During our last trip to Chiang Mai our passports were stollen out of our hotel room. I would say it was partially our fault but that’s because I was raised in a blame the victim society. It was totally the fault of the person, probably a member of the hotel staff, who stole them. Though we locked our hotel room door we forgot to lock our passports up in the safe. This is something we always do, and we didn’t realize they weren’t in the safe until we were ready to check out and couldn’t find them. It was a whole thing.
Fortunately, Chiang Mai has both an immigration office and an American consulate, so it was fairly straightforward to get everything taken care of. Unfortunately, it took about a week and fubared the rest of our trip. So, we decided to splurge and spend the last week of our time in Chiang Mai at the Shangri-La. It was AMAZING.
I like food. On our honeymoon we stayed in a rather grim looking Holiday Inn in former East Berlin. It looked vaguely industrial. This was twenty years ago and the demarcations between East and West Germany were still pretty strong. But when they asked if we wanted to include breakfast, about $5 for the two of us, we said yes. We went downstairs the next morning and opened the door to the sound of the Hallelujah chorus.
It was a smorgasbord, a literal banquet. Tables laden with platters of food stretched from one end of the room to the other. There was a table for roasted meat, a table for fruit, one for sliced vegetables, another for cheeses. There were deli cuts, breads, pastries, and eggs in at least five different ways. Water, still and sparkling, more types of juices than I can remember, sparkling wine, and at least three different kinds of beer. The spread was ridiculous. All for $2.50 a person.
Until the Chiang Mai Shangri-La that East Berlin Holiday Inn was the best breakfast, hotel or otherwise, I’d ever experienced. The Shangri-La had sushi, provided by a sushi chef. There were local and foreign delights and service like I’d never experienced. The pool was fabulous and, because the Chiang-Mai Shangri-La is a resort, classes were included. I took Pilates and SM had one on one Thai boxing classes. It was fantastic.
My birthday is in December. For the occasion SM set us up in a place a little more special than MD Boutique Hotel. He really tried to get us back in the Shangri-La but this time it was high season, and no deals were to be had. Instead that special place turned out to be the Smile Lanna and I think it might actually be a better deal than the Shangri-La.
Located just outside of the Old City and literally right across the street from LB’s main playground the location is good. I wouldn’t say it is great because, other than the park and two of the weekly night markets, there is not a lot in the tourist friendly category in the immediate vicinity. However, it is still close enough to the Old City that there is lots within walking distance.
The hotel itself is blissful. The staff are amazing. Just about everyone had a little gift or treat for LB, including a stuffed pink elephant. It straddles the area between resort and nice hotel by offering “things to do” on the grounds in the evenings and in the mornings. One day it was soap making, another it was beading jewelry. In the evening they might offer an outdoor spa treatment or street food tasting. It was something different for each day of the week.
The rooms were lovely. Prettier than the Shangri-La. Dark wood, comfortable beds, excellent lighting, and great bathrooms. We liked the place so much we actually came back to finish our stay and the second stay was almost as good as the first. Every room has either a balcony or a patio. The second room was a level up with even more space and a bathroom best described as FABULOUS. Featuring a large soaking tub and separate walk-in shower the back wall consisted of full-length sliding windows that opened up to a semiprivate courtyard.
The pool is an illustration of the dedication to detail present at the hotel. It’s pretty, with shallow areas on three of four sides. There is a playful spraying fountain. The main detail is that the pool was the only one of the four hotels in which we stayed this trip that was heated. I know what you are thinking. It’s the tropics! Why would you need a heated pool? Chiang Mai is in the mountains in the north of the country. During the winter dry season, the days are still warm, but the nights often get chilly enough to require a jacket. This means pools simply don’t warm up much during the day. The water is still bearable, but not comfortable. Here the pool was warmed just enough to dive right in. Inflatables and towels are available poolside and robes are placed in the rooms.
The breakfast at Smile Lanna was amazing. We made sure to make it every day we were there. Buffet style there was a mix of European, general Thai, and regional specialties. It was downright sumptuous. Even LB looked forward to it and she is not usually interested in solid food in the mornings. Because breakfast was so incredible, we were surprised that on our one foray into the restaurant we were met with such mediocre results. Hopefully, it was a one off.
The hotel and grounds are lovely with the hotel in a u shape around the pool and a wooden pavilion. The landscaping consists of local plants and a rice patty whose frogs serenade the guests in the evenings. The only downside is with all that standing water comes enough mosquitoes that even the ambitious frogs struggle to contain the numbers. Hanging out on the balcony or patio requires copious amounts of mosquito repellant and a mosquito coil. It’s worth it.
Even though I am not making one thin dime from this endorsement, I cannot recommend this hotel enough.