If you fancy hitting the heights then stay at this elegant Orient Express residence .This is the only hotel in Luang Prabang built on Phou Vao Hill, which means the hill of the kites. Only the Phousi T temple on the opposite hill is higher. As befits the name, up here you are brushed by gentle cooling breezes and you also get wide verandahs, elegant interiors and panoramic views over the surrounding lush countryside and the sacred mountains on which pagodas and shrines are glimmers of gold among the green. The Phou Vao Suites are larger but The Luxury Travel Bible prefers the Mountain Pool View Rooms which overlook the infinity pool and those sacred hills beyond. Swimming in the pool is pretty special too as it sits right on the edge of a cliff and the world drops away dramatically on all sides.

La Residence takes its connection to the UNESCO world heritage town below seriously. The Luxury Travel Bible applauds Green Thursday, when each week hotel staff set out in tuk tuks armed with brooms to clean up the streets and temples of Luang Prabang. Rubbish collection has to be paid for and few residents of the town can afford it.