Mr & Mrs Smith

Satri House

Luang Prabang, Laos

Built as a residence for a branch of the Lao royal family in the late 1900s, Satri House was once the childhood home of Prince Souphanouvong. Once again it is fit for the aristocracy after an extensive renovation. The original house is the centrepiece of masterful design, somehow managing to be intimate and homely yet striking and grand all at once. This is a glorious tribute to a bygone era.

Need to know

• Rooms 25, including seven Junior Suites and three Satri House Suites.
• Rates Double rooms from AU$207.28 ($200), 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 ($200) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Rates include breakfast.
• Facilities Free WiFi in the lobby, bar and by the pool, library, gardens, spa. In rooms: flatscreen TV on request, minibar, local-brand toiletries.
• Poolside In a stroke of inspired indulgence, there are two pools to recline beside. The main pool sits in the shade of the original royal house. The new pool is below, near the spa complex (which boasts high-ceilinged treatment rooms).
• Check-out Noon, but flexible. Late check-outs charged a half-day rate. Check-in, 2pm.
• Children Welcome: cots are free for infants and extra beds cost US$30 a night for under-12s. More...
• Also Peruse the elegant lobby while awaiting your welcome drink: built for a branch of the Lao royal family, this is a place of refined taste, replete with antiques and regional handicrafts. Smoking is allowed on balconies only.

Food and drink at Satri House

• Hotel restaurant Satri House Restaurant is the place to sample a symphony of Lao and Thai spices. Try sa pa, a do-it-yourself fish wrap with banana flower.
• Dress code Regal, as Satri House was once fit for a prince. Or revolutionary (Marx & Spencer will do at a pinch, but Soviet is hipper) if that’s easier – Souphanouvong was the Red Prince after all.
• Top table Hold court on the balcony facing the spa pool – at night, when the low lights illuminate the grand buildings, it’s the epitome of atmospheric. Alternatively, romance it up in the private pavilion overlooking the lotus pond.
• Last orders The restaurant is open until 10pm. Slow out of the blocks in the morning? Lucky for you, brekkie is served until noon.
• Room service Available 24 hours, but with a more limited menu of Lao classics and western snacks.
• Hotel bar Satri Bar is open from 11am–11pm, but the bartenders will keep the drinks flowing if you have the legs.

Satri House 057 Photisarath Road, Ban That Luang, Luang Prabang