We stayed here 2 years ago right after it opened and were quite impressed. Unfortunately we should not have come back. We had problems already at the time of reservation. Nobody answered our mails as we tried to make a reservation, and when we called by phone we were asked to call back another time. Or nobody spoke English. As we arrived, the resort was almost empty (we only saw 2 other parties) and it looked as if the owner/management had given up upon the - otherwise - beautiful place. The main pool was ok, but the other pool areas were dirty and clearly not being kept. The outdoor bar was not open - of course there were almost no guests. And the staff, though polite, spoke very poorly English, which made it difficult for us to communicate.
We took a walk to Phu Chaisai, the neighbor resort which we also stayed at last time we were here, and found that there were much more life and innovation here. Even a new coffee bar with a very charming barista. But at Katilyia everything was quiet. Too quiet.

This is a nice place to go relax, but not a good base for sightseeing with a limited time frame.

This property is very large and the rooms are large, with balconies looking out at the amazing landscape. Our room had a large bathroom with two sinks, a bathtub and two showers, though we could not use both showers at the same time because the water turned cold. The property is new... but i would warn that the construction is pretty sloppy and it may not age well.

There's a very pretty swiming pool, but it was too cold to use it when we were there.

The isolated location means you're stuck doing everything at the hotel. The restaurant is not bad with authentic Thai dishes... but not a place you want to be eating for 3+ nights in a row. Breakfast is adequate, with selection limited but quality good. Getting out of the hotel into Chiang Rai requires a very expensive 45 minute drive. Driving to many sites (Goldent Triange, river trips) requires driving via Chiang Rai.

We were there over new year's and the hotel was full of local tourists. My experience was probably a bit worse as a result of the peak period, so keep that in mind.

Routine service is good, but there's a major language barrier as very few staff speak any English, and those that do don't speak it well. This makes sense in the context of the resort catering mainly to high end local visitors.

The biggest problem was booking tours. The hotel has their own cars, but also uses one private company. Both tours and transfers are overpriced and have limited availabilty. When we arrived in the evening and wanted to book a tour for the next day we were told the agency was closed and we would call tomorrow (by which point it would be too late to book). After insisting that they try to reserve that night, There booked a tour for us. Tour quality was good -- not an issue. The next day there as a problem again -- apparently therhe were no cars available. After insisting they check with other agencies we were told we could still book a tour, with a car and guide (we just needed a car and driver), then apparently those sold out. After insisting they check with somebody else there was finially a car and driver avaialble. Then they (the tour agency) tried to overcharge us by charing hourly for 6 hours adding up to twice the daily rate. When I protested the bill was reduced to the daily rate.

Everybody was very nice throughout the process, but this kind of incopetence should not be exceptrable.

If you stay here, be ready to pay top dollar for tours and try booking them before you arrive.

That all said, the scenery around the hotel is truly beautiful.

PS. we had massages at the spa, and they were truly top notch.

We stayed here for two days and had dinners at the resort on both days. The room was about perfect, we stayed in the Katiliya suite. Great views, good privacy, spacious and luxurious. The pools are heated which was a big plus since it gets a bit cool in the mountains. The restaurant was excellent with mains starting at about 200 baht, the salmon was superb at about 400 baht..
Breakfast included all that you may wish for.
The suites are a good walk from the main lobby and restaurant and it's quite a steep walk. One time We requested a pick up to go to the restaurant and it seemed that they were used to that. They were there in 3 minutes and dropped us off at the restaurant.

If you have your own transportation I'd recommend to explore the area, rather than turning left at the exit to Chiang Rai, go right and drive through the hill tribe villages nearby.

We had the anniversary trip to Chiangrai in the middle of December, where we stated at Katiliya Resort & Spa for 2 days.

We got the huge suite room that could hold like 15 people for the price about the same one double room in 5 star hotel. We didn't expect the service to be very good, but it was splendid. In all services only once that we have to wait like 5 minutes. Other than that it were quick and responsive.