Villa Mahasok hotel — Hotel in Luang Prabang

I've been dreaming of coming to Laos ever since and finally it has come to fruition last Dec 2022 when we had the chance to visit this charming place in particular - Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage site and was the former Royal Capital of Laos. With its charming and unique blend of Laotian and French culture and an abundance of natural resources surrounding the city nothing could get better than this. Located on a peninsula between Mekong and Nam Khan river about 1000 m high, it has a cool and pleasant climate especially during the Winter months. And indeed we made the right decision by finally visiting this place. Upon checking which hotel to book there are so many options and locations to choose from - Riverside, Old Town, and Town Center. There were also plenty of affordable hotels to choose from which have Excellent reviews. Affordability is our next criteria when picking the place and luckily there is an offer that day in Agoda for Villa Mahasok which will only cost us 40 SGD per night with breakfast for a Superior room with King bed and Tub. Not to mention, this is just one of the 3 star hotels in town which offers a pool - a draw for us. So we booked it right away and lucky that we did it. As laid back and relaxing it could get Villa Mahasok is the perfect place to stay if you would like to experience a truly authentic Laotian experience. Located at the Town Center, it is 600 m away or about 10 mins walk from Luang Prabang Night Market and the Mekong River but we didn't mind walking around town because it's so charming, beautiful, relaxing and with a very pleasant weather to go with this really completes the package. There is a never a spot in town where something or someone will surprise you especially for first timers like us. First thing first, we observed upon entering the hotel lobby is to remove your footwear. There is a shoe compartment on the right side of the hotel entrance. Check-in is simple and easy, they just took my passport, scanned and off we go. The staff assisted us in carrying our bags and we passed through their idyllic open-air courtyard where the lap pool and pool sun loungers are located. There are outdoor seats and tables located at this spot as well ideal for having coffee, beer, reading, writing and just chilling out. Further ahead, there is a short stair made of red tiles which leads you to a couple of elevated rooms located out here facing the Garden courtyard with a huge and lovely Lotus pond filled with Lotus, Water Lilies and lots of different plants and flower river species in a dazzling show of Green, Pink and White colours. There is also an open-air hammock with cushions for relaxing and resting on the other end of the pond. At the right side of the pond is the dining area where breakfast buffet is served. We booked a Superior room facing the Garden from the 2nd floor. After the staff ushered us in he came back to give us a welcome drink of sweet and refreshing Dragon fruit juice which was really delish. The room is absolutely big, spacious, classic and clean. There is a big wardrobe from the left of the main door where bathrobes and hangers are provided. You could place your bags and luggage here and still have room for more. Next to the wardrobe is a classic old door that opens for the huge toilet with tub and I specially loved its black and white tiles which creates a mix of modern and classic vibes. Water pressure is strong and heating is easy to regulate. I especially loved that they provided both shower gel, shampoo and hand soap and the toilet has bidet. In fact, in our 3 nights stay we always used the tub daily. The only thing is that the toilet door is quite loud when you close it. To the right of of the main door is where the long under/side/study table located. The mini-fridge is also placed at the right most end of this table, then you have the mini-bar with complimentary water, coffee and tea on the other end. A huge flat screen TV is mounted on the wall with tons of cable and local channels which is another plus for us. In fact, I've watched FIFA World cup finals and semi-finals match on some occasions. There is a safety box at the center of the table where we put our important things which is another plus for us. The safety box was not reset at first when we tried to use it, so we called the hotel staff and the helpful and prompt staff fixed it right away. There is a cozy brown sofa with 2 pillows next to the mini-bar which can seat 3 people and very comfortable to sit back and relax. Finally, the star of the room and center of attraction - the King Bed with 4 huge/soft pillows, 2 small pillows and a very fine, clean, and smooth blanket and bed sheet. On both sides of the bed there are 2 side table with compartments and two very romantic lamps which you could control the lighting. There are lovely yellow-grey curtains with intricate designs surrounding the bed . The bed headrest is from a nice intricate wooden design boasting a true authentic Laotian creativity. I would say the bed is the truly authentic Laotion piece in the room which blends well with the other modern touch of the interior. One concern we experienced is the slow and intermittent WIFI of the hotel and at one night it went offline as well. Outside our room there is a balcony with a wooden chair where you could sit, relax and enjoy the view of the pond and courtyard. Since we had breakfast in our booking we never skipped it and tried the offerings they had. I would say the choices are few and mostly on the vegan side but I loved the fresh fruits and the brewed coffee. Eggs were plentiful but you must come early else the rice and the meat options will be depleted first. The dining area is absolutely elegant and classic true to the taste of Laotian furnishings and design. The tables and chairs are made of fine wood with red table clothes but what I loved most is the wooden floor which is really polished to a shining perfection and very smooth to walk in. Nevertheless, we loved the breakfast and it really kicked start our day. I have tried their pool on the 2nd day and mind you it was freezing cold. It's like swimming in just melted ice. Dec and Jan are the coolest months in Luang Prabang and temperatures can go well into the teens especially in the dusk till early morning. Wind chills will even make it colder. Regardless, I took my chance the weather is around 19 celcius that time half past 5 in the afternoon but little did I know the water is on another level. I have no more choice but to swim against the cold water but I made it through 5 rounds. Finally, the lobby of the hotel is a unique blend of classic and modern interiors with many sofas and chairs to seat from. The red sofa right at the center in front of the counter is perhaps the centerpiece. The pool is visible from the lobby thru a hallway and I loved the effect of the sunlight coming from it. Since it's Xmas season there is a Xmas tree also placed just outside the lobby. The hotel sells water, beer and other drinks which you could get from the front desk. Finally, after 3 nights of lovely and relaxing stay at Villa Mahasok we were really satisfied, happy and surprised in a good way at many levels. Since its our first time in Luang Prabang, we saw their culture, tasted their food, admired their architecture and savoured each and every moments during our 4 days visit at this charming little town and because of our stay at Villa Mahasok this made our first time visit a great experience which is a worthwhile one to cherish and remember in our lifetime. We will definitely be back for sure and try other attractions Luang Prabang has to offer with Villa Mahasok a good place to stay for second time around. See you soon Luang Prabang and Villa Mahasok we couldn't wait...

We had a mixed experience at the Villa and had to laugh at the contrast of our stay to other reviews. The young man checking us in was surly in all interactions, acting as if he was doing us favors. The room was disappointing. Doubles had been sold out so we’d booked a triple that depicted a double bed and a single, but instead we were put in a room with 3 singles. We asked for help pushing two beds together, but unfortunately doing so stirred up a lot of dust which we have bad allergies to and we realized that while the rest of the room was clean it had been a long time since it was cleaned beneath the mattresses and bed frames. Our safe was already locked which took quite awhile for keys to be found to reset it; the bathroom shower head was broken and only trickled; the drain was clogged so despite low shower flow the bathroom flooded; and tp was hung out of reach of the toilet on the other side of the room. The good news is that when we pointed out shower and drain issues repairs were attempted the next day. The buffet bkfst was always cold, but it overlooks a charming little pond of water lotuses which is the best feature of the hotel. There’s also a nice lap pool but be careful which chair you choose as the guy next to me fell through his. The location is a bit of a hike to nearby attractions but doable. Maybe it was just bad luck since other reviews are...

The hotel overall is ok. The rooms are good, aircon worked reasonably well and the pool was excellent.

The staff at breakfast couldve been nicer, nobody would say hello, felt a little awkward. The location was a little out of the centre, about a 10/15 min walk in the heat can be quite sweaty. We often had bugs in the room as well which wasn't ideal. But the hotel itself was ok...

The reason for marking down was the tour to the waterfall. The hotel offers 100k (Laos kip) tickets to the waterfall which seemed a good price. We got on the bus to find 12 people crammed on a 9 seater for a bumpy 50minute journey. Approx halfway to the waterfall the driver pulled over and asked everyone for 60k, we weren't sure what the price was for a ticket so paid the 60k, we eventually got Internet at the waterfall and the price was 20k a ticket, so the driver had charged us 3 times the price. We confronted the driver and asked for our money back and he 'conveniently' couldn't speak English (did ok to ask for the money in the first instance).

The money we lost isn't the issue, it is the fact we were scammed and was blatantly lied to when we brought it up.

I wouldn't stay at Villa Mahasok again, mainly due to the dodgy tour operated...