The Belle Rive Boutique Hotel — Hotel in Luang Prabang

After ~2 weeks of budget-ish travel around Vientiane and Vang Vieng, I chanced upon this property and decided to treat myself for 3 nights and get some proper sleep.

First impression was that the staff was very service-oriented and thorough. I also got a free upgrade into a duplex (Tamarind 4) because it was the low season, which I was super grateful for. From my reception to check-in to my stay, the hotel exudes an old school lux charm, offering even turn-down service in the evening.

There was a Lao-style sofa/mattress thing with a Lan Xang-style triangular pillow, on which I enjoyed many afternoons reading literature and browsing the Internet. I particularly enjoyed reading the hotel's own booklet on recommendations as the prose style brought me back into an old world Luang Prabang kind of feel, which set my mood on this trip, despite me having visited Luang Prabang almost 10 years prior.

As an initiative to go green, they offer a metal reusable tumbler for guests to bring when they explore the historical city (as opposed to buying plastic bottles), and they leave 6 - 8 daily refilled glass bottles of water all around the room, and even for a water buffalo like me, I couldn't finish it all. Housekeeping also leaves a jar of very delectable sweet treat, sort of like cinnamon flavored hard pastry. Mini-bar was entirely free, which came with 2 bottles of Luang Prabang craft beer on my check-in. I am more of a Beer Lao guy, but I did finish 1 bottle of LPB beer just to try it out. I'm not sure if these gets refilled after both bottles get finished, but I was left with 1 bottle throughout my stay (which I was fine with since I am not into beer tbh).

Breakfast was included, it is a la carte style but you can order as many times as you wish (basically buffet but made to order). I basically tried most, if not all their dishes, over 3 breakfasts. None of the dishes really stood out, but pretty good in my opinion -- made better with the view of the typically mighty Mekong in the background, in a much more tranquil state in the mornings, before the sun heats up the city. Included breakfast is advertized to be utilizable all-day, however, I was explained on check-in that it was up till 12 or 12.30pm, which I was fine with and attributed it to be because it's low season.

Complimentary sunset cruise was on a typical longtail boat for about 60 minutes around the Mekong river, as opposed to on this double decker cruise boat that I saw on some ads across the hotel (where you have to book at the hotel). Perhaps as it is low-season. Again, no biggie for me, I just appreciated having this as complimentary. It also included a beverage of choice, which would have been much more appreciated if it was stored in a cooler box or something, as when we (me + other hotel guests) boarded, the drinks were already lukewarm.

Again, service amongst all staff was great -- from reception to housekeeping to restaurant staff -- and they all spoke fluent English from what I can tell. Reception was particularly helpful too, offering currency exchange to helping with the bookings of tours, trains and tuktuks. One thing I think reception can work on is that if they would help verify the destination and price of tuktuk journeys in the presence of the drivers and the guests before the...

I was a bit confused of this place by the photos, but booked it due to the good reviews.

Basically it's less of a hotel, and more so a collection of buildings on a street that presumably were converted to have hotel rooms.

It appears most (possibly all?) rooms are facing the street, and have Mekong River views. It's only a two lane road with relatively low speeds, so not a huge deal. And in a weird way it kind of works, as it makes it more feel like you are in a town vs. a resort.

Since it was low season, they double upgraded us from their base terrace to a balcony room. I always appreciate this a lot of hotels will only upgrade if your room is unavailable, or only do it if you have status.

The room truly was nice- rustic styled but actually felt new and clean. Much better in person than in the photos. It was too humid to sit on the balcony without fans, but still the views from inside were fantastic.

The included minibar was a nice touch. You get two beers included in your stay, and then housekeeping will refresh it with soft drinks throughout your stace.

They don't advertise it on 3rd party booking sites (making me think it was a direct booking offer) , but they did also give me a free river cruise for my stay (including one drink).

The hotel also provides bikes, and even ebikes for free. I highly recommend taking the ebikes accross the ferry and just riding on the other side. Really nice views, and the ebikes make the hills easy.

The hotel has a restaurant accross the street that is river front. I think this is the main draw of the hotel, as you can have included breakfast every morning looking at the Mekong.

I was a bit confused on what unlimited all day breakfast means from reading reviews so here's specifically what it is:

Once per a day when the restaurant is open, you can order from their breakast menu (attached) at their restaurant. You can order as much as you like while seated, but you can't leave and then come back.

The breakfast was good, and it's unique to have full table service. if you compare it to the massive breakfast buffets served in southeast asia by hotels in this price range, the options are more limited but that's a very high bar.

In general I found the Laos food at their restaurant for breaskfast and dinner bland, but the western breakfast options were good. Especially the croissants.

Note a few caveats for low season right now the river lounge area is gone. presumably they will reopen it once it's no longer at risk by the water. Despite reviewers metioning it, they do not do turndown service when the hotel is at low capacity. They don't technically advertise turndown and the hotel isn't in the price range where you would normally see turndown so you can't be too mad.

The location is decent. You are maybe a 5 minute walk to the center of Laos "nightlife", and then a 10 minute walk to the market. Definately book here if you want to be...

We were staying in another hotel but moved over here for a couple of nights as this location was easier to view the alms giving in the morning.

It is an excellent location to visit the older, UNESCO gazetted part of town, with the night market etc within walking distance and yet you are situated along a peaceful part of the river.

The room was smaller than the previous hotel, but well appointed, with ample electric points. They also provide free drinks in the small fridge, which was appreciated in the scorching heat. The wifi was strong throughout the stay.

We liked the sink fittings and dancer motifs in the bath area, but thought it would have been nicer to have a door between the bath and sleeping areas, rather than just a curtain, as even the slight noise I make in the morning can wake up the wife. It might even be a little awkward if the room is being shared by two friends or colleagues.

There is no TV in the room, which we did not find an inconvenience. The floors are wood and beautiful, but can be a little slippery if well polished. I almost slipped in the room twice.

Our room at one end is situated along a busy thoroughfare and there are eateries and bars nearby, so it can get noisy till around just near midnight, when there is a curfew. In the morning, one of the local neighbors wakes up pretty early and begins chopping wood, with chickens crowing too.

The staff, especially Ms Khai (?) at reception, and those at the terrace restaurant, are friendly and always greet you with a smile. While they speak English, there can still be some miscommunication. We had asked for help in making dinner reservations. However, the eatery was closed but the staff did not tell us even as we were dropping off the room key, and we only found out after making a hot trek to the restaurant. We had also requested for room cleaning at 430 pm, as my wife wanted to rest, which reception said was okay, but housekeeping came knocking on our door at 1 pm, and then at 340 pm, as she said she went off duty at 4 pm.

The hotel provided a free 1 hour cruise with beer or soft drinks - while nice, the boat did not actually move far from the hotel location and we were moored in the middle of the river for about 20 minutes around 530 pm during a warm evening. Perhaps the cruise could start at 6 pm instead, so it is cooler and there is a chance of catching the sunset.

Overall, it was a good stay in nicely preserved heritage buildings, and a good base to explore a different part...