MAYA mall opening today!

[FiftyTwo]

If they have KFC, I will go.

Enjoying KFC at Festival, but 3x a week I am at the Maya area.

[chiang mai]

For the first time, we can go shopping, take in a movie, etc. without taking the car or spending time trying to find parking. We live about 300 meters away from Maya in Mooban Nantawan. Going food shopping, arranging for delivery and walking home in ten minutes. What a pleasure! Did anyone see the new Rimping Supermarket?

You might be disappointed.

The Rimping which is not open yet is in a small space on the 4th floor. My guess is that it's a glorified and overpriced mini mart.

What a hassle to get your groceries back out to the street or to a vehicle in the garage.

Huh? I was there 30 minutes ago, the Rim Ping supermarket is on the bottom floor, and it opened exactly at 4PM. It's not as large as a couple of other Rim Ping stores in the area but I wouldn't call it a "mini." About the same size as the one at Promenada?

Rimping at Promenada is huge, the biggest store they have, are you sure?

[CMBob]

Rimping at Promenada is huge, the biggest store they have, are you sure?

Well, I didn't measure them. Shopped at the Rim Ping on Mihadol this morning and I'd guess that the Promenada store is about the same size as that one, maybe slightly larger. The one at Maya might be a bit smaller, I suppose, but it didn't look all that "mini" to me (the one up on Chotana road is what I'd call a "mini").

Edit: For who asked - yep, they have a KFC there, think it was on the 3rd floor.

Edited January 23, 2014 by CMBob

[sfokevin]

I don't see the opening of all these malls (Maya, Promenade, Central...) ending well...

We went to Dukes last Saturday night at Promenade - Dukes was full but the rest of the mall was a ghost town...

[chiang mai]

Rimping at Promenada is huge, the biggest store they have, are you sure?

Well, I didn't measure them. Shopped at the Rim Ping on Mihadol this morning and I'd guess that the Promenada store is about the same size as that one, maybe slightly larger. The one at Maya might be a bit smaller, I suppose, but it didn't look all that "mini" to me (the one up on Chotana road is what I'd call a "mini").

Tomorrow, go back and measure them all with an accuracy tolerance of no more than 2% and report back, fully this time.

[CMBob]

Tomorrow, go back and measure them all with an accuracy tolerance of no more than 2% and report back, fully this time.

You want that in square centimeters or in how many cans of soup it holds?

[pizzachang]

Too bad the roads and parking don't match the quality of the malls.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

For the first time, we can go shopping, take in a movie, etc. without taking the car or spending time trying to find parking. We live about 300 meters away from Maya in Mooban Nantawan. Going food shopping, arranging for delivery and walking home in ten minutes. What a pleasure! Did anyone see the new Rimping Supermarket?

You might be disappointed.

The Rimping which is not open yet is in a small space on the 4th floor. My guess is that it's a glorified and overpriced mini mart.

What a hassle to get your groceries back out to the street or to a vehicle in the garage.

Huh? I was there 30 minutes ago, the Rim Ping supermarket is on the bottom floor, and it opened exactly at 4PM. It's not as large as a couple of other Rim Ping stores in the area but I wouldn't call it a "mini." About the same size as the one at Promenada?

I wandered through the entire place and only saw a few spaces that weren't opened as yet. I would note that the roof garden place isn't open and access (the escalators) to that area is blocked off.

Thats good news. great. I missed the one on the bottom floor. Thanks.. Will try it tomorrow.

On the 3rd or 4th floor there is another shop called "Rimping Supermarket" which is going to be small. Just the front was open and they were selling stuff but most of the space was behind a temporary wall.

[true blue]

I understand there are open air restaurants, pubs and cafes on the roof garden. I wonder if they will play loud music into the early hours, keeping the neighbours up all night.

think i read somwere maya will close at midnight,which is really tame for the going out at night revellers,

[true blue]

I hope they build some pedestrian overpasses or expect a few hit and runs in the future.

as long as you dont go agianst the lights,its a doddle to cross the road.

[eyecatcher]

Rimping at Promenada is huge, the biggest store they have, are you sure?

Edit: For who asked - yep, they have a KFC there, think it was on the 3rd floor.

A fat boys burger joint on the third floor!

Is that kfc banking on financial suicide or simply telling customers when they have burned 100 calories to reach it, they can enjoy a 500 calorie meal for only 400 calories.

[chiang mai]

I understand there are open air restaurants, pubs and cafes on the roof garden. I wonder if they will play loud music into the early hours, keeping the neighbours up all night.

think i read somwere maya will close at midnight,which is really tame for the going out at night revellers,

The Promenada web site says they close at 9PM, not sure if that's changed since!

[slipperylobster]

Crazy, one or more of the three have to fail, Promenada, Central Festival or Maya, there isn't enough customers nor money, let's not even begin to discuss Airport Mall and Kad Suan Kow..

it's totally crazy for a small city like this. OTT! not nearly enough customers or money to justify so many shopping centers. i've already stated which of them i think will be the first to fail. but this new one doesn't seem very promising either. we went to Doi Pui the other day and driving past the Rincon? intersection it seems the only way to get in is to drive up Huay Kaew and make a U turn, come back and turn left into the parking structure. its almost impossible to drive up HK these days at any time of the day before the shopping center. how many people will be stuck in the intersection to queue up to make the u-turn? i think most will give up. its only a shopping center....many others easier to access. walking in? forget it! Thais hate to walk. chok dee.

Small city???

[FiftyTwo]

Rimping at Promenada is huge, the biggest store they have, are you sure?

Edit: For who asked - yep, they have a KFC there, think it was on the 3rd floor.

A fat boys burger joint on the third floor!

Is that kfc banking on financial suicide or simply telling customers when they have burned 100 calories to reach it, they can enjoy a 500 calorie meal for only 400 calories.

If it wasn't for KFC I would be as skinny as you!

But I'm still gonna kick your ass on the trail tomorrow morning.

We can do KFC after!

[BradinAsia]

Crazy, one or more of the three have to fail, Promenada, Central Festival or Maya, there isn't enough customers nor money, let's not even begin to discuss Airport Mall and Kad Suan Kow..

Well, I think you are right about that.

I'd be willing to bet that Promenada will be the first to fail. It's a beautiful resort type mall, but after

being open only a few months it's fairly obvious that they have serious problems. On several visits

I've noticed many of the restaurants have few or no customers even at meal time.

Evidently the shops pay higher rents, making prices are higher. For example, the food court has bad

food at higher prices and now already half the food court vendors have closed due to no business.

If the mall management doesn't make major changes soon, I think their entire investment is at risk.

Just my 2 baht worth...

[beau thai]

In Kad Suan Kaew yesterday and like a ghost mall. Very few people and the usual stalls in the central floor areas were absent -just open space.

And it just looks very old, tired and tatty.

Demolition and change of use for my money, and not too long from now.

[Chicog]

I hope they build some pedestrian overpasses or expect a few hit and runs in the future.

as long as you dont go agianst the lights,its a doddle to cross the road.

I think you've got the wrong target audience, if you'll excuse the pun.

[bigbamboo]

If they have KFC, I will go.

Enjoying KFC at Festival, but 3x a week I am at the Maya area.

You MUST be an American!

As for the number of malls here in CM now it does seem to be going a bit OTT. They're often busy, especially in the hot weather where the air con is the greatest attraction, but too many just window shopping.

Edited January 23, 2014 by bigbamboo

[chiang mai]

If they have KFC, I will go.

Enjoying KFC at Festival, but 3x a week I am at the Maya area.

Where is the KFC at Festival, please?

[FiftyTwo]

If they have KFC, I will go.

Enjoying KFC at Festival, but 3x a week I am at the Maya area.

Where is the KFC at Festival, please?

On the right at the front entrance.

The tables overlook the front entrance and m/c park.

Great people watching seats, and an upsized zinger burger meal great value at 104bht.

[hugocnx]

Wait a minute. This is how Rimping started at the Promenada. A mini Rimping since at opening time their building wasn't ready yet.

Most probably same at Maya and later at the new Kad Farang Mall.

To many malls for the moment, but Chiang Mai is expanding almost exponentially

[chiang mai]

If they have KFC, I will go.

Enjoying KFC at Festival, but 3x a week I am at the Maya area.

Where is the KFC at Festival, please?

On the right at the front entrance.

The tables overlook the front entrance and m/c park.

Great people watching seats, and an upsized zinger burger meal great value at 104bht.

Thanks, must have missed it, I also enjoy KFC from time to time, working in KFS in Earls Court was one of my early, life experiences and was great fun..

[NancyL]

Just got back from Maya Mall. It looks like 70-75% of the shops are occupied. Those of you who thought the Rim Ping was that candy shop on the fourth floor are just like Hubby. That's just a little shop to catch the crowd buying snacks on their way up to the excellent cinema on the fifth floor. Yeah, English language movies within walking distance of home! Didn't catch a show today, but the prices looked very reasonable, the selection of movies is first rate and the lobby area as nice as the cinema at Promenada.

As for the Rim Ping -- it opened at 4 pm, in the basement, where most grocery stores are located in malls in Thailand. Every woman knows this is the proper place for a grocery store. We're not fooled by some candy closet on the fourth floor!

The Rim Ping is about the size of the store at Nim City Airport Plaza (maybe a bit smaller) and it's targeting the Japanese and Korean expat crowd. Guess what, we're not the only expats in town! But, they still had a good selection of everything you expect from Rim Ping -- cheeses, 399 baht bottles of wine, beautiful produce, excellent baked goods, plus a sushi and sake bar.

Meanwhile, the mall is pretty. The first floor is airy, with high end stuff like cars, leather goods, designer clothing. You know, stuff you'll never buy, but it makes you feel special to walk in the place. Go up the escalators and you'll find there are at least three drug stores, 4-5 places to buy athletic shoes, 3-4 places for jeans, at least one export clothing shop, couple of book sellers, couple of banks (but the major banks are under-represented) and yes, there is a KFC plus the Japanese chain restaurants. There were some interesting looking Thai food places (looked to be a cut above food court offering). A few places to buy phones, although high tech stuff did seem to be under-represented.

In general, for those of us who live in the central city and rely on song thaews and tuk-tuks for transport, this mall is a welcome addition to Kad Suan Kaew and Central Airport Plaza. For those of you with cars, it's probably just another yawner and you can point your cars toward Central Festival.

Edited January 23, 2014 by NancyL

[Hugh Jarse]

The Mall builders have seriously overestimated demand in Chiang Mai. If Maya isn't the last new one for a long time I will be very surprised. How many cinemas do we need?

We need at least one more that doesn't feature, predominantly (garbage )Hollywood stuff and shows Fringe movies, European, Australian ,Kiwi , Asian and African made films. Given the multi ethnic make up of Chiang Mai such a cinema would be a roaring success, me thinks.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Hugh Jarse

[tangcoral]

Just got back from Maya Mall. It looks like 70-75% of the shops are occupied. Those of you who thought the Rim Ping was that candy shop on the fourth floor are just like Hubby. That's just a little shop to catch the crowd buying snacks on their way up to the excellent cinema on the fifth floor. Yeah, English language movies within walking distance of home! Didn't catch a show today, but the prices looked very reasonable, the selection of movies is first rate and the lobby area as nice as the cinema at Promenada.

As for the Rim Ping -- it opened at 4 pm, in the basement, where most grocery stores are located in malls in Thailand. Every woman knows this is the proper place for a grocery store. We're not fooled by some candy closet on the fourth floor!

The Rim Ping is about the size of the store at Nim City Airport Plaza (maybe a bit smaller) and it's targeting the Japanese and Korean expat crowd. Guess what, we're not the only expats in town! But, they still had a good selection of everything you expect from Rim Ping -- cheeses, 399 baht bottles of wine, beautiful produce, excellent baked goods, plus a sushi and sake bar.

Meanwhile, the mall is pretty. The first floor is airy, with high end stuff like cars, leather goods, designer clothing. You know, stuff you'll never buy, but it makes you feel special to walk in the place. Go up the escalators and you'll find there are at least three drug stores, 4-5 places to buy athletic shoes, 3-4 places for jeans, at least one export clothing shop, couple of book sellers, couple of banks (but the major banks are under-represented) and yes, there is a KFC plus the Japanese chain restaurants. There were some interesting looking Thai food places (looked to be a cut above food court offering). A few places to buy phones, although high tech stuff did seem to be under-represented.

In general, for those of us who live in the central city and rely on song thaews and tuk-tuks for transport, this mall is a welcome addition to Kad Suan Kaew and Central Airport Plaza. For those of you with cars, it's probably just another yawner and you can point your cars toward Central Festival.

Wow you must take some serious mental note to remember the whole layout of the place. I'm impressed.

[tangcoral]

I understand there are open air restaurants, pubs and cafes on the roof garden. I wonder if they will play loud music into the early hours, keeping the neighbours up all night.

think i read somwere maya will close at midnight,which is really tame for the going out at night revellers,

On the a sticker plastered on the entrance doors says 11am-10pm weekdays and 10am-10pm on the weekends.

[true blue]

Just got back from Maya Mall. It looks like 70-75% of the shops are occupied. Those of you who thought the Rim Ping was that candy shop on the fourth floor are just like Hubby. That's just a little shop to catch the crowd buying snacks on their way up to the excellent cinema on the fifth floor. Yeah, English language movies within walking distance of home! Didn't catch a show today, but the prices looked very reasonable, the selection of movies is first rate and the lobby area as nice as the cinema at Promenada.

As for the Rim Ping -- it opened at 4 pm, in the basement, where most grocery stores are located in malls in Thailand. Every woman knows this is the proper place for a grocery store. We're not fooled by some candy closet on the fourth floor!

The Rim Ping is about the size of the store at Nim City Airport Plaza (maybe a bit smaller) and it's targeting the Japanese and Korean expat crowd. Guess what, we're not the only expats in town! But, they still had a good selection of everything you expect from Rim Ping -- cheeses, 399 baht bottles of wine, beautiful produce, excellent baked goods, plus a sushi and sake bar.

Meanwhile, the mall is pretty. The first floor is airy, with high end stuff like cars, leather goods, designer clothing. You know, stuff you'll never buy, but it makes you feel special to walk in the place. Go up the escalators and you'll find there are at least three drug stores, 4-5 places to buy athletic shoes, 3-4 places for jeans, at least one export clothing shop, couple of book sellers, couple of banks (but the major banks are under-represented) and yes, there is a KFC plus the Japanese chain restaurants. There were some interesting looking Thai food places (looked to be a cut above food court offering). A few places to buy phones, although high tech stuff did seem to be under-represented.

In general, for those of us who live in the central city and rely on song thaews and tuk-tuks for transport, this mall is a welcome addition to Kad Suan Kaew and Central Airport Plaza. For those of you with cars, it's probably just another yawner and you can point your cars toward Central Festival.

Wow you must take some serious mental note to remember the whole layout of the place. I'm impressed.

you no women shopping it is in there dna,

[kcore]

The Mall builders have seriously overestimated demand in Chiang Mai. If Maya isn't the last new one for a long time I will be very surprised. How many cinemas do we need?

Yes but, where else to wash the money?

Shop house. Oh my did i just say that!

[tangcoral]

For the first time, we can go shopping, take in a movie, etc. without taking the car or spending time trying to find parking. We live about 300 meters away from Maya in Mooban Nantawan. Going food shopping, arranging for delivery and walking home in ten minutes. What a pleasure! Did anyone see the new Rimping Supermarket?

You might be disappointed.

The Rimping which is not open yet is in a small space on the 4th floor. My guess is that it's a glorified and overpriced mini mart.

What a hassle to get your groceries back out to the street or to a vehicle in the garage.

Huh? I was there 30 minutes ago, the Rim Ping supermarket is on the bottom floor, and it opened exactly at 4PM. It's not as large as a couple of other Rim Ping stores in the area but I wouldn't call it a "mini." About the same size as the one at Promenada?

I wandered through the entire place and only saw a few spaces that weren't opened as yet. I would note that the roof garden place isn't open and access (the escalators) to that area is blocked off.

The roof garden was accessible this morning 10am-1pm albeit the escalators were not running people still trekked it up.

They probably closed off the area as I saw workers doing some work during the afternoon as it was definitely not completed.

You get a nice panoramic view of doi suthep mountain, but it wasn't high enough to get any breath-taking views (6th floor)

I posted some pictures of the roof garden on page 1 of this thread.

[howrub]

That will make the traffic up there even more of a nightmare... shit

As if there were not already too damned many malls that can't find enough business. Or bad enough traffic at arguably the worst (well, for sure one the worst) intersections in the city. Absolutely brilliant to have the opening on the day when Niemenhamen and Suthep roads are already a nightmare due to CMU graduation.