One of the things about life on the road is that we are constantly orienting yourself to our new, temporary home. This isn’t a bad thing, it can just be a challenge at times. We’ll often spend some frustrating minutes in a new place figuring out how to get hot water in the shower, determining why the TV won’t turn on, or searching for just the right plate or pot in the kitchen. It would be so much easier if we always had someone on hand to show us the ropes, or even better, to just to do stuff for us. Maybe like, a butler?
Then, during a stay in Thailand, we were invited to visit The Chiang Mai Riverside, a new residential hotel in Chiang Mai, and informed that among the amenities offered during our stay would be, you guessed it: a butler! We jumped at the chance to live the good life, if only for a couple of nights. And, we were not disappointed.
The hotel is located outside of the city, away from the downtown area and literally on the banks of the Ping river, in a newer neighborhood where the shops focus on organic food and sustainable products. It turns out that there are a number of condos and residences in Chiang Mai named “Riverside’, so if you’re taking a taxi or Songtau to the residence, make sure you have the address. Or, even better, utilize their complimentary pickup/dropoff service.

One of the bedrooms
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We were warmly greeted by the staff when we arrived, and shown to our suite, which we were sharing with our friends Megs and Tom from TravelFreedomNetwork. There was obviously going to be plenty of room for the four of us. They gave us a quick orientation of the room, where things were located, including how to work the Apple TV. They also scheduled breakfast, which was included and would be delivered to our room. Since we were planning on cooking our own dinner the first night, they also informed us that we didn’t need to worry about the dishes or cleanup — the butler would take care of all the details. I could definitely get used to this.
The hotel, as you can see from the pictures, was carefully decorated in a clean, modern style, with lots of nice details. Interestingly, the owners of the hotel also own a furniture store where you can purchase anything from the rooms to decorate your own home. They told us that they’ve had guests who’ve asked to recreate the entire look of one of the rooms in the hotel, down to the most minute detail, and were able to oblige. That beats hiring an interior designer!
The butler-style breakfast was a new experience for us – we were provided with a menu, and picked our choices to be served at our own table in our own dining room. Pretty special.

So many choices…

Taste of Lanna Breakfast

The “Provence Experience” breakfast
Unfortunately, our stay coincided with a rare cold, rainy spell in Chiang Mai, so we weren’t able to check out the pool beyond peering at it from our window. It looked inviting even in the rain. The staff also told us the plans are underway for adding a poolside cafe and bar, which will be a nice touch.
The Riverside offers a number of different-sized suites, all with full kitchens and amenities. We were able to check out a couple of the other rooms, and they were all as well decorated and fully equipped as ours. The concept of the hotel is to give the traveler a comfortable and luxurious experience minus the tiny hotel room. You won’t be living out of a suitcase or tripping over your travel companion here. And if you are interested in staying closer to the old city in Chiang Mai, don’t worry, there is similar hotel planned for that area as well.
If you’re interested in staying at the Riverside, you can contact them below.

Service with a smile…
The Chiang Mai Riverside Hotel
111 Moo 7, Padad
Muang, Chiang Mai 50100
Thailand
T +66 (0) 53 447 211
F +66 (0) 53 447 212
E info.riverside@thechiangmai.com
Or check current rates here:
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While we were provided with a complimentary stay, all opinions, as always, are our own.
Headed to Thailand? Here are some related articles you might enjoy:
Koh Chang Thailand – Things to do and Where to Stay
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Frugal Frequency
Tuesday 6th of December 2016
Nice find! How where the bed mattresses? We're on the lookout for a place with soft mattresses; what we've found so far in Chiang Mai is relatively hard.
Chris Thompson
Tuesday 29th of March 2016
Great post! The place looks great and if I were visit I would consider staying there. Keep up the good work and I wish you all the best.-Chris Thompson