Following a vertigo-inducing drive through the precipitous one-lane highway from Chiang Mai to Pai we were greeted effusively by the staff at Reverie Siam. Check-in was pleasantly brisk and we were whisked away to our villa.  Rather than succumbing to any ephemeral breezes of fashion the hotel’s owners have brilliantly transformed this tranche of Pai into a Curacaoan hideaway, circa 1920, complete with orange cobble stone walkways, vintage street lamps and impeccable landscaping. Our villa, with its double antique doors overlooking the rugged mountain landscape and the continuously evolving dramatic skies, was intelligibly designed with a panoply of accoutrement accentuating the hotel stylistic essence. Being lit only by the crepuscular gloam the private terrace overlooking the gardens was ideal for a late-afternoon aperitif. Reverie Siam’s executive chef, Dustin Joseph, perhaps more aptly described as a gastronomic savant, has created an inspiring culinary program based on his years of international food exploration. The modest-and almost insultingly inexpensive-menu features mostly local fare harmoniously fused with premium western ingredients. The wine list offers a handful of decent labels however there are plans of expansion in the near future... A veritable riparian gem amidst Thailand’s northern luscious landscape