Luang Prabang is changing into a stylish vacation spot and the small city has variety of restored colonial homes and mansions changed into upscale inns. However amongst all of them, Belmond’s La Residence Phou Vao stands out with pure luxurious in a serene setting that’s onerous to seek out anyplace else in Laos.
Strolling into the open foyer at arrival, you’ll be able to see the gardens and pool on the opposite aspect, with the enduring Lao mountains within the background. We had been warmly welcomed by Entrance Workplace Supervisor Oscar and his workforce with refreshing towels, and examine in was a breeze because the workforce took care of all formalities whereas we sipped on our hibiscus juice welcome drinks and took in our environment. Earlier than heading as much as our room, we had been proven a variety of various pure soaps and selected a inexperienced tea cleaning soap for our keep. It was introduced in handcrafted paper baggage and introduced as much as our room for us.
The Area
The rooms at La Residence Phou Vao are set in conventional villas overlooking the gardens and mountains, with teak wooden and pure supplies so far as the attention can see. Our room on the higher ground of the principle villa had an exquisite balcony with teak solar loungers overlooking the lodge’s primary pool, with a view of Luang Prabang’s well-known Mount Phousi within the distance. Every little thing within the room was constructed from pure supplies, from the darkish wood flooring to the bamboo wicker baskets holding plush cotton towels and the natural toiletries within the lavatory. Lao textiles and recent flowers supplied colourful accents with out going overboard.
The king dimension mattress had a tender pillow prime mattress which was a welcome reduction from the rock onerous mattresses discovered elsewhere in Asia, and the mosquito internet was expertly draped. Our room was spotlessly clear and had a number of little particulars for us to find. The private welcome letter from Common Supervisor Thomas Moons got here with a number of cookies and one of many largest fruit baskets I’ve ever seen in a lodge room. We had been fast to snack on the cookies and revel in them with a cup of espresso from our in-room Nespresso machine, whereas looking by way of the number of books supplied on our balcony desk.
We liked that the whole lodge was virtually a library: All through the lodge – within the rooms, the foyer, the bar and naturally within the precise library room – there have been tables with attention-grabbing books in all places. Books on structure, design and native Lao and Luang Prabang historical past featured prominently. My favourite was a guide on the traditions of espresso. There was even an outside studying house in the course of the backyard: Surrounded by tall bamboo, a bunch of snug chairs had been positioned round a fireplace pit, and a bit of chicken home fashion cupboard protected a number of books from the weather.
A Day on the Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Our days at La Residence Phou Vao began with their scrumptious breakfast by the pool. Set half contained in the restaurant and half by the pool, a big buffet gives up to date Asian delicacies with Lao necessities corresponding to sticky rice and Luang Prabang sausages in addition to Western staples and a beneficiant number of French pastries. Sizzling dishes had been introduced in clay pots and rice steaming baskets over scorching coals, and cooking stations provided eggs cooked to order, personalized soups and a design-your-own-smoothie juice bar the place smiling cooks created recent and wholesome drinks on the spot. No breakfast is full with out a good cup of espresso, and La Residence Phou Vao made for sure the very best espresso we had in Laos.
With the attractive virtually jungle-like gardens and an infinity pool overlooking Mount Phousi, it’s tempting to by no means depart the lodge. The books, wood chess units and different board video games might have saved us entertained all day lengthy. The serene pool space was an amazing place to loosen up, and employees made certain we had been preserving hydrated by bringing us hibiscus juice and recent fruit skewers any time we had been lounging by the pool. For us health followers, the small health room supplied all the things we wanted for a exercise with cardio gear, free weights, and a exercise station to work each physique half. Bottled water and a basket of recent fruit had been readily available as a reward afterwards. The award successful spa space, set in a quiet nook of the backyard, was an amazing space to loosen up publish exercise. It felt like a personal hidden jungle hideaway with its small infinity pool above a pond and the dense greenery surrounding it.
Luang Prabang has a lot to supply although, in order tempted as we had been to remain on the lodge, we did enterprise out. The lodge supplies complimentary shuttle companies into city in addition to bikes and bicycles for lease. We liked their bicycles, which had been simply as fashionable because the resort they belonged to. In a vivid Belmond orange, with wicker baskets to carry your purchases and leather-based handles, they had been excellent bikes for a time out on the town.
In the event you’d like a extra guided expertise, the lodge additionally gives excursions across the space on their non-public luxurious boat. Cruise down the Nam Ou or the Mekong to see Luang Prabang’s well-known Pak Ou caves. The lodge workforce will put together a picnic lunch for you on a white linen dinner desk set on the banks of the river surrounded by breathtaking mountain peaks whilst you discover the caves. Different actions embrace journeys to waterfalls, metropolis excursions of Luang Prabang and a few distinctive Laotian cultural experiences such because the well-known alms giving ceremony at daybreak.
For these instances whenever you simply can’t get your self to depart the lodge, take pleasure in one of many lodge’s spa remedies or get chopping in a personal cooking class with La Residence’s chef and learn to prepare dinner genuine Laotian dishes. Within the night, you’ll be able to’t miss having fun with the romantic environment as candles and lanterns get lit all all through the lodge and the gardens. Sip on a signature Lao Lao cocktail by the pool or within the cozy bar, and revel in occasional musical performances by Lao musicians.
Dinners are served each inside and outdoors at Phou Savanh Restaurant, or when you’re on the lookout for a very distinctive expertise, strive the lodge’s candle mild dinner with a personal desk surrounded by 5 hundred candles.
The workforce round Common Supervisor Thomas Moons can even assist you to select personalised dinner experiences round Luang Prabang that you simply’ll take pleasure in. We had been actually impressed that the lodge didn’t simply have a basic suggestion they’d ship everybody to. As an alternative, they listened to what it was we had been on the lookout for and made distinctive suggestions. For us, that went so far as Thomas personally calling up the chef of an upscale Luang Prabang restaurant to rearrange a nice eating insect dinner for us. We’d requested “adventurous” meals, so we had been greater than impressed by being served ant egg dishes that weren’t even on the restaurant’s regular menu. It was an expertise we couldn’t have gotten with out the assistance of La Residence’s workforce, as a result of we might by no means even have identified this selection existed.
Just for the adventurous: Ant egg and caviar steamed omelette at Blue Lagoon
The Verdict: La Residence Phou Vao
Every little thing at Belmond’s La Residence Phou Vao is 5 star. From the fastidiously restored villas to the extent of service, all the things comes with further consideration to element that’s uncommon to see, even in 5 star inns. The house is just beautiful, and we had been extremely impressed with Thomas Moon’s workforce who managed to be extremely attentive while being unobtrusive. They appeared to have a mystical energy to look every time we wanted them and went above and past – from calling up native eating places to request distinctive off-the-menu dinner choices to serving to me repair cellular web on my cellphone and setting us up with certainly one of their wifi dongles after we couldn’t get our mobiles working instantly. Our keep in Luang Prabang was distinctive and memorable due to this lodge, and we’d go to once more in a heartbeat!
We loved our keep as friends of Belmond’s La Residence Phou Vao. All opinions are my very own and I’ll solely suggest inns and actions I actually take pleasure in.
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