Ping Nakara Hotel and Spa

Rooms

Each of the rooms is individually decorated, with thoughtful use of natural materials and a distinctive style. All are spacious, and gleaming dark wood floors and quality teakwood furnishings reflect colonial traditions. Most have a private balcony.

Heavy cotton bathrobes, towels and slippers, plus the finest bed linens and duvets, are standard. The pillow menu is a nice touch, letting guests order the perfect combination for their perfect night’s sleep, from soft to firm, feather to soba, full-body pillows and even anti-snore versions. Bathrooms all have a shower and tub, and there are natural bath and beauty products from the Nakara Spa.

Each individual room is named after and trademarked by the artistic renderings of tropical flowers on the walls, hand-painted by local Lanna artists. A choice of kingsize or twin beds is available. Deluxe Rooms and Grand Deluxe Rooms are cheaper, but they're nice and big and the latter have balconies. Royal Grand Deluxe Rooms all have large balconies, plus sumptuous Jacuzzi baths for the indulgence of an in-room spa.

Guests get unlimited morning-fresh coffee or tea, internet access, and free cold drinking water. Other amenities include a safe, a CD/DVD player and a widescreen TV with satellite/cable. A central elevator serves all 3 floors of the hotel.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Fan
• Hairdryer
• Minibar
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

The Ping Nakara restaurant sits right next to the pool, a lovely setting for breakfast or dinner. The white marble expanse of the veranda coupled with the soothing bamboo that surrounds the blue water insulates you from the rest of the world.

The full gourmet breakfast (both buffet and a la carte) offers all the Western standards you would expect, from omelettes and waffles to fruits, meats, yoghurt and juices. But there is also a choice of unusual selections prepared daily from both Western and Asian recipes.

Outside of breakfast, the restaurant is available for all day dining until 11pm and has an all day menu of Thai dishes. The kitchen can prepare a range of gourmet meals at any time - the Kao Soi is their signature dish, and the Plaa Salmon fried with local herbs and spices is also popular as is the Ping Nakara platter of local sausages and meats. An authentic Thai dinner is also on offer. This consists of 4 curated set menus of traditional Thai dishes, and although the menu itself is a surprise, the recipes date back to the Teak Wallah period.

Special dinners and events are held frequently in the adjacent gardens; when I stayed over the American Thanksgiving holiday, a full traditional Thanksgiving buffet dinner was on offer. It was a delightful setting, with musicians playing in the background and beautiful white lights strung throughout the trees.

The hotel has a full bar and wine cellar, and free coffee and tea are available throughout the day. There's also a hidden cocktail lounge in the library, but we'll let you find that on your own...

Ping Nakara is walking distance from a plethora of restaurants, pubs and bars. Nearby eateries include Ping Pong, Whole Earth (vegetarian) and Jia Thong Heng (Chinese) - but take your pick of nearly any cuisine and you'll find it in Chiang Mai!

Features include:

• Bar
• Breakfast
• Dinner by arrangement
• Lunch by arrangement
• Room service
• Vegetarian options

Activities

• Relax with a massage or decadent all-body treatment at the hotel's Nakara Spa, which is run on Ayurvedic principles. The menu is extensive: choose from bespoke wellness packages, facial rejuvenation, body wraps, reflexology plus beauty salon standards; afterwards enjoy a custom-blended herbal tea
  
  
• Or simply unwind next to the pool in an environment that practically demands lounging
  
  
• Speed around town on a rented motorbike or bicycle; it’s an excellent way to explore the old city
  
  
• Visit local temples and wats such as Chedi Luang in the old city centre; the amazing teak Phan Tao; or Doi Suthep, perched on a mountain outside Chiang Mai
  
  
• Fly through the jungle on a thrilling zip-line adventure with Flight of the Gibbon
  
  
• Shop at the Sunday Walking Street Market or the Night Bazaar, both of which offer an extensive selection of handicrafts and pirated goods, as well as a street life experience with food and music
  
  
• Learn the fun and delicious art of Thai cooking at one of several culinary schools; one of the most renowned and popular is the Chiang Mai Cookery School
  
  
• Popular local tours include Bo Sang, the umbrella village, and San Kamhaeng, the silk making district - jump into a tuk-tuk, or get the tour company to provide transport for you
  
  
• Volunteer at a local animal non-profit centre; you can interact with elephants at the Elephant Nature Park Rescue, and Care for Dogs takes in homeless dogs from the streets and temples

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Cooking classes
• Cycling
• Historical sites
• Museums / galleries
• Nightlife
• Private guided tours
• Shopping / markets
• Wildlife

Kids

Children are welcome at Ping Nakara and it is a very comfortable place for families, although the place is much more geared toward quiet romance for couples. Baby cots are available, as are extra beds in most rooms.

Best for:

Children (4-12 years), Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

All rooms can hold an extra bed and baby cot. Deluxe Rooms have no balcony so are safer for babies and small children, and they can also interconnect with neighbouring Grand Deluxe King Rooms. Otherwise go for one of the Royal Grand Deluxe Rooms as they are the most spacious.

Cots Available

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Ping Nakara is just outside the old city centre, alongside the Ping River, in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

By Air
Chiang Mai International Airport can be reached by internal flight from Bangkok (1 hour); and from several other cities in and around Thailand (Phuket, Luang Prabang, Yangon, Kunming, Chittagong). There's also a daily hop from nearby Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son. You can also fly direct from Koh Samui (10 flights daily) and there's 1 daily flight to Chiang Mai from Sukhothai. Click on the links below for a list of airlines serving the airport.

From the Airport
You could get a taxi which should cost around THB150, or Ping Nakara can arrange a transfer, see Rates. The journey takes about 10-15 minutes.

By Train
A 'special express' sleeper train departs from Bangkok daily (dep 19.40) to Chiang Mai (arr. 07.55); but you will need to book a few days ahead (best done through your previous hotel). There are also daytime trains, including the 'Sprinter' which jogs out of Bangkok at 08.10 and hobbles into Chiang Mai around 18.50.

By Bus
The 12-hour buses from Bangkok are only for serious masochists.

By Car
If you want to hire a car locally (we don't recommend driving from Bangkok to Chiang Mai) then you can do so through the hotel, or see our car rental recommendations.

Detailed directions will be sent when you book through i-escape.com.

More on getting to Thailand and getting around