I know. I know. Such a dramatic title for a hotel review, am I right?

Well, once you visit the Tamarind Village, you'll get it. This is a special place. It's not large and, while elegant, it's not over the top in terms of regal appointments. Yet, it's a place of calm and reflection with five-star service and beautiful modern rooms, all in one.

Our room featured a king-sized bed and a family room that was larger than your typical "sitting area" in a hotel room. The generous bathroom had both a shower and a large tub as well as a sink area with lots of counterspace. While there was a flat-screen television, we didn't really use it. The grounds and surrounding neighborhood are so beautiful that we couldn't imagine hanging out in our room.

The pool area has both lounge chairs and tables for afternoon team, a glass of wine or an impromptu card game with other guest. The poolside restaurant was sort of a patio that with an indoor posted that hosted a very nice breakfast buffet as well as local Northern Thai specialities for dinner. Everything was pleasantly unrushed.

The hotel arranged a semi-private day at an elephant rescue where we joined five other people to feed, bathe and play with elephants about an hour away from the hotel. Not to be missed are the tour of the old town neighborhood that surrounds the hotel hosted by hotel staff as well as the street market that springs up around the hotel on a weekly basis that's full of treasures to bring home and delicacies to eat on the fly.

The Tamarind Village is one of those places that's a rarity. It's like sharing a five-star hotel with just a few new friends and staff that obviously cares about their guests. Though we stayed at fancier places in Thailand, including an over-the-top hotel where our room had its own private infinity pool, this was by far our favorite hotel in Thailand and one of my all time favorite hotels I've visited on my international travels.

Stayed here for 4 nights flying in from Bangkok, so was always going to be different. Circa 15 mins from the airport we were delighted on our arrival. Warm friendly staff greeting us with a local drink and cool towels who couldn't do enough to help us. We were on the ground floor around past the Tamarind tree which was easy to get too.
Room was great and I particularly enjoyed the large spacious shower! The whole hotel had a relaxed vibe and you didn't feel that you were in a busy city at all. The pool is a little unusual as quite shallow and limited beds but didn't impact on our stay.
There was a good choice at breakfast, with fresh omelettes, eggs etc being cooked and lunchtime snacks, with a good range of drinks and particularly enjoyed the smoothies.
We did the walking tour of the temples, as mentioned by another guest, with our guide Supaporn. It was fantastic. It was informative, humbling (we took an offering to the monks and had a blessing) and such good fun as Supaporn was so engaging, and absolutely no upselling or pushiness. We learnt so much.
Reception organised taxis for us efficiently and nothing seemed too much trouble. Would happily go back and spend a few more days here.

Brilliant hotel with incredibly helpful staff set in the ancient part of Chiang Mai - definitely the place to be, we ventured outside the ancient moated area one night to visit the night bazaar and it was pretty horrendous, it could have been Benidorm. The Tamarind is so peaceful and has a family run vibe to it. Our suite was spacious, well equipped - amazing toiletries - we decided to upgrade at a discounted rate from a Lanna room which looked lovely but a little small with the extra bed for our daughter. The highly efficient and friendly front desk arranged a trip to the elephant sanctuary, a spa treatment (to make use of our discount voucher - massage was divine) and rearranged the time of our transport back to the airport with our tour operator - nothing was too much trouble. I read somewhere continental breakfast was included so was pleasantly surprised to find an egg station and cooked breakfast items, pancakes etc too - all delicious. We had lunch in the restaurant the day we arrived which was very enjoyable and reasonably priced. The hotel offers a peaceful activity every afternoon and a free temple walking tour with a very knowledgeable guide. It is set in beautifully laid out gardens (candle lit in the evenings) and a lovely pool area facing the restaurant. We visited on the eve of Thailand’s New Year when the Songkran Water festival was in full swing outside the hotel - water fights galore - brilliant fun....to wash all the bad luck away apparently. We regretted only booking 2 nights at the Tamarind during our 3 centre trip to Thailand - if you are visiting Chiang Mai don’t stay anywhere else.