Fleewinter

The Hotel Pyin Oo Lwin offers the most sophisticated and spacious rooms in this charming colonial hill station. With just 36 rooms the resort has an intimate feel to it but offers the services and facilities of a larger hotel.

Surprisingly for Myanmar, the winter months temperatures can drop to freezing in Pyin Oo Lwin, making the indoor swimming pool at this hotel a big plus. The communal areas of this hotel are delightful. Stylish dark wood gives the bar and restaurant area (which spills out onto an outdoor terrace) the air of a gentleman’s club from colonial days gone by. The wooden tables are marble topped in the restaurant and we loved the high ceilings with wooden fans - and the grand piano in the corner.

There are two types of rooms; the deluxe and suite rooms. Both are identical in size, layout and decor. The only difference is that the suite rooms are kitted out with coffee machines, a larger mini bar (not complimentary), DVD player and an iron.

Both room types have verandas out the front with two seats and a chess board that doubles up as a small table. The wooden-panelled rooms are incredibly spacious with large fireplaces that take centre-stage of the room. From the high, beamed ceilings hang wooden fans and lanterns that resemble old-fashioned gas lanterns.

There is a sliding door at the back of the room and beyond that lies a very spacious bathroom - and separate dressing area with wardrobes and a dressing table, so your luggage can be kept out of sight. The marble bathroom has a separate shower and bath tub, as well as a toilet behind a wooden swing door.

The hotel is located besides the lake and a five minute stroll from the town’s beautiful botanical gardens ($5 admission fee), so it is not in the town centre. However, you can easily cycle into the town in 10 minutes or take a taxi/horse and carriage ride.