Stepping Lightly: Villa Thai Orchid

One of two identical rooms in the 2 bedroom suite I refer to as the Sanctuary

Breakfast Room for Guests

Another photo of BF room

and another

lobby partition

cute touches everywhere

Outside courtyard

birthday boy's picture - 11/18/46 - 76 Years old

Few people have much experience with boutique hotels. Rather, the usual scenario for both business and leisure travelers is to find a Hilton or a Marriott or a Hyatt, etc., make a reservation and saunter mindlessly into a large, ostentatious lobby looking for the registration desk and the queue to check in. You’re leave the lobby with the unreliable plastic key that forgets itself if placed near your mobile phone. You’ve already studied the website and the photoshopped pictures of the gym, the indoor or outdoor pool, and the business center, etc., facilities that you would seldom or ever use, while imparting the false impression that you’re getting value for your money when you are doing nothing of the kind. In fact, what you’re doing is contributing to the profit margin of those big chains of hotels that no longer provide any service without an apologetic request …..in the name of COVID. Oh, I’m sorry Sir, you needed to request your room cleaning the night before!!!!!!!

You painstakingly wait for the elevator, you find your room with a dilapidated view of a rooftop, an outdated office building, a back alley, or a view of something or nothing if you’ve paid extra for a hotel room that is already overcharged. The room is musty with the taste of its previous occupants, hundreds of them, day after day, night after night. If you look beyond the surface, everywhere there is evidence of its prior occupants and years of use, abuse and neglect…..coins, candy wrappers, deep dust in hidden crevices, items left in closets and dresser draws. The bed is concave, evidence of the hundreds of prior occupants’ bodies molding and weakening the springs that were never that good to begin with. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Thailand is a wonderful place to visit, but Bangkok is just too large and busy. The second largest Thailand city is in the north where slightly cooler and more tolerable temperatures prevail; the city of Chiang Mai. A delightful safe place filled with history, a plethora of restaurants, the old and the new and the not so new, natural beauty and important landmarks, things to do outside the city, cooking schools, dirt cheap massage spas on every corner, and night and weekend markets you can bargain for not only the usual junk touristy items made in China, but a lot of thoughtfully crafted items made in Thailand. The markets are a sprawling testament to the entrepreneurial mentality, culture, and history of the Thai people. They are composed of an endless stream of individual stalls filled to the brim with thousands of neatly arranged items to consider. For some, the sensory overstimulation may be overwhelming. Nevertheless, the experience is unique and worth the effort. I’m truly amazed at the creativity and endurance of the Thai people.

By the way, there is something for everyone in Thailand, but Chiang Mai is a composed, energetic city filled to the brim with cottage industries, devoid of many of the sins, attractions, and temptations found elsewhere in Thailand, catering to the young and old, to the rich and not so rich, and to the adventuresome and not so carefree.

Finding a hotel in the old city is a must. Very few 5 star hotels, there are mostly boutique hotels to choose from. I’m only an expert on one of them; the Villa Thai Orchid. It’s hard to know how to start. I’ll start with some of its cons.

The Villa is located on a side street, which feels like an alleyway rather than a legitimate street. Wide enough barely for two cars, it’s a miracle to witness two cars passing each other from opposite directions. No place to park in front, but fortunately the road is not congested or busy, relatively speaking as compared to those bordering contiguous streets. The hotel has a smallish footprint, but the overhead sign marks the spot to enter. A smallish courtyard neatly designed leads the way to the clean, comfortable, functional check-in desk, which is the home of a shortlist of family members greeting new and existing guests, handing out keys, responding to the thousands of questions posed every day by new guests arriving day and night to populate this 12-room hotel. Another shortcoming is the absence of elevators in the hotel. BUT, we never had to lug our luggage one foot out of the reception area. The hotel staff are programmed to do this for you, night, and day!

Our first visit was three years ago, only 10 rooms were available then. The pandemic put an end to hotel occupancy, and instead of sitting on their bums, the owners built another wing with a new living area and kitchen and adding what amounts to a second floor two-bedroom suite. They call it Villa 1; I call it the Sanctuary.

A lockable glass door leads to a staircase that rises one floor up - to a common area with tables, glassware, dishes, coffee mugs, a water heating canister, and a great combo refrigerator/freezer. Tasteful touches of art, wooden sculptors, pottery, plants, etc. are found everywhere in the hotel; there is nothing that is plastic or purely utilitarian. Real wood, not laminate, even the doors have their unique designs; everything is solid! The sanctuary has high ceilings including the two large rooms that connect from the Sanctuary’s common area. I’m guessing the size of each room is 300 sf, not including a decent sized bathroom and shower. Again, the bathroom is tiled, counters are granite looking, the fixtures attractive and functional. The bed is advertised as king but seems larger with a pretty wood frame. The mattress is remarkably comfortable.

I’m not sure whether the two rooms located on this second level were designed to be rented individually. And there is nothing wrong with that notion because they are entirely separate, and the walls, outside and in are concrete, ensuring their capacity to filter out any noise coming from anywhere. But other than one common concrete wall separating the two suite rooms, the rest of the walls are outside walls, meaning no other rooms or areas are adjacent to them, ensuring privacy and seclusion, and the absence of any noise pollution except for any filtering from the street which never happened in our five-days stay.

Renting the Sanctuary as a two bedroom suite is the best way to guaranty a well-appointed stay that would arguably rival most hotels in any city in any star category,…… in my view. You get space and privacy and cleanliness, and facility at a bargain price. I don’t want to divulge what we paid because it’s way too low. Suffice it to say that even if the price was tripled, it would still be a great deal. To be sure, if you are travelling with family or friends, this two-bedroom suite complex would serve your purpose magnificently….or even if you didn’t fill the second room with any occupants.

Three years ago, our room was in the original building, courting the 9 other rooms for rent. Considerably smaller, it was more than adequate and private for our purposes. The price is also about half of what it would cost to rent the Sanctuary for those bargain minded travelers.

The amenities at the Villa Thai Orchid are really what takes this hotel to the next level. Read the reviews; they are consistently 5 out of 5. The owners make every effort to provide the best customer service to the patrons. Ask a question, and it is answered. Want a share ride to somewhere, they will help you with your Grab app. Want a taxi instead, they will arrange one. Want a recommended restaurant, a place to color hair, a massage parlor, directions to the night market, a good jewelry store, etc, etc…you get the picture. An endless supply of bottled water, a common area filled with a few staples such as cereal, bread, jam, butter, peanut butter, bananas, coffee, tea, water, etc are there 24/7 for guests to enjoy free of charge. Breakfast is an add on expense – presently at just over $4, it’s hardly one to pass up. The French toast rivals any I’ve had in my life, and fresh fruit is served with every choice selected the evening before for the next morning. You choose your breakfast and the time you want it served (anytime between 7-10am), and when you arrive the next morning, the breakfast will arrive with little to no waiting.

One story to share. We had need of a jeweler to resize some rings and perform some surgery on a gold bracelet to allow to fit a larger wrist. Not only did A (yes, A is her name) help identify the jeweler, she went with us to ensure the performance of services would be completed on time and that we would be taken seriously. We did NOT ask for A to do this; she volunteered.

Here's one for you that will make your stay even better. The hotel does your laundry for you – free of charge! This year, I factored this into the quantity of shirts and undergarments I packed, and I saved a considerable amount of space in my luggage knowing that all I had to do was put the basket of dirty clothes outside my room by 9am to be cleaned and returned by early evening. Thailand is hot and there is a lot of sweating going on. It’s wonderful not to have to worry about laundry or smelly clothes and the like.

Well, I can go on, but you get the picture. We are sold on this hotel and I’m already planning on returning next year. Hopefully too many people will NOT read this blog and make it difficult to schedule my next reservation with the Villa Thai Orchid hotel in Chiang Mai.