Buddhists revere lotus as sacred symbols, offering the buds to the Buddha. The rooms and suites were designed in clusters of pavilions raised on stilts, similar to a northern Thai village. They are connected by walkways and sport elegantly curving roofs. Most striking are the gabled buttresses, a design found on ancient temples. My room had polished teak floors, a collection of Siamese art, celadon ceramics and a high, vaulted ceiling.
Several suites feature their own individual pools and terraces.
The Lanna Spa, a recently opened luxurious complex on the grounds, pampered me with an herbal steam bath and the following day with the most thorough massage I've ever experienced. I came out smelling better than a rose. The spa offers a variety of treatments using ancient ritualistic mixtures of herbs, spices and aromatic oils. The Sala Mae Rim Thai restaurant serves northern and vegetarian Thai dishes and European specialties. With typical Thai elegance and an eye to artistic arrangements, dishes come on sea-green celadon crockery, made from a glaze developed 2,000 years ago by master potters of northern China to replicate highly regarded opaque jade.