Which to choose · Chiang Mai
The Four Seasons or the Anantara, Chiang Mai?
The Four Seasons is a resort of 64 pavilions and 12 pool villas on 13 hectares in the Mae Rim valley, laid out like a Lanna village around a working rice farm and facing the Doi Suthep range, about 30 minutes' drive north of town. The Anantara, opened as The Chedi in 2005, is a Kerry Hill building on the Mae Ping in Chang Khlan, built around the old British Consulate and close to the Night Bazaar. One is the valley, with three MICHELIN Keys; the other is the city, on the river.
Mae Rim, Chiang Mai
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Opened 1995 · 64 rooms
Chang Khlan, Chiang Mai
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Opened 2005 · 52 rooms
In short
Choose the Four Seasons for pavilions over the rice terraces, two infinity pools and a temple-style spa in the Mae Rim valley; choose the Anantara to stay in town on the Mae Ping, with the Night Bazaar on foot and the airport about 15 minutes away.
A honeymoon
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
A Pool Villa of 403 sq m, surrounded by water, with its own pool, sala and sundeck.
A short stay in the city
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
The Night Bazaar is a few minutes' walk upriver and the airport about 15 minutes by car.
A family
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Family Residences of 244 sq m, a working rice farm with water buffalo, and two tennis courts.
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Choose Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai for
- Pavilions of 70 sq m, each with its own outdoor Thai sala, looking over the rice terraces or the gardens
- Two infinity-edge pools by the paddies, and the Wara Cheewa Spa, built like a northern Thai temple
- Rim Tai Kitchen, a cooking school in a Lanna teak house designed by Bill Bensley, and NORTH's open-air wood-fired grill
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Choose Anantara Chiang Mai Resort for
- The Night Bazaar a few minutes' walk upriver, the old city near, and the airport about 15 minutes away
- Afternoon tea on the Verandah of the 1921 House, the old consulate, and steak upstairs at The Service
- Lanna Riverfront Suites with an uninterrupted view of the Mae Ping, and river cruises from the resort's own pier
Side by side
- Where
- Mae Rim
- Chang Khlan
- Opened
- 1995
- 2005
- Last renovated
- –
- 2022
- Rooms
- 64
- 52, 34 of them suites
- Room sizes
- 70 sq m
- 50 sq m
- Restaurants and bars
- 5
- 6
- Pool
- –
- –
- Hot spring
- –
- –
- Awards
- 3 MICHELIN Keys
- –
- Design
- Chiang Mai Architects Collaborative (resort facilities and pavilions); Bunnag Architects (residences and spa); ABACUS Design Co. Ltd.
- Kerry Hill Architects
- Airport
- Chiang Mai International Airport is a 30-minute drive
- Chiang Mai International Airport is 4.5 km away, about 15 minutes
- Brand
- Four Seasons
- Anantara
- Booked through us
- Four Seasons Preferred Partner
- Our own perks
The rooms
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Which to book. The Lanna Riverfront Suites have an uninterrupted view of the Mae Ping from an extended balcony; the Lanna Pool Suite is the only one with its own heated plunge pool.
The first room
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Garden Pavilion
70 sq m · gardens view · private outdoor Thai sala
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Deluxe Garden View Room
50 sq m · garden view · balcony; rain shower and bathtub
The room to ask for
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
–
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Lanna Riverfront Suite
105 sq m · Mae Ping River, uninterrupted view · extended balcony
The largest suite
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Four-Bedroom Grand Residence Pool Villa
855 sq m · private residence
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Lanna Garden Terrace Suite
150 sq m · garden view · new category; extra courtyard garden
Dining
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
KHAO · pan-Thai restaurant
NORTH · open-air grill
Rim Tai Kitchen · northern Thai cooking school · Lanna teak house · dinner
Khao Bar · bar
Ratree Bar and Lounge · open-air bar and lounge
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
The Service at 1921 House · steakhouse and grill · upstairs at 1921 House
Brit Bar at 1921 House · bar · ground floor, 1921 House
The Verandah at 1921 House · verandah · 1921 House · afternoon tea
Bodhi Terrace · Thai restaurant · by the river · breakfast
Bubbles · champagne and cocktail bar · rooftop
JAO Ping River Cruise · river cruise · resort pier · afternoon tea
The spa and the pool
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Wara Cheewa Spa, built like a northern Thai temple, has seven treatment suites, some with soaking tubs on semi-open salas and five with herbal steam rooms; there are two infinity-edge pools with hot and cold whirlpools by the rice paddies, a gym with sauna and herbal steam rooms, a yoga barn and two tennis courts.
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Anantara Spa with Thai healing treatments and IV drips, a Thai medical clinic, steam and sauna (charged); muay Thai sessions and Spice Spoons cooking classes.
Where they are
The two stand 16.6 km apart, as the crow flies.
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
In the Mae Rim valley north of Chiang Mai, facing the Doi Suthep mountains
Downtown Chiang Mai
30 min by car
Chiang Mai Airport
30 min by car, 30 to 45 minutes; the resort arranges transfers
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
On the Mae Ping River in Chang Khlan, near the Night Bazaar and the old city
Chiang Mai station
10 min by car, the overnight train from Bangkok takes 10 to 12 hours
Chiang Mai Airport
15 min by car, private pick-up on request
The building
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Opened in April 1995 and rebranded Four Seasons in 2003, in a Lanna style drawing on Burmese, Indian and Chinese influences: the resort facilities and pavilions by Chiang Mai Architects Collaborative, the residences and spa by Bunnag Architects, the cooking school by Bensley Design Group Studios, and interiors by ABACUS Design. Forty full-time gardeners and the water buffalo keep the rice paddies, organic farm and gardens.
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Opened as The Chedi Chiang Mai, designed by Kerry Hill, who also renovated the former British Consulate at its heart; Minor Hotels took over its management, and the rebrand to Anantara was announced in November 2013. A 2022 refurbishment redid all 84 rooms and suites in the same modern tropical style with teak finishes, reworked the Brit Bar and added the Bubbles rooftop bar.
Booked through us
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
Four Seasons Preferred Partner
A one-category upgrade at check-in when available
Daily breakfast for two, in the restaurant or in the room
A US$100 credit each stay, US$200 in a suite
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort
Our own perks
A room upgrade on arrival where one is free
Breakfast for two each day
A hotel credit to spend on dining or the spa
Early check-in or late checkout when the hotel can give it
Still deciding? Tell us your dates and what matters most, and we will say which we would choose, and book it at the hotel’s own rate with the perks above.
Questions
About 30 minutes by car: it is on the Mae Rim–Samoeng Old Road in the valley north of the city. The airport is 30 to 45 minutes away, and the resort arranges transfers.
The Deluxe River View rooms, the Lanna River View Suites and the Lanna Riverfront Suites, which have the uninterrupted view; the Garden View rooms and suites face the gardens. The Lanna Pool Suite is the only one with its own heated plunge pool.
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