Boat Landing Guest House and Restaurant

Reading the reviews of this guesthouse, as they call it, would lead you to believe that it's the best thing going in Luang Namtha. That may have been the case a decade or more ago. But it's lost its lustre now, and needs a shot in the arm, or a kick in the ass to put it there again. The chalets (huts?) are a decent size, but lack the modern comforts you'd expect in a regular hotel. There is no Air Conditioning (except a floor fan), no flush toilets, very little hot water, and no Internet. It's located about 6km outside of the city centre, which can be a little problematic, if you need to visit an ATM, pharmacy, tour operator and the like. The seclusion is part of its charm, but wears thin pretty quickly. Food is OK, but not creative or memorable. The staff generally don't speak English, except for Liam (the owner? the manager?). Often, you'll spend time looking for front office staff, as sometimes, there is no one to be seen anywhere. I'd skip this one, and look elsewhere if you can afford it. I'd rather stay in a smaller Guesthouse in town, with hot water and Internet.

Two of us were there in October of 2018, staying four or five nights. This is once-in-a-lifetime: the cottages are right on a river where dragon boats practice in the morning (we were there just before a weekend of races at the end of "Buddhist Lent"). Be warned: the Boat Landing Guest House is a ways from Luang Namtha's small city center and night market. However, tuk-tuks are available and we rented motor scooters for part of our stay. The charm of the locale and the excellence of the restaurant make up for the distance from ATMs and markets. The Guest House is also close to enclaves where minority tribal groups live (e.g., Black Thai). In the city center, you can arrange eco tours into the jungles to the north. Our room was clean, the restaurant is excellent, the staff are helpful. Who needs luxury when teams of dragon boats are practicing outside your cottage?

We have been in this hotel after Buddhist new year. And when we want to check in the condition of the hotel horror full of garbage and look like nobody cleaning. But it was not acceptable to stay and we cancel to stay after we saw the condition of the room. The hotel location maybe spectacular because in the river side. But they need to clean it because we was booking 5 rooms and all of the room was horrible dirty.