Sayo Guest House Xieng Mouane

Recently I stayed for 4 nights in the lovely town of Luang Prabang at this particular guesthouse. In fact, my stay was enjoyable, but I will state that the reason for my rating is: poor service and management, some problems the room, and the fact that the price I paid ($48 USD) was relatively high by local guest house standards, although others might do better. The guesthouse itself is extremely pretty, and has a lovely courtyard at its center. I enjoyed quiet nights there and did not hear anything from the temple across the street. The proprietess provided information politely upon request but did not go out of her way to be helpful, and was usually not around. The young women working at the hotel were a bigger problem, but that problem of course goes back to management. No one working in the hotel other than its owner spoke any English. My first morning, I asked to buy breakfast (which was not included in my case,) and the young woman working simply kept shaking her head no. Breakfast, the owner had told me, could be bought. A sign on the wall said, “Breakfast, 35,000 kip.” After the first morning, I gave up and got it out every day. One day, housekeeping did not provide me any water. On my final day, housekeeping did not visit my room at all! (And if the excuse is that I had not left the key there, sorry, but that does not cut it). When I asked staff to call me a taxi to the airport, the young women simply shook their heads and giggled. I used a translator app to explain my request; ultimately, rather than call me a taxi themselves, they telephoned the owner, who was out of town. She , in turn, did call me a taxi (tuktuk). One of the two young women in particular seemed to me to be not only poor at her job but also plain annoying, as she spent most of her time sitting on one of the seats, videochatting with the volume up on her phone or watching tv. Naturally, there are cultural differences at play, and the language divide. However, I don’t believe anything I expected or asked was out of the ordinary for a guesthouse – breakfast, housekeeping, taxis – and I think any guesthouse in a savvy town like Luang Prabang would do better. As far as the room, it had a couple of problems, too, although it was pretty and comfortable. The wifi did not work in the rooms at all, only in the central area. It was irritating to have to try multiple devices multiple times, in order to figure this out, little by little. Water dripped from the bathroom sink’s U-pipe whenever you used the tap, and the toilet seat popped off from time to time. The room lacked a hot pot, but most people probably would not mind this given that there was tea and coffee provided in the garden area at all times. It rained a few times during my stay, and the room was extremely damp. Admittedly, maybe this is just life in Luang Prabang? The first room that I was given had air-conditioning that did not really work, but the owner immediately switched me to one where it did work. Rooms had no TVs or phones, which personally was fine for me. Price of course is impacting my review. The price seemed to me high enough to warrant providing breakfast. Sometimes, getting breakfast out is fun, and Luang Prabang has no shortage of places. But it’s also a nuisance when you’re signed up for 9 a.m. departures on trips, and of course, another expense.

It’s across the road from Wat Xieng Moane so don’t be surprised when you are woken up at 5.30AM by the monastery gong. It’s very central to the main strip on Th Sisavangvong and the Mekong waterfront yet far enough away from the crowds. It is cheap, clean and adequate to needs. The staff are very friendly and accommodating. If you are interested in participating in the alms round which goes past the front door, the hotel staff can assist. Only fault was that many of the rooms surround a central under-cover courtyard and when people use it till late at night socialising - the sound travels. But all things considered - it’s a good find.

We stumbled across this quaint guesthouse in the old section of Luang Prabang and stayed throughout our visit here. Siri, our host, was very accommodating, resourceful and incredibly kind. The rooms are clean, comfortable and basic (no TV which was fine for us)but do have A/C. We stayed in a family room which is 2 connecting rooms, perfect for our family of 4. We spent our downtime in the garden and Siri often offered our kids fruits or other snacks. The location across from the Wat of the same name was a perfect spot to view the alms ceremony. I would highly recommend staying here especially for families. Having walked all of the town of Luang Prabang, this was by far our favorite location, close to everything, not too upscale but also not backpacker-esque.