Hotel Sofitel a Luang Prabang

Our stay had a lot of high points and a lot of low points. Starting with the high points, the grounds and room were incredible. Our experience at the spa was one of the best we’ve had. The cocktails and Laos-style burger we had for lunch one day were phenomenal. The staff were charming and very accommodating. However, there were a few aspects that were far below the experience expected of a 5 star hotel. First, cocktail service around the pool was abysmal. On almost every occasion we had to go searching for a staff member to take our order, and then the cocktails more often than not took more than half an hour to arrive. This is despite the fact that we seemed to be the only people ordering F&B at that time, i.e. they were not busy at all. Second, the breakfast was a disappointment every day - we were told we could order eggs or noodles, and had to repeatedly press the staff to find out what type of eggs and noodles, and we only discovered on the last day that there was a menu with additional options. We ordered poached eggs on toast, and the eggs had not been drained of excess liquid, and the bread was entirely soaked through. An order of waffles took over an hour to come out - first it was delivered as a pancakes, and then they just forgot about it despite repeated follow ups. The “local” Laos options lacked flavor - very little of the herbs and spice that makes Laos food great. I think this and the pool service issue are primarily the result of a lack of training and instruction for staff - they were clearly doing their best, but did not know what to do. Third, the pool area needs a lot more spent on maintenance. The decking is cracking and falling apart. The mosaic tiles in the pool are falling apart, A LOT of the tiles are missing, and I got a very large laceration on my forearm from the sharp edge of a tile sticking out. If this pool were in a western jurisdiction, it would not meet health and safety standards. Fourth, the gym was not worth visiting if you want to lift weights. Possibly the worst weights offering I’ve seen for a hotel of that price and with that much space. We want to reiterate how great and enthusiastic the staff were. I think this is primarily a management oversight, training, and maintenance capex issue.