We spent 5 days here in one of the two suites on our honeymoon. Wonderful!! The hotel is a former french colonial hospital and is beautifully converted into a hotel. It is brand new but the staff and the manager (Gary) work together with such kindness and skill it is as though they have been doing it for twnety years. The food is utterly delicious, and we enjoyed a Laotian cooking course with the brilliant hotel chef. The hotel is uniquely placed just off the main street in Laos, which means that all of the local shops and restaurants are to hand, and one morning we got up early at 6am and gave the monks alms (handfuls of rice from a bowl for about 50 of them), which was a wonderful experience. On another day the hotel arranged a glorious sunset riverboat cruise up the Mekong River. I cannot recommend this hotel enough - you must go before Laos becomes westernised. It is a magical place.

We arrived from the rather sterile Aman at Siem Reap for a four night stay at the new Amantaka with high expectations that were more than met. The hotel is true to its roots in a french colonial style, set in the centre of the town, but with a wonderful amount of space, quiet corners, and far more facilities than one would expect. The attentive local staff, led by their wonderful manager Gary Tyson, are warm, and eager to ensure the perfect stay. The food was superb - every dish, without fail, every meal. The rooms are large, linen to die for, fabulous bathrooms, complete with lovely private terraces. The trips organised by the hotel are all well thought through with much variety - a lazy afternoon floating down the Mekong, engaging guides touring the local temples, a picnic by a waterfall in the mountains. All with impeccable and genuine service. Fabulous large pool, excellent spa, top tier gym - so it is very easy to laze away an afternoon or three in the hotel itself. Children welcomed, but with enough space that those wishing a child free holiday could be undisturbed.

We did a spring break tour with three days at amansara and three days at amantaka. my advice would be to go to both places, but go to amantaka first as Amansara is so much better. We stayed in the Kahn suite, which was larger than my home in tokyo(almost anyway) and a nice setup for families. A bit sparse on the furnishings, but I suppose that was what the hotel is going for. The hotel is right in the center of town making it great for excusions to the night market or for "feeding" the monks in the morning. The staff was wonderful, and did seem to work hard to make our stay enjoyable. We did the cooking class at the local farm with the head chef, which was a wonderful experience. The boat on the mekong was also a lot of fun. The Lao food for dinner was good. somethings we liked, some we did not, but we ate lao each night. Breakfast was nothing special(we still dream of the pancakes at the Amansara, though). The great thing about the hotel excursions is that you get an opportunity to talk extensively with the local people who lead the tours and get a sense of what their lives are like..The stories from the guide on the boat trip about how much Beetlao he had to buy at his wedding was one of the fond memories we take back from Laos with us. In conclusion let me put it this way I paid $5000 for three days at Amansara and thought it was an increadible bargain, where I paid a bit less for a room three times the size at Amantaka and thought it was a bit steep...Our impression may have been dulled by the fact that the first night we were there the air was virtually unbreathable due to smoke from burning jungles. Obviously not their fault, but it did make in very uncomfortable...