We stayed in the Rattana Guesthouse for two nights and were satisfied with everything, only our sleep was sometimes disrupted by some engine noise... nevermind, helpful staff and nice location.

Cons:

We had arranged for them to pick us up when we arived - they were 20 minutes late to pick us up at the airport (granted the flight arrived a little early but every other person getting picked up was met on time except us). My husband said this was not a good omen & he was right.

Room 101, our room- shared a balcony with another room.

The room was dirty as the previous report said- there is no excuse for this. For example, the platform where the TV was mounted had not been cleaned in YEARS- the dust & dirt were disgusting. Also, the open cabinet shelves for clothes was dirty & so was the small bathroom counter.

The room had 1 queen & 1 single bed along with a very small desk which left absolutely no room to move around.

No refrigerator in room which seemed to be common everywhere else in Asia & LP.

The light stopped working in the bathroom, and when we asked them to fix it (thinking it may just be the bulb) they tried telling us it was the fault of too many people in the hotel using electricity- BS, he was just too lazy or did not know how to fix it. So we had no light in the bathroom until the morning.

The bathroom was filthy- small counter above sink had dirt in the corners. Also shower got the entire room wet.

Bed- we could feel the bedsprings all night- obviously a very old bed that needs to be replaced.

Blanket too small for bed

Mosquito net- torn so could not completely cover the bed

Towels- threadbare

TV- small & did not rotate thus you could not see it well from the bed

Big bed- Pullman type- the first I have ever seen in a hotel

Banister broken- I touched the top of the railing to go down the stairs & it was loose & wobbly. Thank goodness I didn’t lean too hard or I would have fallen down the stairs.

Needed to take your shoes off when entering the hotel; OK, its the custom but since the floors were dirty our feet got dirty.

AC- wanted to charge us a steep $10 day for this. When we went out they turned the AC off.

Water- went off twice in the short time we were there so we had none.

No free wi-fi in room, only 1 PC for entire hotel.



Pros-

Good location to the night market.


We would NOT recommend this place to anyone- there are loads of other better places to stay in LP.

BTW, when we checked out after only 1 night & we were supposed to be there 6 nights, they did not seem concerned nor asked why we were leaving. We were just glad to be out of there. We moved to the Sayo guesthouse so read my review of that place.

Have stayed at the Rattana three times over the past 6 years. Each time with different family members and friends. Each time we have been treated like valued guests. Last visit my wife was sick in bed for a day, as we had other tours booked she stayed alone but was regularly tended and looked after by the guesthouse staff.
There are two buildings, each time we have stayed in the rooms above the main entrance. The rooms in the other block, although newer, may be smaller. The two front rooms at the top share a balcony overlooking the street. The other block has a common room/reading room at the front.
The GH is run by two sisters, Phone & Nith. Mostly we have dealt with Nith and have found her very friendly and efficient. They can pick you up from the airport, organise a mini bus for tours or even a mini bus to Vang Vieng (which we did). They can also arrange a tuk tuk if required.
It is certainly one of our favourite places to stay in SE Asia. This is from an experience of about 15 nights we have stayed there.
The location is convenient, just a short walk up the side street and you are in the main area of LP, close to restaurants, bakeries etc.
I would suggest you check their web site www.rattana.laopdr.com for photos and prices.

We paid $28 for a triple room which was a complete waste of money.
The room was filthy dirty, had lots of cob webs, bed sheets had stains on them, we had a cockroach in our bed, lots of tiny spiders crawling on the bedroom floor and a bathroom that looked like it hadnt been cleaned in months.
The decor and condition of the room and bathroom was sub standard.
Breakfast is not included in the price of the room.
There is no wifi though you can use the computer in the reception area.
Staff were polite and friendly.

Luang Prabang has many hotels so do not dispair. The parallel road to Rattana has plenty of nice hotels and guest houses. We stayed in the Culture Guest House on the parallel road to Rattana's. It was half the price and a lot nicer as it had just been built.
You can easily turn up and book a room on arrival. If you get a tuk tuk to Cafe 56 or Joma Bakery then the roads around here have plently of hotels or guest houses. You are more likely to get a cheaper rate turning up rather than booking as well.
If you base yourself in this area then you are near to all the attractions as well - night market, Phousi etc. Also if you do any tours most of them will pick you up and drop you off at Cafe 56 - so it makes sense to be based in this part of town.
A tuk tuk from the airport should not cost you more than 30,000 kip. This was for a party of three people. Note they will try and charge you this per person.
From the South Bus station the price of a tuk tuk is 25,000 kip again for a group of three people.
You can hire bikes as well for 10,000 kip for the day.
Luang Prabang is an amazing place.