The Vibe: Play of light.

The Area: In a residential area on the tranquil Ping River, a few minutes’ drive from Chiang Mai’s Old Town.

The DNA: The Little Shelter Hotel incorporates a façade of wood and polycarbonate shingles, laid out like fish scales to become a watertight architectural plane. During daytime, natural light passes through the façade, creating a varying interior atmosphere at different times, while at night, the lights of the interior transform the building into a lantern glowing on the riverbank. The boutique hotel pays homage to local architecture, with its wooden façade and pitched roof, which is partially carved out on the west side to become a roof deck for guests to enjoy the panoramic river view at sunset. Inside, the public areas complement the exterior’s simplicity, giving it a gallery-like feeling that accommodates the site-specific installations inspired by the famous boh–srang umbrella, and creating delicate and dramatic silhouettes that express a contemporary interpretation of the local handicraft.

Suite-Me-Up: Guest rooms are created as places to rediscover Chiang Mai through a new angle, as images of important places and events of the city, such as its ancient wall, the floating lantern festival, the pine forest, the pah-chor canyon, and more, are placed on the rooms’ entire ceiling. The images, which are different for each of the 14 guest rooms, are infinitely reflected onto the long walls clad with small mirror shingles, giving a surreal borderless sensation. Each image emanates different and unique feeling: tranquil, playful, cultured, mysterious, etc., suitable for any preferences of the guests.

Seen: archdaily, archello, Architizer, designboom

✅ free Wi-Fi • size matters: 14 rooms (22-42m2) (237-452 sq ft) • hotel opened: 2019 • architecture: Department of ARCHITECTURE Co. ✅ free on-site parking • no pets allowed • 24-hour front desk