Mora Hotel Chiang Rai was the first place we stayed in the city when we left Chiang Mai on our Northern Thailand adventure. Mora Boutique Hotel is a small and quite new hotel that provided us with a great stay and definitely surpassed our expectations. Let’s spend some time talking about what we loved about Mora and what we thought could be improved.
In all honesty, we had a difficult time finding quality accommodations in Chiang Rai, with only a few good options for us available. Of the 6 or 7 luxury hotels we considered, the vast majority had abysmal cancellation policies, especially in this age of covid-19 travel. After all, with the world being so unpredictable, how can any property expect guests to book weeks ahead of time with no recourse if the country shuts down and travel becomes impossible? Mora came through in this regard with a sensible and fair cancellation policy, as did the other place we booked, which was The Riverie. All the other high-end accommodations chose to be illogical in their cancellation policies, so we simply passed them by and refused to compromise to suit their unenlightened practices.
Mora Hotel is located right near the heart of Chiang Rai town. It was possible to walk to many things in town, but rather unpractical. Mora’s location is best for guests who will have a car or motorcycle available. A bicycle could also serve.
Check-in at Mora was fast and easy, which was awesome after a very long drive from Chiang Mai. The entire route there was under construction, so what should have been an easy trip became a rather bumpy and unpleasant multi-hour affair. It was great that Mora Hotel got us right into our room to unwind without delay!
Our King Suite was on the fourth floor and consisted of a small living room and kitchenette upon entry into the room. The kitchen was not really equipped at all for cooking, but did have a microwave, sink, mini-bar and coffee maker to provide some creature comforts. The living room furniture was basic but comfortable, with a wall mounted TV. On the other side of the room was the bed area, with another TV and a desk. The bed was cozy and provided a good night’s sleep for us! The bathroom was centered in the room, dividing both sections and was the nicest feature.
Upon entry, the bath featured left and right sections for him and her. Each side had a vanity, sink, closet and all the toiletries anyone could ever want. Entering deeper into the bathroom, there was a water closet to the left, a shower to the right and a small Japanese-style soaking tub in the middle. The bath was lovely, but the tub did turn out to be impractically small, even for one tiny Jammy Journey! There is really no one smaller than me, except kids, so the bath was a bit of a miss… Views from the bath and the bedroom were not beautiful, but instead overlooked the normal residential properties in Chiang Mai. I think the rooms on the other side of the building must have looked nicer, since they overlooked the pool.
The entire room (and the entire hotel) was decorated in a black and white color scheme. The room was very clean and served us well during our stay. Overall, the room was adequate and comfortable, but did not make us say “Wow!” The cost was 4400 baht per night, which is about 140 dollars. It was quite pricy.
There were many better features to Mora Hotel than the room. First, there was a lovely pool. This pool was good for swimming, but not great, since it did have steps at one end, making it awkward to turn while doing laps. However as small hotel pools go, this one was nice and created a calm atmosphere in the courtyard.
There was a roof top bar with a lovely girl working there who took very good care of us. The hotel featured afternoon tea for free, with refreshments and light eats. The area was mostly outdoors, but did feature a few tables inside for an escape from sun, wind and/ or mosquitoes! We enjoyed a bite to eat during afternoon tea on day 1 and dinner here on day 2. Dinner was really nice and was served with an ice cold and fairly priced bottle of Prosecco, making Jammy Journey very happy indeed! The roof bar/restaurant was a great feature!
The breakfast was served downstairs in another lovely area. Food choices were diverse and featured plenty of vegetarian options. Breakfast was partially buffet style and partially made to order. Food service was exemplary and the taste of everything was divine. Breakfast filled us up for the entire day and lunch was not even an option lol. Breakfast service was a total win at Mora Hotel.
All the staff members at Mora were very nice and professional. From the parking attendant to the porters to the front desk staff and especially the food service workers, Mora Hotel really came through for us when it came to service level, hospitality and a welcoming vibe. We would definitely recommend Mora as a great place to stay in Chiang Rai and know that you will find a good experience here, just like we did!
Check out our video review of Mora Boutique Hotel.
