Chiang Mai Hotels, stay for a day or stay to play

Chiang Mai or Chieng Mai?

Long long time ago and far far away in one of the most beautiful spots on this earth stood the Kingdom of Lanna, with its vast sprawling lands of fields of rice to the south and an undulating green mountain range to the north; this Kingdom quite separate from the rest of Siam (Thailand) grew with its own self sufficiency into a very prosperous area in not only financial terms but also spiritual and religious terms. Its King, King Mengrai founded the Kingdom in 1296 and from there was born its Capital City Chiang Mai soon after. Chiang Mai meaning new City with its different customs, food culture and its language even today considers itself apart from the rest of the country, indeed it wasn’t until 1774 after centuries of wars and struggles with northern and southern neighbours that Lanna and Chiang Mai finally fell to the hands of the Siamese and thus finally became part of Thailand. Chiang Mai or the sometimes spelt Chieng Mai is now the second largest city in Thailand. What uniquely separates this province from the rest of the country’s famed hotel resorts is that it is landlocked, giving a chance for tourists and travellers alike to enjoy another side of Thailand; one which has culture over beach, history over sea and heritage over sand. The city, thanks to its natural floral beauty is also known as ‘Rose of the North’ and delicately combines thousands of years of history with a new modernism. This allows a blending of accessible infrastructure with aged cultural heritage making it a perfect choice for tourism, study and therapeutic retreat. Hotel accommodation in the city is plentiful and ranges from the standard type to luxury deluxe Dusit Thani type. Thanks to hotels like these, it’s thousands of yearly overseas visitors can enjoy a taste of the East blended with a hotel class western modernization of serenity, beauty, tranquillity and comfort.

Things to do in Chiang Mai

Apart from the obvious shopping, dining and perusing. Chiang Mai has lots to offer in the way of recreation. Indeed some visitors are here for the festivals. Loi Kratong and Songkran are two of the most famous ones, and hotels can be very full. Therapeutic seminars and retreats are also very popular, the Worldwide Holistic Healing Seminar in Chiang Mai is held here, and this year its participants stayed at one of the best five star hotels in Chiang Mai. Sporting holidays here are also very popular, set in conjunction with hotels and resorts, sports such as golfing have become retreats for not only the good or amateur but also for professional golfers aiming to tee-up their skills. Golfing package tours don’t get more exotic than this. Of course we mustn’t forget the walks and hiking in natural surroundings such as botanical or flower gardens, and lest we forget; Chiang Mai has thousands of temples for the historically and spiritually minded. Hotel accommodation couldn’t be better, the Dusit Thani has been established in Chiang Mai for years and it goes without saying that their service here is undoubtedly second to none.