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Centara Hotels & Resorts Lands in Laos
Centara Hotels & Resorts is jumping into Vang Vieng with fresh management contracts for two riverside hotels. The properties are expected to reopen in late 2021, after they complete their refurbishment programmes. According to TTR Weekly, the deal includes Centara Riverside Resort Vang Vieng (formerly Thavisouk Island Hotel) and Thavisouk Riverside Resort & Spa Vang Vieng, Centara Boutique Collection (formerly Thavisouk Riverside Hotel). The properties, just a 90-minute drive from Vientiane on the new expressway, sit across from each other on the Nam Song River, and are connected by a bridge “We are delighted to be partnering with Thavisouk, and to draw on their wealth of local expertise and hospitality experience for Centara’s expansion in this beautiful country. Our values of treating our guests and employees like family are closely aligned, and I am excited to offer new destinations for guests who seek authentic travel experiences surrounded by nature,” said Centara Hotels and Resorts CEO Thirayuth Chirathivat. The TTR report stated, that rooms at Thavisouk Riverside Resort & Spa Vang Vieng, Centara Boutique Collection, are “housed in five low-rise buildings, ranging from 40 to 136 sqm.” Facilities include a spa and riverside restaurant overlooking the town’s karst rock formations. Across the river, the all-suite Centra by Centara Riverside Resort Vang Vieng offers size sizeable accommodation: 52-sqm one-bedroom standard rooms and 55-sqm corner suites. The resort presents a rooftop restaurant, swimming pool, and 50 to 100-sqm meeting rooms. Source: TTR WEEKLY
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Luang Prabang Hotels Battle Covid Lockdown
By Bernie Rosenbloom Last week, Lao Derm COO and WeAreLao MD John Williams conducted a survey of 116 hotels in Luang Prabang to discover if they were open or closed. He passed the results to me yesterday, an hour after I wrote Don’t “Delete” Skift’s 2021 Tourism Trends. Skift suggested chain hotels were most likely to survive the pandemic. Mr Williams’ spreadsheet certainly pointed that way. Photo Courtesy Luang Prabang View Hotel Of the 30 open hotels, 11 are linked to chains, big brands, and hospitality groups. Accor, Victoria, Burasiri, Sanctuary, and accommodation managed by Laos Hospitality Consulting made the list. Aman and Rosewood did not. Mixed in with those operating are die-hard standalones, from eco-lodges to up-scale villas. The 86 on hold are mostly mid-range/budget accommodation, but some big names also hit the pause button. Expect a more in-depth article on Luang Prabang’s current hotel scene soon.
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Santa Delivers an Elephant to Laos
ECC Press Release Our hopes for elephant conservation in Laos increase with the birth of a new boy on Xmas Day! There are so many things that make this a feel-good story. As you may know, the Elephant Conservation Center of Laos has not had too much luck with the previous pregnancies. The last two were carried to full term, but because of complications, the calves did not make it. This is not abnormal, but it certainly is a blow to the would-be mother and our community. Even so, we never gave up and kept believing in our way of working, despite the extremely challenging times we have gone through this year with the COVID-19 pandemic. So, you can understand how happy we were when after only 30 minutes, we could meet our new, healthy bull on Xmas day! Read full release
