We stayed just for one night. There are many options in Luang Prabang for the same price. We didn't really sleep the night we stayed, the bed wasn't good. The staff were really nice though. We had wifi in our room and the location was quite good although not as quiet as we'd hoped. We ended up leaving and went to stay at Villa Somphong which we loved.

We didn't do any reservation before we arrived to Luang Prabang since offers seemed to be overpriced. Guesthouse owner met us near the post office and offered to see his property. We liked his place, the only disadvantage was the lack of internet access. So after I told him about that, he arranged us a wi-fi access to his neighbor's house router! Everything was great about that place: very clean quiet and nicely decorated rooms (well, this is not five stars hotel, but for $12 per night it's just terrific) and very friendly and helpful staff. We would definitely stay there again if we decided to visit Luang Prabang one more time.

I spent a week at the Philaylack, and really enjoyed it. The location is very good, on a quiet street between the main road and the Mekong river road. The family that runs it is very friendly and accomodating. The rooms are actually very nice, with AC, cable TV and good beds. It is within walking distance of anywhere in central LP. There is a coffee house and internet cafe just up the road. From the central area, go up the main road, and turn right just after passing JoMa coffee house.

I should mention, first, that I'm not accustomed to "guest houses," being an American on my first visit to South-East Asia. As a hotel-only patron, I wasn't sure what to expect. Just 12 days earlier, I'd stayed in a terrible, dirty, non-serviced room on the Vietnam/Cambodian border. The rest of my travels, I'd been in private apartments, with a friend.

So I can say that I was very relieved to arrive in Luang Prabang and have the tuk tuk pull up to the Villa Philaylack. The building looks quite new and welcoming. "Mr. Anoum" (written phonetically) had taken our reservation the night before. (+856 7125 3025). It may take some time to communicate in English. Just remember to use simple sentences: "You have room?" (My Asian friend told me that Americans use too many words, which just confuses people.)

Our room was on the second floor of the detached building. All the walls, floor and ceiling were wood/wood panel. The tile in the bathroom was clean and contemporary, with just the earliest traces of mildew in the grout. (I suspect that by 2010 the bathrooms may look a little shabby if they aren't kept up.)

The room included two bottles of (Red Cross) water, wrapped hotel soap, fresh (not new) towels and toilet paper. We opted to not recieve our air conditioner remote, and paid $2 less per night ($14/night instead of $16). There is a ceiling-mounted fan over the bed (which was dusty on our arrival, so we washed the grill in the shower).

Clean towels, drinking water, soap and toilet paper were brought in every day of our three-night stay. The staff were pleasant , honest and helpful (but try to be back before they close the gate at 11:30pm, or you might experience some light crankiness).

Laundry service was 8,000kip/kg.

The only major drawback to Villa Philaylack is the location. If you go there, you're going to think I'm crazy for saying this, since it's really only a handful of blocks from then central area (where the tour booking companies and night market are). But especially when you are trying to get somewhere in heat of mid-day, you'll probably start to wonder about the dozens (and dozens) of guest houses closer to the "center of things."

We moved to a place closer in for our last two nights, and while we enjoyed much shorter walks to our favorite restaurants and massage spas (and the balcony view of the Mekong) we were less than thrilled with the service, cleanliness and staff of the second place.