Stay at eco- and adventure travel friendly Raya Heritage

Raya Heritage, just outside of the city of Chiang Mai along the Ping River, mixes traditional and sustainable Thai food-growing and customs, artisanal craftwork and eco-conscious practices into their hotel stay for visitors to northern Thailand.

Located about 8km from the core of Chiang Mai, Raya Heritage has created a luxurious hotel experience that provides all amenities for guests looking for a quieter stay beyond central Chiang Mai, but with accessibility to the city center via the hotel's complimentary shuttles that run frequently to and from their sister property in the city's core. 

The hotel property's design and decoration is a modern style influenced heavily by traditional Thai artistanship, with rooms falling into three styles of suites, Rin Terrace and Huen Bon Suites (both 75 meters sq in size) decorated with handwoven textiles, baskets and woodcarvings made by Thai artisans in the nearby highland villages. Each suite has a balcony overlooking the hotel's lush landscaping, infinity swimming pool and the Ping River. The Kramm Pool Suites (100m sq) each contain their own private swimming pool located outside the room's sliding doors.

Raya Heritage has built the details of the guest's stay around eco-conscious practices. Guests are offered the use of reusable cloth bags during their stay, and rooms are each provided with a selection of organic fruit and fresh natural cut teas and flowers for making their own warm teas from. The hotel operates an organic garden onsite, where they grow some of the food served in their restaurant.

The Khu Khao Restaurant serves a breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch menu, sourcing ingredients from local organic farms in addition to their own garden.

In addition, the hotel also has a cocktail bar with indoor and patio seating and a tea room set on a balcony overlooking the river. 

Other hotel amenities include an exercise room, an infinity swimming pool and lounge terrace, and a spa and steam room where massage therapists invoke traditional healing techniques and treaments.

Raya Heritage caters to those interested in outdoor pursuits and activities by offering a variety of active and cultural tours from the hotel. Tours booked through the hotel include national parks, hiking, rock climbing, rafting, elephant experiences and temple tours. Cultural tours organized through the hotel include handicraft making, bamboo weaving, and excursions into local markets. The hotel hosts Gentle Flow Yoga classes on weekends.

Raya Heritage operates an onsite boutique where local artisanally-made decorations and crafts are for sale. The hotel uses many of these creations throughout their own interiors.

Raya Heritage's staff was extremely attentive, with their restaurant inquiring about diet preferences prior to our ordering. Each of their staff had a level of fluency in English, making communication generally smooth (we found this especially helpful since we unfortunately aren't fluent at all in Thai). The hotel is an ideal choice for those looking for an upscale stay in the Chiang Mai area which offers outdoor and cultural excursions to regional sites of interest, while maintaining an environment specializing in the treatment and relaxation of vacationing guests.

Full information can be found on Raya Heritage's website.