Mr & Mrs Smith

Hôtel de la Paix Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, Laos

Blending colonial charm with contemporary style, sleek boutique Hôtel de la Paix Luang Prabang offers a simple but seductive update on Lao tradition. Sun-kissed courtyards, shimmering pools and frangipani-fragrant gardens make this secluded all-suite retreat in the Ban Mano quarter a real Luang Prabang treat, with an indulgent spa, fine dining and a cooking school to boot. Set in a Unesco-protected former mansion, which also served time as a detention centre, its elegant high-ceilinged rooms and lofty watchtowers pay homage to its intriguing past.

Need to know

• Rooms 23 suites.
• Rates Double rooms from $195.83, excluding tax at 20 per cent.
  The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency ($196) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Rates include à la carte breakfast and afternoon tea and selected complimentary minibar treats.
• Facilities Free WiFi throughout, spa, yoga pavilion, cooking school, boutique, library, bikes for guests' use. In rooms: flatscreen TV, preloaded iPod, minibar, toiletries, free bottled water.
• Poolside A 25-metre outdoor swimming pool graces the spacious sun-trap of a central courtyard, fringed by guest suites so you can dive straight in. Contemporary wooden day-beds and two handy alfresco showers line the surrounding terrace.
• Check-out 12pm, but flexible subject to availabilty (after 3pm there's a half-night charge; after 6pm, you'll need to pay for a full extra night). Check-in, 2pm.
• Children Welcome: baby cots are provided for free and extra beds for older children cost US$36 a night. Babysitting is available with staff from US$5 to US$12 an hour, with a day's notice.
• Also Smoking is permitted but only in dedicated areas.

Food and drink at Hôtel de la Paix Luang Prabang

• Hotel restaurant

  Enjoy authentic Lao and French-influenced international cuisine at all-day restaurant Kaipen, named after the tasty river weed which locals love to fry with sesame seeds. Set in a two-storey traditional wooden Lao-style house overlooking a grassy courtyard, the restaurant recreates a village feel, but once inside it's all purring ceiling fans, sleek wood and clean lines. Delicately flavoured dishes include Mekong river fish, ping kouail (grilled marinated buffalo) and gorgeous coriander, mint and watercress salads, with fresh ingredients drawn from the hotel's own organic garden and nearby markets.

• Dress code Informal by day, but feel free to up the ante at night. Floaty tropical gear will serve you well in Kaipen; work beach chic at the alfresco Pool Lounge.
• Top table Come evening eat out on Kaipen's courtyard lawn under the stars or retreat to the privacy of your own suite garden for private dining.
• Last orders Dinner is served from 6pm–11pm, with 10.30pm the cut-off for last orders in both the restaurant and bar. The outdoor Pool Lounge dishes up a light cravings menu until 5pm.
• Room service Order breakfast in your room from 6.30am–10.30am, or tasty morsels from the full in-room dining menu from 11am–10.30pm, mirroring the dishes at Kaipen. Laotian stuffed rice crepes and delicious noodle soup are a taster of what's on offer.
• Hotel bar

  Fancy a cocktail? Then make for the sultry, dark-hued Sabai lounge and library, at the back of the main courtyard. The name means 'relax', and chill out you shall, with a little help from the choice selection of books, magazines and drinks on offer. Contemporary black leather armchairs suggest stylish intimacy, with chic accessories and an inviting fire for winter warming. Pluck an illustrated tome off the inky-wood shelves, sink into an enveloping pew and ponder love, life and everything over a crisp G&T.

Also worth knowing

• Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...

Hôtel de la Paix Luang Prabang Unit 4, Ban Mano, Old Prison Road, Luang Prabang, Laos, 0600