Apsara
Author: Anothertravelguide.com0 COMMENTS
This is one of the most talked about Luang Prabang accommodations, probably due to the fact of making Hip Hotels Orient by Herbert Ypma, the Asia edition of his Hip Hotels series. Apsara boasts the perfect location - in the heart of the city, a stone's throw from the main street, on the banks of the Nam Khan River. This 1960s building used to house a rice warehouse which was later replaced in turn by an English school, as guest house and a restaurant. In 2002 the British entrepreneur Ivan Scholte opened a small 15-room hotel here. Scholte, a man with some previous experience of working in the hotel and wine industries and living in a number of Asian countries, first visited Luang Prabang in 1996; the quiet and "undiscovered" city and the Lao bouquet of flavours fascinated and captivated him. In 2001 Ivan Scholte came back to buy the building which was to become the Apsara Hotel. Apsara is a girl or a nymph in Khmer; she entertains the gods with her dancing. Stone images of the dancing nymph can be found in most Khmer temples in the south of Laos and in Cambodia. Scholte chose to make his hotel and restaurant (one of the most popular eateries in the city) different from many other similar places in Luang Prabang by not replicating the traditional Lao house and, while preserving the traditions, adding a touch of contemporary design as well as design objects and works of art brought home from his numerous Asian travels. A travel guide describes the Apsara as "Indochina chic". The hotel offers everything you need but nothing over the top; price-wise the Apsara belongs among the so-called "reasonable luxury" hotels: the most expensive of rooms will set you back USD 90 a night. And yet there is an inexplicable sense of charm and lightness of being about the rooms... The mood is mostly created with colour effects: vivid glass lamps, sea green silk curtains against the backdrop of the otherwise traditional dark wood furniture. A statue of Buddha on top of a cabinet of the exact same shade of wood - a touch of the West in the heart of the Orient. And yet at the same time the thin red line is never crossed and not a tiniest bit of authenticity is destroyed.
One of the best options is choosing any of the upstairs rooms with a balcony for watching the street life at night and the glittering ribbon of the river behind the trees. Unlike the nearby Les 3 Nagas boutique hotel located on the main street of Luang Prabang, the neighbourhood of the Apsara Hotel is pleasantly quiet while, at the same time, you are still aware of staying in the middle of the city. The Apsara is always full during the high season, so do book a room well in advance. There is a slight drawback, however: those, who prefer small hotels for their usually very personal service, should be prepared for the slightly dishevelled self-sufficiency of the staff: you may have to remind them of things you thought were already agreed on. Patience and more patience! That's one of the lessons you will learn in Laos. The place is particularly charming at breakfast and dinner time when the Apsara restaurant welcomes a truly motley crowd and the owner is almost invariably there to chat with the guests and regulars.
Prices - from USD 60
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Anothertravelguide.com is an internet resource for independent travellers. All addresses listed on anothertravelguide.com - hotels, restaurants, shops, etc. have been tested and evaluated by our authors. All opinions are subjective and anothertravelguide.com takes no responsibility if any of these locations don't live up to your personal expectations, taste or mood, or has undergone serious changes since visited by authors and experts of anothertravelguide.com.