RRA V3.3 Spring 2019 Siamese Crown

A Siamese

Bear with us, there’s a connection looming ... The lead character in the oftreworked saga of The King and I, Anna, was first played by Irene Dunne in the 1946 film, then by Gertrude Lawrence on Broadway in 1951. Deborah Kerr then stepped in (1956) and Jodie Foster had a go in 1999. Know that Anna was not simply the folly of a Hollywood scriptwriter, but the governess to the royal household of Siam from 1862 to 1867. Likewise, the number 137 is not a random calculation – rather, it’s the number of teak pillars on which Anna’s precocious son, Louis, built his traditional Thai-style manor when he returned to the former seat of the royal family in Chiang Mai.

And so to today – and a chance to engage a sense of royalty given that same (restored) residence now informs the centrepiece of the superb boutique resort, 137 Pillars House. See, we got there!

The immaculately renovated structure

now boasts the Palette restaurant, The Dining Room, Drawing Room and Jack Bain’s Bar, named in deference to the last owner, whose prominent family preserved the house since the demise of its original owners, The Borneo Trading Company. The colonial decor of rich, ornately carved teak, high ceilings and bright, airy spaces transports guests back to a time when the ways of England were the ways of the world.

After the meticulous restoration of the colonial Lanna (ancient Northern Kingdom) design by Professor Julaporn Natapanich and his architectural team, 137 Pillars House opened in 2012 with 30 suites. The multi-award-winning urban resort has since completed a nine-month refurbishment this February, which has seen the introduction of a new suite category, David Fleming Macfie Suites, refreshed landscaping and spa, as well as renovation to the signature perimeter, lotus pond and living garden walls that

enclose the lavish 25-metre lap pool.

Local artisans painstakingly restored the ornate walls throughout the property, using the ancient ‘poon tam’ technique that engages natural ingredients such as white cement, sand, lard, paper, raw palm sugar (jaggery), and seashells.

The three new 80-square-metre David Fleming Macfie Suites feature exquisite décor, customised divans boasting 400 thread-count bed linen and expansive living areas to suit a family of four or a couple looking for a luxurious haven. Each also has alfreso conservatory with a party-sized day bed, espresso machine and indoor and outdoor showers.

“Everyone should have legends, I think. They allow us to dream,” said Anna to the King. And one might say 137 Pillars House was born of such a dream.

– RODERICK EIME

137 Pillars Chiang Mai, rooms from $655 a night; 137pillarschiangmai.com