Chiang Mai in the North of Thailand has some great value guest friendly hotels. Unfortunately, there are many different areas to stay in the city so it’s hard at first to choose the best ones. This is a list of my personal favourites, I’ve stayed in most of these and would recommend them to anyone.
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NB. All the hotels below are ‘guest friendly’ meaning there are no girl joiner fees when you stay alone. Make sure you check 2 in the people staying in the room when booking.
Thapae Gate, ideal to stay near here on your first visit as you’ll be within walking distance of most places.
Location is always the number one thing I look for when booking hotels. In Chiang Mai it is essential to be within walking distance of Loi Kroh bar street area, this is because everything is located around this area and you won’t be 100% reliant on tuk tuks.
Prices are from low to high and are quoted in $ Dollars for clarity.
At a glance:
Wangburapa from $21
Montha from $21.50
Imm Thapae from $27
Pornping Tower from $28 [WILD CARD]
Raming Lodge from $41
Suriwongse from $48.50
Sirilanna from $92
Anantara Resort from $196
Map showing the Bkk112 recommended hotels, along with some bars and important locations.
The Wangburapa Grand hotel is a great choice for location and value for money.
A 3-Star, guest friendly hotel with 78 Rooms.
Room rates start from around $21
Cheaper rooms are small and basic, upgraded rooms are more spacious and well appointed rooms. Free WIFI, outdoor swimming pool and restaurant onsite.
Overall: I stayed here when I visited Chiang Mai, the hotel is in a fantastic location just within the old city and many of the local attractions are within walking distance. The popular Mad Dog bar is a stones throw away.
I really enjoyed my stay at the Wangburapa hotel, the location is great and there are tons of nice restaurants and quaint little bars in the alleys nearby in the Old Town. I was worried initially after reading negative reviews about hard beds as I’m not partial to those normally. My bed was hard but it was still comfy and weirdly kind of corrected my bad back. I had the best night sleep here on my whole Chiang Mai trip and was sad to leave!
The staff were fine, one helped me with directions to find a nearby restaurant and they even had an old fashioned lobby boy which was a nice touch.
Tips: Book direct through this agoda link for the best prices (I was quoted just 738 baht for a night in June 2017).
Do consider booking a Deluxe room, they are very spacious and the ones at the front have excellent views of the moat.
Wangburapa Grand hotel is close to the Old City moat so you get nice views walking to and from the hotel.
A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 35 rooms.
Room rates start from around $21.50
Located on a side alley off Loi Kroh road, close to the Night Bazaar with the Old City within walking distance. Small, clean rooms with a fridge and free WIFI . Complimentary tea, coffee and biscuits in the lobby.
Overall: A spotlessly clean hotel room in a great location for just over $20? It this is within your budget then look no further. Very good Tripadvisor reviews with an average of 4 1/2 stars. Very good service. Confirmed to be guest friendly too.
Tips: Book direct through this agoda link for the best prices (I was quoted 750 baht for a night in June 2017 which was excellent value)
A bar on Loi Kroh street not far from Montha hotel with some guys doing a bit of afternoon boozing
A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 106 rooms.
Room rates start from around $27
Clean, well appointed rooms in this modern, but characterless hotel. Good helpful service from the front desk. Free WIFI, and a 20% discount on any food purchased at the McDonalds’s at the front is a great bonus for all Imm hotel guests (just show your room card).
Overall: The very best location for a newbie arriving in Chiang Mai. It’s directly opposite Thapae Gate and most of the city attractions are within walking distance. Solid but unspectacular, I stayed here on my Chiang Mai trip and wouldn’t hesitate to book again as the location is close by the attractions of the old city with the Loi Kroh girlie bar street being just a short walk away.
Tips: Book direct through this agoda link for the best prices (I was quoted 945 baht for a night in May 2017 which was excellent value).
There is no need to book a deluxe room as the extra space you get is wasted.
This hotel often is fully booked (which says a lot) so try to book well in advance to avoid disappointment.
It’s best to request a room not on the ground floor as there is sometimes early morning noise from the breakfast area.
My Deluxe room at the imm Thapae hotel. Clean, good value in a great location.
Pornping Tower Hotel [WILD CARD]
A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 325 rooms.
Room rates start from around $28
An old 20 story Chiang Mai hotel that is well located, just off Loi Kroh road and near the night bazaar. Naturally, some of the upper floors have outstanding views over the city. Rooms are shabby at best, but a full refurbishment is currently taking place (time of writing Feb 2017) so it may yet rekindle it’s former glory.
Overall: Pornping is a classic old Asian hotel that has descended into a nostalgia rich oasis. If you want a truly unforgettable hotel experience then stay here. It will be memorable whatever happens 🙂
Tips: Book direct through this agoda link (I was quoted 983 baht for a room in May 2017).
Request a high floor when booking / checking in.
Foxy Lady, the gogo bar with the best looking girls in Chiang Mai is just a short stroll from Pornping Tower hotel.
A 3-star, guest friendly hotel with 76 rooms.
Room rates start from around $41 a night.
A very well located hotel directly on Loi Kroh road (the street with most of Chiang Mai’s Girlie bars). Rooms are very spacious, the smallest is huge at 32 m sq. Rooms are very clean and well appointed. Onsite Swimming pool and free in room WIFI.
Overall: Probably the best hotel location if you’re only visiting Chiang Mai to drink in the bars (like I was). I tried to stay here but it was fully booked when I was visiting which speaks volumes. The excellent ‘Rock Me Burgers & Bar’ restaurant is right here at the front here and highly recommended (I ate there twice on my Chiang Mai trip).
Tips: Book direct through this agoda link for the best room rates (I was quoted 1424 baht for a room in July 2017 with is good value for a 4 star Chiang Mai hotel)
‘Rock Me Burgers & Bar’ restaurant at the front of Raming Lodge, one of Chiang Mai’s best places for burgers.
A 4-star, guest friendly hotel with 120 rooms.
Room rates start from around $48.50
30 sq m rooms, spotlessly clean and well appointed. Swimming pool, fitness center and the Feung Fah restaurant attached is highly rated. Excellent location directly on Loi Kroh road, close to the night bazaar and the Chiang Mai Entertainment Centre. Two 7-Elevens are close by, as is a Starbucks, McDonald’s, burger king and Subway (first World convenience virtually on your doorstep).
Overall: I stayed here on my Chiang Mai trip and when checking in they only had a twin room to offer as the hotel was full. So I waited on a king size bed room and they kindly upgraded me from a Superior room to a Deluxe King Bed room that was a massive 46 sq m. The service here was first class and they really did go out of their way to make my stay more comfortable. I wouldn’t hesitate to book in here again.
Tips: Book direct through this agoda link for the best room rates (I was quoted 1680 baht for a night in June 2017 which was good value).
The 46 sq m premium deluxe room I stayed in at Suriwongse hotel.
A 4-star, guest friendly hotel with 21 rooms.
Room rates start from around $92
Located in the Old City, within walking distance of all the main restaurants and bars. Rooms are large here and full of character, spotlessly clean and well appointed. The service here is equal to a 5-star hotel plus it has an onsite swimming pool.
Overall: One of the best Lanna style boutique hotels in Chiang Mai, with glowing reviews all round. Definitely a great place to stay and if you’re getting shacked up with a nice lady and have the money this place is hard to beat 😉
Tips: Book direct through this agoda link for the best room rates (I was quoted 3211 baht for a night in June 2017)
A 5-star, guest friendly hotel with 84 rooms.
Room rates start from around $196.
Located on the Ping river, this hotel needs no introduction and is basically the best hotel in Chiang Mai.
Overall: Anantara Resort is an amazing 5-star hotel in a great location. All the rich guys stay here is what the locals say. Watch the instant reaction from a Loi Kroh bargirl when you tell here you’re staying here, it would be worth it just to see her face 🙂
Quotes from the many glowing online reviews include ‘I wish I could live there’ and ‘best hotel in the World.’
Tips: Book direct through this agoda link for the best room rates (I was quoted 6871 baht for a night in September 2017).
As with most 5-star hotels, booking well in advance grants you the better room rates.
The Chiang Mai Entertainment Complex on Loi Kroh street. Muay Thai boxing shows from 9-11pm, and the highest concentration of girlie bars in Chiang Mai.
Thank you for reading this article. I would appreciate your comments or feedback and I plan to revise and improve this list to keep it as up to date as possible.
If you are planning to stay in Pattaya or Bangkok then make sure you don’t book without reading these posts first:
Pattaya’s best hotels – $20-40 a night
Where to stay on Soi 11 – Nightclub street
Cheap Bangkok hotels under $30
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(Prices in $ Dollars were taken in February 2017. Hotel prices are based on booking 2 months in advance, if you book a hotel closer to the date you stay then the price might be higher)