La Residence Phou Vao

Unremitting elegance and a pool with a view make this temple of oriental chic impossible to resist

A fabulous hotel, the best in town, one that will test your determination to be a good tourist. Extensive manicured gardens encircle you – palms, banana trees, frangipani, the trimmest lawns – while airy interiors flow gracefully from one room to another, past ornamental ponds and out to a sun-trapping terrace. At night thousands of lanterns burn in the grounds (four men take two hours to light them all) and dinner on the terrace with candles floating across the pool is very easy on the eye.

Whether the pool and its terrace is more beautiful than your room is an impossible question to answer – and, quite frankly, you will be far too busy enjoying yourself to care. But, for the record, the view from your sun lounger on the terrace leaps across the treetops to Mount Phu Si, while your exceptional bedroom is airy and elegant and opens onto a private balcony where opium beds takes the strain. In case these don’t do the trick, there’s a spa to pamper you into submission (including a free 30-minute massage for i-escape guests).

Highs

• Serene airy rooms with their exquisite balconies for tea in the shade
• The view from the pool across treetops to Mount Phu Si
• Perfect service makes the difference: nothing here is too much trouble
• There’s French flair in the kitchen too, expect delicious food

Lows

• You’re on the flight path, close to the airport, but it’s far from busy, more like a country airfield, and the sound of propeller planes overhead is actually quite quaint
• The hotel is away from the old town – and all the more tranquil for it. A free tuk-tuk service will whisk you down from 10.30am-10pm