Luxe in Laos

By Nicole Cotroneo



One of the last quiet corners of southeast Asia is starting to explode.

Now that Angkor Wat has gone the way of the Sistine Chapel (quiet please!), the been-there-done-that crowd is targeting Laos as a remaining bastion of Southeast Asian authenticity. But Cambodia’s heir apparent still has some catching up to do before it’s prepared to receive the jaded hordes. Paved roads are a good start. One of Asia’s poorest nations, landlocked Laos has next to no infrastructure — not even a single railroad. Still, that hasn’t stopped the communist state from hosting its first international sport competition next year, the South East Asian Games. (Never mind that it only has qualified referees in six of the 24 sports.)

Baby steps of change are underway. The first blip of railway is due to open in March: a three-mile track spanning the Mekong River over the Friendship Bridge that connects Laos to Thailand and, most importantly, to the sea. There are also whispers of runway expansion at the international airport in Luang Prabang, the ancient royal seat. A 45-minute flight from Hanoi, the World Heritage town is a jewel box of French colonial architecture and 16th-century temples — in short, a world away from the mega-resorts of neighboring Thailand and Vietnam.

What you will find in Luang Prabang is a fast-growing clutch of boutique hotels — many within villas that belonged to the extended royal family before the communist takeover in 1975. Following the opening of Villa Viceroy earlier this year (an historic three-villa compound now owned by a Thailand-based French artist), new hotel Villa Maly reveals its own luxurious digs, October 1. Four-poster beds, mahogany armoires and rainforest showers grace 33 guestrooms housed in six buildings scattered about the property. Guests either take in garden views, or for those staying in the main house (built for a prince’s family in 1938), the black-and-white mosaic swimming pool. Add construction to the list too, at least for this month: globorati on the ground there this week reports cosmetic work is still heavily underway.

But if a royal residence is too predictable in the erstwhile capital, then just wait until next year: Amanresorts plans to turn an old hospital into the latest upscale hotel. It doesn’t end there, either: rumor has it that a former French prison will meet a similar fate by 2010.

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