Lan Kham Riverside Hotel

The shower was hot and strong, the beds were soft, and when I asked for another room, they moved me right away. But the rooms are small, and the terrace out front is worn and needs some care. There's free coffee and tea and an amazing view over the Mekong river. The room was never cleaned during my stay, apart from one time when someone emptied the bin, and the doormats were dirty. This morning the manager was sleeping at reception after drinking too much the night before. I expected more luxury for the price I paid. Not recommended!

The room was quite small, but that seems to be the same across hostels in Luang Prabang. The service was disappointing from the start. I checked in late at 4 pm, yet our room wasn't ready, and I waited almost an hour with my body sore from the train journey. Then I asked them to call a van to Luang Prabang railway station. I told them at 8.00 am that our train left at 10.30 am. We waited from 9.00 am until 10.00 am and the van still hadn't arrived. We had to pay a high price for a minibus and still missed the train. Since tickets were sold out, we had to buy new ones from dealers, or we'd have missed our train back to Thailand. It was horrible. We asked several times about the van and kept reminding them of the 10.30 am train. Worst experience.

I just walked in and ended up staying for two weeks. My ground-floor room faced the Mekong river. It was clean and the bed was comfy. The owner is a charming guy, and the staff were kind too. I'll definitely stay here again when I come back to LP.

Breakfast by the Mekong was a lovely part of the stay, and the museum and night market are close by. I chose this hotel for the river-view room at a reasonable price. The building has a classic local look, with mahogany finishes throughout. Staff were friendly, though their English was limited. The room was small with few amenities, and the WiFi kept cutting out.