The Savoy Yangon

You’ll find this boutique hotel in Yangon’s Bahan Township, just a 10-minute walk from the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda. Despite being on a busy street corner, it’s very peaceful. The style is colonial – corridors lined with artworks, bronze sculptures and old photographs – but not overly ornate. Rooms are enormous, with shiny wooden floors, vast beds, antique writing desks and armchairs. And the service is faultless: you’ll receive a welcome letter on your bed and a little vase of fresh flowers on the bedside table. In a central courtyard, where ivy tumbles down the walls, there’s a lovely deep-blue swimming pool with plenty of sun loungers. There’s also a smattering of tables at one end, shaded by colourful parasols, where you can order tasty European dishes, such as rocket, prosciutto and mozzarella bruschetta, from the menu of Le Bistrot, the hotel’s French restaurant. Or, instead, you can sit around wine-barrel tables at the pool bar and enjoy a glass of cooling Burmese rosé. Breakfast is served upstairs at superb Kipling’s Restaurant, which has a terrace overlooking the pool. Highlights? The cheese board, pains au chocolat and masses of fresh mango, pineapple, star fruit and kiwi.