There are changes brewing at the most sumptuous hotel in Chiang Mai. The Dhara Dhevi, managed by the Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group since it opened in December 2004, is looking for a new operator. A local Thai newspaper has the scoop: As of August 31, 2013, the luxury hotel will part ways with Mandarin Oriental.
The Dhara Dhevi has received countless accolades for its service standards and amenities (tennis courts, free bikes, a cooking school, a top-notch spa, fine cuisine, even an open-air shopping village).
Inspired by the Lanna period, which lasted from the mid-13th century until the mid-16th century, the hotel is also architecturally magnificent. As described by Chiang Mai's City News: "It took [designer Rachen] Inthawong's team two and half years, and a lot of travelling studying many of Thailand’s most renowned architectural sights, before they drew plans for the Chiang Mai resort. Replete with numerous, moats, fortified walls, ponds, beautifully landscaped gardens and even a Buddhist temple, it was the objective of the designer to transport the guest back to times past, albeit a past lived by Lanna royalty.”
For more information about the hotel, visit www.mandarinoriental.com/chiangmai