M ORIGINAL VILLA

Steep ornate rooflines in the Dai manner signal immediately that this small resort is doing something more considered than slapping a lotus motif on the lobby. Rooms have freestanding baths and bamboo-screened balconies, and the heavy beam ceilings and earth-toned walls draw directly from the Buddhist architectural tradition of this corner of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar and Laos and feels closer to Chiang Mai than Beijing. The Mengle Great Buddhist Monastery is a short drive away.