Review: Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Rohit

29/09/2022

After my overnight stay in Bangkok, I arrived at Chiang Mai the next day where I spent 4 nights at Marriott’s sole property in town, Le Meridien Chiang Mai.

Location

Le Meridien Chiang Mai is located about 3 Km’s from the Old City, Chiang Mai’s cultural heart and the main tourist Mecca. It is about 5 Km’s from the International Airport which equates to a 15 minute taxi ride. Traffic isn’t normally an issue in Chiang Mai from what I observed.

For my arrival, I had booked the hotel car for THB 450 just for the sake of convenience, but you can easily find a taxi for less than half that price.

Booking

Chiang Mai has no shortage of 5 star hotels. Besides Le Meridien, there’s Shangri-La, Anantara and many more. And with tourists yet to return in pre-covid numbers, hotel prices remain subdued. I paid about $125 per night for my stay which is a bargain for a property of this standard.

With cash rates being so low, redeeming points is poor value. But for whatever reason if you want to do that, a standard award night will cost you anywhere between 35,000 – 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points as you can see below.

Award Calendar, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

There is no science to when you should pay with points, but if you want to maximise returns, that is most likely when you redeem them for stays at some of Marriott’s most expensive and aspirational brands such as St Regis, The Edition, Ritz Carlton and so-on.

Arrival & Check-In

I arrived at the property at about 4 pm in the afternoon. As I alighted from the car, I noticed that part of the driveway was blocked due to the renovation work happening at the hotel.

Renovation Work at Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The porter took care of the luggage and escorted me to the reception. As I entered the lobby, I was impressed with it’s enormous size & grandeur.

Lobby, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

An adult and a baby elephant cast in chrome were seen guarding the main door.

Lobby Elephants, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The lobby occupies majority of the ground floor area and offers vast amounts of seating. The reception is to the left and the hotel’s all day coffee shop is on the right. I will come back to the coffee shop a little later in the review.

Lobby Seating, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Reception, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

As I stepped-up to one of the check-in desks, I was warmly greeted and welcomed to the hotel. The agent advised me that as a Titanium elite, my room had been upgraded to the level of the Executive Suite, which was nice.

I was then presented with a card and asked to make a selection of my welcome gift. The agent suggested that as I had access to the Executive Lounge for breakfast, it was best that I selected one of the other options.

Welcome Gift Card, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

In most instances where there is a lounge, I generally take the 1,000 points. But a relaxing head massage was too good to pass so I went with that.

I was also presented with 2 sets of welcome letter detailing the Marriott Bonvoy Titanium perks and benefits.

Welcome Letter, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The agent queried whether I would like the 4 pm late check out which I politely declined as I had an afternoon departure out of Chiang Mai. With that out of the way, I picked my room key and headed for the lifts and on to my suite on Level 19.

Le Meridien Chiang Mai Executive Suite

The hotel puts the size of its Executive Suite at 81 square metres. Cash rates are generally around $420 mark which is not too bad. As I pushed open the door and stepped-in, I found myself in the living room of the suite.

Living Room, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The general appearance was warm and inviting and the space was very well furnished. There was a large 3-seater sofa and a centre table with some in-room welcome amenity. Next to the sofa, you had a work desk and chair.

In-Room Welcome Amenity, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Living Room, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Opposite to this there was a small table and 2 chairs, perfect to sit down with a cuppa and gaze into the Chiang Mai skyline.

Living Room, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Living Room View, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

There was a small buffet on the other side of the room, it had several bottles of water, an electric kettle, an ice bucket and some leaflets about the service and various hotel amenities. The cabinet below contained a bar fridge and some snacks.

Executive Suite Buffet, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Executive Suite Mini Bar, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

There was a flatscreen TV on the half faux-wall, on either side of the wall you had sliding doors separating the living room from the bed room.

Living Room TV and the way to bedroom, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The bedroom was of decent size with a large King-size bed forming the centrepiece. On the bed, there was some towel-art on display in the form of 2 trumpeting elephants.

Bedroom, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Towel Art, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

I have always found Le Meridien beds to be very comfortable, particularly in Asia where the mattress tends to be slightly on the firmer side. The bed at Le Meridien Chiang Mai was no different.

A large sofa was positioned by the window and along the length of the wall. The windows offered awesome views of Chiang Mai City.

Bedroom Sofa, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Bedroom Views, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Across the bed on the other end, you had the bathroom. It was massive.

Bathroom, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The large vanity featured double sinks, a stack of towels, dental & personal hygiene kits and all sorts of toiletries.

Bathroom, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

To the right of the vanity, you had a step-up bathtub. The towel rack and bathrobe on the wall meant that everything you needed was within easy reach. There were yet more surrounding city and mountain views from the window next to the bath.

The shower was positioned between the vanity and the bath tub. It was equipped with dual shower heads, had good temperature control and consistent water pressure which made showering a pleasurable experience.

Shower, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Bath products were from thisworks, a brand I am not familiar with and do not recall seeing at other Marriott properties.

Bath Amenities, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

There was a walk-in-robe on the other side of the vanity, it had ample space to store luggage or if you just wanted to hang your clothes.

Walk-in-Robe, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Next to the storage area, you had the sole toilet. I found it a little unusual for the suite to not have a second toilet, but at least it was of good size.

Toilet, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Overall, I was very happy with the suite and it ticked most of the boxes in terms of what you expect.

Drinks & Dining

The hotel houses 2 restaurants and an all day coffee bar. The coffee bar named Latitude 18 is located on the lobby level. It is open daily between 6am – 11pm and serves tea, coffee, non-alcoholic beverages and some lite-bites.

Latitude 18, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The hotel’s main restaurant, Latest Recipe is also on the lobby level right next to Latitude 18. It is open everyday for all 3 meals, and since the hotels Executive Lounge on Level 4 is temporarily closed due to renovations, also hosts evening drinks and canapes for Marriott Bonvoy elites and guests staying in Club Rooms.

Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Breakfast service runs daily between 6am – 10:30am. As is usually the case these days, the breakfast menu was almost identical every day. That is fine if you are on a short 1-2 night stay, but gets very tedious for those staying longer.

Breakfast, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The menu was a combination of Western and Northern Thai cuisine with a particular emphasis on pork. There were pastries, noodles, curries, as well as Western staple of bacon, eggs etc. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Breakfast, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

There were hot food and Asian options,

Breakfast, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

plus a live egg station where you could get them cooked any style. Then you had another buffet station with salads, cheese and cold cuts. Cold beverages included a variety of juices, meanwhile tea and coffee were delivered to your table.

Breakfast, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

I had a veggie Omlette and noodles on one morning,

My Breakfast, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

veggie frittata, roast pumpkins and waffles on another morning.

My Breakfast, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The food wasn’t bad, but nothing really stood out.

Come evening time, Latest Recipe transformed into an Executive Lounge (sort of) with slightly dimmed lighting and a much more cosy set-up.

Cocktail Hour Spread, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Even though the evening service was billed as Cocktail Hour, the spread was extensive. There were cheese & crackers, rice and curries and numerous desserts.

Cocktail Hour Spread, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

The staff came around to get the drinks order, there was a large number of alcoholic and non alcoholic options which were delivered to the table. I had cheese and crackers on one evening and the Green Prawn Curry with rice on another.

Cocktail Hour Treat, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

If Italian fine dining is something you value, you can head to hotel’s specialist Italian restaurant called Favola. Located on Level 2, it is open nightly for dinner. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get around to checking it out while it was open, so I only managed a couple of photos from outside.

Favola, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

If I had to sum things up, I would say that the Happy Hour Drinks & Canapes exceeded my expectations whereas the breakfast experience left me slightly underwhelmed. The good news is that it wouldn’t take much to improve things, creating some level of variation by introducing a rotating menu would go a long way in turning things around.

Other Amenities

The hotel has a well equipped fitness centre on Level 4. While the centre itself is open 24/7, there is a trainer at hand between 6am – 10pm daily. Here you will find all kinds of cardio and weight machines.

Fitness Centre, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Although the fitness centre is air-conditioned, working out can be thirsty work. So you will be pleased to know that there is a water fountain and a cooler with energy drinks to quench your thirst and replenish the body salt.

Fitness Centre, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Ordinarily, the hotel runs a spa service on Level 4. Due to the ongoing renovations however, a guest room on Level 19 has been converted into a make-shift spa room. This is where I had my head massage I had selected as my welcome gift.

Temporary Spa Room, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

Massage Table, Le Meridien Chiang Mai

I am not normally a spa person, but the massage here was so relaxing that I might just be open to more of similar experiences in future.

Lastly, at the time of my stay the swimming pool was not operational due to ongoing work. I was informed by the staff that it may be another 6 months before it reopens, until then the hotel has made arrangements with nearby Anantara & Shangri-La hotels allowing guests to access their pool. Transportation is available.

In Conclusion

I had a fantastic time at Le Meridien Chiang Mai and will return to the property in a heartbeat. While the hotel is flush with all sorts of mod-cons, what truly elevates the guest experience to the next level is it’s staff. Every person I saw or interacted during my time went above and beyond the call of duty.

From the porter who met me at arrival, to the front-office staff who checked me in, to the restaurant staff who feted and fussed over me like I was family, to the ever smiling doormen who opened the door as I went in and out of the hotel, everyone of them discharged highest levels of service.

The employees of Le Meridien Chiang Mai are its assets, they make the hotel what it is. I hope that the hotel and wider Marriott Group are congnizant of how lucky they are to have such committed people working for them.

To conclude, if you ever plan to travel to Chiang Mai and are looking for somewhere to stay, put Le Meridien Chiang Mai at the top of your list.

Have you stayed at Le Meridien Chiang Mai? Leave a comment below.

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