The S Villas Hotel

There’s no elevator, and the 5G WiFi was crawling at 0.25M, like telephone-line speeds from around 1990. The room itself seemed clean, but it was very basic. At the counter, the first thing I heard was that check-in is at 2 PM. That was fine, since I could leave my luggage and walk around. I came by taxi, and later noticed there’s no “S Villa” sign outside unless you can read Thai. The blue-grey colour worked for me. The shower was excellent, with good pressure and temperature control. Concrete carries noise really clearly, though. When a neighbour closed their bathroom door, it sounded like someone was doing it in my room. Unnerving! Breakfast was Vietnamese, with chive rolls and rice noodles in chicken soup. The soup was really good; I could have skipped the rest. It was the same food every day. The hardwood tables in the lobby are really nice. By chance I saw the room across the hall being cleaned. It looked nice, though it was twice the rate I paid.

The room was in very good condition and very clean. I booked a riverside room, overlooking the Mekong with the Nakha off to the left. It may not be very soundproof, so if street noise bothers you, earplugs might help. Nakhon Phanom isn’t usually busy, though, so it was fine for me. It’s easy to walk to almost all the nearby shops and restaurants, and you can borrow a bike. Breakfast was great. The few parking spaces in front filled quickly, but finding a spot nearby or across the road wasn’t too difficult. A great hotel, and I’d love to visit again.

The owners were very friendly and helpful, and the service was superb. We came as walk-in guests and stayed from 26 February to 1 March 2025, after checking out two other hotels on the city’s main street. Our rooms were clean, comfortable and large, with a panoramic view of Laos across the Mekong and the Naga statue on the promenade. They served a variety of Vietnamese food for breakfast in the downstairs dining area. On our next visit to Nakhon Phanom, this hotel will without doubt be our first choice.

We’d happily stay here again. It was clean and classy, the people were friendly, and the location was great. We loved unwinding on the private balcony with its view of the Mekong. The water refill was a nice bonus and meant no plastic. Fruit with breakfast would’ve been nice, but otherwise all good.