Luxury Chiang Mai hotel closed over lack of licence

Pawin said the building on Huay Kaew Road had received construction permission only as a residential condominium but was illegally run as a hotel, forcing the Muang district office to prohibit its operation. 

Regarding the hotel's previous appeal to the provincial administration, he said the provincial committee had resolved that the Town Planning Act and Building Control Act had been contravened and banned the Eastin Tan from operating as a hotel.

Muang district chief Saranyu Meethongkham led officials on a visit to the 128-room hotel to check its licence on Friday. Hotel manager Chulaluck Mee-intha was subsequently charged with illegally operating hotel services, and Saranyu warned that if the hotel continued with its services an arrest would be made.

Chiang Mai Public Works and Town and Country Planning official Somwang Boonrayong said the building's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report had been carried out on the basis of it being a condominium, so using it as a hotel was illegal. 

He said the provincial office had asked its headquarters if hotel services could be allowed on certain floors but was told they could not because regulations restricted the area to small hotels.

The area surrounding the building had also modified, restricting fire engine access and posing a danger to guests, said Somwang. “This has nothing to do with any change in the city plan law," he added.

When The Nation contacted the Eastin Tan Hotel, employees declined to comment, although it was initially found that it was still offering hotel services.

Earlier, Tan's Facebook page said hotel operator Tanboon Co Ltd obtained a permit to construct and carry out the EIA for a nine-storey building in June 2012. According the page, it applied for a hotel licence in December 2013 and received permission to switch from condominium to a hotel business on July 20, 2014. 

After construction of the building was completed, there were changes to the city planning law, which resulted in the company's request for a hotel licence on September 13, 2016 being turned down. The company filed a petition for the hotel business committee's consideration on September 28, it said.

Pawin said yesterday he had not received any report about the hotel's appeal to the hotel business committee.