After spending two weeks travelling around the mountainous hill tribe villages in northern Thailand, it was strange to be back at sea level and in a city without hills. In Chiang Mai we stayed at the “Bodhi Serene”:https://bodhiserene.com/ which had a central location in the old town, with bars and restaurants nearby, and a plethora of Thai massage parlours.
Check in was simple and we were shown to room 113 on the ground floor (all the rooms are set around an internal court yard). Everything was large: the bed, TV (with BBC World News), and hanging space and shelving. There were a couple of wicker chairs and coffee table for relaxing and a practical dark wood polished floor. All our needs were catered for with a mini bar, complimentary water, tea and coffee making facilities and a safe. We were told not to dry wet clothes in the room, but a clothes drier on our little balcony was useful. Wi-Fi was complimentary and available everywhere.
The bathroom had an enclosed shower, loo, basin and a huge circular whirlpool bath which looked impressive but proved difficult to get in and out of. There was a hair dryer, good lighting and complimentary toiletries.
A first-floor bar and swimming pool caught the late evening sun and had plenty of loungers but there was too much we wanted to see, and as we were heading for the beach next, we didn’t use the pool.
Breakfast was served on the ground floor along a covered walkway overlooking the central ornamental gardens with waterfalls. There was quite a feast with two types of yoghurt in big bowls, muesli and other cereals, three juices, hot Asian dishes and then an egg chef who had bacon and would cook pancakes. There was also a salad section with treats like salami and smoked salmon wrapped around asparagus and to finish, were toast and cakes.
Because of the central location, and the fact we’d been eating in at our previous hotels, we preferred to eat out.
The hotel also runs a complimentary taxi to the night market from which you can walk back from. All in all this was a good place to ease ourselves from a lot of trekking towards relaxation at the beach.
