“We chose Satri House after a bad experience in Chiang Mai and didn’t want to take any chances. Our choice was extremely good.

Satri House is perfect in almost every way. The architecture, the ambience, the gardens, the stafff all blend into a package that I really cannot fault. There is something so natural, so unassuming and effortless in the professionalism at Satri House that people in every service industry could learn from. We enjoyed it so much, we extended our stay from three to six nights.

We arrived and were welcomed and showed into the charming drawing room, where Giovanni introduced himself. We had a junior suite in House 7, which some people here have said might be somewhat louder than elsewhere, but the hotel is situated in a city after all. It was not a problem; on the contrary, the decor and fittings were extremely tasteful. How great was it not to have a flat-screen TV in a hotel room as the default option! The large four-poster bed was very comfortable, the room had both a fan and air-conditioning.

We ate at the restaurant once at Satri House on our first evening and would recommend it. The waiting staff, who double up at the bar, are really friendly and, if you want, keen to practise their English and tell you about Lao culture (Thanks Panyit and Peng!)

Breakfast consists or either Western choices (baguette, to-die-for-croissants with homemade pineapple, tomato and tamarind jams, egg dishes) or Lao dishes (noodle soups, rice porridge etc). Again, the staff were extremely attentive and unassuming, watched over by a lady restaurant head who could seemingly converse in every possible language.

There are two pools, with each lounger sporting towels and a complementary Panama hat.

The centre of Satri House is colonial villa which has been added on to in the same style by the present owner. The small gardens blend in to the buildings, joined by bamboo-lined alleys and stairways, decorated tastefully with colonial furniture and statues of Oriental divinities. It’s cleverly executed, making the site seem bigger than it is. An odour of lemongrass lingers in the air, pleasant to human noses and repellent for mosquitoes.

Satri House is quite simply the best place I have ever stayed in.”