Siamese Spa

This is the kind of spa you go to for the massage, not the marble. Thai wellness treatments done properly, in a setting that's comfortable rather than styled to within an inch of its life, on Sanambin Road in central Mueang Chiang Rai. If you want incense, infinity pools and a menu of signature rituals with invented names, book a resort spa instead. If you want your shoulders sorted out after a morning at Wat Rong Khun and a long songthaew ride, this is the sort of place that does it.

The location works in its favor. It sits on a main road in the middle of town, so it's easy to fold into an afternoon rather than making a special trip. My advice is to treat it as the period at the end of a day of sightseeing rather than the start of one. Walking out loose-limbed and then straight into a night market is a better sequence than the other way round.