Champa Meuanglao
Menu
  • Home
  • Section
    • Business
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Lao Airlines
  • Contact
  • on ISSUU
  • Advertise with us!
  • ພາສາ: English
    • English English
    • ລາວ ລາວ
  • laoairlines.com
Champa Meuanglao
  • Home
  • Section
    • Business
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Lao Airlines
  • Contact
  • on ISSUU
  • Advertise with us!
  • ພາສາ: English
    • English English
    • ລາວ ລາວ
  • laoairlines.com
Business

The lap of Luang Prabang luxury

posted by Yuki
Nov 2, 2017 3606 3 0
Share

It’s a conspicuously new building in a town lauded for its heritage charm, but Azerai, Luang Prabang’s newest luxury hotel, has drawn as much inspiration as possible from the previous building’s footprint.

Set back from the street, the graceful two-storey façade is both sparkingly modern, and completely in synch with its surroundings. Hotel manager Gary Tyson said while the structure was new, the building process was subject to the same regulations as older, more traditional structures.

“Under UNESCO regulations, the hotel had specific guidelines to follow and to draw from elements of the hotel that was on the site prior to Azerai,” he says.  

“The footprint of the L-shaped accommodation building is identical to the previous building,  and the architect wanted to be sure the additional buildings were influenced by the even earlier history of original structures, which were French bungalow living quarters.”

  

  Once inside, however, exquisitely contemporary good taste is the order of the day. The place is all blonde wood, natural fabrics and recessed lighting. The rooms – 53 in all – are as luxurious as they come – both compact and spacious, minimalist but perfectly equipped with every modern comfort, from the luscious bath products, to the gift-wrapped package of locally sourced coffee placed on my pillow on the first evening.

Most of the rooms face onto the serene lap pool in the central courtyard, and there’s also an even more serene spa service upstairs.

But Azerai’s greatest drawcard is its bistro, a chic, standalone establishment facing the town’s bustling main street, a deliberate positioning to entice the casual diner who may or may not also be a hotel guest.

And the bistro boast’s Azerai’s greatest weapon – chef Ben Faker, poached from the grasps of at least two of Sydney, Australia’s finest hatted restaurants.

Having arrived in Luang Prabang just one year ago, and with almost no experience of Lao or even Asian culture, he has spent his time fossicking through local markets, sampling the traditional food, and working how to blend it with the hotel’s classic modern ethos.

“I knew nothing about Lao food, nothing about what ingredients were available – I started from scratch,” Faker says.

“But my philosophy here is the same as what it always has been, which is just using what we locally have and making the most of it.”

His version of “making the most of it” is a revelation – a small, regularly changing menu of bistro classics with an Asian twist. Or is it the other way around? A fish-egg red curry was a vivid showstopper, that went surprisingly well with a classic duck terrine, and traditional eggplant and chili dips, all paired with simple Australian wines.

The other revelation is the bistro prices – eminently reasonable for such standout fare.

“The thinking behind the food is to have it appeal to a range of tastes so you can share a variety of dishes, family-style. Pricing was
put in line with the concept of the brand,” says Tyson.

“It was very important to preserve the design and architectural elements of the location but at the same time one must be realistic that it has to be approached in response to today’s urbane travelers. The idea was to help it evolve into a tasteful and contemporary
representation of how to make that transition. Hopefully this is what

has been achieved.”

 

 

 

Words: Sally Pryor

Photos: Phoonsab Thevongsa

Share

Previous

[:en]Made for the movies[:la]ສ້າງມາເພື່ອຮູບເງົາ[:]

Next

[:en]Right on Schedule[:la]ຕາມກຳນົດຂອງເວລາ[:]
  • English
  • ລາວ

Recent Posts

  • City of Saffron, City of Faith
  • SAYABOURY’S ELEVEN DISTRICT
  • Spotlight on Sayaboury
  • New Year Lao Style
  • Lasting Laos

Categories

  • Art
  • Business
  • Café
  • Culture
  • Environment
  • Festival
  • Food
  • Lao Airlines
  • Lasting Laos
  • Lifestyle
  • Outdoors
  • Social Enterprise
  • Stay
  • Style
  • Travel

Archives

  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • September 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • May 2017

Follow Us

Contact Form 7

[contact-form-7 404 "Not Found"]

You Might Also Like

Business, Lifestyle, Travel
May 1, 2020

Digitizing Travel – Soutchai Travel Goes Mobile

The secret of business is finding a niche and filling it well. For Soutchai Travel, this means facilitating travel...

Read More
2 0
Business
Feb 3, 2021

Maximizing Livelihoods

Community improvement works from the ground up. Tobacco is a complex but rewarding crop to grow. There are many...

Read More
2 0
Copyrights © 2018 Champa Meuanglao. All Rights Reserved.
Website by Designix Studio
Back top