Staying at the Rosewood’s Riverside Villa Luang Prabang
Do you hear that?
Is that a tv… Or our neighbors?
Rosewood Riverside Villa tl;dr
- Spacious Riverside Villa
- Large Bathroom Area
- Sort of Noisy Neighbors
I was once told not to judge a book by it’s cover. There’s so much to a story that sometime requires more than a single reading to get to one’s own conclusion. The Rosewood Luang Prabang is no exception to that either.
As I was saying in the previous post about any experience is that there’s more than one version to the story. Other than the small yet plush Waterfall Villa, Nadia and I also stayed at their Riverside Villa. While not as private as it’s sibling accommodation, the riverside villa has a certain charm all on it’s own.
After checking in to the hotel, we walked across the bridge to the accommodation side of the stream(during the dry season, it’s more of wide stream versus a roaring river). The path then can lead you to a one of several areas:
- Riverside Rooms
- Riverside Villas
- Hilltop Tents
The next 2 we stayed at:
- Waterfall Pool Villa
- 55 sqm / 592 sqf private space with luxurious outdoor amenities
- Riverside Suites
- 90 sqm / 969 sqf hotel suite on the with plenty of room
Riverside Villa Living
Walking a short way across the bridge to the side of the river where all the rooms are wasn’t so bad. I could only imagine the effort to get to one’s hilltop tent but in that same vane I can also imagine the great views they must enjoy up there.
Going up the stairs to what initially looked like a very swank motel, we found our room, rather our palace, I should say. This room was HUGE! Literally the floor design had us enter the living room area which then leads you in a u-turn fashion into the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom.
Allow me to back peddle a second and expand, no pun intended, on the the living room. There’s a half bathroom just to the side of the main door. To the other side is the mini fridge and cocktail bar and other drinking paraphernalia. While the liquor is pay as you go type of deal whereas the mini fridge area is filled with complimentary beverages:
- Sodas
- 3 Types of Local Beers
- Freshly Made Local Snacks
- Think chips and that sort of thing
The main table greets you with a daily snack of some sort; one day it’s a fruit, another day it’s pastry. Who knows what you’ll get! But know now it will always be tasty! At the end of the room is a nice day lounger with a view of the river.
Moving forward to the adjacent space, is where you’ll find another lounge area next to the bed and large clothing storage areas. Beyond that is the large bathtub, bathroom, dual vanities and shower. Add a chair to it and it’s literally your very own spa area.
Say Again
With that being said, at one point, and only one point of our stay while day napping, Nadia and I both heard a conversation being held between people. I initially presumed it was a TV, but they droned on and on, I slowly came to the realization that it was actually a conversation between guests in the room either below or next to us.
Whether it’s due to poor insulation, or whether they were being super loud or possibly even due to the inherent harmonics of the room (as described our room was cavernous and probably helped the dialogue echo off all the walls), it literally felt like I was apart of their conversation. They did stop at some point, at that was the last of that.
Where is It
These riverside villas are across the river and down beyond the riverside rooms and villas just to the left of where the path forks. If you go uphill away from the water, you’re headed to the spa facility and the hilltent rooms.
What is It
The riverside villa shares a lot of the same characteristics you get from staying at another room:
- WiFi
- Bar Area
- Daily Free Beer and Water
- Daily Fresh Local Treats
With that being said, a stay here affords you a few other things:
- Nearly 2x the size of the waterfall villa
- A spacious living area
- Large interior tub
- 2 Bathrooms
What to Do There
You would do nearly everything you did staying in any other Rosewood Luang Prabang accommodation minus their individual room bonus like mini pools or vast views but you’ll be more inclined to explore the rest of the grounds.
The large circular pool is always inviting but I’d advise to go later in the day when the sun starts to set unless you’re looking to get a tan.
Staying at the riverside villa, Nadia and I were more inclined to take advantage of the Rosewood hospitality and take their complimentary shuttle to town. We would explore the temples, the sunset cruise, their night markets and even their early morning alms ceremony. We would galavant to our heart’s content till we felt it was time to go back.
And just like that, with the provided hotel cell phones, we speed dialed the front desk to request a shuttle back. Within 20 odd minutes, we were back in the luxury of an air conditioned shuttle to take us back to the Rosewood.
The Rosewood Luang Prabang, no matter which room you stay in you’ll always experience the best service!
