Fleewinter

Nestled in tropical gardens and perched on the river banks of South-east Asia’s greatest river, the Mekong Estate is not an ‘estate’’ in the way you might imagine. Instead it is home to six private, delightfully decorated and spacious villas with their own secluded entrances and balconies. The villas range from one to four bedrooms - as detailed below - and there is a shared swimming pool in the gardens.

1) Garden Loft: A charming one-bed loft style detached house opens onto its private garden of exotic fragrant plants and on the Mekong River. It is extremely spacious (70sqm) and remarkable value at £160 per night.

2) Bamboo Suite: There are two Bamboo Suites (one on the ground floor and one on the first floor - both of which have their own private entrances). These suite-apartments, hidden in a golden-bamboo bush, are the same price and size as the Garden Lodge and also have one bedroom.

3) Jade Suite: Undeniably the fanciest of the one-bed villas. There are two Jade Suites (again one upstairs and one downstairs with private entrances). They boast incredible terraces and open plan living spaces that open onto the bedroom. It also has a small kitchen and is larger than the other one-bed options and is £170 per night.

4) Moulin Rouge: This elegant villa in Lao colonial architectural style overlooks the Mekong River and the swimming pool. The interior decoration is sober and refined - it has three bedrooms and is suitable for 6 people (a pretty, stencilled twin bedroom is downstairs and there are two rooms upstairs - we adore the master bedroom which has a huge terrace facing the river with a swing seat!) It is also possible to rent the villa, which has a fully equipped kitchen, by the room (on request except in high peak season). The whole villa is around £380 per night.

5) Sunset House: This splendid four-bedroom villa oozes character and is the largest of the residence. Every room has breathtaking view of the swimming pool and the magnificent Mekong River. Possibility to rent the villa in part. Fully equipped kitchen. This is actually managed by Burasari Heritage, which have a hotel on the Nam Khan River in Luang Prabang.

Whilst some of the rooms have kitchens, the villas all offer a takeaway service from the local restaurants so you will have a selection of restaurant menus to browse and a delivery can be arranged. There are also bicycles so you can cycle to Luang Prabang, which is about two miles away.