Hotel Mybanlao Hotel (Luang Prabang)

A timeless eco-luxury hotel where you arrive as our guest and leave as our family.

The late hotel structure housed CIA Headquarters during the secret war of the 1960s, has been given a make-over and magnified just in time to open post-pandemic.  The original colonial structures have been preserved and continue to tell a story.  

This property was once home to Ouane Rattikone, the General in command of the Royal Lao Armed Forces, the official military of the Royal Lao Government and the Kingdom of Laos during the 1960s. General Rattikone was an ally of the United States during the Vietnam War and provided critical military support against communist forces in the northern regions of Laos. He was born in Luang Prabang in 1912 and passed away in 1978.

As a clandestine participant to the Vietnam War and its shadow secret war in Laos, this building functioned as the offices for USAID, Americaâ¿¿s foreign aid mission during the secret war and a cover for CIA headquarters. Imagine, this parking area once had a helicopter landing pad!

The construction of a hotel on Rattikoneâ¿¿s family land was led by Ms. Sirivanh Thammavongsa, one of his ten children. At a time when Laos was starting to see international tourists cross its borders, Villa Ban Lao was one of the first hotels to open in Luang Prabang in 1999. Built in the classic colonial design and encircled by gardens and a lily-filled pond, the hotel offered an on-site restaurant, which made it a popular venue for weddings and parties. It was also the location for the first Miss Lao New Year (Nang Sangkhan) pageant in Luang Prabang.

 The late hotel structure of Villa Ban Lao has been transformed into the modern neo-classic elegance of MyBanLao. Renovation to the original buildings was undertaken with strict UNESCO construction codes to protect its heritage and architecture.