Chiang Mai’s best spas for all budgets

What is it? One of Chiang Mai’s local secrets, this little spa is humble in size but as heartfelt as their name suggests. With cosy treatment rooms in a converted house in Suan Dok – which has its very own herbal steam sauna in the back yard – Heart N Soul is the best of the city’s affordable bunch. It might be no-frills but it’s top service from their family-like team, with many of the excellent therapists employed there since its inception.

Why we love it: You can tell a lot of dedication went into sourcing the products used here, from the fresh cucumber facial scrubs to the fine coconut oils for massaging – everything smells very organic and natural. It’s also an extremely budget friendly spot to make a full spa day of it. 

Time Out tip: Ask to be added to their LINE contacts for monthly offers on different combinations of treatments. 

Heart N Soul Massage. 31 Suthep Road, Suthep. Treatments start at B350 for 60 minutes, herbal steam just B350. 10am-8pm, closed Mondays

What is it? A love letter to Northern Thai culture, this is Chiang Mai’s original ‘treat yourself’ spa. A wave of calm washes over you as soon as you enter the lobby of this oasis-like complex, built in and around a traditional Thai house in the heart of the Old City. Each of the 25 treatment rooms are named after, and themed around, a different small town or village in the region – the eagle eyed amongst you may notice the anthropological touches in the design. However, you may well be too relaxed to notice.

Why we love it: This, the largest branch of Fah Lanna, is home to the best and largest herbal steam room in the city, packed with local ginger plai, canfer, lemongrass grass and dry tamarind leaves. Their tok sen practitioners are a cut above the rest, as are all the staff, who specialise in Lanna treatments, as the company’s name suggests. However, it’s their royal bath that really cliches it for us as there’s really nowhere else in the city to soak in milk infused, rose petal covered warm water, which is as heavenly and skin softening as you’d imagine.

Time Out tip: Make a day of it at Fah Lanna – their spa packages menu is so varied and the longest in Chiang Mai, offering combinations that cover just about every ailment whether physical or spiritual, internal or external. 

Fah Lanna Spa (Old City). 57 Wiang Kaew Road, Old City. Treatments start at B800 for 60 minutes, packages from B1,600. 12pm-9pm

What is it? Nuzzling the banks of the River Ping, Raya Heritage is a little leafy green hotel paradise, where the architecture revolves around nature and nature is infused throughout the buildings. The enclave’s dreamy spa is open to non-guests, as is the restaurant, which is a little known fact that we were delighted to share. Ai Waan’s vibes are as serene and organic as the hotel’s and it’s an intimate affair with two treatment rooms and a Thai herbal steam room tucked away in a silent corner of the resort. 

Why we love it: Local Lanna wisdom is top of the menu at Ai Waan, with traditional Thai body scrubs, tok sen and Thai herbal ball treatments taking centre stage. It’s the intricate bamboo massage that blew us away though. When we visited, the extremely skilled expert therapist, Aor, explained just how versatile her use of warmed bamboo batons is, she can get deep into knots or massage gently depending on your preference. Either way, you’re guaranteed to float out of there reborn.

Time Out tip: Check out Raya Heritage’s boutique store on the way out, the homewares and textiles are made by local artisans who the hotel work with directly to support.

Ai Waan Spa, Raya Heritage. 157 Don Kaeo, Mae Rim. Treatments start at B2,300 for 75 minutes. 10am-10pm

What is it? A spa complex as sumptuous as you’d expect from one of the city’s most elegant stays – the Anantara’s wellbeing wing is a serene dream that seamlessly mixes modern methods (like IV express therapy, perf for jetlag and hangovers) with healing treatments archetypal of Northern Thailand. Not only have they perfected modern and traditional but their signature offers blend Eastern and Western practices. The chiming singing bowls after your heavenly massage is another sublime touch.

Why we love it: First off, as a five-star resort, expect a truly a five-star spa experience – the therapists are truly next level. But our favourite flex here is that they also offer the only yam khang fire massage in the city. An extremely niche old Lanna treatment that’s hard to find – spiritually attuned therapists massage aching muscles by alternating between dipping their foot into herbal oils like local plai, and pressing their foot onto a hot blade positioned over a fire. Being massaged by a hot oily foot is more incredible than it sounds, trust us.

Time Out tip: Check Anantara Chiang Mai Resort’s social media accounts for low season deals and offers. They’re as keen to get locals in for these experiences as we are to go.

Anantara Chiang Mai Resort. 123 Charoen Prathet Road, Chang Khlan. Treatments start at B1500 for 60 minutes, packages from B4,400. 10am-10pm

What is it? There is no boxing around this, Wara Cheewa Spa is the most high end and spendy wellness experience in Chiang Mai but oh boy you get what you pay for. Translating to ‘a celebration of the gift of life’, Wara Cheewa perches within a stilted wooden complex that overlooks the Four Seasons gardens, giving that oneness with the elements vibe. Essentially this is the place to come when you need to feel like royalty for the day. The rooms and facilities, as well as the staff, are other worldly (the world the 1 percent live in, presumably) delivering high-end takes on treatments we know and those we didn’t even know existed.  

Why we love it: Whatever wellness looks like for you, it’s on offer here. As hydro-therapy devotees, we had to go for the hydro-thermal journey – a treatment that starts with a private herbal steam room to soften the skin before the most decadent body scrub going. There’s also the honey and salt scrub made from organically farmed honey, ylang‑ylang oil, sunflower seed oil and citronella. This is massaged off with a Vichy shower – eight hanging pipes of warm water clean you off and ease any muscle aches, before receiving the best Thai massage we’ve had in our lives. Never have we felt so relaxed or had skin so soft. Mind blowing stuff.

Time Out tip: After your treatment, book in for afternoon tea at Khao, the resort’s gorgeous dining room. The pastry chef’s delectable platter is available from 1pm-5pm daily.

Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai. 502 Moo 1, Old Road, Mae Rim. Treatments start at B5500 for 60 minutes. 9am-9pm

What is it? Recently refurbished and reopened in 2025, The ii Spa, a sleek operation, is all about Lanna signature design and Ancient Lanna hospitality. The spa’s opulent gold, black and red colour scheme cannily representative of the fire used in traditional hong mor muang healing. It’s not only Lanna and Thai classics here though, there’s global fusion abounds – the therapists also deliver top notch Swedish oil massage and Indian head massage, as well as being the spot to go to for help with office syndrome.  

Why we love it: Comfort is king here from the sofas to sink into on arrival, the heated massage beds during your treatment and the reclining chaise-longe laden relaxation room to gather yourself upon afterwards. The Lanna signature massage includes a trilogy of treats – the most soothing tok sen, easing Thai herbal ball and artful Thai massage all adopting an incredibly aromatic orange infused oil. Blissful doesn’t fully describe it.

Time Out tip: While you’re there, why not make a night of treating yourself with a follow-up at Belén, where chef-table service takes you through ten courses of fine dining excellence unlike you’ve ever found in Chiang Mai before. Find out more here. 

InterContinental Chiang Mai the Mae Ping. 153 Sridonchai Road, Chang Khlan. Treatments start at B2,400 for 60 minutes. 10am-10pm.

What is it? Of all the branches of Sense – Chiang Mai’s reliably good value chain that spans the city – this is the one to make a pilgrimage to. Within the delightfully gaudy walls (okay, the building design could do with modernising but we kind of love the old school atmosphere) of this sprawling spa are a cluster of shared or private hot spring filled baths that make the perfect accompaniment for the affordable yet brilliant treatments on the menu.

Why we love it: The location is the first boon – out in the rural countryside of the city limits, heading here feels like a real spa day adventure. It’s a beautiful area, which alone sets it apart from its inner city counterparts. The life affirming soaks in the piping hot baths are the real selling points here, reclining in these tubs is unmatchably relaxing. Even the neighboring San Kampaeng Hot Spring has nothing on the immaculate vibes here. Couple bathing with one of a plethora of traditional Thai treatments to choose from – there’s Thai massage, herbal ball massage, body scrubs and foot treatments on the menu. 

Time Out tip: Go for a package deal and make an afternoon of it, you get more bang for your buck, which is going a long way at this spa as it is.  

Sense Hot Spring Wellness And Spa. 54 Tambon Ban Sa Ha Khon, Mae On. Treatments start at B450 for 60 minutes. Packages including onsen from B1,000. 10am-7pm

What is it? The other big name in Chiang Mai’s swankier spa scene is the Oasis chain, who have a handful of outposts across town. It’s high end and make no mistake, but this branch in the centre of the old city is an oasis by name and by nature. Stepping inside their white walls, the bucolic gardens are so serene that the busy streets outside melt away. 

Why we love it: It’s fancy, there’s no other way to put it. But aside from that it’s one of the only places in town that offers Ayurvedic treatments like the ultimate in zen experiences – shirodhara (having warm oil gently dropped upon your forehead, aka your third eye). Indeed the menu at Oasis is mind bogglingly long, as is the list of packages, but whatever you opt for, their locally sourced natural products take the cake. 

Time Out tip: This is one to book in advance, Oasis gets busy, for good reason.

Oasis Spa (Wat Prasing). 4 Samlarn Road Phra Sing, Old City. Treatments start at B1,200 for 60 minutes. 10am-10pm

What is it? A staple of the Old City with five branches dotted around, this spa looks fancy and high end from the outside, with lush greenery shrouding the exterior. But the intrepid spa hunters among you within you will be stoked to find the surprisingly affordable menu within. Essentially, Calm Massage looks like a place with high end prices but it’s actually a humble outfit with skilled and friendly staff. Peak Chiang Mai really.

Why we love it: Calm has all the gear and the idea. Boho chic textiles, whitewashed walls, exposed teak wood beams and of course the small jungle outside, it’s a bijou time and oozes serenity (it is in the name after all) but remains delightfully cheap. Their head massage is one of the best in the city and office syndrome packages absolutely miraculous.

Time Out tip: This elegant chain is popular with locals so it’s another to book in advance.

Calm Massage and Spa, 3 Khang Ruan Jum Road, Old City. Treatments start at B450 for 60 minutes. 11am-10pm

What is it? Santitham’s nicest spot is probably the only calm soothing corner of the pulsing neighbourhood. Within its leafy garden and pastel walls a wide range of well priced spa days await. You could drop in for an hour, but you probably won’t want to leave this soothing sanctuary in haste. They make mixing and matching treatments extremely appealing here.

Why we love it: Cheeva’s body scrub and body wrap menu is very strong indeed. Matcha body scrub? Chocolate body wrap? Who doesn’t want lickable skin? Also of note, for anyone on a quick slimming mission, are Cheeva’s clay body wraps which usually help shed a few pounds.

Time Out tip: Check their socials for offers and deals, there’s often an irresistible bolt on treatment for a very nice price.

Cheeva Spa, 4/2 Hussadhisawee Road, Santitham. Treatments start at B899 for 60 minutes. Add a scrub to your booking from just B399. 10am-7pm