Why So Many New Hotels Coming Up In Chiang Rai?

[dekbannok]

On Monday May 22, I read in The Nation that the Senior VP of the Intercontinental Hotels Group is looking to manage more hotels in Thailand including Chiang Rai and I am beginning to see many new hotels being built in Chiang Rai. One brand new city hotel and art gallery named Mantrini will be opened very soon across the Big C, another luxurious 5-star properties (Rain Tree?) by the Kok River and a little further another resort (Laguna?) are all under construction.

Hotel rates in Chaing Rai have always been much lower compared with other main tourist destinations in Thailand. With all these new properties opening, two immediate questions come to my mind. 1. Is there now an over-supply of hotel rooms and if not will it spark a price war? 2. Have people finally discovered the beauty of Chiang Rai or Chiang Rai is expecting the overflow from Chiang Mai?

Chiang Rai has had more than a million visitors and perhaps TAT is expecting this number to double in the near future. The good thing about more competitions is that the existing properties will perhaps start to upgrade and raise their standard of professionalism.

[AsiaWolfie]

interesting, but I dont see that hotels in Chiang Rai offer better value for money than anywhere else in Thailand (except Samui and Phuket maybe, ok). there are a quite a number of ok-guesthouses (many of which offer comfortable accomodation for as low as 300 Baht), some luxury places, but in my opinion, Chiang Rai lacks good-value middle-class accomodation. In Chiang Mai, you get better value for money. apart from the SAEN PHU, where I usually stay and which really offers an excellent value for money, I dont see much light......

[ovenman]

Seems to me that one could ask some of the same questions about Chiang Mai. A number of five-star resort-type hotels are being built here. I have a hard time seeing where all the high-rollers are going to come from in order to fill these new places.

[dekbannok]

Seems to me that one could ask some of the same questions about Chiang Mai. A number of five-star resort-type hotels are being built here. I have a hard time seeing where all the high-rollers are going to come from in order to fill these new places.

Ovenman, you were right. There are at least five 5-star properties opening in the next year or so. My old friend is designing their kitchens. But at least Chiang Mai is a sort of aviation hub for the north and has many direct flights to foreign destinations. Chiang Rai International Airport in name is international but there is no commercial flights to any foreign countries. I do hope the government will make it a real international airport soon at least serving the neighboring countries like China (Yunnan) Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. Till then we can really expect Chiang Rai's economy to take off and hence brings more benefits to the hotel industry. I wondered why AirAsia has not thought of using Chiang Rai airport as their northern hub as it is ideal for them to operate flights to Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Kumming, Hanoi and many other heritage cities.

[dekbannok]

interesting, but I dont see that hotels in Chiang Rai offer better value for money than anywhere else in Thailand (except Samui and Phuket maybe, ok). there are a quite a number of ok-guesthouses (many of which offer comfortable accomodation for as low as 300 Baht), some luxury places, but in my opinion, Chiang Rai lacks good-value middle-class accomodation. In Chiang Mai, you get better value for money. apart from the SAEN PHU, where I usually stay and which really offers an excellent value for money, I dont see much light......

Have you checked out the new Piman Inn (baht450) and Laluna (baht900) on Sanambin Road (the road on the right of Saen Phu about 2 km straight down)? I think they also offer good value. It is quite a sight to see hundreds of people jogging on the runway everyday in the late afternoon! Piman Inn is just by the side of the end of the runway.

[soap]

i cant agree with asia wolfie with regard to the lack of good value middle class accomadation in chaingrai within walking distance of the night bazaar,the nim see seng, diamond park,golden triangle inn and the chaingrai inn hotel are all decent budget class hotels, plus plenty of back packer accomadation all within walking distance of the night bazaar.

i agree the expat community as snow balled over the last 10 years, in the old days every one knew each other nowadays if you go to a birthday/house party,rest assured 50% are strangers to you, the amount of farang i speak to who have settled here more so in the past

2 or 3 years is amazing, i think if they promoted chaingrai as a retirement city you would be overwhelmed by the response

[oopapasan]

Seems to me that one could ask some of the same questions about Chiang Mai. A number of five-star resort-type hotels are being built here. I have a hard time seeing where all the high-rollers are going to come from in order to fill these new places.

Ovenman, you were right. There are at least five 5-star properties opening in the next year or so. My old friend is designing their kitchens. But at least Chiang Mai is a sort of aviation hub for the north and has many direct flights to foreign destinations. Chiang Rai International Airport in name is international but there is no commercial flights to any foreign countries. I do hope the government will make it a real international airport soon at least serving the neighboring countries like China (Yunnan) Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. Till then we can really expect Chiang Rai's economy to take off and hence brings more benefits to the hotel industry. I wondered why AirAsia has not thought of using Chiang Rai airport as their northern hub as it is ideal for them to operate flights to Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Kumming, Hanoi and many other heritage cities.

The road from Chiang Rai to Kumming China is about to open.Will mean tourist$$$$$.

[Rinrada]

And not forgetting Burma.

One day hopefully in the not too distant future when the B*st**ds who pretend to run the show are banged up on bread and water and a FREE government installed with you know who as P.M ...Burma will really open up.(nothing to do with similar threads ...this is about Chiang Rai )

There are a lotta folk out there who are fed up with the old 3 weeks in Spain every year and the idea of a direct flight from say Europe to Chiang Rai could fuel the immagination (also to avoid Bangkok...been there done It..etc)...also US/AZ-NZ......

As said a couple of days in the likes of Burma-Laos-Viet Nam-China and with easy connections to Singas and Honkers.....hey go for it...... Great location and opportunities.....

Seem to remember that Lufthansia used to do a direct flight from think Frankfurt but dropped it about 10 years ago....maybe time TG had another go....say...Lon-C.R/CM...and then Suwanna.....

[Johpa]

The road from Chiang Rai to Kumming China is about to open.Will mean tourist$$$$$.

Exactly, the smart money up north is preparing for the hoped for visitations of countless nuveau middle class Chinese coming down by car, bus, and boat to visit the exotic southernmost Province, Thailand.

Chiang Rai is the logical gateway having the first airport to be encountered with domestic services to the rest of the country as well as being the first major city to be encountered with all the conveniances after that long drive down from Yunan. In addition, Chiang Rai has always been, how shall we say, a bit more pliable to the demands of the Bangkok elite than has the municipality of Chiang Mai which has a stronger and morer independent Khon Muang elite from its days as the strongest principality (independent Muang) up north.

Make no mistake, tourism in Thailand in general, and prominantly up north, is being oriented towards "regional" tourism, that is Chinese tourism. You didn't really believe that the hokey Chiang Mai Safari Park with its original intent of selling "exotic" meats was aimed as Farangs now did you? I would take a guess that within one year of the highway from China being opened up, and assuming that the PRC does not self-destruct, that we will see lion meat back on the menu.