The Link 78 Mandalay Boutique Hotel

The room was fairly spacious, and the staff were warm and friendly while I was there. I had a comfortable night's sleep before catching my train the next day. It's a reasonably well-kept three-star place, with a wallet-friendly room price. The station is within walking distance, and there are plenty of shops and food and drink spots nearby.

This was my second stay, and I like the clean, smart rooms. There's car parking, but no gym, and they don't provide slippers to change into in the room. Breakfast wasn't a buffet. The kettle hadn't been cleaned after the previous guest used it to make tea.

The location was excellent and the hotel itself was nice, but staying there wasn't convenient. The ceilings were low and the rooms small. You need a key card for both the room's power and the lift, and they only give you one. If you go out, your partner could be left in the dark. There wasn't easy access outside or to the fire exit. My friend was charged a heavy fine for smoking in the room, even though the only other place to smoke was outside on the ground floor.

The air conditioning stopped twice in one night, and they couldn't fix it right away. Breakfast was okay, but wasn't a buffet. The exchange rate they used wasn't the one regulated by the central bank, so the actual price was very high. I paid about 210,000 kyats a night, which didn't seem worth it when there are better hotels in Myanmar.