Laos Heritage Collection

A land, a family,
a way of living
that became a collection.

The Laos Heritage Collection was not conceived in a boardroom.
It grew slowly, organically from a piece of land beside three lily ponds in Luang Prabang, from a mother's recipes, from a couple's morning walks past a forgotten teak house, and from thirty years of loving this city enough to stay.

Today it is a single family of hospitality:
two homes, two tables, and two days on the river built around the UNESCO-listed heart of Luang Prabang.

Houses in the Collection

25+

Years on the Mekong

1995

UNESCO World Heritage Listing

4.6/5

Average Guest Rating

The lily ponds at the heart of the family's ancestral land

1930

The Land & the Family

A mother who cooked for ten.

The land on which Maison Dalabua and Manda de Laos now stand has belonged to the same family for generations. It was here that Phiew, known to everyone as Maman Phiew, was born in 1930, the eldest of three children to a goldsmith who organized royal ceremonies at the Palace, and a mother who kept a small shop in the old town.

Like every young woman in Luang Prabang of her time, Phiew learned to cook from her own mother. When she married and raised ten children, five daughters among them, she passed on not just recipes but a philosophy: that a meal is a full day's devotion, that a dish like laap leaves nothing to chance, and that feeding a family is an act of love requiring great attention.

Aerial view of Maison Dalabua surrounded by lotus ponds

The lotus ponds are breathtaking. The restaurant is outstanding and situated in a perfect setting at one of the ponds. Rooms are clean and comfortable. Very friendly and efficient staff. Perfect location, ten minutes away on foot from the city centre. Totally recommended.

Begoña Enguix · Google

2011

Maison Dalabua · Luang Prabang

The ancestral ponds become a place to stay.

Maison Dalabua opened in 2011 on land that has belonged to the family for generations, built around the same lotus ponds that would later frame Manda de Laos next door. Rooms are furnished with carved wood and silk textiles in a nod to local craftsmanship, and each one opens onto a private terrace. The property has its own pool and a spa offering traditional Lao massages, just a few minutes from the old town.

Visit Maison Dalabua

Interior of a La Fontaine Residence duplex apartment

A perfect home away from home. The duplex was spacious, spotless and beautifully furnished, and having full access to Maison Dalabua's pool and bicycles made it feel like a private retreat in the heart of town. The concierge thought of every detail. We are already planning our return.

Claire & Julien M. · Google

2019

La Fontaine Residence · Luang Prabang

A 1962 house, reborn for travelers.

The building dates to 1962, originally built by Dr Edgar Vogel, and stood three hundred metres from the family's lotus ponds for decades before its full renovation in 2019 into two apartment styles, a two bedroom duplex and a one bedroom studio, each with a walk in Italian shower and a fully equipped kitchen. Guests here keep full access to Maison Dalabua's pool and bicycles, along with daily housekeeping and a personal concierge.

Visit La Fontaine Residence

Riverside terrace at Luang Say Lodge overlooking the Mekong

We had a wonderful stay at the Lodge — perfection from start to finish with wonderful service, beautiful vistas, a luxurious room and superb food. A highlight!

Emma Pacey · Tripadvisor

1998

Luang Say Lodge · Pakbeng

Where the river journey rests for the night.

Built in 1998 on four hectares above the Mekong at Pakbeng, Luang Say Lodge has twenty teak and rosewood bungalows, each with a private bathroom and a view of the river or the forest. Its riverside restaurant, reached by wooden walkways, serves organic Lao cuisine grown in the property's own garden. This is where every two-day river journey stops for the night, halfway between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang.

Visit Luang Say Lodge

Manda de Laos dining beside the lily pond at dusk

A beautiful and romantic setting. The service was friendly and attentive. The food impeccably presented and delicious. This is a must-do dinner if you are going to Luang Prabang.

Eric Parker · Google

2015

Manda de Laos · Luang Prabang

Her daughter opens the ponds to the world.

Manda means "mother" in Lao, a name chosen to honor Maman Phiew, mother of founder Toune Sisouphanthavong. Born in Luang Prabang in 1930, the eldest of three children, she learned to cook from her own mother and later passed that knowledge on to her ten children. Toune opened the restaurant in 2015 around the same three lily ponds, UNESCO listed since 1995, where she grew up. In ten years, dishes like laap, prepared the slow way Phiew always insisted on, have been served to guests from across the world.

Visit Manda de Laos

Gaspard restaurant in a heritage teak house

We had a wonderful dinner. The food is made with love, and very high quality. Definitely a must visit when you are in Luang Prabang.

Vlada · Tripadvisor

2020

Gaspard · Luang Prabang

A treasure unearthed on a morning walk.

For years, Toune and Rodolphe walked past this house on their way to Phossy Mountain, stopping to peer over the fence at the jasmine and brambles. When it came up for sale, they learned over tea with the former owner's grandson that it had been built nearly a century ago by a French doctor and his Lao bride, a union of two worlds that mirrored their own. Local craftsmen and a friend from Brittany helped merge the old and the new: a French artisan menu built by hand, and an overgrown garden turned secret garden under the stars. They named it Gaspard, meaning treasure.

Visit Gaspard

Traditional teak boat on the Mekong River

Wonderful cruise! We loved every minute of our two-day journey in Laos, from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai. The guide, Sommay, was excellent: funny, informative and very attentive to his guests.

Maddy Louitt · Google

1999

Mekong Cruises · Luang Prabang

A fleet that has been reading this river since 1999.

Running since 1999, this two-day journey along the Mekong between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang travels aboard traditional wooden boats built for the river. The route stops at riverside villages and limestone caves along the way, and every crossing breaks overnight at Luang Say Lodge in Pakbeng before continuing on to Luang Prabang's temples and morning markets.

Visit Mekong Cruises

Laos Heritage Collection Founders

Toune and Rodolphe built these houses the same way they built their marriage:
not by following a blueprint, but by nurturing a shared dream.

Having met and fallen in love, they chose the timeless beauty
of Luang Prabang as the place to unite their paths.

Toune contributed the land, her deepest memories, and her mother’s culinary legacy. Rodolphe brought a refined passion for hospitality honed across Asia,
driven by a search for a place worthy of calling home.

What stands here today is a living testament to their partnership
a space where cultures intertwine and hospitality is a way of life.

These walls are made of teak, the gardens are filled with lotuses,
and the windows look out over the river,
but the true foundation of these homes is the life they have built together.

TOUNE SISOUPHANTHAVONG & RODOLPHE GAY

Itinerary One

The Long Weekend

3 nights · town only

Nights 1–3 — Maison Dalabua, a pond-view room
Evening 1 — Dinner at Manda de Laos beside the lily ponds
Day 2 — Wat Xieng Thong, the morning market, an afternoon at Kuang Si Falls
Evening 2 — Gaspard, the secret garden under the stars
Day 3–4 — A slow final day by the pool, departing on the morning of Day 4

Best for: first visits, short stays, couples

Riverside terrace at Luang Say Lodge above the Mekong

Itinerary Two

Six Houses, One River

7 nights · the full collection

Day 1 — Board the traditional boat at Huay Xai
Night 1 — Luang Say Lodge, Pakbeng, dinner from the lodge's own garden
Day 2 — Riverside villages and the Pak Ou caves, arriving Luang Prabang by evening
Nights 2–5 — La Fontaine Residence, the two-bedroom duplex, with pool access next door
Dinners — Rotating between Manda de Laos and Gaspard
Nights 6–7 — A final two nights at Maison Dalabua, by the ponds, before departure

Best for: the full story, longer stays, families

Traditional teak boat cruising the Mekong River

Itinerary Three

The River Escape

2 nights · cruise-focused

Day 1 — Huay Xai to Pakbeng by traditional teak boat
Night 1 — Luang Say Lodge, above the Mekong
Day 2 — Onward to Luang Prabang, arriving by evening
Night 2 — Maison Dalabua, with dinner at Manda de Laos to close the loop

Best for: extending a Thailand or Laos trip with one river chapter

Six houses.
One river.