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Restored Period Originals
Genuine buildings from the French Indochina period, restored with their facades, staircases, tiles and public rooms intact.
Explore Restored Originals →2027 · Collection · Indochine Style
Indochine-Style Hotels of Indochina
Hotels across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos shaped by the design language of the French Indochina period. Shuttered windows, ceiling fans, tiled floors, dark timber and interiors in green, cream and brass.
Browse Indochine-Style Hotels by Destination
A Design Language, Not Just a Period
Indochine style outlived the era that produced it.
Indochine style began as the architecture and interiors of French Indochina, a hybrid that mixed European structure with Vietnamese, Khmer and Lao materials, proportions and craft. It survived the end of the colonial period and became a design vocabulary in its own right.
Today, Indochine-style hotels fall into three broad groups. Restored originals from the period, sensitive conversions of older buildings that were never grand hotels, and modern properties deliberately designed in the Indochine visual language. This collection brings all three together across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and makes clear which is which.
Our Approach
We separate genuine period buildings from modern Indochine-style design. Both can be excellent, but travellers deserve to know which they are booking.
What Makes an Indochine-Style Hotel?
The visual language of the period, done well.
These are the recurring elements that make a hotel genuinely Indochine in style, whether the building is old or new.
Shutters & Louvres
Timber shutters, louvred doors and slatted ventilation. Designed for shade and airflow in the tropics.
Ceiling Fans
Slow, quiet fans in high-ceilinged rooms. Often paired with modern air conditioning, discreetly hidden.
Tiled Floors
Encaustic tiles, terrazzo or patterned cement. Cool underfoot and beautiful in the light.
Dark Timber
Teak and rosewood furniture, dark timber floors and structural beams that show their age well.
Cane & Rattan
Woven furniture, headboards and lampshades. Light, natural and made for tropical rooms.
Four-Poster Beds
Carved timber frames, often with mosquito nets. A signature of Indochine hotel interiors.
Green, Cream, Brass
The characteristic palette. Deep greens, pale creams and warm brass fittings, often with black and white tile.
Courtyards & Verandas
Shaded outdoor rooms at the heart of the property. A feature of the climate, not just the design.
Explore Indochine-Style Hotels by Type
Indochine style shows up in several different kinds of hotel.
Restored originals, sensitive conversions, new builds and design-led boutique properties each give a different version of the style.
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Conversions of Older Buildings
Shophouses, villas and commercial buildings from the 20th century, reworked as hotels in the Indochine idiom without claiming to be grand hotels.
Explore Conversions →03
Modern Indochine-Style Builds
Contemporary hotels designed from the ground up in the Indochine palette, from shutters to ceiling fans, tiled floors, brass and dark timber.
Explore Modern Builds →04
Indochine Boutique Hotels
Small properties where the Indochine language is used with restraint. A handful of rooms, a courtyard, a strong design point of view.
Explore Boutique Indochine →05
Veranda Resorts & Retreats
Low-rise resorts built around verandas, courtyards and gardens, where Indochine style meets the landscape rather than a city street.
Explore Veranda Resorts →06
Interiors-Led Indochine
Hotels where the architecture is contemporary but the interior design carries the Indochine mood. A lighter, more contemporary version of the style.
Explore Interiors-Led Hotels →Three Countries
Indochine-style hotels across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Indochine style developed differently in each country, and today the surviving hotels reflect those local variations.
Vietnam
The strongest Indochine hotel presence in the region. Grand restored originals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, plus boutique and modern interpretations across Hoi An, Hue and beyond.
Explore Vietnam Indochine Hotels →Cambodia
Phnom Penh and Siem Reap hold Cambodia’s Indochine hotels. Period originals from the 1920s and 1930s, alongside modern interpretations blending Khmer motifs with the French colonial palette.
Explore Cambodia Indochine Hotels →Laos
Luang Prabang and Vientiane carry a softer Lao-French version of Indochine style. Timber, courtyards, low buildings and quieter interiors than the Vietnamese equivalents.
Explore Laos Indochine Hotels →Indochine Hotels by City
Where the style is strongest.
Indochine-style hotels cluster in cities with a strong French colonial legacy or a strong design scene.
HanoiVietnam · Restored originals
Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam · Grand originals
Hoi AnVietnam · Boutique & conversions
HueVietnam · Period originals
Siem ReapCambodia · Khmer-Indochine blend
Phnom PenhCambodia · 1920s–30s originals
Luang PrabangLaos · Lao-French style
VientianeLaos · Restored originals
All DestinationsExplore the collection →
Heritage HotelsAll historic properties →
Featured Indochine-Style Hotels
A few we know well.
Restored originals, conversions and modern Indochine-style properties. Each links through to the full profile.
Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Hanoi · Vietnam
The original grand hotel of Hanoi, opened in 1901. Two wings, a garden courtyard, high ceilings and more than a century of Indochine charm.
View Hotel →Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi
Hanoi · Vietnam
Next to the Opera House, with interiors that echo the era of the French opera tradition. Small, refined and a good example of modern Indochine design.
View Hotel →La Siesta Classic Ma May
Hanoi · Vietnam
A small hotel in the Old Quarter with an Indochine feel. Warm service, comfortable rooms and a rooftop with views across the rooftops of Hanoi.
View Hotel →La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa
Hue · Vietnam
A striking art deco building on the Perfume River, built in the 1930s. Wide corridors, tiled floors, a riverside garden and one of the finest Indochine interiors in the country.
View Hotel →Raffles Hotel Le Royal
Phnom Penh · Cambodia
Opened in 1929 and restored with care. Cambodia’s landmark historic hotel, with cool colonial interiors and the riverside a short walk away.
View Hotel →Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor
Siem Reap · Cambodia
A grand 1930s hotel set in gardens on the road to Angkor. Wide verandas, ceiling fans and the quiet formality of the colonial era, kept beautifully.
View Hotel →The Luang Say Residence
Luang Prabang · Laos
A quiet Indochine-style residence in Luang Prabang, with wooden floors, shuttered windows and a garden. A gentle introduction to the style.
View Hotel →Settha Palace Hotel
Vientiane · Laos
A colonial-era house in the centre of Vientiane, restored with its original proportions, tiled veranda and garden. One of the smallest true Indochine hotels in the region.
View Hotel →Related Collections
Indochine-style hotels sit alongside other collections.
Indochine style overlaps naturally with our heritage, colonial-era, boutique and city collections.
Heritage Hotels
Historic buildings, restored homes and old landmarks that still carry the story of the city they stand in.
View Collection →Colonial-Era Hotels
Genuine buildings from the French Indochina period, from veranda hotels to art deco residences.
View Collection →Boutique Hotels
Smaller hotels chosen for individuality, atmosphere and the sense of place they give to a journey.
View Collection →City Hotels
Well-located hotels in the main cities of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, the natural start and end of most journeys.
View Collection →Riverside & Nature Stays
Quiet retreats by the water and out in the countryside, where the landscape sets the rhythm of the day.
View Collection →Royal Residence Villas
Former royal and princely homes across Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, now beautiful small hotels.
View Collection →More Than a Style Label
Notes that explain what the design actually is.
Indochine style can mean a 1920s original, a careful conversion or a 2020s new build with shutters. Our notes make the difference clear before you book, and help you choose the right property for the trip.
Explore Hotel ProfilesWhat we look at in Indochine-style hotels
- Whether the building is genuinely from the period or a modern interpretation
- Original architecture that survives. Shutters, tiles, staircases, courtyards
- How the design uses local craft, materials and motifs
- Interior palette and fittings. Timber, cane, brass, tile, linen
- Room shapes, sizes and which categories suit which guest
- Modern comfort. Air conditioning, bathrooms, soundproofing, Wi-Fi
- Public spaces. Courtyards, verandas, garden, bar and dining rooms
- Family, couple and accessibility considerations
- Whether the design feels lived-in or staged
- How the stay fits into a wider Indochina itinerary
For Travel Advisors & Agencies
Indochine style is easier to sell when the design is explained.
Asia Travel Mates works with travel advisors, tour operators and agencies looking for reliable local knowledge on Indochine-style and design-led hotels across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
We can help match your clients with the right Indochine property as part of a wider private journey. Whether that is a restored Hanoi original, an Indochine boutique hotel in Hoi An, or a modern Indochine build in Siem Reap.
Work With Asia Travel Mates
Local Knowledge
We know which hotels are genuine originals and which are modern interpretations.
Right Fit
Some travellers want originals, others prefer contemporary comfort.
Private Journeys
Indochine-style stays woven into complete Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos itineraries.
Local Support
Our own team on the ground across Indochina.
For Hotels
Do you run an Indochine-style hotel?
Asia Travel Mates works with Indochine-style hotels, restored originals and design-led properties across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. If your hotel uses the Indochine language with conviction, whether in a period building or a new one, we would like to hear about it.
We are especially interested in properties where the design is coherent rather than decorative, and where the Indochine references are grounded in the region rather than applied as a theme.
Our Philosophy
Why design-led hotels matter to an Indochina journey.
The visual language of a hotel shapes how a traveller reads the region, sometimes more than the history books do.
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Design as Context
Shutters, tiles, fans, cane and brass tell travellers something about the climate, the craft tradition and the history they are moving through.
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A Coherent Visual Thread
Staying in Indochine-style hotels across a journey gives a visual continuity that a mix of unrelated modern hotels cannot.
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Comfort and Character
The best Indochine-style hotels pair atmosphere with real comfort. Good beds, good air conditioning, good bathrooms and quiet rooms.
Frequently Asked
Indochine-style hotels. A few questions, answered.
What is Indochine style in hotel design?
Indochine style refers to the design language that developed in French Indochina between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, a blend of French colonial architecture with Vietnamese, Khmer and Lao materials, proportions and craft. In hotels today it shows up as shuttered windows, ceiling fans, tiled floors, dark timber, cane and rattan furniture, four-poster beds, and interiors in green, cream and brass.
Is Indochine-style the same as a colonial-era hotel?
No. A colonial-era hotel is a genuine building from the French Indochina period. An Indochine-style hotel may be a new building, a restored non-colonial building or a modern property whose design follows the Indochine visual language. The two collections overlap, but they are not identical.
Are Indochine-style hotels historically authentic?
Some are. Restored originals with genuine period fabric. Others are contemporary buildings that borrow the style. We make the distinction clear in each hotel profile so travellers know whether they are staying in the real thing or in a modern interpretation.
Which cities have the strongest Indochine-style hotels?
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia, and Luang Prabang and Vientiane in Laos. Hoi An and Hue also have a strong Indochine hotel presence.
Can Indochine-style hotels be included in a private itinerary?
Yes. Indochine-style hotels suit travellers who want a coherent visual thread through a journey across Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and can be combined with heritage, colonial-era, riverside or boutique stays within the same trip.
Asia Travel Mates · Indochine-Style Hotels
Stay somewhere shaped by the region it sits in.
Explore Indochine-style hotels by city, browse the full collection, or talk to our local team about which design-led properties fit your Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos journey.
Explore Indochine-Style Hotels Talk to Our Team