

U Chiang Mai
In the heart of Lanna culture
A luxurious and modern hotel within Chiang Mai’s ancient city walls.
U Chiang Mai’s philosophy revolves around getting you involved in local life and experiencing the enchanting culture of Chiang Mai. In the heart of the city within the famous ancient walls, this charming hotel has a fantastic location so you can explore the nearby sights like Wat Chedi Luang. On arrival, you’ll feel as though you’ve been transported back in time as you step into the restored Residents’ Lounge, which was once the residence of Chiang Mai’s governor.
In the heart of Lanna culture
Why our experts like it
We've done the exploring, asked the locals, made the mistakes, and found the gems... so you don't have to start from scratch! These are the bits we think you'll love the most. Think of it as travel advice from a friend who just got back and can't wait to tell you everything.

If you love French cuisine, look no further than La Belle Vie

An incredible way to kick off your Maldives holiday
“There's something pretty special about travelling by seaplane. The view from the sky is extraordinary - tiny specs of island and shades of blue that barely look real.”


The iconic, mile-long sandbank
Perfect for isolated sunbathing, dramatic photoshoots, and watching breathtaking Maldivian sunsets.

Snorkelling and diving isn't the only way to catch sight of the underwater world
“If snorkelling and diving isn't for you, it's possible to catch a glimpse of the reef from a glass-bottomed boat instead.”


Kids club at Niva Kuramathi Maldives
Supervised activities through the day, so younger guests get their own adventure while you get a quiet hour by the water.
In the heart of Lanna culture
We book this hotel the way you want it
This Maldives hotel is perfect on its own, but add Sri Lanka, Dubai or the Seychelles and it becomes something even better. Discover our multi-centre holidays and make paradise last longer.
In the heart of Lanna culture
Rooms and suites
The 41 comfortable rooms here continue the traditional theme with a modern twist. Upgrade to a Deluxe Room to enjoy extra space. For a more personalised experience, the U Choose programme enables you to choose your own pillow type, soap, tea and minibar items prior to arrival.

Superior Room
Modern and contemporary room with intricate and colourful design elements. • air-conditioning • balcony • TV • coffee maker • king-size bed • views out across the pool and garden • 33m²

Deluxe Room
Modern and contemporary Thai-style room with intricate and colourful design elements. • air-conditioning • balcony • TV • coffee maker • king-size bed • views out across the pool, garden or temple • bathtub • 43m²
Food & drink
EAT restaurant offers innovative cuisine, with a European-influenced bistro for breakfast, and delicious local fare cooked using traditional methods. After indulging in a delightful meal, head up to the DRINK bar to enjoy a refreshing cocktail while watching the bustling street life below.
While there's a superb 'whenever/wherever' approach to breakfast here, Eat hosts a bistro-style seated breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cooked to you requirements, the Thai food served here can be enjoyed exactly as you like it. Just upstairs from Eat, you'll find Drink – an open-air bar area to unwind after a day of exploration.
We love the 'whenever/wherever' approach to breakfast here.
EAT — Hosting a bistro-style seated breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cooked to your requirements, the Thai food served here can be enjoyed exactly as you like it. DRINK — Just upstairs from EAT, you'll find DRINK an open-air bar area to unwind after a day of exploration.



In the heart of Lanna culture
Things to do nearby
Curated experiences to help you do more, see more, or simply switch off while you're here.

Chiang Mai’s Highlights in Half a Day
• Duration: half day • Time: 8.30am to midday or 1pm to 5pm • Daily departures • Operates year round • Private experience Good to know — As the itinerary includes several temples, you’ll need to dress appropriately: long trousers, below-the-knee skirts and covered shoulders.

Chiang Rai City & Artistic Sanctuaries
Start at the Blue Temple (Wat Rong Suea Ten), famous for its vivid blue interior, golden details, and striking dragon statues. This modern temple offers a fresh take on Buddhist design and is a top Chiang Rai attraction for art lovers and spiritual seekers. Continue to Wat Huai Pla Kung, home to a towering 9-story pagoda and the serene Guan Yin Buddha. This unique temple combines classic Buddhist elements with contemporary architecture, offering panoramic views and a peaceful atmosphere. End your journey at the world-renowned White Temple (Wat Rong Khun), a masterpiece by Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. Known for its all-white facade and sparkling glass mosaics, this temple symbolizes purity and wisdom. It’s one of the most photographed temples in Thailand and a must-visit for anyone exploring Chiang Rai. Whether you're interested in Thai culture, Buddhist art, or spiritual travel in Thailand, this Chiang Rai temple tour offers an unforgettable experience. • Duration: Half Day • Times: 8.30am to 12.30pm or 1.30pm to 5.30pm • Daily departures • Operates year round • Private experience

Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
From here, you’ll head into the kitchen where a professional chef will teach you how to prepare three classic Thai dishes, which you’ll enjoy for lunch. • Duration: half day • Time: 8.30am to 2.00pm • Daily departures • Operates year round • Group experience Good to know — Suitable for children over 12. The cost includes private transfers to and from Chiang Mai, but the class itself is shared with other participants.

Chang Chill: Ethical Elephant Encounter- Full Day
Afterwards, you'll lend a hand in filling feeding tubes with a variety of elephant treats such as corn, sugar cane, grass, and bananas. Following a vegetarian Thai lunch, there'll be a traditional herb lesson which takes place in the sanctuary's own herb garden, and a 'cooking class' during which you will prepare the four elephant's supplements. • Duration: full day • Time: 7.30am to 5.00pm • Daily departures • Operates year-round • Group experience

Ahsa Farm Experience (from Chiang Rai)
After a 09:00 pick-up from your hotel in Chiang Rai, you’ll travel to Ahsa Farm Stay to meet your host and chef. A short walk around the farm introduces the ingredients you’ll be using, with time to gather whatever is in season, from eggs and herbs to vegetables, banana flower, or bamboo shoots. Back in the kitchen, you’ll cook a few northern Thai staples together. Typical dishes include a tomato-and-chilli dip with minced pork, a coconut soup with mushrooms, and steamed sweet banana. Lunch is the meal you’ve prepared, served with seasonal fruit and coffee or tea. Later in the afternoon, try the farm’s Chicken Coop Sauna, a rustic herbal steam sauna where you’ll relax with hot tea while the host applies a natural turmeric face mask. After a quick shower, you’ll return to your hotel in Chiang Rai. • Duration: full day • Time: 09:00 to 16:30 • Daily departures • Operates year-round (except blackout dates) • Private experience • Private transfers Good to know — Blackout dates apply on 12 November 2026 and 3 December 2026.

Chiang Mai After Dark: Street Food & Stories
Your foodie experience will kick off with a starter at a small restaurant that specialises in the local Lanna cuisine, as it's called. Afterwards, you’ll continue on to the nearby night market - a hive of activity after dark - where stall after stall serves up irresistible street food and drinks of every kind. You’ll learn how each is made and, of course, sample more than a few. Rounding things off in style, the tour concludes with a nightcap at a hip riverside bar. • Duration: evening • Time: 6pm to 10.30pm • Daily departures • Operates year round • Private experience Good to know — The tour is not suitable for under 18s. Local beer is included, but there’s a surcharge for the optional craft-beer tasting.

Perfect Journey- Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai/Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai
Why settle for a straightforward transfer when you can enjoy an enriching adventure instead? You'll be collected early in the morning and driven through northern Thailand’s picturesque countryside – rolling green hills, misty forested valleys and peaceful rural life unfolding along the roadside. Your first stop is the enchanting Mae Kampong Village, a beautifully preserved mountain community known for its harmony with nature and its gentle way of life. Here, wooden homes cling to the hillside, streams flow through lush forest and villagers maintain traditions passed down through generations. As you wander through the village, you’ll feel the tranquillity of a community deeply connected to its surroundings. After soaking up Mae Kampong’s natural charm, you’ll descend into the valley for a visit to a local coffee café nestled within a small home-grown plantation. Surrounded by greenery, you’ll learn about the village’s coffee-making process, from plant to cup and discover how local families cultivate their crops. A stroll through the garden offers intriguing insights into the region’s produce and the sustainable lifestyles practised here. Refreshed and inspired, you’ll continue your journey onwards to your overnight accommodation. • Duration: full day • Timings: 7.30am to 5pm • Private experience

Chang Chill: Ethical Elephant Encounter - Half Day
You’ll be collected from your hotel early and taken to ChangChill, an elephant sanctuary 90 minutes from Chiang Mai. On arrival, you’ll take an elephant walk, following a guide into the forest to watch the elephants grazing and socialising. You’ll learn more about ChangChill's four resident elephants and facts about Asian elephants. You’ll meet the mahouts and have the chance to ask questions about elephant conservation. You’ll pause for traditional Thai refreshments, watching the elephants bathing and playing in a mud pit. Then, you’ll head to a riverside Sala to help fill the elephant's feeding tubes with corn, sugar cane, grass, and bananas. During and after a lunch of delicious vegetarian Thai dishes, you’ll watch the elephants eating before you transfer back to your hotel. • Duration: half day • Time: 7.30am to 3.00pm • Daily departures • Operates year-round • Group experience

Trails of Doi Mae Salong
Explore scenic mountain roads lined with tea plantations, where terraced fields create breathtaking patterns across the hillsides. Near the summit, visit traditional tea houses to experience Mae Salong’s world-renowned tea culture, from cultivation techniques to ceremonial tastings. This immersive tour offers insight into hill tribe traditions, showcasing colourful attire, local customs, and ways of life that have endured for generations. Santikhiri is more than a destination, it’s a living museum of resilience, migration and cultural harmony. • Duration: Half Day • Times: 8.30am to 12.30pm or 1.30pm to 5.30pm • Daily departures • Operates year round • Private experience

Chiang Mai Old Town Walking Tour
After a visit to the fascinating Folklife Museum, where you’ll learn something of the local Lanna culture, you’ll explore two more ornate temples: Wat Phan Tao and Wat Phra Singh. Finish with a taste of local street food for lunch before another songthaew whisks you back to your hotel. • Duration: half day • Time: 8.30am to midday • Daily departures • Operates year round • Private experience Good to know — The tour is mainly on foot, so parents should ensure their children will be fine with walking or able to be carried if necessary. As the itinerary includes several temples, you’ll need to dress appropriately: long trousers, below-the-knee skirts and covered shoulders.

Ahsa Farmstay Experience
Day 1 — Arrive at Ahsa Farmstay in the late morning and settle in before lunch prepared with produce from the farm and the nearby community. In the afternoon, head out into the rice fields to learn how planting is done and try it yourself. Later, spend some time in the farm’s herbal steam sauna, set inside a traditional chicken coop-style structure overlooking the paddies. In the evening, join the host family for a northern Thai cooking class using ingredients gathered from the farm. Dinner follows, and the night continues with a short Thai dessert-making session before returning to your room. Day 2 — Breakfast is served at the farm in the morning. Afterwards, there’s time to pack up, say goodbye to your hosts, and depart mid-morning for your journey back to your hotel.
In the heart of Lanna culture
There is more than one way to do this trip
A match made in paradise
This hotel is perfect on its own, but add a second destination and it becomes something even better. Discover our multi-centre holidays and make paradise last longer.
In the heart of Lanna culture
In the area
In the heart of Chiang Mai, surrounded by the ancient city walls

In the heart of Lanna culture
Trip ideas
You've come this far - and the world has more to offer. Why not pair Niva Kuramathi with another island, add a stopover in Dubai on the way for city lights and desert skies, or extend to Sri Lanka for tea, temples and safari? Below you'll find our recommendations for maximising your time away...








In the heart of Lanna culture
When to visit
Whether you're chasing guaranteed sunshine or don't mind a little rain with your relaxation, here's how the weather stacks up throughout the year. Use the chart below to find your perfect window, or just pick whenever suits you best, paradise doesn't really have a bad season.
| Measurement | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average temp | 22°C | 24°C | 27°C | 29°C | 27°C | 26°C | 26°C | 25°C | 25°C | 25°C | 23°C | 21°C |
| Average rainfall | 110mm | 60mm | 75mm | 125mm | 220mm | 175mm | 150mm | 175mm | 200mm | 195mm | 210mm | 215mm |
| Average price | £4,746pp | £4,992pp | £4,149pp | £4,222pp | £4,827pp | £4,835pp | £5,104pp | £5,176pp | £5,176pp | £5,129pp | £3,958pp | £3,958pp |
In the heart of Lanna culture
Current offers
Savings worth having on the departures we think are worth taking. Every offer below applies to this hotel — check each one for the dates and conditions that come with it.

Save up to £300pp
Based on selected departures in September 2026

Save up to 25% when you book by 6th July
Based on selected departures in September 2026

Save up to 35% + complimentary meal upgrade
Based on 20th July 2026 departure

Free half-board upgrade
Based on selected departures in October 2026

Stay 7 nights, pay for 6
Based on selected departures in November 2026

Save up to £200pp on honeymoons
Based on selected departures in January 2027

Complimentary spa treatment for two
Based on stays of 7 nights or more

Free kids' places
Based on selected departures in August 2026
In the heart of Lanna culture
Build your trip
Pick your airport, then choose a departure date to see how the price moves across the year. Everything you change here updates the summary alongside.
Select holiday details
Departure details
Prices shown are per person, and based on the cheapest flight available that day.
May 2026
| Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2026
| Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
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Great offers on Niva Kuramathi Maldives
Escape to Niva Kuramathi and enjoy exclusive savings on your Maldives getaway.
View offersHave you considered a multi-centre?
Maldives pairs really well with other destinations, from Dubai to Sri Lanka.
View multi-centresGood to know
- Includes flights, baggage, and private transfers to and from your hotel
- Total flight time ~ 7 hrs
- Total transfer time ~ 2 hrs
- Overnight in Malé may apply (subject to flights & transfers)
In the heart of Lanna culture
Questions? Sorted.
Do I need a visa to visit the Maldives?
British passport holders are issued a free 30-day visitor visa on arrival. You'll need a passport valid for the duration of your stay, a confirmed onward ticket and proof of your accommodation booking.
When is the best time to visit the Maldives?
November to April is the dry season, with the most reliable sunshine and calmest seas. May to October brings shorter rain showers, lower prices and better surf.
What currency is used in the Maldives, and do I need cash?
The local currency is the Maldivian rufiyaa, but resorts price and bill in US dollars and take major cards. Most guests never need cash — a small amount is handy for tipping.
Is the Maldives good for honeymoons outside peak season?
Yes. Off-peak brings noticeably lower rates and quieter islands, and rain tends to come in short bursts rather than all day. Many resorts add honeymoon extras during these months.
What activities are there for older kids and teens in the Maldives?
Most resorts run watersports centres with windsurfing, kayaking and paddleboarding, plus PADI dive courses from around age ten. Snorkelling safaris, sandbank trips and night fishing all suit older children.
In the heart of Lanna culture
Guest reviews
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In the heart of Lanna culture
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