Rim Tai Kitchen at the Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai — Chiang Mai, Thailand

In the two or so decades since the Four Seasons launched its Chiang Mai hotel, the property has amassed a legion of fans, not least for its cinematic countryside vistas and remote location about half an hour north of the city centre. Set over 32 acres within the pretty Mae Rim Valley, speckled with rice farmers, lakes, lily ponds and waterfalls, the 99-villa hotel is a peaceful bolthole far from the hum of northern Thailand’s largest city, but still within striking distance of its famous landmarks.
Now, the hotel’s appeal has become even more honed with the launch of Rim Tai Kitchen, a cooking studio and restaurant. And while Thai cooking classes are hardly big news, this one scores points for its location in an old teak house surrounded by lush gardens dotted with banyan trees and views of the hotel’s rice paddies.
Inside, designer Bill Bensley has continued with the hotel’s traditional Lanna aesthetic, but has embellished the teak flooring and furnishings with dramatic bell hoods above the stoves and a dazzling chandelier that hangs over the communal table.
An itinerary of activities including market visits, organic tea classes and fruit and vegetable carving sessions are on offer, but we suggest heading over in the evening when the studio is transformed into ‘Thai Kitchen Live’, an interactive open-kitchen restaurant experience, where chefs show you how to whip up classics from papaya salad to wok-friend minced pork – the perfect dishes to be washed down with a post-dinner tipple on the adjacent cocktail lawn.
ADDRESS
Mae Rim-Samoeng Old Road, 50180
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Lauren Ho is the Travel Director of Wallpaper*, roaming the globe, writing extensively about luxury travel, architecture and design for both the magazine and the website. Lauren serves as the European Academy Chair for the World's 50 Best Hotels.
-
Serious cyclists now have serious options, courtesy of two new models from Canyon
With two new bikes, the Endurace: ONfly e-bike and Endurance: AllRoad, Canyon is innovating with both price and performance
-
New members’ club Beihouse revives Beirut’s architectural heritage
Following the devastating 2020 explosion, three 19th-century homes in Gemmayzeh become a social hub balancing cultural memory with contemporary luxury
-
Aman New York unveils exclusive US Open-themed experience
Aman’s ‘Season of Champions’ pairs Grand Slam action with personalised recovery and performance treatments designed by Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova
-
Retreat to Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, a sleek city sanctuary
Aman returns to its Thai roots for its third civic outpost, weaving past and present to create an urban pleasure dome
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the world
Celebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
-
How Four Seasons Hotels became The White Lotus’ unofficial star
As The White Lotus season three whisks us to Thailand, Marc Speichert, chief commercial officer of Four Seasons Hotels, discusses the luxury group’s perfect synergy with the hit HBO series – and where you can live the experience
-
Tour an iconic 1970s Bangkok hotel reborn
A new generation of luxury awaits at the entirely rebuilt Dusit Thani Bangkok, with interiors by André Fu Studio
-
Aman’s cabana pop-up shop arrives with an eye to sustainability
Find the new Aman cabana pop-up shop, in collaboration with Luxury Frontiers, at Amanpuri in Phuket, Thailand, and coming soon elsewhere
-
InterContinental Chiang Mai The Mae Ping is a graceful sanctuary in Thailand’s northern capital
From welcoming chimes to a skybar, InterContinental Chiang Mai The Mae Ping blends five-star hospitality with Southeast Asian culture
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico
-
Elephant World wins Best Sanctuary: Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021
Including exhibition space set amid courtyards and pools, the Elephant World's architecture nods to both human and elephant needs; all, to a design by Boonserm Premthada's Bangkok Project Studio in Thailand