 The
Rachamankha is much more than just a hotel.
It is an experience. For the owners, who are two of
Thailand's most famous designers and architects, it is a
creation of love and a treasury of Lanna art and Chinese
antiquities, which can be found in every guest room and
throughout the hotel. The combination of Lanna art and
interior design, and the temple style architecture has
created a haven of peace - the kind that penetrates you
and touches your heart. This is an ideal hotel for
people in need of rest and relaxation
 The
design of the hotel is taken from the viharn (chapel) of
one Thailand's most beautiful old temples, Wat Phrathat
Lampang Luang in Lampang Province, which is why the
hotel looks and feels like a temple. The hotel is
planned according to ancient principles of Chinese
architecture because the architect and interior designer
want the hotel to reflect the Chinese roots of Thai
architecture. The interior design is based on northern
Thai Lanna culture, which is a blend of Chinese, Dai,
Laotian, Lua, and Burmese cultures. This accounts for
why the hotel is full of Chinese antiques and
exemplifies the art and architectural features of all of
these cultures. Altogether, the hotel is a cultural
masterpiece one of the uppermost aims of creating the
Rrachamankha was to enable tourists to experience - feel
and touch - genuine Lanna culture, even though it will
take many years to recoup the enormous cost of
construction and decoration. No expense has been spared
to create this experience, and indeed, many items of
Lanna furniture and many of the decorative pieces of
Lanna culture were bought in Burmes, Lao and China.
The walls thrust out
the hotel are made in an ancient manner that goes back
to Greco-Roman times and which is commonly used by Thai
temples. They are made from earthen bricks that are
covered with a white limestone plaster the takes two
months to make, and which insulates the rooms so well
that they always feel cool, however hot it is outside.
Earthen roof tiles, which are a feature of Dai culture,
also half to keep the rooms cool.
When you arrive, you
enter the first courtyard, which is guarded by two Ming
dynasty lions. In front of you there is a gorgeous and
very rare jip tree, which is over 100 years old, and
whose red flowers hang down to the ground. The surface
of the courtyard is made from handmade earthen bricks.
Reception is the room on your left, and is unlike any
other Reception area that you will have encountered. The
doors are beautifully carved in Lanna style, a large
cloth hangs from the wall telling a story from the
Vessantra Jakata, and Chinese antiquities decorate the
room. Even the Reception table is an antique.
The main courtyard
adjoins the first courtyard and is split in two by a
large open-air lounge, which has a tall temple style
roof and red wooden pillars. It is decorated tastefully
with Chinese antiquities, the doors are beautifully
carves, and furniture is rattan and classic Chinese,
Chinese porcelain lamps and an antique chandelier in the
centre provide self lighting, while 12 rare nineteenth
century paintings depiction scenes from the Vessantra
Jakata fable adorn the walls.
The courtyard garden is made up of small lawns and
sweet-smelling, white-flowered temple trees, and red and
white bougainvillea, which enhance the peacefulness. The
guest rooms are located at the sides of the courtyard,
under an earthen tiled roof supported by a white
colonnade that runs the full length of each side. Old
Lanna boxes and trunks are placed under the colonnades
for decoration.
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