Pan Guest House

Pan is right on the Mekong promenade, with Ta salet market behind it. It’s clean and inexpensive, and there’s shared tea, coffee, and a microwave outside the rooms. A good base for seeing the local area or making trips over the border into Lao. They have some family rooms too. I’ve stayed here twice.

The riverfront location makes the hostel easy to spot as you walk along the river, and there’s a balcony with a nice view where you can have free coffee. It isn’t tucked down an alley, though the current Google map is unclear about that, so I asked Google to edit it. The owner is kind and understands some English. My room was clean, smelled good, and had AC, a private bathroom, hot water, towels, shampoo, body wash, soap, and drinking water. I was able to extend my stay by asking in person, and if the website says it’s full, it may still be worth walking in to ask. The standard double was 500b in person, the same as the web price in November, though I can’t say if that’s true in other seasons. English can be hard here because of the language barrier, but they do try to help. One caution: get a receipt when paying. Another employee tried to charge me twice, and sorting it out took an hour because of the communication difficulty. I really liked the place and recommend it.

It’s a very clean, welcoming place by the river. Prices have risen, though the service hasn’t changed.

Bars and restaurants are right next door, and Sadet Market is just outside: turn right at the front door and you’re there. The guesthouse is right on the riverfront.