3 Nagas

A deft fusion of Lao vernacular, French colonial and contemporary Eastern style make this most authentic hotel in Luang Prabang

A grand stone staircase sweeps up the façade of an elegant villa. In Europe, such a flight of steps would lead to a grand entrance. Here in Luang Prabang, it goes up to a deep verandah and bedrooms – a flight of French fancy added to a traditional timber-framed, clay-straw mix Laotian house.

Khamboua House was built in 1903 during the heyday of French colonial rule and is a charming confection of eastern and western architectural style. Painstakingly restored in 1995, along with its neighbour Lamache House (originally built for the royal court in 1898), it then became a chic, 15-room hotel. A third building became the restaurant, and all share the name 3 Nagas, nagas being mythical serpent spirits, not sinister unless wronged.

A magnificent 500m² garden rolls down to the Nam Khan river, and with mature mango and jackfruit trees providing shade, 3 Nagas brims with tropical nature. East and west meet on many levels: at daybreak, monks stream past collecting alms in their Tak Bet ritual; at nightfall, European guests chow down on terrific Lao-French fusion food.

Highs

• Charming heritage houses carefully restored and deftly converted to a stylish boutique hotel
• Two highly rated restaurants serving French-influenced Lao cuisine
• Very central location on the main street so you can walk everywhere
• Friendly staff - but don’t expect the kind of intuitive service met elsewhere in Asia
• If you have a first-floor room, you can watch the Tak Bet alms collection, without feeling like an intrusive tourist

Lows

• The pretty pool in the garden is ornamental and not for swimming in
• Both houses are on the main drag; although Luang Prabang is tiny and quiet for an Asian city, expect to hear some hustle and bustle and passing motorbikes
• Some guests have complained of hearing others through the floorboards, and of smells from the restaurant
• There are probably cheaper places in town to stay, but 3 Nagas has style, service and flair