Villa Lotus
Luang Prabang, Laos
The best value for money in the UNESCO Heritage section of the city. The rooms are basic, but very clean and the staff are lovely. The expat owners are great to chat with and have fun stories of living in Laos.
Great location. Great value for money. A really nice staff.
The monks go right past your hotel in the morning so it's easy to roll out of bed and watch them go by.
This is the little hotel that could! Andrew, one of the owners, is the director at Deak Khum Pa Orphanage where the hotel helps provide food, donations of school materials, clothing, additional buildings and maintenance. Andrew helps to organize teachers and arranged work parties for clean up and maintenance. The hotel collects donations from guests and puts this towards the upkeep and day to day expenses of the orphanage. Because of the need in the last year Lotus Villa now provides breakfast five days a week and has committed to this support so the orphanage can feel secure. As long as guests give notice they are welcome to visit the orphanage and see where their donations are going.
Andrew isn't the only owner going above and beyond, Jacinta, another owner, volunteers with the National Museum as a conservator and is working on training and conservation projects with them. Rich, the last owner, works with Jacinda mentoring local business owners on how to better market to Western travelers. Lotus Villa also gets their staff involved whenever possible, showing them that they too possess the power to initiate change. This may be a small hotel, but they are having a big impact!
Reviewed by: Andrea Ross
July 2008