Vientiane Plaza Hotel

The room was beside an area under renovation, separated by wooden partitions. Drilling and hammering made it impossible to stay, and the work started before 7:20 the next morning. There was no renovation notice in the lobby or on the booking platform. The sheets were dirty and torn. Don’t come here, it’ll ruin your vacation. The hotel was dark, with only a few lights on, and the front desk staff were extremely unprofessional. I asked not to be put in the first or last room, but she pretended not to understand and said their double rooms were the first and last two rooms. The only friendly people were the security guards and breakfast staff.

Inside the bedroom, the feel was completely different from the public areas. It was bright, welcoming and comfortable, and seems appealing to any kind of guest. Vientiane Plaza Hotel, Laos was built in 2011, but now looks somewhat dated. The reception lobby was dim, and the decor felt old. The corridors had the same dated feel and could use a refresh.

The room was large, and the bed and bathroom were very clean. Water pressure was good and there was plenty of hot water, though the shower over the bath may not suit older people. The reception staff and porter were very friendly. Breakfast was okay, with a good omelette bar, but the first morning the cooked food burners weren’t even on. There was only breakfast available, no evening or afternoon tea, despite what the amenities description says. Most of that information seems quite out of date. There wasn’t much in the immediate area, though the neighborhood was okay. Wi-Fi was flaky at times. One bedside light didn’t work, and there wasn’t a plug by the bed for it anyway. When we moved furniture to play cards, we found debris that hadn’t been cleared and skirting boards that hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. The hotel would have been wonderful in its heyday, but it’s seen better days and apparently hasn’t had the money to upgrade.

Getting around was easy thanks to the convenient location near major attractions. The room view, though, was underwhelming, and the hotel's dated facilities were obvious as soon as we arrived. Breakfast was buffet-style, but portions seemed limited to just enough for the guests, so it didn't look appealing and there wasn't much variety. The first-floor gym was worse: dark, stale with the smell of old sweat, and unpleasant to use. Most of the equipment was old or unusable. The treadmill wouldn't turn on, and the other machines felt sticky, as if they weren't cleaned regularly. It was hard to enjoy exercising there. The gym needs regular, thorough cleaning, and the hotel needs more general upkeep.