The hotel was lovely. Warm welcome, room clean and great location. Really lovely decor. The best thing was the breakfast that you can have at anytime anywhere for no extra cost. The only comment would be that at night time due to the decor the pathways are a little dark and difficult to follow. Other than that a great place to stay. From the hotel if you turn right there is wonderful place ( big purple signs) that do the most lovely treatments and massages at a better price than the hotel charges. Definitely worth a try.

Actually that's not quite true, as we didn't bother to check out the award winning Dara Dhevi - afraid just a peek might cost us a week's wages. For the everyday person or family the U does it very nicely thank you. So nicely for the price that giving five stars might just tempt them to raise the rate.
Ocasionally, whilst sitting in the lovely open area beside reception, we would look up to see that passersby, always tourists, intriqued by seeing a snippet behind the high front wall would wander in and all agog ask if this was indeed a hotel. Rather than feel smug at their surprise and envy, we gave silent thanks for the hours spent on TA researching the rest. So there's strength in it's location and ambience, but the peace is contained behind walls in a wonderfully simple design that accomodates only 41 rooms.
You can pay a little extra to obtain a ground floor room which gives access to your own pool, or share the big one. As others have noted, they are all bone chillingly cold and really only get spasmodic sunlight due to their position. I noticed every person who entered the pool would bring their head up and say "It's freezing!" or something similiar in another language..like, BRRRRRR. Remembering how hot the weather is, it only takes a few minutes immersion to see the sense in this refreshing way to cool down. Just don't give yourself a coronary by diving in.
It's no good thinking it's just a room for the night (you should be out touring around right?) In our cases, we were in the city primarily for dental work. Complicated, think wisdom teeth, and that equalled pain. So no one would begrudge us the plan to spend a quiet week at the U followed by another two weeks at a city apartment, our touring base. Which meant everything at the U mattered. The breakfast was tasty, from limited menu selections and a sweet little fruit/toast buffet. Yes, go on, have it anywhere or anytime you like. The thing is, you only have to ask the staff once, and it's remembered. For example, my breakfast was coming out cold, and so I politely asked for the plate to be hot. And so it came for the next week. You have to love the Thai people, they never like to offend and are always willing to learn. The management also lead by example, as our only gripe on the evaluation card was inconsistent hot water -for the second person's shower only. They emailed to tell us they were listening and acting on the problem. I'm not a fan of the everyday dinner menu there, there was better nearby, like ten paces nearby. Upstairs an open bar a great idea but did'nt appear to be utilized much, maybe that's a good thing LOL. .
Chiang Mai has horrible infrastucture problems, not really keeping up with the huge influx in tourism. This relates to housing, footpaths and traffic but most noticeably, dare I mention, the sewer. Shopkeepers do their best by sweeping things super clean, so don't litter. But sometimes the smell is atrocious, mostly over drainage areas along the walkways. It's simply unavoidable, but more avoidable in some places rather than others. The U Chaing Mai is one of the more settled accomodations in the main street of the Old City. I suggest you stay there, as we made it our business to look around, and many dwellings outside the gates and their situated area were somewhat disappointing. Also it is a pleasant ten minute walk to the gates, and the (sort of ) newer part of town starts directly as you walk through those gates, so everything is relatively easy to access. I would choose the Shangri la second, it's set well back, superb huge fit out, but lesser area, short distance from night market though, and if it matters, burger king!! Go Lanna style if you think you're getting authentic, after seeing,we would not. The rooms at U are not that big, but the bed is a dream, and cute bathroom. The floors are polished concrete. Great AC = cool and restful sleep.
Once again we would like to thank the staff, all beautiful, none more so than Tony. The reception staff awesome, had to laugh at them ordering a pizza delivery for us (soft on the teeth or lack of) and nothing was too much trouble. Also, they were not afraid to caution the few children we saw mucking up a bit, and inadverently getting into our small pool.

We stayed at the U Chaing Mai at the start of January. This was our first time in Thailand and Chiang Mai and the U hotel more than exceeded our expectations. The staff were incredibly friendly and nothing was too much trouble (including delivering breakfast to our room at 3 pm free of charge!) The hotel was peaceful and the rooms spacious and relaxing. Perfect base for exploring an amazing city.

The U Chain Mai has a great knowledgeable staff. They were available to give directions and after a long day of wandering around the area they always welcomed us back with a smile. The rooms were fresh and clear and very comfortable. Laundry service was perfect. I really liked the Thai breakfast and the flexibility to be able to eat it whenever.

The area around the hotel is perfect. As a single woman on the photo tour, I was happy to wander around the streets by myself and see a bit of the night market on my own. Great restaurant in the hotel and lots of fun places to eat near by. The area has so much going for it.

This place is definitely high on the return to Thailand list.