Review of Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle

Located in the heart of the rainforest and surrounded by mountains and roaring rivers, this tented camp lies in the far north of the country at the junction where the countries of Thailand, Burma and Laos converge.  Easy to combine a visit here with one at the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai to enjoy the best of both worlds, the transfer is a scenic four-hour drive from Thailand’s second largest city. 

The camp is around 73 kilometres north of downtown Chiang Rai and for arriving in style, there are limousine transfers from Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI) - 70 minutes by car and a distance of 65 kilometres - transfers by helicopter or by river, traversing the Mekong in style on a private cruiser. The camp is accessible by a 10-minute long-tail boat ride downriver or a ride through the jungle by a four-wheel drive vehicle. 

If you can drag yourself away from the camp, the concierge team can arrange tours of Chiang Rai to visit its temples and main sites; go across the border to Burma for a Discovery Tour with a half day tour of the border town of Takilek or cruise down the mighty Mekong River on a traditional craft to discover the Golden Triangle up close and personal. 

A vintage restored Land Rover is used to ferry guests around the hillside property and up to the Camp Peak.

Perfectly styled to evoke the free spirit and charm of yesteryear’s safari camps with today’s amenities, each of the 15 air-conditioned tented rooms (five deluxe and ten superior / Superior River-View – the former offering an additional custom-made hot tub) are individually named and styled accordingly with their own unique colour scheme. Reached by a fern filled walkway off the main path, every tent has been given abundant privacy to ensure all the guests enjoy the sound of wildlife rather than each other. 

Each of these roomy accommodations offer 54 square metres of canvas living with hand-crafted entrance doors; thatched roofs; ceiling fans; wooden floors; rustic colonial furnishings crafted from local materials such as bamboo, leather and hardwood; beds with mosquito netting; hurricane lamps and wide wonderful decks from which to enjoy the jungle views, mountains and the Ruak River. The bathrooms are equally unique with large soaking claw-foot bathtubs and double vanities housed in the living area and the restroom and outdoor rainfall showers granted more privacy just off the main space, with toiletries housed in ceramic pottery from the area. This being an all-inclusive resort, mini bars are packed with gin, vodka, rum and whiskey with welcome bottles of champagne. There are safes for valuables, Nespresso machines and Wi-Fi but no televisions to spoil this immersive back to nature experience. 

The Explorer’s Lodge at the far end of the Camp enjoys its own private infinity pool and ample terrace with 232 square metres of accommodation for up to six guests. Built into the hillside, there are two side by side pavilions with a lower decked seating area and the pool between them, fringed by verdant jungle planting and ferns. The upper deck is perfect for BBQ’s and Cinema Paradiso film showings under the stars.

The Jungle Spa is harmoniously located on an open-air platform overlooking the jungle valley within the leafy bamboo forest and features two al fresco treatment rooms and a wide menu of treatment choices. Favourites include the Mahout Recovery massage with a fragrant poultice filled with camphor, lime and lemongrass and the Ruak Bamboo where a foot bath of resort-grown kaffir lime leaves, local herbal oils and smooth bamboo sticks target deep-seated muscle tension. There are also body wraps to nourish the skin using Burmese, Laotian and Thai ingredients and special treatments customised for children. 

Other camp facilities include a landscaped riverside pool for cooling off in the heart of nature; a wine cellar for tasting different vintages paired with cheese and a trading post boutique for buying textiles made by the hill tribes, handmade silk scarves and more. 

Activities wise, there are abundant choices here including Thai massage, cooking or cocktail making classes, hiking, birdwatching and foraging expeditions. 

Experiences here abound with everything from elephant bathing to fishing in the company of local fishermen or visiting the Doi Mae Salong Chinese Village and Tea Plantation where the famous high-mountain oolong tea is grown by this centuries-old Mandarin-speaking community. For keen cyclists, enjoy an off the beaten track Hillside Bike Ride through paddy fields, pineapple and rubber plantations and teak forests. For hikers, select either the Adventure Hike to a Lahu hill-tribe village, a Bamboo Hike with Jungle Cocktails or follow the Wang Lao Trail to observe the locals’ way of life through the jungle, rice paddy fields and pineapple plantations. 

It is of course the elephants that most people will come to see and to interact with. These adopted elephants have been saved from the streets and given food, care and veterinary help via the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. Over twenty elephants have been given a new home and way of life in the camp with all donations going directly to the care of the elephants whilst Four Seasons covers all administration and logistical support. Guests will learn how to interact appropriately with these majestic animals, can enjoy a candlelit dinner in the Elephant Camp, can join them for a bathing session or can arrange some private elephant time with an elephant excursion with two routes available.

When you talk about getting away from it all, this is the way to do it in style. Secluded, remote and oozing character, this is surely the ideal place where your inner adventurer can escape in style. The former site of the infamous opium trade in the so-called Golden Triangle, Four Seasons has created a quite unique unplugged experience where one can dream of being Indiana Jones with jungle hikes, temples and rainforest to explore with accommodation evoking that 19th century safari tent feel, albeit with a hillside setting and views to die for. 

By co-founding and supporting an organisation to not only look after street elephants and introduce them back into a more natural environment, but to care too for the mahouts and hill tribes, shows the brand’s altruistic side. It also allows for the wealthy individuals who sign up for this once-in-a-lifetime experience to show theirs too. A win win for all concerned in my view.

The Camp Chef oversees the kitchens at the restaurant Nong Yao, the Burma Bar and will happily set up any number of unique dining experiences on request including Jungle and Riverside picnics, sunrise breakfasts on the Camp’s peak and private candlelit dinners at the Elephant Camp. 

Nong Yao offers a range of Thai, Laotian and Burmese favourites alongside international classics. Located within an open-air thatched pavilion, the restaurant is classically decorated with ceiling fans and rustic hardwood floors. As one might expect, elephant motifs are prevalent. Signature dishes include traditional Young Papaya Salad, Camp Pad Siew (rice noodles with chicken and hill tribe vegetables) and Khao Soi Hor (Northern Thai-style egg noodle curry with chicken and coconut milk). 

The open-air Burma Bar is the perfect place to relax on a leather sofa or a bamboo armchair over a cocktail or two. With inspiring views out over the Ruak River Basin and the Elephant Camp, signature drinks include Opium (white rum, Captain Morgan Dark Rum, Crème de Cacao, fresh lime juice and Coke Light) or a refreshing Lemongrass Vodka Martini with fresh lime juice. 

The Camp can also arrange any number of sunset sundowners from a seat atop the vintage Land Rover, to cocktails and canapés on a riverside location or in the Elephant Camp. For breakfasts with a difference, head up to the Camp Peak or try an al fresco dinner under the stars. Take a picnic to the jungle or a riverbank, breakfast with the elephants or enjoy a Wine Cellar dinner with a customised menu, complemented by fine vintages. There is also a wine and cheese tasting available every day in the Wine Cellar. 

For those guests who would like to bring a touch of Thailand to their normal routines back home, there are Thai cooking and cocktail making classes available too.

The resorts across Asia Pacific operated by Four Seasons Resorts Asia are committed to sustainability and preservation programmes through local partnerships, sustainable practices, guest education and more. They tread lightly on the planet and recognise their responsibility in minimising their impact on the environment. 

Each resort has created a Green Team who continually actively look for ways to be more sustainable. Over the years, the brand has undertaken a number of eco initiatives where appropriate from employing marine biologists at their resorts, to maintaining organic gardens, to operating onsite water bottling plants, to upcycling soap bars and harvesting solar energy. The Asian resorts all use compostable straws, napkins and eco-friendly packaging as well as using refillable ceramic amenity containers in both accommodation and public areas. 

Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle is a founding member of the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, set up under the guardianship of the Thai Elephant Centre, a government agency that focusses on the rescue and car of street elephants.  Amongst the fundraising activities undertaken is the sale of silk scarves made from the Camp’s own silkworm farm. Local artisans are also invited to display and sell their wares on site. With the aim of saving these street elephants and giving them a better standard of life, The Camp is committed to supporting the mahouts and communities who rely on the elephants for their livelihoods. 

In addition, in an attempt to eradicate opium production, The Camp purchases local replacement crops such as coffee and nuts, provides support for local health care, schooling and offers educational scholarships to local students. There is also an organic garden on site to provide for the restaurant. 

Sustainability is also at the heart of the dining experience at Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle with everything from foraging walks to fishing using traditional methods to using serve-ware and restaurant amenities crafted by local artisans.