A fire broke out early on Wednesday morning, 23 April 2025, at the Dhara Dhevi Hotel in Muang district, Chiang Mai, destroying the spa complex. The blaze, reported at around 2am local time, was quickly attended to by dozens of fire crews, who spent two hours bringing the fire under control.
The two-storey spa complex, which was under renovation, was largely made of teak wood and covered an area of about 2,000 sqm. Fortunately, no one was present at the time of the fire, and there were no casualties.
Local authorities confirmed that the building was completely destroyed. The power supply had been cut off, and the building had been closed for renovations.
The Dhara Dhevi Hotel, a five-star property which originally opened as the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in 2004 until its deflag in 2013, had faced ongoing financial difficulties, leading to its temporary closure. In a bid to recover, it was sold at auction for 2.11 billion baht (US$63.3 million) earlier this year, with outstanding debts reported at 4.3 billion baht (US$129 million).
Despite the fire, parts of the hotel, including the market and café zones, had recently reopened. The spa complex was not in use at the time of the fire. The hotel, built at a cost of over 3 billion baht (US$90 million), was initially one of Chiang Mai’s premier luxury destinations but has struggled financially, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The fire did not affect nearby communities, according to a public works official.