with some birthday decorations and a yummy slice of cake in the room. For 1,999 baht (~US$65) it's pretty hard to go wrong here. It's great to see that despite Covid-19, Marriott hotels here in Asia are still working hard to maintain brand standards. Yes, I wish they had a happy hour or a lounge but hey, no complaints. It's a lovely hotel with staff who really care. We've stayed here numerous times and will certainly be back. It's well worth a visit.

grande deluxe king room (with thoughtful birthday decoration)

grande deluxe king room (with thoughtful birthday decoration)

grande deluxe king room bathroom

grande deluxe king room bathroom

grande deluxe king room shower

welcome fruit and birthday treat

view from room overlooking pool and river

lovely rain tree and pool

breakfast offering (unlimited) at favola

various items on small breakfast buffet at favola

pablos

There are a few restaurants within walking distance, a very mediocre Chinese restaurant (Yunnan), a rather pricey but not bad fancy Thai restaurant (De Lanna Riverview), and a pretty solid local Thai restaurant (Lu Lum) amongst a few others on the river. Not on the river but still within walking distance is an okay pizza joint (Di Angello). We were recently totally blown away by a PROPER Mexican restaurant (Chihuahuan, not Tex-Mex) in Chiang Rai called Sabroso which is about a 10-minute drive from the hotel. Wow. PROPER Mexican food in Chiang Rai...who knew.

Carnitas tacos and chicken Tacos at Sabroso

EXCELLENT ceviche at Sabroso

restlessinRNO

pablos - Happy Birthday and thank you for your hotel report. We drove from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai and stayed here last fall, and enjoyed our stay. However there was constant road construction driving and in the evening, the drive home was treacherous, with traffic squeezed to one lane (total) with no supervision. Did you have any difficulties now on your trip, may I ask?

Will08

Good to see the burning season has cleared up. Me and the wife have stayed here quite a few times over the last few years, always get treated really well and always get upgraded, but then again we always do in Thailand. Lots of great options local for food so we have never actually tried hotel food even for breakfast. Might make a trip up here next month.

Even pre covid - never seen the hotel that busy!

dsquared37

Nice review and definitely miss the hotel, the region and Thailand.

pablos

Thanks! Yeah, that construction was something else... Happy to report that apart from about a 5km stretch just north of Doi Saket, it's all finished. They're actually having to re-do said 5km stretch because of poor engineering and the cliff tops starting to erode. Other than that, all smooth sailing and actually a reasonably enjoyable drive now.

uanj

Glad to hear Lu Lum is still there! It's worth the small effort to walk there.

And.....Happy Birthday!

Bravada04

I tried to find some information recently in regards to transportation options in/around hotel? It sounds like the restaurants are not the best in the area albeit some positive comments about a few. I have looked them all over but something about them not really attracting me.

This hotel looks to be in the back in almost a residential area with not much else happening around it - which is fine but will there be taxis available at the hotel or even just walking to the street? Is there tuk tuks in Chiang Rai and easily accessible from the hotel. It sounds like Chiang Rai central is not too far so would look to be heading out several of the evenings and was hoping for easy / reasonable pricing to get to / fro? Would I be correct on my assumptions?

I have been all over the place this time around deciding on where to go this winter (if COVID allows) - Originally had booked Vietnam but cancelled that as we were just there a few years ago (decided to push that one ahead); then had my mind made up on using points at the new Le Meridien in Maldives but gave that up after realizing I am not into spending that much money over a 2 week period!! - Back to Thailand so booked the JW Khao Lak but have always had Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai on my head over the last several years. Have them both booked but need to decide which area I want tackle - Beach or not?

The JW looks really nice on the beach etc., but the Le Meridien looks really nice too and probably much more quieter and relaxing? Ugh...

restlessinRNO

Sadly, public transport options in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are very limited, unlike Bangkok. Without a car, I think you may have difficulties. This is why there are so many motorcycles. Despite the danger, there are few other choices.

restlessinRNO

Duplicate post.

Alex_I

Yes, when we stayed at thos hotel a few years back, we used taxis to/from an airport and then rented a car to travel through Golden Triangle and around. Driving and visiting places was fun but other than that there is not much to do around the hotel either than lay around the pool. And yes, it is in the city.

pablos

Public transportation is tricky everywhere here so Grab (basically like Uber for the uninitiated) is definitely any travelers' friend whenever looking to get around any city in Thailand. I find it pretty indispensable if I'm in a place I have not driven to myself and don't have my own vehicle.