Excellent service and friendly staff throughout our stay in this beautiful hotel. The rooms are very comfortable and clean. Beautiful spa rooms and their herbal steam bath is an experience one should not miss! The attention to details in this hotel is just remarkable. Breakfast settings is like a picture from a magazine. When you visit Luang Prabang, a stay in this hotel is a MUST! It will be an experience one cherishes. Staying in this hotel is one of the highlights of our trip ! My husband and I did not want to leave after a 3 night stay.

Luang Prabang is a relatively clean and orderly town in the midst of many South East Asian towns which are not. It was with great relish that my (grown-up) daughters and I checked into La Residence, a respite from the constant moving we had been subject to until this point in our trip. We were very pleased with the spacious and elegantly furnished bedroom, large enough for the three of us; we enjoyed the comfortable private balcony which looked over the hillside and beautiful skyscape, and best of all was the pool, having a sublime view of the low green mountains, surrounded by inviting lounge chairs which came equipped with towels and Laotian bamboo straw hats, in case you forgot to bring your own! The service throughout our stay was wonderful, warm and welcoming and the breakfast left nothing to be desired. Most people seem to take the shuttle service into town for dinner, although the hotel's restaurant was nothing if not romantic and graciously set up. The only drawback, to my mind, was the price of drinks and the dinner menu, which I thought was out of line with Laos and what one could have at good restaurants in the town. The spa was good and not overly expensive but not a bargain either.

This hotel was exquisite and really made our stay in luang parang magical. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful without being obtrusive. The chef who I believe is Tunisian is a genius and the food superb. We enjoyed the evening dinner dance show which was candle-lit, fun and beautiful. Rooms were spotless and elegant and views magnificent.

Luang Prabang essentially still is a backpacker location, but the Orient Express Résidence Phou Vao succeeds to create a peaceful, tasteful and high quality recluse, a retreat away from the tourist noise. Situated on a wonderful quiet location with a gorgeous vista towards Phou Si hill with its golden pagoda the hotel sits amid beautifully landscaped gardens. Decorated with nice photo art, antiques, well chosen artifacts and the use of local design, it all enhances the atmosphere with a feel of the by-gone colonial times.
The F@B was really good too, with a choice of local and western food, served on a lampoon lit garden terrace aside the pool. The breakfast buffet is abundant. The staff is well trained and tries hard to show their hospitality.
GM Eddy The shows a true effort with his guests. The hotel provides a variety of means of transport to discover the city and the Mekong river, from an a/c SUV, a tuktuk to a luxury riverboat. We tried them all from sunrise to sunset.
The Chinese are funding a second runway and several highways and it possibly will result in an further influx of mass tourism.
But hopefully with 5 and 4 star hotel groups like Amanresort and Orient Express, leading the upper travelers segment, the city will be able to keep the original atmosphere of a laid back, cultural landmark in South east Asia and with it, the Unesco Heritage status of an example of the fusion of traditional architecture with those built in the French colonial period; the townscape blending these two cultural traditions.
Charlie Hilm, Amsterdam