20 Feb2017
Where to stay in Chiang Mai – luxury hotel The Chiang Mai Riverside
After our detox week at Chivasuka with dad, we split ways, dad stayed in the Chiang Mai city centre and I met up with my friend Milan, also a travel blogger from Slovakia. Our first days we stayed at The Chiang Mai Riverside hotel which is located a couple of kilometres South of the city centre.
It was a perfect place for relax and also for work, as that was the reason why we reunited with Milan. We were preparing a new ebook, workshops and presentations. Our beautiful suite and quiet swimming pool were great places for all that work; also for recording some videos.
I recommend you to stay at The Chiang Mai Riverside:
- if you like your peace and quiet
- if you don’t need to be in the middle of everything (there’s almost nothing to do right around the hotel, not many restaurants and shops)
- if you want to regain energy
- if you prefer to have your own kitchen
- if you like to get pampered without leaving your suite
- if you like modern elegant design
What I liked at the luxury hotel The Chiang Mai Riverside:
- the hotel won some awards since 2014 in Thailand and South East Asia
- our elegant Vorra-Teera suite – It was 60 square metres big! It was like a small apartment with a bathroom, bedroom, balcony, living room and even a kitchen with dining table. The whole suite was decorated mostly in black and white and different shades of grey. I’d call it 50 shades of grey :)
- extra big double bed in the bedroom – and I had it all to myself only. What a luxury! The bed was super comfortable and the blankets and pillows as well. Much appreciated.
- really pretty chandelier above the table in the kitchen
- good wifi – worked perfectly fine in our suite and also by the swimming pool so I could get some work done also in between the swimming
- you can order breakfast to your suite – in-room breakfast is always a good idea. I am a super slow eater so eating in my room while being able to get some work done in the meantime does not hurt at all. I could have breakfast just in a bathrobe after the shower and work on my travel blog while eating. There’s 4 different breakfast options you can choose from, out of which one is vegetarian. If you ask for soy milk instead of the yoghurt, no cheese on the eggplant and you won’t eat the salty pancake, the dish will be vegan. That’s what I was doing while there :) Another option is to eat the same breakfast in the Vorra Bistro restaurant downstairs.
- awesome swimming pool with salt water – the bigger one is good for swimming and smaller one for kids or just chilling. I loved relaxing on the sunbed there. What a lovely spot for videos and photos the pool was!
- The Vorra Bistro – the hotel restaurant offers gourmet food from appetizers, salads, soups, pasta to main dishes and desserts. We tasted a couple of dishes and they were all super yummy. The quality of food is very high, everything tastes fresh and looks delicious. They also have some vegetarian dishes to choose from, and some of them are vegan or can be made vegan. The prices are a bit expensive for Thailand, but very similar to Europe, or even cheaper (e.g. more or less equal to Bratislava prices) which means very affordable. Mango sticky rice, aubergine veggie dish, and mushroom with truffle soup were all delicious.
- organic ingredients are used in the Vorra Bistro. I am very much against chemicals so I always appreciate if restaurants make dishes from organic ingredients. Thumbs up!
- sunbeds and umbrellas – some sunbeds are in the shallow water at the entrance to the swimming pool which is so cool
- smaller gym is located on the main floor
- unlimited free water in the room
- minibar – if you need some extra drinks or dried fruit snacks, you can grab some from the in-room minibar and pay for them later
- the name of the hotel Riverside gives you an idea that the hotel is really situated by the Ping river. And that’s true, just a few metres from the swimming pool you can have a look at the river. You can also enjoy your meals at the Vorra Bistro with the river views.
- very quiet place – if you want to run from the hustle and bustle of the busy Chiang Mai, the The Chiang Mai Riverside hotel might be your choice. There’s not much happening around.
- free shuttle to the city centre – hotel offers 3 shuttles to the city centre and back so check the reception for the timetable. As the hotel is located a few km from the city centre, it’s a plus point to get a free ride there.
What I was not so happy with:
- the location is not good for walking – I love to go on daily walks but the hotel is located on a busy road where you cannot really walk
- not all the staff members speak English very well so there were some misunderstandings and the service was not 100% great until we completely understood each other
For more information about the hotel, check out The Chiang Mai Riverside website. Many thanks for making our stay pleasant.
