Crystal Palace Hotel

The rooms are plain and decent enough, with a few insects, though not too many. I slept comfortably, so it'll get you through the night. At a reasonable price, it's fine as a budget room. I chose what I thought was a nicer hotel because I wanted help finding a courier to ship some things to Bangkok. The front desk spent more time telling me they couldn't help with requests like that than it would've taken to locate a courier and call them to collect my things. I'll sort it out eventually, but the language and culture barrier will make it take much longer. It's also the only hotel in Asia, probably out of more than 100 I've stayed in, that didn't have a kettle in the room for tea. I had to ask for one, and they gave it to me but seemed mystified by the request. The Wi-Fi connected, but the internet didn't work at all, so bring plenty of data. If you need anything beyond sleep, this isn't the hotel for you.

The room was the biggest I've had on my Myanmar trip, though the hotel feels a little dated. I booked mainly to see Shwedagon Pagoda from the rooftop. A friend said guests could get into the normally locked rooftop, and the view was fantastic. Breakfast is included, which is handy, but it wasn't very good. One thing to know: this older hotel has British-style plugs. It was the first place on my trip without universal outlets.

The best part was being close enough to walk to the pagoda, and there was a nice view of Shwedagon pagoda too. The rest was a bad experience. Everything felt old, and the bed, pillow, and blanket were old and unclean. Ants got onto the bed and bit guests. Breakfast had just two choices, fried rice or a fried egg, with coffee or tea and juice.

The bus stop is right on the corner, and you can walk to The Shwe Dagon Pagoda. Apart from that, this place isn't worth the high price for such mediocre service. The hotel needs renovation, housekeeping was poor, and there was no bellboy service. I saw leftover plates sitting on a horseshoe cabinet for 24 hours. The room was dim, poorly ventilated, and seemed dirty, and the bed kept moving around so I couldn't get it to stay put. The reception staff had a poor attitude and didn't respond well.