Unfortunately I'm booking late for January - here's where my hotel search stands:

- La Residence Phou Vao - full but over my (hoped for) budget in any event
- Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - hotel web sites (Expedia, etc) inconsistent about availability - emailed from main site and waiting to hear back - looks to be about $140US for garden room
- The Grand Luang Prabang Hotel & Resort - full
- The Apsara - superior upstairs room available for $85US - the rooms look lovely but I'm not sure there's a balcony or grounds to sit in - don't want to spend alot of time sitting in the room - the purpose of LP in part is to relax in the middle of our SE Asia itinerary - emailed with that question
- Villa Santi - haven't checked but would rather not be so far out of town

Is it possible that rooms will open up - I'm wondering if tour operators book blocks of rooms that are released if the tours aren't full?

Any other comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Elizabeth, there is a Villa Santi (the original) which is in the center of town. The Villa Santi resort and the Grand are both way out of town.

Have you done a search on the board for "hotels in LP" ? There are a number of other places that are tiny, just a few rooms, but come highly recommended. Also, I'd email the places you are interested in directly.

When you want to relax, you'll have optoins like the balcony of the restaurant at Villa Santi for long, leisurely lunches. What I'm saying is that there will be places other than your room to relax.

I doubt that tour operators book blocks of rooms in LP.

Maison Souvannaphoum is your best bet. Beautiful grounds, lovely pool, all rooms have balconies and breakfast on the terrace overlooking the grounds and pool is usually included and wonderful. The aspara does not have any grounds or garden that I recall -- I think Maison S is much more what you may be looking for. Going directly through the hotel is your best bet for finding a room. They are a memeber of Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) & if you go to the www.slh.com there is an availability calendar. Good luck & hope you can get a room there.

Try here:
http://www.laohotelgroup.org

By the way, did you know there's a little beach to relax on in Luang Prabang? I saw people in the river too, but I didn't fancy it.

Thanks everyone -

Kathie - yes, I've searched here, Trip Advisor and other blogs/reviews (my eyes are crossed!) - I'm very open to the smaller places and have researched a lot of them (3 Nagas, Sala, Satri, Villa Santi in town, etc) but there are widely ranging opinions of them - to generalize it seems the rooms are quite different so if you get a large room (that you specified) you're very happy but if not, the room can be quite small and/or dark.

CFW - yes - it seems all roads lead back to Maison S! Now if only they would answer my email reservation request - if I do an online booking there's a one night non refundable deposit and I don't yet have my flights confirmed. It's quite expensive, though, when you add the 20% tax and service on top (and $25 transportation to/from the airport - yikes that's high - Apsara is $7).

Apsara also has a villa that price wise is close to Maison S when you add all the taxes, etc - has anybody stayed in it?

Here's a link to it

http://www.theapsara.com/luang-prabang-villa.html

Thanks to all for your help.

Any experiences staying at Tum Tum Cheng (the same people who run the cookery school have guest rooms and suites)

http://www.tumtumcheng.com/guest_houses/index.html

I've found a few references to the cookery school but not many for the accommodations - we love to cook/eat so this could be a great find for us!

I'm booked at 3 Nagas in January. This hotel is also well regarded on this message board. I believe the price was $100 per night. They have a website www.3nagas.com
I share your frustration with M.S., I've emailed them twice for a restaurant reservation, with no reply.

Elizabeth, Don't use the Maison S for transport from the airport to the hotel -- it is way overpriced. At the LP airport you can get an airport taxi that will take you to the hotel for $5.00.

The villa for the Apsara is right next door to the 3 nagas (on the new side of the road) - haven't been into it but it looks quite nice - traditional villa, big grounds etc. Don't imagine you'd get service like a hotel but they have it staffed. No pool etc but I imagine a very relaxing place to be. Very convenient position.

Last January we stayed at Satri House and loved it. PROS: Our room was beautiful and clean, there's a nice lovely garden and swimming pool. The place is furnished with antiques and Lao textiles... Breakfast is included and was delicious... CONS: It's a bit of a longer walk to town, but really only 10 minutes, and there are always tuk-tuks around who can whisk you to Rue Sisavongvong. Be sure to eat at Les 3 Nagas - I really loved their food.

Has anyone stayed at the Grand Hotel? How far out of town is it (close enough to easily get into town for morning procession of monks?) and what was transport like? Are the rooms/facilities as nice as the other options in LP?

The Grand hotel is a few miles out of town. Personally, I would not stay there as it is too far to walk.

The Grand is quite a ways out as is the Vlla Santi Resort.

We stayed at La Residence Phou Vao (formerly the Pansea). It is right on the edge of town and is as far "out" as I would stay.

I stayed in a no-name place for $1.75 a night and loved it. However, the first night, I had a room on the ground floor and was dismayed with the giant rats in the bathroom. I felt much better after moving upstairs.

Craig and Kathie - The Phou Vao, Maison and other in-town/close options are unfortunately booked for our dates. It looks like we either stay at the Grand out of town, or we don't get to go to LP on this trip. Is the Grand so far out that you would recommend not doing LP now and waiting until another trip when we can get in-town hotel?

Others have stayed there and have enjoyed their time in LP. I expect LP is changing fast, I'd go there now, even if you can't stay in town. And keep checking back for cancellations at other places.

I would do what Kathie recommends and go now while watching for cancellations. You'll have to factor into your plans the time it takes to get back and forth to your hotel. The shuttle won't be operating at 6 AM to see the monks so you'll have to arrange transportation - I am sure the folks at the Grand would be happy to do this for you.

Thanks again for the input. Based on your advice we've decided to go to LP. We have reservations at The Grand and will keep checking on cancellations elsewhere. We are looking forward to our visit! One last question -- has anyone been to LP in winter -- what should we expect in terms of weather at the end of the year?

We were in LP at Xmas and New Year a few years ago. It was quite cold at night and misty in the early mornings. The rest of the days it was very warm circa 80f. I really wish I had taken a fleece for the early mormning boat trip up to the Pak Ou caves - it was freezing!

Crellston - thanks for the tip ... fleece will be packed. With temps that chilly, mosquitoes must not have been a problem at all?