The Hotel @ Tharabar Gate

Arrival is through Tharabar Gate itself, one of the surviving entrances to the walled city of Old Bagan, with the hotel set inside grounds ringed by temple spires. More than 4,000 pagodas stand within reach, and Ananda Temple is a five-minute walk away. The hotel holds 83 rooms, including four suites, each floored in teak and furnished in Burmese style. Ceilings run high. Walls carry hand-painted copies of murals found in Bagan's original temples, a detail repeated room to room rather than standardised. Deluxe rooms, at 36 square metres, sit inside a tropical garden and mix teak, marble and Bagan brick. The one-bedroom suites, at 72 square metres, add a private terrace facing the pagodas and a marble bathroom with separate tub and shower. Every room has air conditioning, a mini-bar, safe and satellite television; Wi-Fi reaches the lobby and public areas. Two restaurants operate on site, one in a tropical garden and the other semi-open, alongside a poolside bar for something cold after the heat. A spa offers treatments drawn from Myanmar and Thailand. Guests can borrow hotel bicycles to ride out among the temples, or arrange guided walks and cultural tours through the travel desk. Check-in runs from 2pm.