The Chedi had been taken over by Anantara hotels, between our booking the hotel and our actual trip, but the facilities remained the same and we have always enjoyed Anantara hotels, so this was no problem for us.

Our reception at the Anantara was warm, speedy and efficient. We were shown to our room which was on a high floor with views over the Mae Ping river. It was an exceptionally well appointed and stylish room with modern facilities and an additional day bed on the outside veranda. The bathroom facilities were excellent, having a separate bath and shower and a full range of good quality products provided.

There was, however, one major letdown in that the styling of the room provided for very little hanging wardrobe space, certainly insufficient for our needs and a great surprise for a hotel of this standard. The duty manager was helpful and sympathetic and we talked about upgrading to a suite. On investigation it transpired that the suite accommodation, despite having further living space (or room for extra beds), did not provide any greater amount of storage space for clothing.

We decided to stay put in our current room and, credit where credit is due, the manager arranged for a modification to be made to the entrance cupboard space, which provided for much greater hanging capacity. This was purchased and duly completed whilst we were out of the room on the following day. We certainly couldn't have asked for better service. We did find, however, that the hotel seemed to offer style over substance in many respects - a beautiful property in a great location, but lacking in several practical aspects.

The location of the hotel on the banks of the river, and in close proximity to Anusan Market and the Night Bazaar was excellent and formed a good base for the 6 night Chiang Mai, element of our trip.

The Anantara is a beautiful, stylish hotel and well located. There are many interesting sites in Chiang Mai and still some excellent places to eat, catering for many diverse tastes. Will we return to Chiang Mai? - probably not. Had this been our first visit, however, we would have been more than content.