SE Asia Boutique Hotels: Laos
Laos in particular has a lack of big international hotels, which makes it a ripe place for charming boutique hotels.
Le Bel Air Resort, Luang Prabang
$60/night including wireless internet and breakfast
I highly recommend Le Bel Air Resort. Our Lao travel agent booked it, and it is also #1 rated on Tripadvisor. I had read some reviews that it's a bit away from the town center, which I was concerned about. But on getting there, I saw that it really isn't an issue at all. First of all, the hotel offers free bike rentals, which is a great way to get around low-traffic, flat Luang Prabang. In fact, I think my favorite activity in the town was just biking around the peninsula! Also, since it's not in the tourist-packed center, you can actually find good quality fruit at good prices in the fruit market just outside of the gates.
The room itself was quite stunning with its dark woods, white plaster, and bathroom painted 100% in blood red. Watchouts are that you can hear your neighbors clearly, and the windows actually don't have glass in them, so you have to choose between sunlight and using the air conditioning! But the daily ritual of unlocking the massive wooden door by padlock was really fun. Plus, what really made this hotel extra special was its very friendly and eager to please staff.
The Boat Landing, Luang Namtha
Not sure what the price is, since our travel agent booked it as part of a package
Our first night in Laos was spent at the Boat Landing. It bills itself as an eco-lodge, and I can see why. It uses reusable bottles for drinking water, and doesn't run the generator 24/7 (we only got about 2 hours of electricity!). This is probably also the first place I've stayed that didn't have a toilet with a water tank. To flush the toilet, you take the metal bowl from the large cistern and dump the water down the toilet. Oh yeah, and no air conditioning.
But despite missing some of these creature comforts, the hotel was a nice experience, for me largely because it prepared a nice selection of traditional Lao food, like lab, tofu dip, and duck stew with the special wood bark as seasoning. One of the best meals we had in Laos!
