This is the final entry on our trip to Chiang Mai. Since I entered a cropped version of one of these pictures to a contest at the MyWinningPhoto site (I came in second, thank you for your votes), I had to hold off on posting this entry until after voting ended.
After enjoying a Lamphun style lunch at Huen Jai Yong on the eastern outskirts of Chiang Mai, Tawn and I decided to drive to the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi resort. With only 123 rooms on its 60-acre grounds, this Rachen Intawong-designed property is quite the vision of overblown opulence, although the company more modestly describes it as “a place where traditional Lanna culture and Asian colonial splendour have been carefully brought together in masterful harmony.”
We arrived just as an afternoon thunderstorm was dissipating. Our initial objective was to have tea but we discovered that the Oriental Tea Shoppe is located in a complex next to the public parking lot on the outer edge of the resort, which effectively insulates the guests within from the bus loads of tourists who visit. The shopping area looks like some sort of movie set from a Chinese western, but with plenty of bamboo.
Props to the Oriental Tea Shoppe which, just like its branches in Bangkok, serves beautiful cakes and other pastries to go with their Mariage Freres teas and coffees.
Afterwards, we decided to enter the resort. This is the imposing gate the separates the flagstone-paved public parking lot with the rest of the resort. Follow the Mercedes limousine!
From there, a long tree-shaded driveway leads to the main lobby. The name “Dhara Dhevi” is a poor anglicization of the name of Queen Chama Thevi (alternately, Jamadevi), founder around 750 CE of the Hariphunchai kingdom, the capital of which was in nearby Lamphun.
Looking back towards the entrance gate, these buildings on the left contain function rooms for events, conferences, meetings, etc. Way down near the gate is a horse-drawn carriage that ferries guests. Bored, the driver offered to give Tawn a lift into the resort and subsequently gave us a 20-minute tour of the grounds.
Near the main lobby, walls obscure shops and parts of the grounds, looking more like a Mon fortress than a resort.
The sweeping main lobby building. Driveways just to out of the frame of the picture lead to the reception area. The lower floor is a shopping arcade. The overall design of the complex is a mish-mash of Lao, Burmese, Lanna, Mon, and Thai architecture, with some Thais criticizing the resort as looking too much like a temple.
From the back side of the reception area, you can see two of the larger buildings that contain guest units. Many of the units, though, are stand-alone villas that are spread throughout the grounds. The swimming pool has some gorgeous tile work.
Another two buildings with guest rooms. Granted, this was about twenty minutes after a heavy storm had passed, but the place looked deserted. We saw two couples (presumably guests) in the lobby area and passed one family of four while touring the grounds. Other than that, the place was empty. The impression I got from talking with employees was that occupancy was in the low twenty percent range. Rates, though, were still about $400 a night.
Looking down the steps from the entrance to the spa, which was also deserted – no guests but no employees, either. The statues on either side of the walkway are supposed to shoot arcs of water over the path, landing on the other side. The resort has been open a bit more than five years and there were many areas where significant maintenance was being performed.
Unfortunately, the video that I shot while on our horse-drawn tour is on the Mac, which is in for repairs at the authorized Apple retailer. If I get a chance I will post it later as it shows the exteriors of some of the villas, which look like village houses in the midst of rice paddies.
Our horse and buggy driver at the end of the tour. My overall impression of the resort was that somewhere along the way it had crossed the line from “elegant” to “ostentatious,” reminding me more of a pan-Southeast Asian amusement park than anything else. But maybe this is the type of fantasy in which wealthy tourists, Asian and non-Asian alike, wish to indulge in.
christao408 
Very nice resort! But you’re right about the overblown ostentatious part, looks more like an amusement park, with the buildings scattered all over. The “Four Seasons Chiang Mai” is the more ‘elegant’ one compared to this MO, think so?
Thanks for sharing a world that many of us would not know existed.
@CurryPuffy – I’ve heard that Four Seasons is nice and would like to get there on the next visit. If I understand correctly, it looks a bit more like a traditional Northern village spread out among rice paddies, whereas the Oriental is more like a temple or palace.@The_Eyes_Of_A_Painter – You are very welcome. Not only a world that many of us would not know existed, but also a world that few of us could probably afford! =(
I would certainly consider relaxing there – if I could afford it. It may look a little ostentatious but what the heck.
Hum, you think with such low occupancy rate, they would lower the price… Looks good though!
yikes! it’s no wonder that the place looks nearly deserted if it costs $400/night to stay there! the place seems a bit overbearing, too… not sure how relaxing it would be, surrounded by the somewhat imposing architecture. so, not really my cup of tea (although the pastry from the tea house looks delicious!).
You know, I really do enjoy reading your blog. The pictures are always so eye-popping. I love to read about your travels and life in a foreign country. I’d love to be there myself, so it’s a pleasure to at least be able to live somewhat vicariously through you!
$400 a night. Ouch.
I just can’t imagine how this hotel can make money. “overblown opulence” – I think you captured it perfectly.
Such great pictures. The rain drenched streets are making me envious. We need the rain so bad here.Do they have ( I think they do ) mosques in Bangkok, Chris? I wish you could post some pictures of some there. It would be good to see if they are architecturally different , like they are in China. Yes I saw where you had come in second in that contest. I was disappointed.
That is a wonderful photo tat you entered – frameable even! Thanks for the tour.
@Fatcat723 – Then there’s the catch… “if I could afford it” Ha!@yang1815 – @ElusiveWords – There are rumors that it was built to launder money. Not quite sure I understand how that would work, but I think there is some level at which they don’t want to sully their reputation by lowering rates too far.@kunhuo42 – I hear you. Can’t imagine how one would really be able to relax in an environment like that.@murisopsis – Glad you liked the photo.@ZSA_MD – Yes, we do have mosques. There’s a sizable Muslim population in Bangkok and in fact the road in from the airport passes two good-sized mosques. I’ve shown a picture before of one of them, although can’t seem to locate the entry at the moment. Let me add an entry about the Muslim community in Bangkok on my to-write list.@Inciteful – That’s for sure.@everyday_yogi – Thank you for the very nice compliment. I’m glad you enjoy reading my blog.
@christao408 – Good point. I guess if they can survive then it works eh?
@christao408 – That would be great. I know you have mentioned some muslim foods that you have tried. I shall look forward to that entry. Thank you Chris.