Thailand - Ratchamankha Chiangmai
|
Ratchamankha Chiangmai
6 Rachamankha 9, Amphur Meuang, Chiang Mai 50200
Hotel Zone: Downtown Chiangmai
Hotel Destination: Chiang Mai, Thailand
    
|
Chiang Mai Accommodations:
|
Ratchamankha Chiangmai Details
LOCATION: The Rachamankha opened in May 2004 as the newest luxury resort right in the heart of Chiang Mai's old city. It combines a quiet location with easy access to the most famous temples and tourist attractions. Driving time from Chiang Mai Airport is approximately 15 minutes.
ACCOMMODATION: The design of the hotel is taken from the viharn (chapel) of one Thailand's most beautiful old temples, Wat Phrathat Lampang Luang in Lampang Province, which is why the hotel looks and feels like a temple. The hotel is planned according to ancient principles of Chinese architecture because the architect and interior designer want the hotel to reflect the Chinese roots of Thai architecture. The interior design is based on northern Thai Lanna culture, which is a blend of Chinese, Dai, Laotian, Lua, and Burmese cultures. This accounts for why the hotel is full of Chinese antiques and exemplifies the art and architectural features of all of these cultures. Altogether, the hotel is a cultural masterpiece one of the uppermost aims of creating the Rrachamankha was to enable tourists to experience - feel and touch - genuine Lanna culture, even though it will take many years to recoup the enormous cost of construction and decoration. No expense has been spared to create this experience, and indeed, many items of Lanna furniture and many of the decorative pieces of Lanna culture were bought in Burmes, Lao and China.
When you arrive, you enter the first courtyard, which is guarded by two Ming dynasty lions. In front of you there is a gorgeous and very rare jip tree, which is over 100 years old, and whose red flowers hang down to the ground. The surface of the courtyard is made from handmade earthen bricks. Reception is the room on your left, and is unlike any other Reception area that you will have encountered. The doors are beautifully carved in Lanna style, a large cloth hangs from the wall telling a story from the Vessantra Jakata, and Chinese antiquities decorate the room. Even the Reception table is an antique.
The main courtyard adjoins the first courtyard and is split in two by a large open-air lounge, which has a tall temple style roof and red wooden pillars. It is decorated tastefully with Chinese antiquities, the doors are beautifully carves, and furniture is rattan and classic Chinese, Chinese porcelain lamps and an antique chandelier in the centre provide self lighting, while 12 rare nineteenth century paintings depiction scenes from the Vessantra Jakata fable adorn the walls.
There are 18 Superior rooms, 4 Deluxe rooms, and 1 Two-Bedroom suite. Each guest room is slightly different because the furniture is antique, and each piece is different. The door is an old Lanna style door with an ornate door handle and wooden bolts. The window blind is made from bamboo, and reeds are used to make the colorful floor matting.
IN-ROOM FACILITIES: The 24 rooms are grouped around two airy courtyards (much like the sister hotel Tamarind Village). The rooms are decorated in light colors contrasted with dark lacquered teak and rosewood furniture. Rooms are equipped with:
- Satellite TV
- Telephone
- Mini bar
- Hairdryer
- Radio-CD
- Shower or Bathtub
DINNING & ENTERTAINMENT: Next to the restaurant there is a small, shady courtyard where guests can dine out side while listening to old northern Thai music. The restaurant is illuminated by large Lanna lanterns, and beautifully decorated with nineteenth century paintings that describe part of the life of Lord Buddha on a large cloth that hangs down from the ceiling. Antique Chinese tables and Ming Dynasty plates are placed tastefully along the sides of the restaurant. The focus of the cuisine is Thai, but there is also a large selection of fusion dishes that combine food, sauces, and flavorings from Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and Europe.
The Bar is situated next to the restaurant and is decorated with a very rare Chinese antique liqueur screen, and lithographs by Henry Moore, Robert Mother well, and other early twentieth century painters. The screen shows in gold paint the whole process of tea production from the bust to the ships exporting the packaged tea leaves.
Above the restaurant is the Gallery, shine serves to educate guests about Lanna culture, and also to provide a meeting room. It is filled with silverware, lacquer ware, hill tribe jewellery, a sword collection, an eighteenth century Buddha image, and also with the post, plates, etc., that were discovered when the hotel site was excavated.
HOTEL FACILITIES: There is also a 20-metre swimming pool, which is lined with sun beds and bougainvillea flowers. The airy Pool Bar offers snacks and drinks, while the open-air room above provides a massage service.
The hotel also boasts a library with an internet room; the only hotel in the north to provide this.
The service concept is based on the principle of creating a memorable experience for all guests, and supports the unforgettable feeling of peace and homeliness created by the hotel's architecture and design. Overall, a stay at the Rachamankha is unique.
