We stayed here for 5 nights, and it was a great change having arrived from Vietnam. We were initially put in room3 (the back room on ground floor). As the air con was extremely noisy (and the window was too small to be considered a 'window' room), we requested to be placed in another room. The manager willingly reshuffled his schedule and helped us move the next day.

The part we like the most about this guesthouse is the staff - the two guys who work there. We would hang out at the lobby and watch TV together, and chat about Lao culture and monk life. A great way to relax while sipping a cup of tea (free of charge).

There is a slight issue with mosquitos, as the windows are w/o nets, and closing the windows (shutters) would make the room too dark during the day. Also, the shower may take a little fiddle around to get right.

Overall - definitely recommended.

We enjoyed our stay there. The guy working there only started his job on 1 January and we were there on 8 January and he was extremely nice.
Everything is fine. The water for the shower sometimes just stop but it does come back so don't worry about it.
The taxi driver from the airport sometimes can be very doggy. We arrived at night and the taxi driver tried to pretend that he doesn’t know where it is by stopping and asking a few people, pretending to call the guest house and the number doesn’t exist. Don’t believe any of this and just put up your face and ask him to take you there. Or ask him to drop you off in the downtown where all the travel agents, restaurants, bars are and it is only 10 mins walk from that main tourist part.
Downstairs on the street, there is a very nice patisserie.
You can watch the monk collecting alms in the morning about 7.15am.
Overall this is a great place to stay.

We have spent three nights in Symoungkoun Guesthouse and had a great time! We arrived at 3 am without reservation and woke up the guy from the reception who offered us a room. Nice clean room, good price and close to al the facilities of town. There is no bar or common TV-room, but there is no need to because of the good location. Great staff who recommended nice trips and even send our lost stuff back to the Netherlands! Thanks for the nice stay guys! Joost & Sonja from Holland

I'm not sure if my less positive review (versus the other reviews on this page) is purely due to being significantly overcharged for our room at New Year but as far as I know, most places were charging a premium and there were better value places about. If I'd only paid $10 - $15 then it would have been an OK room but I expected much more than we got for $30 a night.

Our room was on the ground floor and didn't have a window (which we don't mind but they're usually the cheaper rooms). The room was quite tatty and small with twin beds, a TV with a couple of English channels, and a small bathroom with showerhead. Decor was nothing special.

Location was quiet, yes, but a bit of a walk from the main street of restaurants and bars and the night market. Staff were friendly enough.