After 20 hours in the air and 9 hours sitting in airports from L.A. to Chiang Mai, I finally met up with my son and asked the question: Where are we staying?
Since I had not been briefed, I probably seemed a bit confused when he said,
" We'll be staying at a Guest House ".
I suppose I was expecting to be staying at a hotel, but he quickly assured me I would like the location.
Well he was right, the Galare Guest house is located at the end of a quiet street and sits alongside the Ping River.
It is also a short walk from the night market.
We had dinner in the Restaurant, and my son gave me my first tastes of Thai food.
After an Iced Coffee or two, I was feeling pretty good so we took a walk to the end of the street to an internet cafe.
The next couple of days the receptionists at the Galare arranged for private air conditioned vans with english speaking driver/tour guides that made sure we got to do whatever we wanted.
Everything from the King's Winter Palace to the Maisa Elephant Camp, where you can purchase actual paintings made by the elephants!
My son was right, it is not like a hotel, it is more like staying with some friends who have a big house.( friends that really like you)
The beds were comfortable, the hot showers were as good as home. The room had a small refridgerator and the bottled water stayed nice and cold!(Ahhhhhhh)
I really enjoyed the breakfasts overlooking the Ping River from the restaurant.
Dont miss making reservations for the Khan Toke dinner at the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center...Repeat...Dont miss making reservations for the Khan Toke dinner at the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center.
And bring your appetite,( Mmmmmm, Burmese Pork Curry!!!!!)
There are also some nice riverfront restaurants as well as floating reataurants which cruise the Ping as you dine.
The decorations of the buildings at the Galare are ecclectic yet very Thai, and along with the dense vegetation, and the river, you find yourself in a sanctuary of peace and quiet, whilst deep in the heart of the second largest city in Thailand.
And remember, the little Ghecko's are your friends!

I normally stay in mid priced hotels, but after reading all the reviews I decided upon this place. I was not dissapointed. We stayed there in June 2005 and it looked like they were in the process of upgrading some of the rooms. The rooms are basic but have everything that you NEED (a/c, fridge, telly, wardrobe, shower and bed), if a little dark, but then you don't sit in the hotel all day do you, so what does it mater? Staff were friendly and helpfull and the place was clean, which is about the most important thing.

The one thing lacking from the rooms was any tea/coffee making facilities, but room service is availble up till 9:30pm and cold drinks available all night. There is pleasant little balcony area outside the rooms to sit and have a drink or a smoke. There is also a nicely kept little garden area if you want to sit in the sun.

The guesthouse has a small resturant attached which will cater for most tastes and is priced at Thai prices. The only thing that lets the place down, in my eyes, is the pricing structure; the rooms are cheap enough for what you get but don't include breakfast (which I do sort of prefer as it leaves you free to have breakfast when you want, not when the hotel tells you you have to have it), but the internet and the tours are expensive (plenty of other places so this is not a problem) and remember that the prices in the restaurant are all +10%. Then that said, they normally charge a late check-out fee of half a day - we checked out late, but as the place was not busy due to low season, they did not charge us for this.

The guest house is in a very good location, away from the noise and yet an easy walk to all the hustle and bustle of the shops and markets. Plenty of Bhat Buses go past the end of the lane, so getting out and about is easy.

All in all, a very pleasant, friendly and relaxed place to stay. Would I stay there again? Yes, I think I would.

Chiang Mai is one of our favorite cities - we try to go there once a year. For the past four or five years, we've stayed at a great little guest house that is conveniently located near the Night Market, yet seems like it is miles away from the noise & traffic. It's located right on the Ping River, and has lots of greenery and flowers. There are about 35 rooms - they're very comfortable, though not "high style". All the rooms have tvs, fridges and a/c; some of the rooms have (reasonably-priced) broadband. They have an excellent, inexpensive restaurant located on the riverside. They also run tours to various tourist attractions in the area - we haven't taken one, but our friends did, and they were very satisfied. The staff is extremely helpful and friendly. It's a family-run place and they've been in business for decades. It seems like most of the people who stay there have been there multiple times (like us). It seems to fill up almost every night in the high season, so book ahead to be sure to get a room (you can book with them online). And, on top of this all, it is very inexpensive.

The Galare was very well placed to the night market. It is at the end of a quiet lane with some pleasant outdoor areas attached. It is a family run business, they are clean efficient and friendly. The dining area is next to the river, the food is plentiful and cheap. The rooms are basic, but OK.
We moved after two nights to the "Riverview" next door which was more upmarket but the staff were distant and we moved back to the Galare which was somehow more relaxed and friendly. The a/c is quite noisy but efficient and is useful for blocking out 'night noises.'
There is a taxi service directly opposite the gate and 'Sopin' the friendly driver speaks quite good English and is a fountain of knowledge. He can be hired for a few hours at reasonable rates for tours etc....often much cheaper to do it that way than to go on organised tours. We had a pleasant stay and will look forward to staying there again.