yosithezet

Since I was sitting in the Chiang Rai lounge when I read this I figured it might be nice to show it to the lounge staff. They remembered you from the drink preference and were quite happy to see the pictures that seanthepilot added.

karenkay

must add another glowing review. we're in chiang mai now, in an upgraded lovely suite, and have been having a wonderful experience. hotel is gorgeous, rooms and common areas alike are pristine and very nicely done. staff is terrific, warm and competent. we've had a chance to meet a number of them and it's just a marvelous experience. (one of those hotels/cities where you start trying to figure out how to jigger your travel plans to extend the stay.) i wish for them the hotel had more custom, as they're not at all busy.

really couldn't be happier here, and must thank seanthepilot for the recommendation. btw, sean, i did mention to the lounge staff at check-in that the reason we were here was directly due to your kind suggestion.

had a surprisingly good glass of chilean red last night in the lounge in addition to a wonderful mojito.

yosithezet

We had a very nice stay at this property. It sounds like we checked out the morning that karenkay checked in.

Upon arrival we were escorted to the lounge on the 20-22nd floors to check in. We booked 1 award reservation + 1 Starwood Privilege reservations, connecting rooms requested. We got a Jr. Suite which is a huge spacious two room suite, with a connecting room with double beds. The suite had a Nesspresso-like machine with complimentary coffee pods.

I took the 500 Starpoints but there were also options of $5 minibar, free glass of wine or THB 250 discount on I think the spa. Anyone able to confirm?

We were informed that breakfast in the lounge was free for Platinum guests. I think it was also possible for us to take it in the lobby restaurant. For the kids they offered us to pay THB 2200 / night to upgrade their room to one that included breakfast. Breakfast for them would be about THB 1200 each. Also drinks in the lounge would be free for my wife and I but for the kids (7/10) we would have to pay.

The location of the hotel was great. We walked outside, through the bustling stalls and eventually had dinner at an evening food court called Karale or something of this nature. In the same area we found a cheap massage place where the kids had their first Thai massages. As we'd just spent 15 or so hours in transit they fell asleep. The location was also good because there is a McDonalds and Burger King on the corner and so when the eldest was hungry after we returned from a long day of touring which included dinner we were able to satiate him quickly with a burger. The location was only awkward for about 30 seconds when we passed some beer bars down the street in the truck and the 7 year-old asked what it was. We explained it was a place where people listen to music, dance and have a good time. He asked why we weren't going and readily accepted the answer that it was for adults, not kids.

Full breakfast from room service (eggs, pastries, juice, hot drink, etc) is only about THB 600. But since our breakfast was free we decided to spend the THB 2200 to add breakfast for the kids as 4 X room service would be THB 2400. When I went to the lounge in the morning to take care of it they asked the age of the kids and said they'd charge 50% of the lounge breakfast fee, or about THB 275 each, for breakfast for the kids. That was a much better deal and we jumped at it. The kids were welcome to use the computers in the lounge and wifi was also free in the lounge. The kids had orange juices once in the lounge and we were charged. (I'll try to check the exact numbers another time)

The hotel was at about 20% occupancy. It is really a gorgeous property and I hope things pick up.

Kalboz

INCLUSIONS :
- The above room rates are inclusive of Daily Buffet Breakfast for 2 persons
- Complimentary one time set dinner (3 courses, chef's selection) for two persons at FAVOLA, Italian Restaurant
- Complimentary 60 minutes of Thai Massage or Shiatsu Massage at The SPA for two persons
- The above rates are net inclusive of service charge and VAT currently at 17.7%, provincial tax currently at 0.8%. If provincial or government tax is added or raised within this contract period, the hotel reserves the right to adjust the contract rate accordingly to reflect the change

http://amazingthailand.tourismthaila...il.php?id=1827

seanthepilot

I booked and stayed here recently for 2800THB/Night including breakfast for 2, 2 night minimum.

scaplan

Stayed here earlier in the summer as part of honeymoon. From airport pick up to departure the staff and service was first-class all the way. As a plat was upgraded to a huge suite for the stay.

Hamurabi2008

Also stayed at the property recently. Booked basic room - received upgrade to junior suite as Platinum.

I posted some pictures on my Flickr account.

Might post a trip report later.

Regards

Ham

carberrie

I just stayed at this hotel for 3 nights and absolutely loved it!

I have only 2 criticisms: First, the breakfast is not very good... I would definitely not pay for food in this hotel if it didn't come for free. Second, if you are upgraded to a suite, the sink is not designed very well such that you get water all over the counter. The standard rooms do not have an issue with the bathroom sink. I stayed in a basic room last year.

Both the basic rooms and the suites for PLATS are beautiful! This is definitely my favorite hotel in Chiang Mai! The service is not as extravagant as it was last year, but that's alright as I don't necessarily need 4 people greeting me as I enter the hotel, especially as the price here is very reasonable when they have promos.

ysbyvr

Just stayed at the hotel for 2 nights this week. Was upgraded to a great suite. Agree with the previous comment about the sinks though...they look great, but spray water everywhere! IMO the breakfast pretty good....better than most I've seen at any hotels, and especially great because it's complimentary for plat members.^

wuhoo

any recommendations on airport transportation? i emailed the concierge, and was given the following rates:
- Toyota Camry at THB 550.-net per car per way (maximum 3 adults/car)
- Mercedez Benz at THB 850.-net per car per way (maximum 3 adults/car)
- Van at THB 1,500.-net per car per way (maximum 7 adults/car)

what is the going rate on taxis and/or airport bus?

LarryU

Taxis at the airport are reliable, plentiful and much less expensive than the prices listed above for the relatively short trip downtown. There is a counter to the right of the exit door from the airport.

For the trip back to CNX, the Le Meridien volunteered to prearrange for a taxi to wait for me for a very small fee. Incidentally, when I emerged from the hotel to look for my awaiting taxi, other passengers were already trying to abscond with it -- I felt like I was in an Amazing Race competition.

seanthepilot

I stayed here again recently and have only great things to say about the hotel.

Airport Car from airport to hotel is 120THB, Meter taxi from Airport is 50THB + Meter, which is close to the same price.

Meter taxi from Hotel to Airport is 150THB

wuhoo

we stayed here on c&p from 1/8 - 1/11. this hotel is swank. it is really nice. the location is very good too because it is right next to the night bazaar. the downside of this location though is that very little seems to be open for lunch around the area. this was a problem for the last couple of days, esp b/c some of the local favorites like just khao soi were closed when we tried to go! you could walk to the famous wats in the old city, its about a 30 minute walk or so. or take a tuk tuk.

we took teh airport taxi to the hotel, 120 baht is pretty cheap. we also had the hotel arrange our transport back via airport taxi (turned out to be a meter cab that agreed to the fixed rate) for 150 baht.

checked in upstairs at the lounge, which was a little different from standard starwood, at least for me. it was more akin to the asian hyatts that i have stayed at. unfortunately, the lounge agents at the le meridien are not concierges like they are at the hyatts. i didnt realize this until halfway through our stay. interestingly enough, the hotel apparently has an internship program with a hotel management school in hungary, so there were three hungarians working at the hotel. the lounge was almost always empty, which was great for privacy as i would imagine it could get quite loud b/c of the high ceilings. the lounge agents always seemed a bit bored when we would drop in, b/c they would jump to the front and immediately try to be of service. oh one bad thing, somehow there were a bunch of mosquitos in the lounge, courtesy of the recent rain.

we got upgraded to a corner suite, initially on a smoking floor, then on a lower spg floor. we had a great view of doi suthep. the suites are really modern and huge. downside of this is that none of the switches are marked, and grouped switches of three seemed to turn on lights in different rooms. also odd is that there is a do not disturb light by the bed, but not by the door. and it doesnt turn the light off if you take the key out of the master switch. the toilet room doesnt have enough light either. the sinks are ultra modern, but ended up splashing us all the time. the walkin closet is nice. lots of couches, potentially you could have two or three more people stay over, there is plenty of space. the bathtub was gigantic, two people can fit inside at a time. one disturbing thing though was that parts of the room would frequently creak. actually one of the elevators did that too. we have our suspicions about the quality of the worksmanship during building of the hotel, since we havent heard those sort of creaks so often before. in fact, i forgot to mention that we had to be moved midway through our stay, b/c our room 1234 developed a major leak in the bathroom from the ceiling. from the looks of the ceiling paint/patching, it wasnt the first time.

our room had a plate of fruit when we entered, although when we had to switch rooms we didnt keep it. actually, they tried to give us an even bigger plate of fruit as an apology for having to switch rooms. we actually dont eat that much fruit, and didnt want it to go to waste, so we sent it back. we were offered a bottle of wine or fishermans pants with the le meridien logo, but neither seemed practical to us, so we got points instead. well, it needed to get approved, but they said i should get it in a few weeks.

as spg plat, continental breakfast is free. it can be taken upstairs in the lounge or downstairs in the restaurant. the restaurant has a larger selection, but it gets pretty packed, and also the eggs tend to get cold since they churn out different types and leave them on the counter. in the lounge, you order eggs a la carte. forgot to mention earlier, the lounge also has a cocktail hour with light hors douevres. theyll even mix the drinks for you as the bottles of liquor and wine are for show only.

free internet in the lounge, but you have to get a login card that lasts one hour. they also have two computers.

if you need to get laundry done, there are several places on the street literally next to the hotel that were doing 25 baht per kg. similarly, several massage places too, ranging from 150 baht upwards of 500 baht (full spa) for an hour. the hotel spa was running a bunch of specials, and the deals werent too bad, cheap for america but expensive for thailand. oh and if you like evening life with bars, there are several with thai ladies who will dance with you just down the street a couple of blocks down on the way to the old city. currency exchange is easy, there are several banks very close to the hotel. they even have mobile exchange units during the night bazaar with not quite as good rates but close. there are several tailors in the city, many nearby. we ended up getting soem clothing from vieng ping, which was recommended by the hotel and tripadvisor. the quality, price, and speed were very good.

another tip, we arranged an elephant tour with the hotel, they had arrangements with chiang dao and pattara. we went with chiang dao which ended up being most of the day. unbeknown to us, chiang dao has a half day where you just do the elephant show and walk, with no lunch. for the full day, we ended up getting a lunch (which was ok, but not thai spicy enough, clearly for tourists) and a one hour bamboo raft trip, then after that we dropped by the orchid factory and butterfly farm, with the option of going to tiger kingdom (our cost though, not part of the tour cost). the extra time spent for lunch/bamboo/orchid wasnt worth it. also, we arranged for a half day tour of doi suthep. in retrospect, we should have done it ourselves and grabbed a mini bus from wat phra singh. the tour took us to a hmong village then to the wat. we could have done without the village.

a sidenote unrelated to the hotel, the english comprehension and speaking in chiang mai seemed to be very good, across the city. much better than khao lak and even bangkok. that was surprising to me.

bp888

Wuhoo, Your detailed report is perfect for my forthcoming stay in a couple of weeks. The bit about the laundry is good news for me because Chiang Mai is in the middle of my vacation and now that I know I can get my laundry done there cheaply I don't have to bring as many clothes.

A couple of questions:
1. You indicate that breakfast is continental but that it also features eggs. So I assume you meant buffet?

2. You mentioned that the breakfast restaurant was packed and yet the lounge was empty. Why the discrepancy?

Thanks.

wuhoo

good to hear the report helped. when i saw the laundry prices in chiang mai, my exact thought was that i wished someone had mentioned that it was cheaper than in khao lak. in the khao lak thread, laundry at rim lay is mentioned several times making it seem like the place to go for a trip in thailand. which it would be the case depending on your trip routing, but in my case laundry in khao lak wasnt the best use of our baht.

as for breakfast, it is called a continental breakfast, but they have eggs, omelettes, noodles, soups, charcuterie, cheese, and a selection of cooked items. ive found many of the asian hotels call their breakfasts continental, when they really are more like buffets. might just be a different use of the term continental.

as for the restaurant, i think locals also frequent the place because of the large selection of food. that is likely one factor. another is that the lounge is only available for spg guests (definitely plat, not sure about gold). i assume that people on the club floor can use the lounge too, but not 100% sure on that. since there were so few people in the club but the hotel seemed pretty busy, its conceivable that even if you have a room on the club floor you cant use it unless you pay for access.