3 Nagas Luang Prabang - MGallery

Lamache House went up on Sakkaline Road in 1898, and by the hotel's account it has had two careers since: the Royal Court held talks there, and later the town knew it for its ice cream. The court has moved on. The old parlour is now the restaurant, cooking Lao food down to a tasting platter from the north, and the Nagini Bar puts out local snacks with the drinks. Khamboua House followed in 1903, in the Lao style, and between them they hold fifteen rooms. Outside it is white walls and red shutters under old tiled roofs; inside, a red spiral staircase winds up past dark wooden columns, over patterned tiles. Behind, a garden of 500 square metres runs down to the Nam Khan under fruit trees, round a pond meant only for looking at.

Recommended for grown-ups who would rather have the old quarter at the door than a pool in the garden. The pool, the spa and the gym are at the sister Sofitel, a ten-minute transfer away, which spares the pond any lengths. Wat Xieng Thong is two or three minutes' walk, the Night Market five or ten, and the bicycles are lent free for anything further. The alms procession takes Sakkaline Road at dawn, so joining the giving, which the hotel arranges, is a matter of stepping outside. Kuang Si Falls is 45 minutes' drive, and the hotel will lay breakfast there on a white cloth for rather more a head than a night in a Deluxe Room.