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A touch of modest royalty
Left, La Residence building
Above, Laos Room, formerly the Queen’s bedroom
Name Maison
Souvannaphoum Hotel
No. of rooms 24
Address Rue Chao Fa Ngum,
Ban Thatluang, Luang
Prabang, Laos
Contact
Tel: (856) 71 254 609
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.angsana.
com/en/laos/maison-
souvannaphoum
By Raini Hamdi
LOCATION
Minutes’ walk to the
old town, night market,
museum (the former
Royal Palace), Wat
Xieng Thong Temple
(Luang Prabang’s most
visited monument)
and just 50m to Wat
Pramahatthat, where 100 monks
receive alms from locals before
sunrise, a sight not to be missed.
AMBIENCE
Once the home of Laos’ four-
time prime minister, Prince
Souvannaphoum, the two-storey
La Residence building has a
distinct French colonial architecture
but its interior carries a palpable
sense of localness. It boasts four
luxurious rooms. A Garden Wing
extension offers another 20 rooms.
ROOMS
My Laos Room in La Residence
was formerly the Queen’s
bedroom. It is large (45m 2 ) and,
to my relief, is pleasantly homely
rather than fussily regal. French
windows overlook the pool and a
lush tropical greenery – coconut
and bamboo trees, tall banana leafs,
tropical flowering plants such as
hibiscus and bougainvilleas. I get
a rush of nostalgia from the rustic
scenery beyond the hotel: Laotian
houses with their distinct long
roofs; the absence of high rises; the
peace and quiet, where the only
sounds are from the pool’s waterfall
feature, the chirping of birds and
the occassional cock-a-doodle-doo.
Now an affiliate hotel managed
by Banyan Tree Holdings’ Angsana
Hotels & Resorts, my room has lots
of local touches: parquet flooring
and Laotian fabrics for furnishing,
a baldachin over the bed, and
Angsana’s signature wall with
three recesses in which are placed
three small Laotian lanterns. It is
a hugely comfortable room with
modern comforts such as cable TV,
Wi-Fi (also throughout hotel) and a
beautiful free-standing bathtub.
FACILITIES
Elephant Blanc by the poolside
serves Laotian and Indo-Chinese
cuisine and is open for breakfast,
lunch and dinner. I had steamed
fish with lime sauce and spicy
chicken salad; pretty delicious.
There’s an Angsana Spa,
which offers a whole range
of treatments. My 90-minute
Angsana massage, by a Thai
lady named Kinara, was just
wonderful.
Bicycles are available for
guests and are a wonderful way
to explore Luang Prabang.
SERVICE
The hotel’s string of young
local people may not be the
fastest or the most polished, but
they are simply unforgettable
for their eagerness to please,
communicate and serve.
I love their sincerity.
VERDICT
Authentic, serene, restful.
Luang Prabang is seeing newer
luxury hotels but this ‘maison’
(house) will always remain
unique because of its history and
heartfelt service, led by manager
Wattana In.
TTG Asia luxury | May 2018 55