Shangri-la beckons...........

I have just collected my Winter Escape flight tickets; Thai Airways LHR to Chiang Mai business class and in a new(ish) Airbus 340, not the clapped-out 747.

And then to a 3-month idyll from December to February at our Golden Cupids boutique hotel. So what’s so special that we spend all that time year on year?

First, the people.

The Cupids is an all-female establishment apart from the old gardener, Mr Si, and the owner’s son, Tom, who helps out at peak times.

First up is the owner, Peppe. She runs on high-octane adrenaline. She is kindness itself. She cooks marvellously; if you like Thai food this is to die for. If you fancy a change, how about a fillet steak imported from Australia? Or water-buffalo tongue and mash? Spagbog, which one young guest had for every meal including breakfast? Good old fish ‘n chips? And breakfast – comes with the room; full English, tropical fruit, or  rice soup anyone? She drives, organises cookery classes, picks you up at the airport (complementary) and generally fixes anything that needs fixing. Husband Peter is getting on a bit, but still keeps a beady eye on maintenance. After all, he owns (with Peppe), designed and built the whole place

Jan

Then there’s Jan who does all the admin, cooks, drives, gardens, arranges your tours, books the masseuses, operates the herbal steam bath, arranges the flowers, gathers the fresh veg from the garden for your tucker (which she herself has grown), cleans the pool and goodness knows what else. For the total eclipse of the sun, she lent us her welding goggles (the mind boggles!).

Tuum, Peppe’s daughter,  is super-chef. Her husband, Toon, is a top cop so don’t complain about the chilli. Then there’s Lala, Took and Ben who multi-skill.



The Cupids family

Our stay covers Xmas, New Year, and the Chinese New Year plus the fantastic Chiang Mai Flower Show. The Xmas party is an event in itself; American turkey, apple pie – the full Monty, plus spectacular entertainment.

And what about the hotel itself ?

Huge rooms with a king size and queen size bed in each; flat-screen TV; mini-bar; free wi-fi. Our room has a balcony overlooking the pool and gardens so that I can watch  the prolific bird-life without stirring from my armchair. Nice pool plus massage and steam bath; one of life’s sybaritic experiences is to have an hour massage (about £6), another hour in the steamer and then a splash in the pool to cool off.

About 20 minutes from down-town Chiang Mai, away from the heat and pollution, it adjoins the Mae Jo Agricultural University, so there are plenty of little restaurants and bars within walking distance that mainly cater for the students. If you feel energetic, the hotel will lend you a bike to explore the surrounding countryside

If you don’t believe me go to ‘Golden Cupids Sansai’ on Tripadvisor and see the reviews. It ranks #4 out of over 300 hotels in Chiang Mai province at this time. It is up there with the Mandarin Oriental that has a tariff 10 times higher. It is in the top 10 ‘best value’ for the whole of Thailand

You can get a virtual tour on www.goldencupids.com.

As that notorious Aussie Tourist Board advert said, ‘So where the bloody hell are you?