It's been a week since I left Chiang Mai for Shanghai. Right now, experiencing Shanghai's delayed typhoon and a cold snap, I miss Chiang Mai so much—its weather, its food, and its friendly people.
This was my first time in Thailand, my first time in Chiang Mai, and I was traveling completely solo. Before coming, concerns from family and friends, along with certain news reports, made me a bit apprehensive about Thailand. But all that anxiety and tension gradually melted away the moment I arrived in Chiang Mai and stepped into Loy Hotel.
As soon as I arrived, Corleen served a delicious welcome tea. ZEN knelt down beside me to explain the hotel check-in policies, mixing his English with a few words of heavily accented, "chewy" Chinese—both hilarious and endearing. My luggage had already been taken up to my room ahead of time. When I stepped into the elevator and pressed my floor, Lucus was standing outside smiling and bowing. Walking into the room, I was greeted by a subtle, soothing aroma of essential oils, with two adorable towel elephants waiting on the bed. Right then and there, I mentally gave Loy Hotel a five-star rating.
As for the hotel environment itself, the rooms are clean, comfortable, spacious, and bright. There is a lovely swimming pool on the first floor and a gym on the third. The hotel breakfast is also quite substantial—the Pad Krapow (pork with holy basil) and stir-fried rice noodles are genuinely amazing! I fueled up with a hearty breakfast at the hotel every day before heading out to wander around. The hotel is also very close to Tha Phae Gate, with several 7-Elevens nearby, making it super convenient to get anywhere. Even now, I can still smell the pleasant scent of the laundry I had washed at the hotel. The only minor drawback was that the room got a bit noisy at night, though that might just be because I have mild sleep issues. I hope Loy Hotel sees this review and considers stocking some earplugs, as I searched every 7-Eleven around and couldn't find any.
However, this tiny flaw is completely overshadowed by the staff at Loy Hotel, because they truly provide service from the heart—an experience that's hard to come by back home.
Every night when I got back to the hotel, ZEN would have a delicious welcome tea ready at the front desk—a very refreshing lychee tea. Seeing me carry back Thai milk tea from 7-Eleven every day, he even made some for me himself, telling me his Thai milk tea was free and tasted even better. The most comforting part of every evening was walking down the alley and finally catching sight of the Loy Hotel sign.
Because Loy is so popular, I could only book two nights, and had to move to another hotel for the rest of my stay. On the night before check-out, as I was having the Thai milk tea made by ZEN at the front desk as usual, he asked for my name and my favorite color, and ended up gifting me an adorable little blue elephant with my Thai name written on it. The next day during check-out, I left my luggage in storage and asked Lucus how long I could store it. In very standard Chinese, he replied, "Three months." Though it was just a joke, how I wish I could actually stay in Chiang Mai for three more months! 🥹
The day before leaving Chiang Mai, I went to see ZEN one last time, and he typed this sentence on his phone.
I suppose I will return to Chiang Mai.
Ps: Please pass along my regards to ZEN, Lucus, and Corleen. Thank you all so much.
Original TextTranslation provided by AI