Hotel Homey Mandalay

The beds and pillows were fairly comfortable, and it was fine for one night. The rooms are very basic, though, and the hotel looked better in the photos. There was some noise, including from the air conditioner, and breakfast was poor, with only Myanmar food. Reception staff spoke English badly. When I asked them to book a bus, they didn’t know JJ bus was the better option. After dark, the streets around the hotel were very dark, with aggressive dogs about, and didn’t feel safe to walk through.

The staff were wonderful and really helpful. Hotel Homey Mandalay keeps the electricity on all day and night, unlike some hotels. My single room was a little small, but comfortable and clean, with no bed bugs.

Our first stay was in October because they accept pets, and we came back in December since the place had seemed OK. The pet fee was 5,000 kyats, which felt reasonable. On the second visit we didn’t have the dog with us. That last stay went badly. They began overcharging for our laundry, damaged some items, and the clothes smelled stale, as if not enough detergent had been used. The hotel was noisy too, and they accept part-time guests. The worst part was what happened with our friend, who has a local girlfriend. She came to stay in his double room, and staff claimed immigration rules forbid male foreigners from sharing a room with a local woman. They demanded an extra 30,000 kyats just to register her. We’ve lived in Myanmar for years and travel at least four times a year, so this seemed like a dishonest ploy by the manager looking for money. We moved to another hotel where nobody had heard of this rule. We then went to Bagan and Pyin Oo Lwin, and neither place had such a rule. I’d strongly advise avoiding this hotel.

The price is affordable and the rooms are clean. The hotel is often fully booked, so you need to reserve well ahead. It also has electricity 24 hours a day.