Le Grand Pakbeng Resort

After seven hours on the slow boat, I was so glad to see the staff waiting at the landing to pick us up. The villa was lovely, the beds comfortable, and the shower hot. We didn't have time to experience all the amenities. The only drawback was that the restaurant seemed short staffed that evening.

The food was delicious, but dinner service was a frustrating experience. We had a B&B deal, and when we tried to order à la carte, the waiter insisted dinner was included and asked us to choose from a set menu. We explained that it wasn't included; after a long delay, another staff member repeated the same claim and kept insisting until we showed him the booking. Later, we ordered dessert as our first course was being cleared. The second waiter didn't write it down, and we thought it was delivered to another table, then sent back to the kitchen. It never came, and we were tired enough to give up. We were traveling along the Mekong from Luang Prabang toward the Thai border. The town felt a bit rough around the edges, so the large, posh hotel seemed out of place. Our room was lovely, though hard to find, and reached by lots of steps on the steep hillside overlooking the river. The restaurant was similarly difficult to locate and climb up to, but it has a commanding position.

The views are beautiful from every angle, and the place is cozy and pretty. I felt relaxed as soon as I arrived. They welcomed us warmly with a nice drink and flowers, and the pool was perfect. We lost power for a while, but they kept us updated, so it didn't bother me. I'm glad I stayed here.

The rooms are large, clean and well laid out. The staff were incredibly polite and tried to accommodate us, but they weren't very good at thinking of alternatives, and the location made that frustrating. It's a beautiful setting, though too far to comfortably walk to town over rough roads and steep hills. Many rooms are also a long, steep climb from reception, the pool, bar and restaurant. After booking, my husband hurt his back. I asked for a room close to the shared amenities and was told that would be arranged. When we arrived, they said they'd seen my message, then took us down a very steep hill to one of the furthest villas. I asked to move closer and was offered a room halfway up the hill for an extra $40USD. We were told we were the only two guests in the entire hotel, so I couldn't understand why they wouldn't upgrade us for free. We even said we'd eat in town so the kitchen wouldn't need to prepare for just two guests, but that didn't seem appreciated. The staff driver had already left, so we paid $10USD for a ride into town and back, which benefited the hotel. The next day the driver dropped us at the elephant sanctuary. We gave the hotel 30 minutes' notice for pickup, then waited another 30 minutes. Dinner was à la carte, with no buffet or set menu. The mushroom soup was delicious and the fresh spring rolls were good, but the satay and pork skewers were tough and overdone. On the morning we left, the driver met us at the bottom of the steep hill, which was a relief with our luggage. At the top, the manager handed us a packaged breakfast for the boat. We are slow traveling for 15 months and watching our budget carefully. This wasn't a splurge vacation, but we really wanted to stay at Le Grand, so we went over budget for two nights and had high expectations. Sadly, it fell short. The staff were friendly and welcoming, but a complimentary upgrade would have cost them nothing, given that the hotel was empty, and it would have made a huge difference to our experience and this review.