The Champasak Palace Hotel

The fact that the photographs of the Champasak Palace Hotel are impressive and the rate offered at www.agoda.com was even more impressive, I was immediately hooked on this gem of a hotel.

It really is a former palace of a former King, really!  Well at least the advertising blurb says so.  I have tried to research the last King of Life, a certain Mr Jao Ma Ha Chee Vit, without success.  It seems the palace was built in 1969, but wasn't this the height of the Indo-China war?  Lao territory was crucial to both sides and the proximity to Ubon's US held air-base springs to mind as well.  From 1964 to 1973 the USAF flew 580,944 sorties, (average of 177 per day!!!), and dropped 2,093,100 tons of bombs.  That's one plane load of bombs every eight minutes round the clock for nine years!

I would love to know more about the construction of a palace in the midst of all the bombing.

However, Mr Jao Ma Ha Chee Vit left Champasak for France in 1975, before the palace was finished.  This probably co-incided with the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on 2 December 1975.  The king abdicated and the communist government, fearful of a Royalist reprisal, imprisoned the royal family in a cave close to the border with Vietnam.  Sadly they died and the Lao monarchy was gone for ever.  If Jao Ma Ha Chee Vit was related, he had a lucky escape.  But what happened to him?

The Champasak Palace was renovated in 2004 by Thai investors. The result is an excellent and fine example of Laotian craftsmanship.  With the opening of the road bridge over the Mekong and a direct road route to Thailand, the area is currently thriving with commerce and the hotel is well placed to take advantage.  In addition, a hotel with a unique style will appeal to the tourist, especially on their way to or from Thailand.

I really like the hotel.  It is quirky though, and tries very hard to keep up to the image portrayed by its marketing department.  It boasts a coffee shop (the area around Pakse has excellent coffee plantations), but it is the same as the restaurant, and you cannot see the difference.  It boasts a gym (yes I packed my trainers and shorts) but the equipment is broken and has grey strings of cobwebs hanging in shame from dumbells and barbells.  The running machine belt was ripped and obviously not in working order. It has a laundry service, but Khamma could not borrow an iron.  There is also a sauna, spa and massage but we did not check this out.

But, and it is a big BUT, the rest of the hotel lived up to my expectations.

Everywhere was very clean.  The bedroom was very large with AC (although the room had a curious front and back door arrangement I could not get used to).  A good bed that was wider than it was long, an excellent bathroom, although the bath plug was missing.  Good TV, good internet, good food, wonderful friendly staff. 

If you are staying in the area I recommend the Champasak Palace Hotel.

The price was £44.71 for two for two nights.  Good value.