We stayed here and depsite it being the most expesnive on our travels it certainly was not the best.

The rooms were okay and the hotel in general looked like it hadn't been updated for about 20 years.

A major gripe was the lack of hot water, half of the time we had none and the other half had to wait 10 minutes for it to hear up. All very frustrating.

On the plus side the ppol and garden area where nice and very relaxing but not enough to sway it in my book.

Our room just adequate but the restaurant and pool area very nice. Short walking distance from the Night Market and other shops, restaurants or elephant adventures to book.

If this hotel were well maintained and with a professional staff, it would be lovely.
The building is very nice, already maybe not perfectly maintained. It comes with
a nice pool and dinner area. The location is also great, with 5 minutes to the
main drag with all the "action", which means the hotel is both central and quiet.

The management did not seem very professional, apart from a lady (manager) the others
seemed to learn on the job, and, well ... The breakfast is not at all a disaster, but the worst we had in Asia on this trip.

With a serious management that maintains the building, provides
Asian top rate service and good breakfasts, this could be a fantastic hotel. As it is now, it
is not worth the money. However, don't worry if you end up here; the buildings are lovely and the place has a quiet "colonial" atmosphere.

Situated 10 minutes stroll from the high street this charming hotel has the benefits of being conveniently located but just far enough away from the "action" to be really peaceful. I agree with the previous reviewer that you sometimes wonder if you are the only guest in the hotel.

I believe the building formed part of the old royal buildings a some pint and so it has that old style grandeur about it, best viewed from a sun lounger by the pool out back of the breakfast area.

The bedrooms were really comfortable; dark wood interiors and lovely firm beds. The regular intrenational TV channels were available in the room. The bathroom was nice but I have experienced better for the money.

The staff here are wonderful. Extremely polite, very attentive and charmingly nervous with their use of English. This is particularly the case during the daily routine of serving breakfast: bread, pancakes, jam and syrup, and eggs (optional - but if you say "yes" you will also receive sausages, bacon and vegetables on your plate).

We did not eat dinner at the hotel as there is plenty of good priced variety in town.

Charm is a main feature of the entire town. The people are wonderful, the main street and the streets running by the rivers peaceful and easy to explore on the cheap bicycles available for rent (one such place is on the corner next to the hotel). Most cafes and restaurants are very good value for money and none appear packed (when we visited in May 09).

The peaceful vibe of Luang Prabang belies the fact that there is actually plenty to do there. Day trips and more for elephant riding/training, kayaking, bike rides and watefall visits are some of the activities on offer. The night market is large and interesting, offering a good range of arts and crafts with almost no cheapo-fake-tat (if that's an adequate description). Some higher quality jewelry and fabric shops line the main high street along with cafes, restaurants and trip shops.

The tourists, locals, monks etc all seem to co-exist quite easily. We never felt crowded or harrassed and this must have partly been due to the UNESCO status of Luang Prabang which mean you could walk or cycle quite freely without the fear of being run down by passing traffic. Mopeds (not so many of them), bicycles and walkers seem to rule out there!

When we arrived from London, our frst impression of Luang Prabang was "what are we going to do here for 5 days?". However, we wished we had stayed longer. We can firmly recommend the Muang Luang hotel as part of such a trip too. It is an excellent, comfortable base from which to explore town or arrange excursions further afield.

Best regards, Gary Smith