With COVID-19 waning, travel to Thailand now back to normal, and Chiang Mai ready to celebrate life once again, Anantara Chiang Mai Resort recently hosted a glamorous evening reception for Lanna royalty, foreign diplomats, and the city’s leading government officials and business executives on the lawn of its 100-year-old heritage house. Approximately 200 guests were treated to an evening of live music and performances over canapes and drinks.
Formerly the British consulate, and renovated by Asia-based architect Kerry Hill, famous for icons such as The Sukhothai in Bangkok and Aman hotels throughout the region, the heritage house is the heart of the wining and dining experience at the award-winning Anantara Chiang Mai.
The new guest experience begins at the ground-floor Brit Bar, reimagined as the private members’ club of Her Majesty’s secret service. Here, guests are invited to share pre-dinner drinks and conversation in intimate spaces including the classic oak bar, salons decorated with old maps and collectibles, and a secret room hidden away behind a bookshelf and accessible only by those in the know. Gurus are on hand to recommend selections from the wine cellar, whisky and cigar collection, and whimsical cocktail list.
Dinner is then served in the upstairs restaurant, The Service 1921, which today launches a brand-new menu by Executive Chef David Eldridge that showcases the finest seafood and meats, including in-house dry-aged beef, and free-range chicken and pork from Thai artisan farmers. Highlight dishes include beef tartare with bone marrow emulsion, sous-vide egg yolk, Parmesan and Sriracha; a thick-cut 400 g Sloane’s pork chop with smoky mustard and apple glaze; and the classic British dessert, Eton Mess, made with local strawberries, whipped cream, meringue and sorbet.
Also launching today is Chiang Mai’s first champagne rooftop bar, Bubbles, which fronts the Ping River. The drinks menu is entirely original, with the world’s best champagnes by the glass and bottle, as well as innovative bubbly cocktail creations. The bar’s most exclusive table, set at river’s edge and reached by a glass walkway, is ideal for private celebrations such as proposals or anniversaries.
Coming on 1 November is the picturesque Bodhi Terrace, which lies in the shade of the resort’s 200-year-old bodhi trees. The menu will highlight the best of Thai cuisine from north to south, and with its riverfront location, will play host to the city’s most spectacular Loy Krathong celebrations.
Other developments around the resort include work on the private pier, with river cruises soon to be launched, a Thai medical clinic and IV drip bar at Anantara Spa, and renovations of the 84 rooms and suites. Spacious starting at 50 sqm, and with a tranquil garden and river views, the accommodations maintain their classic Modern Tropical design, with Zen teak finishing and an emphasis on the breeze and coolness, but with the additions of the latest in luxury amenities.
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort was recently voted one of Thailand’s top resorts at the Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2022. The travel industry’s longest-running and most prestigious awards drew on the experiences of nearly a quarter of a million voters from around the world.