Thailand

Le Meridien Chiang Mai is one of those "everyone does this because its the best option" decisions for any points/miles traveler visiting Chiang Mai. The hotel is relatively cheap (both points & cash), is modern & clean (which are somewhat rare in this area), and the location is fantastic. One of the larger night markets in the City is right outside your door.

LM also has a fantastic "roof top" (its not on the actual roof, but it is a few stories above ground level) pool with amazing views of the City.

If I were going back to Chiang Mai I would book this place without even looking at other options. That's how much I enjoyed it.

While staying in Chiang Mai, my boyfriend and I scheduled a cooking class through Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School and we are so glad we did. Sammy picked us up right from our hotel and drove us to his farm where the cooking class is hosted. His farm and set up for the class is stunning (make sure to check out the bathroom (trust me)- it's outdoors and filled with beautiful plants. The class was so hands on and it was some of the best food we ate during our trip - extremely fresh. The highlight of the class was that Sammy had scheduled in a 1 hour nap in his super comfortable hammocks in between meals.

We were able to add this excursion to our trip because we saved so much by booking all our hotel stays and flights with points!