Ruby Riverside Hotel & Hostel

The location was really good for getting everywhere, and the beds were comfortable. Breakfast was okay, though most of it was cold by 9am, so I'd go early. We booked a six-person dorm but were put in a 14-person room because our beds wouldn't be ready until 4pm, three hours after check-in began. A few people we met said they were charged more than they expected. The conversion rate seemed higher than elsewhere in Laos, which was odd. We booked through hostelworld, where the app handled the conversion, and we were fine. It was a disappointing stay, but for the price I can't complain too much. Fine for our one night.

The staff were nice and the location was good, but the room needs a thorough clean with disinfectant. There were black worms on the shower floor, very old bedding, and worn towels marked with another place's name. The shower flooded every time it was used, and the smell was really unpleasant. Breakfast was very poor too.

The area by the pool looked good and felt cozy. In the dorm, though, the air conditioning was off during the day and set to 16 degrees at night, which made it really cold. Breakfast was cold and very stale. There was no toilet paper in the toilets, and sometimes no soap either.

We got our money back and left before spending a night there. We'd booked a four-bed room, but at check-in they gave us one with three beds. When we showed the confirmation, they blamed pagoda. Of the three- and four-bed rooms in that category, they gave us the only one that smelled moldy. The others seemed okay, and we could see them because they were all open for cleaning. We were traveling with a four-year-old who would have had to brush his teeth with his chin almost touching mold around and in the sink. When we pointed this out, they offered another room but wanted extra payment, even though other clean rooms were available. After we refused, they offered a smaller room for the same price. It had no fridge and was moldy too.