Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort

Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort was a bit of an unknown for us, and it felt a bit like unpacking a surprise present: unassuming on the outside, and yet it turned out to be a fantastic find — and great first experience of Myanmar.

It’s a funny thing about the Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort. At first sight, the main building looks just like a run-of-the-mill city hotel. But don’t let this deter you. The rest of the place is beautiful, with unique pagodas surrounding the main swimming pool, and the Spa inspired by the traditions of the architectural heritage of Burma.

First impressions

Discovering this hotel at the heart of Mandalay starts with a really nice meet-and-greet — worthy of the best luxury hotels (think all smiles and fancy welcome drinks).

It’s not too early to mention that the fantastic staff at this place really makes it. The first impression was great, and then it only got better. There was never a too-difficult thing for the front desk or the restaurant staff, never had they demonstrated anything but genuine friendliness.

Soon after our arrival we were being walked to our accommodation. And it was not upstairs, in the main building. We went past the swimming pool (cue nice chill music in the pool bar), and soon we entered the Spa area… which we did not entirely expect. Was our accommodation in the Spa? Guess what — it actually was.

Full of charm

We checked-in to one of the Spa Villas. Surrounded by a Koi fish pond and verdant tropical greenery, the villas share the space with the Spa proper and essentially are part of is, enclosed by a common wall. The villas also have their own special space for treatments, adjacent to the bedroom. The whole Spa complex looks like a temple, with architecture resembling ancient pagodas.

Our villa felt very cozy, and we thought it was full of character — done up in dark wood carved in traditional patterns, with heavy curtains separating the bedroom from the spa annex, and heavy doors with colored glass inlets.

And the king-size bed, surrounded by golden decorations, was just heavenly. A fantastic night’s sleep — but not before we tried the private steam room and a huge mosaic-clad bathtub. Yes, the villa has it all.

Mandalay

The next day it was all about sightseeing, following a truly sumptuous breakfast and after we grabbed a couple of bikes from the hotel’s leisure center. Some of the places we wanted to visit in Mandalay are only a short bike ride away.

The Mercure is a great base from which to explore further afield too — and explore we did, checking out Mingun, as well as U Bein Bridge (tip: visit at sunrise).

This was our first stop on a Myanmar trip in which we traveled down the country, to Bagan, then Inle Lake, and finally to Yangon and even further, to the southern frontiers of the country.

One thing for sure: Mandalay was a superb start of this adventure — and the Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort the perfect first experience.

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in our opinion

If you follow our reviews you may remember that we are not fans of big hotels, but this luxury city resort was a lovely surprise.

It's one of the best stays when visiting the cultural city of Mandalay — especially if you check-in to one of the two beautiful Spa Villas.

What we love

• We fell in love with our Spa Villa (we stayed at #1). Made out of old Burmese houses, they are dark, moody, and utterly charming. The bedroom here is heavenly, and there is also a vast stone bathtub and an outdoor shower. It's a real treat to stay here
• Breakfast in the main restaurant had an excellent selection — everything from Asian food to pastries and all kinds of fresh fruit
• The hotel has a classy executive lounge on the 8th floor, serving High Tea, and free drinks and canapes from 5 to 7 pm. Soft drinks and snacks are available here all day
• The pool area looks great and has a very relaxing mood. Perfect to chill after a long day of sightseeing
• Speaking of which — exploring the city is easy from here. Positioned at the base of the Mandalay Hill, the Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort offers convenient access to all the important sights of Mandalay
• We hired a couple of bicycles from the hotel (for only $2 per hour) and explored the city this way. Both the Kuthodaw Pagoda and Shwenandaw Monastery are in close proximity to the hotel
• What makes this place extra special is the fantastic staff. They were professional, full of useful advice, and on-hand to arrange sightseeing, charter a boat, or recommend and book a car for us to travel to our next destination (Bagan)

What you should know

• A very good place to visit when in Mandalay is Mingun, with the white temple, and the Pahtodawgyi pagoda, split in half by a huge crack (thanks, earthquake…). The best way to get here from the city is to charter a boat (it's quite cheap!) for an hour-long journey up the Irrawaddy River. The staff at the hotel were very helpful in arranging everything, including the transfer to and from the boat pier
• The hotel is surrounded by beautifully maintained grounds and gardens and even has tennis courts (behind the spa)
• The spa is well worth trying as the attendants and therapists are great, and it's a good value too. One thing though; our session was in a room split in half by a sheet of fabric (seemingly to make two treatment rooms). The problem with that was that we could hear everything "next door", which spoiled the serene mood a little bit
• The garden restaurant is pretty close to the Spa Villas, and we did hear a bit of noise, due to the evening culture show performances
• The hotel is popular with tour groups. They typically leave early in the morning and come back late — so the restaurants at breakfast and dinner can get very busy. Pro Tip: come down for breakfast late and you will have the restaurant for yourself and all the staff at your service!
• The international airport is only about one hour away from the hotel. However, for the next leg of our journey, we chose to travel by car. We went to Bagan — it normally takes fewer than four hours to get there
• Make sure to check out our Stories and all other coverage from Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort on Instagram!