The Explorer’s Lodge at the Four Seasons Tented Camp — Chiang Rai, Thailand
Long celebrated by nature-loving aesthetes for its boundless rolling hills and far-flung seclusion, the Golden Triangle’s appeal has become even more tempting with the launch of the new Explorer’s Lodge at the Four Seasons Tented Camp.
Perched on a hillside near where the Ruak and Mekong Rivers meet, the two-bedroom villa is the resort’s alternative to its 15 two-sleeper luxury tents, dotted throughout the jungle with surrounding views of Thailand, Myanmar and Burma.
Designer Bill Bensley’s mood-board takes its cues from the resort’s 19th century safari-adventure theme, dressing the lodge with handcrafted wooden furniture, timber flooring, hurricane lamps and standout hand-hammered copper bathtubs. But with an outdoor plunge pool and, beyond that, a range of activities surrounding the camp’s rehabilitated elephants, it’s difficult to imagine spending too much time indoors.
We suggest a bracing climb to the resort’s highest point to watch the sunrise from behind the mountains of Laos over breakfast, before retiring back to the camp for a traditional Thai massage in the spa, surrounded by the lush bamboo jungle.
ADDRESS
499 Moo 1
Chiang Saen
Chiang Rai
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.
-
Wallpaper* Gift Guides: What beauty editor Mary Cleary has on her wishlistWallpaper* contributing beauty editor Mary Cleary shares the items she is hoping to unwrap this holiday season – from transporting fragrances to a must-have skincare device
-
A Dutch visitor centre echoes the ‘rising and turning’ of the Wadden SeaThe second instalment in Dorte Mandrup’s Wadden Sea trilogy, this visitor centre and scientific hub draws inspiration from the endless cycle of the tide
-
Hyundai is the latest car company to get into robotics: meet the Mobile Eccentric DroidThe MobED is a new product from Hyundai’s Robotics LAB, pitched at last-mile delivery and industrial applications
-
The Standard’s new hotel brings signature swagger to Thailand’s silvery sandsWith its design-driven new Thai resort, The Standard Pattaya Na Jomtien, the boutique hotel brand bets on modernist nostalgia
-
Retreat to Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, a sleek city sanctuaryAman 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 worldCelebrate 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 starAs 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 rebornA 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 sustainabilityFind 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 capitalFrom 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