Lao Spirit Resort

We have been here the second time after 7 years and its still beautiful. The location is great, the staff is friendly and helpful and the foot is extraordinary. It’s ideal fore relaxing for some days and do some activities like trekking, kayaking and so. I have travelled a lot around SE Asia and this is definitely one of my favourite places.

We didn’t want to leave! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We booked this hotel super last minute… we simply wanted a quiet, rural retreat to really soak up the sights and sounds of nature …and Laos Spirit resort did not disappoint. It really was a highlight of our travels. ‘Resort’ makes it sound very ‘hotel-y’, which by definition it is - but it’s actually more of a retreat. You have to travel up a dirt track to reach it (but still only 15ish mins from the airport by $25 taxi) and it’s located in lush forest, along the bank of the Nam Khan river. There are 7 traditional huts (ours was number 4 with a lake view). Having only 7 huts helps preserve the stillness, the only movements and sounds are those of the birds and the crickets. We absolutely loved the calm, relaxing feel - especially being able to sit on our veranda and watch the fisherman pass up and down the river. The food at Laos Spirit was 10/10. There were lots of great menu options, from traditional Laotian dishes to more western choices. It was lovingly and freshly cooked, meaning it took slightly longer to come out but who’s rushing when you’re enjoying a beer and the sounds of the jungle? Food is available to order all day as well so you’ll never go hungry! The hotel offer a great range of private tours which you can book by 5pm the day before. We went on a jungle trek and kayaking tour with a local guide. It was around 10km’s through the jungle, including 2 villages in the foothills of the mountains. Here we were able to meet local school kids and see some village life. Tip: bring some sweets or colouring pens/pencils for the kids. We hadn’t thought of this and were kicking ourselves! Once we reached the kayaks, we headed downstream to Tad Sae waterfalls for a swim and explore which was beautiful! Our guide was great, he spoke very good English and we had a good laugh! By the end of our 4 days, we were very accustomed the jungle life - including the myriad creepy crawlies which love to come out a night - there’s no escaping it, you just have to embrace it. The mosquito net over the bed ensures no uninvited guests spoil your beauty sleep! The hotel staff were exceptional - SO lovely and helpful… and always smiling. Big shout out as well to Maan and Lué, the hotel dogs (not sure of correct spelling!). They were only ever a whistle away and on hand for strokes and belly rubs. They are exceptionally well behaved, roaming only where they’re allowed and clearly having a whale of a time exploring and playing in such beautiful surroundings! The only thing that was missing for me was somewhere to sit in the sun - the verandas are under cover so if you want to sunbathe, there’s nowhere really to do that. That said, you can obviously choose to go out and about yourself, outside of the resort or into Luang Prabang which is the local town. All in all, I would be so happy to come back one day!

An amazing start to our Laos trip. Kind and helpful staff. We visited the elephant village, waterfalls. They helped us with renting scooters, buying train tickets, and many other things. The accommodation is outside of civilization in the jungle and here one is in complete harmony with nature