Vangvieng Sisavang Mountain View Hotel

The staff here are some of the kindest people I've met. I left my phone in a taxi they'd arranged, and they went out of their way to get it back for me. Annh especially was incredible. It's also a nice place for a reasonable price, with good breakfast, a nice pool, and fantastic A/C. 10/10.

The pool was nice, though the view wasn't nearly as pretty as it looked in the photos. Below it was just a parking lot, and I didn't see hot air balloons flying there while I was staying. Otherwise, I've got no complaints: everything worked, it was clean and comfortable, and the location was good.

The central location is a real plus, and the price was fairly low for it. I found the place quiet and slept fine. The two young sisters at reception were exceptionally polite and helpful, and their attitude earns the hotel an extra star from me. The rooms were dusty, with cobwebs on the ceiling and ants about. Over five nights I changed rooms three times. Only one was ant-free, and all had plenty of dust and cobwebs. Cleaning was very superficial, just making the beds and replacing towels and soap. I asked several times, left the key, told staff, and hung the cleaning sign, but nothing was done. You have to be very direct and keep pushing to get anything sorted. The sheets and pillows were dirty, and I was told the stains were old and wouldn't come out in the wash. Yellow-stained pillows aren't pleasant to sleep on, and they should be replaced. The hotel's services are overpriced, and I'd strongly advise against using them. Even when they advertise train ticket purchases, they don't guarantee you'll actually get a ticket.

I'm not usually one to leave a review this bad, but this stay was a disappointment. The staff stayed friendly and helpful throughout, and they were kind when we asked to change rooms. The first room was visibly filthy, with cockroaches, water on the floor, and mold. They moved us to a better room for the first night, but it was one of the more expensive ones and smelled strongly of smoke. The water heater didn't work, and the toilet made strange noises all night. Breakfast was okay, though the choices were limited and the same each day. After breakfast we moved again, this time to the room meant for the rest of our stay. There were no live cockroaches, thankfully, but plenty of dead ones on the walls. The room was still quite dirty, with stains on the sheets, towels, and walls, and even shoe prints on the bedsheets. Before we reached our third room, it seemed the cleaning staff had sprayed pesticide around. It can be highly toxic to people, so we had to stay out for a few hours and open the very dirty windows to air out the smell. The hotel seems to have a serious cockroach problem and was generally pretty dirty.