Chiang Mai’s Dhara Dhevi Hotel goes on sale again
The ill-starred Dhara Dhevi Hotel Chiang Mai will be auctioned yet again this January, with the starting price dropping to 2 billion baht (US$60 million) from the 2.1-billion-baht initial price in the 2021 auction.
The first round of the auction will take place at the Chiang Mai Legal Execution Office on January 27. If there is no interest during the first session, subsequent sessions will be held on February 17, March 10, March 31, April 21, and May 12. The price will be lowered by 10% at each session, it said, but cannot fall below 30% of the initial auction price.
Inter Far East Energy Corp (IFEC) bought the hotel in December 2015 for 4.3 billion baht (US$120 million), including stock and debt.
When the 123-room hotel opened in 2002, its unique ancient Lanna-style architecture caught Thai and foreign tourists’ attention.
Some 700 years ago, the Lanna kingdom dominated most of what is now northern Thailand, stretching from the Xishuangbanna Province in China to Luang Prabang in Laos and to some parts of Burma. The kingdom was annexed by Siam in the early 20th century, which slowly eroded the Lanna identity. The most visible elements of what remains of Lanna culture are temples in Chiang Mai
Lanna temples are characterised by steeply pitched, multi-tiered roofs. Windows and doors are small, allowing little light in. Lanna houses have low-pitched roofs that are unadorned, save for a V-shaped cross carved onto the houses of the rich.
Chiang Mai’s Dhara Dhevi Hotel was severely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis and closed temporarily in early 2020. It filed for rehabilitation in June 2020, but the filing was rejected by the Court of Appeal in November of that year, forcing the hotel to enter bankruptcy.
During the previous auction, IFEC subsidiary Inter Far East Thermal Power (I Thermal) won with a bid of 2.012 billion baht. It paid a deposit of 110 million baht but failed to pay the rest before it was due. The department confiscated the deposit and decided to auction the hotel again.
