Raming Lodge Hotel & Spa

The Raming Lodge is located right in the midst of a raucous bar district. While the street it is on is home to a lot of hostess bars, there are also other choices, and the hotel's own Rock Me Burger and Bar restaurant is one of the most happening spots. Local Thais, expats, and tourists flock here, as the restaurant serves up gourmet hamburgers and plates of giant ribs, and the accompanying bar, which has stools outside along the street, has craft beers, wine, and cocktails. The young crowd loves this spot, and plenty of hipsters show up for the upscale burgers. Inside the hotel, the next most popular hangout is the swimming pool, located in a separate building out back. The pool is small but has plenty of sunshine, although it doesn't have nearly enough loungers for the size of the hotel. There is a mix of travelers here, from young to old, from couples to families, as the hotel provides rooms of all sizes and is quite budget friendly. 

Raming Lodge Hotel is located just outside of the east gate of the Old City of Chiang Mai. It's on a one-way street littered with bars and restaurants, and is close to all of the attractions of the historical old town. It is about equidistant from the west side of the old city and the downtown and Night Bazaar of Chiang Mai, each a 15- to 20-minute walk in either direction. The airport is a 15- to 20-minute drive. The biggest drawback here, at least for some, is that the front of the hotel area is smack in the midst of the Chiang Mai hostess bar scene, and so the area might appear a bit seedy at night to some. While the street in front of the hotel does get very noisy at night, with lots of loud music, the hotel itself is set back from the road and the interior and rooms are very quiet.

The rooms at the Raming Lodge are quite spacious compared to others in the neighborhood and are thus offer a solid value considering the generally low rates. Rooms range from Superior to Deluxe to Grand Deluxe, and there's a variety of suites. The Superior and Deluxe rooms are the same except that Deluxe rooms come with free airport transfers and free minibar snacks and drinks. The higher-floor Grand Deluxe and Suite rooms have bathtubs and balconies. All rooms come with writing desks, flat-screen TVs with cable channels, electric hot water kettles with free coffee and tea, bathrobes and slippers, safe boxes, mini-fridges, and free Wi-Fi. There are options for twin beds, king size, and even triples (one double and one twin). All the rooms feature contemporary Thai decor with patterned and colorful bed covers and cushions, and the Deluxe and Grand Deluxe rooms even have painted murals on the walls.

The Raming Lodge has a sunny small outdoor swimming pool in a separate building out back. The pool isn't too big and the 12 or so odd loungers around it can get filled fast, especially considering that there are 85 rooms in the hotel, but it's a pleasant spot nevertheless. The hotel also has a small spa but it is more of a basic massage setup than anything fancy.The best facility at the hotel is its restaurant, the Raming Lodge Restaurant and Rock Me Burgers and Bar. It's a small indoor and outdoor restaurant that act as the breakfast niche in the morning and then turns into one of Chiang Mai's most happening gourmet hamburger restaurants and bars in the afternoon/evening. The walls inside are adorned with Beatles, Elvis, and Jimi Hendrix pictures, and other odes to the gods of rock 'n roll. There are bar stools lining the area out front, and as Loy Kroh Road is full of bars in this area, it's a real scene at night. The restaurant serves up large, stylish hamburgers and giant ribs; it as popular with locals as with tourists.