Hoang Kim Hotel

I stayed on the first floor after the hotel had just been renovated, and the room and sheets were all new and very clean. The owner speaks English and Vietnamese. There's an open-air area with a swimming pool, plus a restaurant out front and next to the hotel, so finding food isn't a worry. This is easily the most satisfying hotel I've stayed at in Vientiane.

The breakfast was a buffet of mystery: nothing was labeled, and with no hot plates the food sat there lukewarm. The half-warm eggs weren't a great start to the day. The place also had a strange, hard-to-place stink, and the rooms felt dated in the worst way. Sockets seemed faulty, the AC had mood swings, and there were cobwebs everywhere. It felt like the cockroaches had made themselves at home too. If you like questionable smells and a horror-movie setting, congratulations, you found paradise. Otherwise, keep walking. 2/5.

I booked it because it was a Vietnamese hotel, but I was disappointed. The room was nothing like the photos on Agoda or Booking, and it wasn't what I'd paid for. I've never left a bad review before, but this felt like a scam. I'd avoid it. There are several better places around.

The location in town is pretty good, but that's about the only thing I can say about staying there. I didn't actually stay in a room, so I can't really rate those. We stopped in for pho, which tasted decent, but the service was terrible. The hostess kindly seated us by the AC and fans, but after we ordered, none of the usual sides came out: no greens, lime, peppers, or sprouts. Maybe it was because I spoke English, though other customers got them. We were a small group of foreigners and felt awkward, like we were being treated differently. Near the end of the meal they brought a plate of greens that looked reused, with some lime already used and the greens picked over.