grahamb

Does anyone have any recommendations for a family-friendly hotel in Vientiane, Laos? We're taking the train from Bangkok to/from Laos and will have a couple of nights in Vientiane. Our kids are 4 and 2 and we're travelling with friends who have kids that are 3 and 18mths.

I know it's a bit of a long shot so thanks in advance for any replies!

BoyAreMyArmsTired

Moving to the Asia forum to see if there are some responses for you. Good luck!

BAMAT
Co-Moderator, Travel with Children

SanDiego1K

We stayed at the Novotel in Vientiane in Laos. I think of the Novotel as affordable accomodations for families.

SK AAR

Yes, but the location is not great. Not in city centre; almost half the way to the airport! I would recommend the Lao Plaza hotel; one of the best hotels in town. Great location. Great sw. pool area also for kids and very good bf. I think we paid around 100 USD/nt incl. tax and bf in FEB. You should be able to get a rate around USD 70 + tax (bf included) on Agoda.com. Do not book directly with the hotel - their published (and walk-in) rates are ridiculously expensive compared to rates offered by hotelclub, Agoda or Asiarooms. Lao Plaza is quite expensive though by Lao standards - later on we stayed at small guest house in Luang Prabang for 12 USD/nt (no bf) - rooms were new and spacious and with bath room and air con -excellent value.

rjh

Saysouly guest house, 23 Manthatulath Rd
+856 21 218383
[email protected]

$12 night or so. Now on the map. It's in between Quai Fa Ngum and Rue Setthathilath.

Eat breakfast at Scandinavian Bakery by the fountain.

jpatokal

I was very happy with the Lao Orchid, which is well located and provides 4-star comfort at a fraction of the price of the majors. Don't be put off by the terrible website, the hotel itself is very modern and up-to-date (see TripAdvisor for lots of glowing reviews). No pool though.

Paiteaw

If you prefer something a bit more modestly priced try the Mali Namphu Guest House. It is located close to the Fountain ( NamPhu) in Vientianne @114 Pangkham Rd . See www.malinamphu.com for more info. As I recall the room was about $20 when I stayed there. They have a nice courtyard garden which has tables for eating breakfast outside.
Another place that is a bit more expensive is called Chanthapanya Hotel.
www.chanthapanyahotel.com It was newly built with nice wood but I did not stay there. Looked quite nice though so I picked up a card for future reference. If you stay there let me know how it is. Chok dii na krap

DesertNomad

The Day Inn was great at about $30. It is near the city (walking distance to the river) and Scandinavian Bakery. Highly recommended .

dsquared37

Mali Namphu is right next to the city center and fountain (nam phu = water mountain). However each time I've gone by it's been full and they've laughed at me for even inquiring wihtout having a reservation. This alone says it's good.

I've stayed in the Vayakorn Hotel on many occasions. It's $20-$25 and a very nice family run place right near Wat Mixay and next door to a western style bookshop. This does not include breakfast. There's also a place to the north about 50 meters which grills fish all morning long (delicious) has about the best Som Tam Tua (green papaya salad but long beans substituted for papaya) I've ever tasted. This non-descript 'restaurant' also does laundry reasonably well.

If you need more info on the Vayakorn you can PM me. Trip advisor reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...Vientiane.html

sy7

I wouldn’t recommend the Novotel unless you are able to get a great rate (like the $19/night rate I got after applying the now defunct $50 hotelclub coupon). Not only were the beds the typical hard Asian mattresses, but they also seemed to have springs poking out in some places. As mentioned, the location isn’t that great (but isn’t terrible either since it is still walking distance to the town center). The hotel advertises a free shuttle to the town center, but it only starts at 2pm. They also have a very limited airport shuttle which didn't work with my schedule.

However, the room and facilities were clean and nice and I felt like it was well-worth the $19. I wouldn’t pay the going rate of $69 though!

seanthepilot

I've stayed at the Novotel and would only recommend it if you can find it for $45 or less.

But I loved the Duang Deuan hotel, 1/2 block from the river. The prices were $23/night, but that was years ago.

dsquared37

They seemed to be renovating it the last time I walked past. About the only thing stirring was the motorbike rental out front. This was around Awk Pansaa last October.

grahamb

Thanks all for these recommendations. The friends we're travelling with have had some good recommendations for the Taipan Hotel so we're booked there. It wasn't listed as a recommendation in this thread so I'll try to be back here next week to give our impressions and comment whether we should have listened to the wisdom of FT

grahamb

In the interests of completeness, I'm back here to report on the Taipan Hotel. Generally OK, good location, kids enjoyed the pool (though it's not a family pool so not sure if the other guests enjoyed the kids playing... ) I didn't think it was particularly good value though.

I saw the Lao Orchid when walking around and it looked very nice so may try that next time we're in Vientiane. Had a great weekend there so there will definitely be a next time

SkyTeam777

What's the safest, cheapest way to get to the Novotel from the Vientiane airport or to the downtown Lao Plaza hotel?