Inle Heritage

Holiable's review of Inle Heritage

Getting there

Located south of Inle Lake in a small stilts village, you will have to take a boat to get there.
Most of the time, boats depart from Nyaung Shwe, the main town of Inle Lake.
To get to Nyaung Shwe, several solutions:

• • Take a bus to get to the city
  • Get to Heho by plane or train, then take a taxi for about thirty kilometres
  • Opt for a train to ShweNyuang, the nearest station only 13 km away
  • Walk there, doing a 2 or 3-day trek from Kalaw

The hotel can organise your boat transfer for approx.. 15 US Dollars.

If you feel comfortable finding a boat on your own, or want to share one, you can head directly to the main pier (close to the bridge) to negotiate with a boat driver.

The hotel is in the south of the lake so expect a 45-minute boat ride.

The cruise will give you an excellent overview of the lake and what is waiting for your stay in the surroundings.

Eco-conception

Inle heritage is a boutique hotel with only six rooms.
If you've always dreamed of sleeping on water, you'll be delighted.

The small resort, build on stilts is made with local materials and respects the typical architecture of the lake villages;

Each room is a little bungalow. All rooms, reflect the architecture of Lake Inle and its traditional decoration, mainly with objects crafter in the neighbouring villages.

Water is heated with solar panels, wastewater treatment is done on site, and the bathroom amenities are organic.

Sustainable commitment

This place is above all a non-profit organisation working to train the inhabitants of the lake in the hospitality industry.

You will, therefore, sleep in a cooking and hotel school.

The majority of the staff is composed of students who choose to specialise in one of the hotel fields and practice it on site for the duration of their training.

You will meet them at the restaurant, at the reception and in your rooms. You will sometimes see them in the playground at the back of the resort.

The hotel also works to protect the lake's environment with more specific programs:

• • At the bottom of the resort, an aquarium allows day visitors or hotel guests to understand the effects of modern fishing on the lake's endemic species, which have mostly disappeared.
  • Cat Sanctuary: Inle Heritage has created a centre for Burmese cats that had disappeared from their native Shan State. Since 2008, the owner has created a sanctuary, to reintroduce the breed to its original lands. The cat's playground can be visited free of charge during the day.

A school restaurant

The hotel's restaurant, open from breakfast to dinner, features seasonal, local and delicious cuisine.

The ingredients are sourced as close as possible to the establishment, either directly from the hotel's organic vegetable garden or producers in neighbouring villages.

The hotel tries to limit the import of products as much as possible to reduce its ecological footprint.

The restaurant is quite busy at lunchtime, having become a popular stop for lunch during the tours of the Inle Lake.

For breakfast and dinner, you will have the place, almost to yourself, and the terrace at sunrise is a pure wonder.

Bonus

Inle Heritage also offers several paid excursions in the area, including the must-see 5-day market tour.

Our advice: get up very early to enjoy the market of the day without the tourist crowds.

Our opinion

Staying at Inle Heritage, you can feel that you are giving meaning to your travels, by supporting the development of the association's actions.
Travelling with a positive impact makes sense here.

Add to that the beauty of the place, the kindness of the service and the calm, and you fall under the charm of this boutique hotel with its exemplary sustainable practices.

Recommended for: calm getaways, nature lovers, small retreats

Our tip: The region's means of transport is the "noisy" motorboat. The comings and goings of boats that start at dawn can wake up the most sensitive to noise, plan earplugs (or get up early).