La Folie Lodge and Spa is a family owned and managed traditional Laos style boutique hotel in Champasak. Working closely with the local community La Folie Lodge and Spa take sustainability and the conservation of their island home seriously. Very much an eco-lodge in action, set on a car-free island the owners and team at La Folie Lodge have promoted and work with a variety of community projects to both preserve their home environment and to preserve the local culture and traditions of their Boutique Hotel’s Champasak home. The island they are located on, named Don Daeng in Laos or ‘red Island’ in English, sits within the Mekong River and is locally renowned for the magnificent sunsets that can be enjoyed from its beaches. Each of this delightful Champasak Boutique Hotel’s bungalows and suites enjoy river facing private terraces to share the stunning views of the Mekong with guests. A full service Champasak boutique hotel La Folie Lodge provides full private tour services direct form the hotel with excursions by boat and by car to explore Champasak, Pakse and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Vat Phou Temple. La Folie Lodge also has a restaurant offering traditional Laos and international cuisine with all the produce sourced fresh from local farmers and growers, or direct from the boutique hotel’s own gardens. With a full spa and a swimming pool, opportunities for luxurious relaxation between tours and trips are also guaranteed at La Folie Lodge.
Mr Antoine de Noailles
Your Host and The Team
“Back in the days when I fell in love with the island and its people, I envisioned a luxury eco-lodge lodge with a lush garden facing the incredible scenery of the Mekong River with the sacred mountains beyond. People could not take my idea seriously, it was a ‘mad’ (‘la folie’) idea. We opened in 2007. The feeling of falling asleep in a traditional wooden bungalow immersed in the scenery of the Mekong... La Folie is a place where you can really let go. The simplicity of the life here, a timeless lifestyle in harmony with nature, and we combine with the sophistication of our Champasak boutique hotel with its range of services for our guests. It is hard not to fall in love with the island and its people. The team welcome guests with a care and a traditional Lao hospitality, so typical of the countryside in this very special part of the world.”
Rooms
The Mekong View Bungalows (24 units)
Ban Lao Suite
The Residence
Facilities and Highlights
Concierge/Tour Desk
Wifi
Boutique
Air Conditioning
Gay Friendly
Wedding/Event
Eco Friendly
Nature
Garden
Swimming Pool
Spa/Massage
Yoga/Meditation
Bar/Lounge
Restaurant
Cooking Class
Champagne Taittinger
Art/Antiques
Traditional Arts
Cycling
Trekking
GolfShow/hide facilities
Facilities and Highlights
-
Concierge/Tour DeskWifiBoutiqueAir ConditioningGay FriendlyWedding/EventEco FriendlyNatureGardenSwimming Pool
- Spa/MassageYoga/MeditationBar/LoungeRestaurantCooking ClassChampagne TaittingerArt/AntiquesTraditional ArtsCyclingTrekking
- Golf
- Restaurant: A delicious menu of both traditional Laos cuisine and international dishes all prepared fresh from produce sourced from local farmers and growers or harvested directly from the boutique hotel’s own organic gardens.
- Spa: Offering a variety of luxurious treatments from traditional Lao and Thai massage, to aromatherapy, reflexology and facials.
- Bicycles: Perfect for exploring Don Daeng island and the locality.
- Tour Desk: A variety of tours, activities and excursions, expertly managed by the boutique hotel team to assure guests unique and the ‘must do’ experiences of this fascinating region.
- Pool: A 12 x 7m swimming pool with views from the pool of the Mekong river.
Useful Information
GENERAL
Total number of rooms: 26 roomsTime zone: (GMT+07:00) Hanoi
Currency accepted: LAK
Credit cards accepted: Visa, Mastercard
Electricity voltage: 220V
Electricity plug type:
CONCIERGE
Your concierge is ready to assist you with planning and completing your reservation, contact them on dream@secret-retreats.comACCESS
Airport transfers to the hotel are available from Pakse Airport (30mn) or Ubon Ratchathani Airport in Thailand (2h30).The hotel provides complimentary boat transfers between Champasak and Don Daeng Island.
Airport: Pakse International Airport (PKZ) - 30 km
CONTACT
Ban Hua Don Daeng, Champasak Province , Lao Peoples RepublicCONTACT HERE
We Care
Our Goals from the outset were:
– To contribute to sustainable development of the island and welfare of its inhabitants
– To ensure and encourage the protection of the rich local culture and natural environment
We worked closely with the local community to build the boutique hotel, with local artisans recruited for the design and build of the property. We assisted the island community in bringing electricity to our island home. The hotel team was recruited exclusively from our island community and still today account for 98% of the team.
Community Projects:
On all of the projects we work as a team, with the hotel staff, people from the local community and often support from our guests too. Often the hotel and guests provide the funding for materials and equipment, while the villagers bring the manpower, with the whole project being followed through by the Lodge’s management and local leaders.
Our guests are always welcome to support the projects and perhaps visit them while cycling around Don Daeng.
A snapshot of some of our actions and projects:
- Financial and technical help to the community after extreme weather events (Hurricane Ketsana in 2011, 2018 floods, 2019 floods...).
- The Lodge provides employment and training for more than 50 people, exclusively from the island, year-round.
- All staff, and their families, are supported by the Social Security Organization.
- The Lodge offers interest-free loans to staff and often contributes to medical fees when required.
- Occupational and safety training programs are conducted every year: Fire Safety, First Aid, English Language, Kitchen and Restaurant training.
- Community projects we have contributed to include renovations of local schools, dispensary refitting, repairs to local roads and infrastructure.
- The team at the hotel work with the local community on environment protection and keeping the island litter free.
- Protection of the island’s embankment from erosion by planting protective bushes.
- The hotel supports traditional crafts and artisans by offering a selection of products exclusively made in Laos from various ethnic villages in our boutique.
- Various products are sourced locally from fair-trade companies in the Bolaven Plateau.
- The Lodge does not use any palm oil product and does not use MSG in any dish. Paper, plastic, metal cans, glass are recycled.
- All organic waste from the kitchen is composted in the kitchen gardens.
- Produce is grown on the island organically without the use of chemical pesticides.
