Boontarn Sanctuary

We have stayed in a number of traditional wooden houses during our holidays, and the most memorable ones were in Bali, Kyoto and Shirakawago. Now we can add Chiangmai's Boontarn Sanctuary to those.  At Boontarn, which the owner introduced to be a home-stay, the entire two-storey house was purpose-built to contain 4 bedrooms on each floor. And the upper floor also contained a hall decorated with beautiful antique benjarong ceramic vases, paintings and wooden chests. There is also a corner for meditation and contemplation. Despite the sumptious setting, we immediately felt a wonderful calmness and peace in the huge house. One soon realizes that this will be a home-stay with a difference, and to summarize how we felt about it - Boontarn Sanctuary is like a 5-star luxury resort coupled with warm and gracious care from the owners of this very welcoming home-stay. We were housed in a corner room on the upper floor which had windows opening out towards rice fields. With the 4-posted king bed and marbled bathroom - our room was perfect (sorry for our sparse and poorly taken photos).  But the highlight of Boontarn Sanctuary is the owner Khun Saeng Tien. She followed up days before our reservation to make sure that we had the right directions to reach Boontarn Sanctuary and, on the day of our arrival, made us feel at home in what is essentially her well-appointed estate house. Yes, she and her family lives in another beautiful wooden house in the same compound. We were also introduced to Khun Joe, her Bangkok-based son whom we later learnt is also an accomplished chef (his pork khao tom - porridge - is superbly oiishi - I miss it now!). Breakfast is prepared to order and served at pre-agreed time in the separately housed dining hall which overlooks the Sanctuary's beautiful garden. Khun Saeng Tien made sure that we slept and ate well here, and we enjoyed all the stories and conversations that she shared with us. Although Khun Saeng Tien does not speak much English (we conversed in Thai), there will be Khun Joe or someone else who does. Boontarn Sanctuary is perfect for adults to have a contemplative and relaxing holiday, and if we can share a tip - it's best to leave your young children and drunken parties at home!  Our two nights here, during the first week of the New Year, passed by so very quickly and, although we were sad to leave, we were grateful and happy to have made a warm connection with Khun Saeng Tien. So much so that we are hoping to return in the near future! It is a huge challenge to run and up-keep such a beautiful and intricately constructed wooden haven and we wish Boontarn Sanctuary a very good New Year and lasting business ahead! Highly recommended!!