Luangsay Inn

Good value for an affordable stay near the city center. The rooms are clean and fine for the price, but the walls are thin enough that you can hear people in the next room and those walking outside.

The room was beautiful, and staff were friendly and able to communicate in English. There's no deposit at check-in, and free bicycles are available. The inn is more than a kilometer from interesting places, though, and halal food is a bit far unless you rent a motorbike from the inn. There are lots of mosquitoes, so bring bug spray. Also, there's no lift.

The breakfast was good, especially the proper buttery French croissants, crisp outside and soft and flaky inside. Those were the highlight, along with the nice selection of fruit, creamy yogurt, and oddly shaped pancake-like things that tasted good. Noodles and fried eggs were a bit cold, but that happens in lots of places. Staff were nice, and housekeeping replaced the toilet paper daily, which plenty of small hotels in SEA don't even do. The cleaning was generally good, though the bathroom and small details like dust could have been handled better. Four stars for cleanliness and breakfast. The hard bed was expected for SEA, but the thick, hard pillows were worse. The bathroom was basically wet: it had a fiberglass shower base but no enclosed stall, so water could go everywhere. I was careful and kept the spray contained. The wooden window shutters were very tight and hard to open; I probably could have asked staff. The stairs upstairs are quite tall, which could be tough for someone with mobility issues, though it wasn't a problem for me. Staff communication between shifts was poor. I arranged a motorbike with the evening staff for 8am, but the day staff knew nothing about it. They sorted it out in 15 minutes. Later, after extending the rental with the night staff, the day staff asked for the keys as though they hadn't been told. The third extension, I made with day staff in the morning. There were many international guests, German, French, Chinese, and other Europeans I couldn't identify, but little English from the front desk. I speak enough Thai, and they all spoke Thai well, so it wasn't a big deal for me, but it could be for others. Someone nearby seemed to be burning things, especially during the day. I didn't smell it in other parts of the city. There's no laundry service either. At a much smaller Luang Prabang hotel where I stayed before, they sent clothes out. The laundry shop is just down the street, and it would have been better if the hotel arranged morning pickup and evening drop-off. Would I stay again? Sure. I booked at the last minute, and this was one of the better options within my budget. I'd choose it again in the same situation, though with so many places in Luang Prabang, I'd probably try somewhere else next time.

We loved our first stay here two years ago, mostly because of the staff, so we came back. This time the affection was gone. The place seemed understaffed or the staff were tired. We picked a front room for the street view and shared balcony, since we like watching people go by, and had the balcony to ourselves. The room felt worn and dusty, and housekeeping didn't keep it clean and tidy. The bathroom door and toilet face the street, so the curtain had to stay shut. With not much lighting, the room was dark. The bathroom's sliding door was hard to open and close. A desk and TV stand partly blocked the balcony door, and we had to use it for luggage because there was no rack. We knew the location wasn't great, about a 15-minute walk to the town center. The restaurant staff still made delicious coffee and worked hard, but after three nights we weren't persuaded to return for a third visit.