De Naga Hotel Chiang Mai

Rooms

The rooms, accessed from walkways around the courtyard, are designed in modern Asian style with a twist. Mirror-shard mosaics, silk drapes and scatter cushions in blazing primary colours provide the Thai effect, and the Lanna influence takes the form of dark wood veneer, tapered lines and silk lanterns. Bathrooms are large and luxurious.

Deluxe rooms offer all basic amenities, including air-con, 26" LCD TV and DVD player, and bathrobes, hairdryers and shower cubicles in the bathroom. The simple minibar – water, beer and soft drinks – is free; you also get tea- and coffee-making facilities.

The larger Premier Deluxe rooms have a banquette in the window where you can relax with a book. Some, on upper floors, offer a view of the hills and the towering clouds that build up over them in the wet season. The slightly bigger ones in the corners have a bathtub rather than shower cubicle. In our opinion, these are the best value rooms.

There are several connecting rooms in those two categories, in case you’re semi-estranged from the wife or have well-behaved children. Grand Deluxe rooms have a walk-in dressing room and, if you must, space for an extra bed.

The Naga Suite measures 72m², its piece de resistance being a rather startling art piece at the head of the bed based on the mythical snake that inspired the hotel’s name and design quirks.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Minibar/fridge

Eating

For breakfast, taken in the restaurant between 6.30-10.30am, the buffet offers a few pre-cooked warm Asian and European dishes, which are better enjoyed earlier in the shift since standing around is no healthier for food than people. There’s a good choice of cereals and tasty homemade jam. Juices are freshly squeezed.

The contemporary Thai-styled Naga restaurant features the ubiquitous snake motif on its warm yellow walls and is also open for lunch and dinner, offering Mediterranean cuisine with an Asian twist. Signature dishes include spinach and quail egg ravioli with black truffles, duck leg confit glazed with kumquat gastrique, roasted snow fish with semi-dried tomato relish, and tortino al cioccolato.

Beside the entrance is the attractively designed Thai/international restaurant, Café de Naga, with some seating among tropical vegetation as well as indoors in air-conditioned comfort. It serves fresh baked items, dishes such as Chiang Mai curry noodles (Khao Soy), Vietnamese spring rolls, roasted duck curry and mango sweet sticky rice, as well as freshly brewed coffee, homemade juices and ice creams. It also has a private gallery and collection of Lanna arts and antiques. European-trained executive chef Suzie Nilklad (who also a stint at the Alain Ducasse Centre) is the creative proprietor of both establishments.

Do also check out the Lobby Bar, which extends through to the poolside terrace, for cocktails and casual drinks.

A wealth of other eating options awaits just outside the gate, including Girasole, and a good, absurdly cheap Italian, Pizzeria Da Roberto, right next door, run by a bonafide Mediterranean.

Features include:

• Minibar/fridge
• Restaurant
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

By Day


• Relax on loungers beside the (tiny) spa pool, then let its powerful jets massage the aches from your tired bones
  
  
• Explore the temples and maze of little streets of the old town, right at your doorstep, or simply lose yourself in the sleepy streets and peer into doorways as you pass. The city is a great urban sprawl around an easily navigable axis of charm
  
  
• Thai massage and cookery courses – There’s no better place in the country to learn these two arts, with a plethora of classes and schools vying for your custom
  
  
• Trekking, rafting and hill-tribe tours – The province is the epicentre of outdoor adventures, though you should choose your operator carefully and know that the region is far from unspoilt. We’ve always fancied the Flight of the Gibbon tour, 2 km of ziplines and hanging bridges in the vertiginous jungle canopies - the front desk can assist with excursions and onward travel booking services
  
  
• Rent a scooter (from one of the many shops near by) - In the direction of the hills, you’ll soon reach Doi Suthep, the city’s own temple mountain, with its processional staircase, gold-painted temples and chedis, and glorious views. (The cable car is best avoided)
  
  At Night
  
  
• Visit the Night Bazaar, actually an evening bazaar that still offers the best selection of handicrafts, trinkets and tat among the mushrooming venues. It’s a 10-15-minute walk down the road across the moat
  
  
• Take a tuk-tuk to the Ping River, with its romantic waterfront bars and restaurants
  
  
• Play golf at one of these clubs: Royal Chiang Mai, Maejo Chiang Mai or Gassan Lake
  
  
• Have a drink in one of the beer bars along the moat at Tha Pae Gate: the area preserves the homely, fairy-lit sleaze of a bygone traveller era with peeling formica and ancient beer coasters

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Cooking classes
• Cycling
• Golf
• Nightlife
• Shopping / markets

Kids

Management don't discourage families but there are no specific facilities for children. However, they can provide cots and extra beds on request. It is possible to create interconnecting rooms in the Deluxe & Premier Deluxe categories only, available upon request and subject to availability. Extra beds are only available in the Grand Deluxe Rooms. Children under 12 can share a room with parents free of charge if sleeping in parents' bed and not eating breakfast. Or they can opt for an extra bed at an extra cost.

Family friendly accommodation:

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

De Naga Hotel Chiang Mai is across from Tha Pae Gate in the Old City, in the heart of the action with all sights and attractions in close proximity. Chiang Mai is in northern Thailand.

By Air
Chiang Mai (3km) can be reached by an internal flight with from Bangkok (1 hour) and from several other cities in and around Thailand (Phuket, Luang Prabang, Yangon, Kunming, Chittagong). They also do a daily hop to nearby Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son (1/2 hour). Click on the links below for a list of airlines.

From the Airport
De Naga Hotel can arrange a transfer - see Rates - or you can take an airport taxi or metered taxi.

By Train
If you really enjoy train journeys, and/or you want to save money, there is a handy 'special express' sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (approx. 12 hrs); but you will need to book a few days ahead (best done through your previous hotel). There are also daytime trains, including the 'Sprinter' from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (approx.11 hrs).

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com

More on getting to Thailand (international flights) and getting around