โฮวีส์โฮมสเตย์ (Howie's HomeStay)

Howie's HomeStay sits out in Mae Sa, the green valley north of Chiang Mai where the city gives way to orchards, elephant camps, and cooler mountain air. It is a 5-star resort with a still-small but telling track record — a 7.2 out of 10 review score from its first guest — and it carries a distinction most properties in the region can't claim: it was designed in collaboration with Bill Bensley, the landscape architect known across Southeast Asia for his theatrical, garden-forward resorts. Old City centre is 16.9 kilometres south; Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) is 18.2 kilometres away.

Getting to Howie's HomeStay

Mae Sa is not a quick hop from the Old City — at 16.9 kilometres, and 18.2 kilometres from the airport, this is a destination stay rather than a base for popping in and out of town each day. That distance is the point. Guests come here to trade the noise of the moat road for teak pavilions and tropical garden paths, the kind of setting Bill Bensley built his reputation on elsewhere in the region. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout, and a breakfast-included room plan can be booked, which matters more out here than it would in the city centre, where every soi has a coffee stand. Check-in runs from 14:00, with check-out by 12:00 the next day.

Rooms & What to Expect

The property lists four Suite configurations, all built around the same Suite-with-view concept but sized differently for different travelling parties. The smallest, at 35 square metres, comes with two single beds — a natural fit for friends or siblings travelling together. A larger version of the same suite, at 70 square metres, swaps in a sofa bed alongside a king bed, suited to a couple who might want a separate spot to read or work. A third 35-square-metre suite offers a single king bed for couples wanting a more intimate room, and a fourth, also 35 square metres, rounds out the options. Uncle Kham would point families toward the twin-bed suite and couples toward the king-bed rooms — the property clearly built its suites around who is sharing the space, not a single template repeated four times.

Amenities & Facilities

This is where Howie's HomeStay distinguishes itself from a standard resort. Confirmed facilities include tour arrangement services, a massage service, a golf course on the property itself, a pool along with a separate outdoor pool and a pool positioned for the view, gardens, and a hiking trail — an unusually outdoor-oriented list for a Chiang Mai stay. There's also a fitness room on site. Guests have specifically highlighted the airport transfer service, free Wi-Fi in every room, daily housekeeping, and the gardens themselves as standouts. It's a facilities list built for people who want to spend their days moving through the grounds rather than sitting in a single hotel room.

What's Nearby — Temples, Markets & Local Life

Being out in Mae Sa puts real distance between Howie's HomeStay and the city's temple circuit — Chiang Mai Zoo is 13.11 kilometres away, Wat Phra Singh is 16.66 kilometres, Wat Chedi Luang (วัดเจดีย์หลวง) is 17.03 kilometres, Tha Phae Gate is 17.32 kilometres, and Wua Lai Walking Street, the Saturday-night silverware market, sits 17.69 kilometres off. Those are trips worth planning as a full outing rather than a quick afternoon errand. What's genuinely close, though, tells a different story about this neighbourhood: the Siam Insect Museum is just 500 metres away, a small, curious stop that speaks to Mae Sa's identity as a valley of niche nature attractions. Home Pharmacy sits 750 metres off for anything guests might need day to day, and Mae Sa Golf Course is 860 metres away — walking distance for anyone keen on a round without leaving the immediate area. Further out, at 1.28 and 1.39 kilometres respectively, are Phoenix Adventure Park and the Mae Rim Shooting Range, both signs of how thoroughly this valley has built itself around active, outdoor day trips rather than temple-hopping.

Dining

There's no separate restaurant to point to here — instead, the hosts themselves, Howard and Jerri, cook home-style Thai meals for guests at every meal, with no fixed menu to work from. It's a personal style of hospitality that suits a property built around exclusivity: rather than a dining room serving whoever's booked in that night, meals are prepared for the guests actually staying.

Other Hotels Nearby

A short drive from Howie's HomeStay is Lanna Oriental Mae Rim, 2.2 kilometres away, rated 4 stars with a 7.8 out of 10 review score — a more conventional resort option in the same valley. Youdin Kindee Farmstay sits 2.4 kilometres off, rated 4.5 stars with an 8.4 out of 10 score, and leans into the same rural, garden-and-farmland character that defines this part of Mae Rim district. A little further, at 3.1 kilometres, is The Grand Morocc Hotel, 4 stars and also scoring 8.4 out of 10 — worth a look for travellers who want Mae Sa's quiet without quite the same isolation.

Guest Reviews

Howie's HomeStay carries an unusual credential for a young listing: it's ranked #1 of 25 hotels in Chiang Mai Province on Tripadvisor, with a 5 out of 5 rating there. On this site's own review breakdown, the picture is more mixed but still tells a coherent story — Service scored a full 10 out of 10, well above the Chiang Mai city average of 9, suggesting Howard and Jerri's hands-on hosting style lands well with guests. Cleanliness came in at 8 out of 10 against a city average of 8.9. Facilities, Location, and Value for money each scored 6 out of 10, below their respective city averages of 8.8, 8.1, and 8.4 — numbers likely shaped by the property's remote Mae Sa setting rather than the grounds or hosting itself, both of which the Tripadvisor ranking and the Bensley design pedigree suggest are genuinely strong.

Good to Know

This is a property that hosts only one guest party at a time — the whole villa reserved exclusively for whoever books it, rather than multiple rooms let out to separate travellers. That single detail explains a lot about the review pattern: intimate hosting by Howard and Jerri, home-cooked meals with no set menu, and a Bensley-designed setting of teak pavilions and tropical gardens, all delivered privately rather than shared with strangers down the hall. Check-in is from 14:00, check-out by 12:00.

Mae Sa asks visitors to commit to distance in exchange for a kind of privacy the Old City can't offer — and for a garden built by one of the region's most celebrated landscape architects, working with hosts who cook for their guests themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who designed Howie's HomeStay? The property was designed in collaboration with renowned landscape architect Bill Bensley, featuring handcrafted teak pavilions and tropical gardens.

How far is Howie's HomeStay from central Chiang Mai? It's 16.9 kilometres from the Old City centre and 18.2 kilometres from Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX).

Is there a restaurant on site? There's no separate restaurant — hosts Howard and Jerri prepare home-cooked Thai meals for guests at every meal, with no set menu.

Written by Terra Lanna from verified data — star rating, guest review scores, real coordinates and distances, and Agoda's own facility and location data. Master English version; other languages are translated from this.