Keosimoon Guesthouse

The hot-air balloons land in the field beside Keosimoon, which is a pretty cool thing to see. We stayed for two nights. The family running the place was super friendly, and we could get laundry done for 30,000kip. The beds were simple and comfortable. You're just outside town, but still pretty close, and parking is available.

Set by the river, near the foot of the mountains, this family-run guesthouse feels idyllic. It has bungalows, and you're about a 10-minute walk from the main backpacker streets or 15 minutes from the morning market in the other direction. The family are always happy to help with cooking, cleaning, fixing things, or local advice. The nearby fields are hot-air-balloon landing sites, so each sunrise and sunset might bring the spectacle of a launch or landing. There's a good menu with plenty of choice, a well-stocked tuck shop and fridge, and free hot and cold water. My room was great, with a smart TV and private shower and WC. Definitely coming back when I'm in Laos again.

The staff are friendly and speak perfect English, and the wifi works fine. Across the street there's cheap clothing, a pharmacy, and a drinks shop if you need anything. For 180k-200k, the rooms were clean and decent, with hot showers, enough power points, and a reasonable desk and chair. Downtown is about 1.2km away, a 10-15 minute walk, which was fantastic value. I had a scooter, so the distance mattered less to me. There was some loud music at night, and one evening Vietnamese workers set off fireworks, but things were quiet by 11pm. Road noise was minimal. The only other noise was someone's car alarm going off five times on my last night, which had nothing to do with the guesthouse.

The staff were friendly and very accommodating, and I had no problem with the bed or the room itself. The bathrooms, though, were atrocious. We booked the cheap 7 USD standard room on Agoda, but it clearly hadn't been cleaned and had loads of bugs. We moved rooms and it was a little better, but when we got back from food, two huge cockroaches ran out of the bathroom into the living space. Gross. Laundry is cheap at 20k, but they air-dry it. We dropped our clothes off in the morning and they still weren't ready at night, so I had nothing to change into after getting muddy at nam xay viewpoint. The toilets are manual flush too, so you have to pour water in yourself. It's a cheap guesthouse, but I give the cheap bungalows 0/10. Spend more on the pricier rooms, though I don't know if those are better. It's also about a 10-minute walk from the city centre, which feels quite far, so I'd recommend paying a bit more to stay closer.