Hotel Khamvongsa is located on the western end of the central district of Vientiane. It’s about a five minute walk to the river front and the area where food vendors set up there for the evenings. It’s only about a maximum of a twenty minute wall to most anything you’d want to see in central Vientiane. It’s also just far enough from the main tourist bars and restaurants to insulate you from all that. Overall, it’s a decent location.
We found the hotel by cross-referencing Lonely Planet recommendations with on-line hotel reviews, such as those on TripAdvisor. Khamvongsa stuck out, so we booked the night before arriving in Vientiane. We were not disappointed.
The hotel layout has a building with reception and a bar / restaurant area on the street front; followed by an open courtyard; followed by the main, five-story building containing the room in which we stayed. The layout is such that the two buildings feel like one.
The common areas are clean, neat, and well-done. It’s attractive, with tile flooring and generous use of wood.
We stated in a loft double room, which was more like a loft suite. It was huge. There was a main room, a nice bathroom with tub, separate shower, and western toilet. The main room had a kitchenette area with sink, small refrigerator, microwave, dishes and glasses and silverware, and an electric water kettle. Above all this was a loft area with queen bed. There was also a balcony with three fence doors for access, and two air conditioning units (one for the main area; one for the loft). Finally, the room was on the fifth level, giving us a view of the city and no risk of stomping feet above.
For this, we paid $50 US a night. That’s pricey for Laos overall; but considering that the other two hotels we were considering would have cost us twice as much for half the accomodations, and that we were staying in an what amounted to an extremely comfortable and nice apartment, I think it was a great deal.
The room came with free wi-fi Internet and breakfast. The breakfast was a choice of five or so main options (like a waffle, or eggs with a Guatemalan bean dish), coffee or tea, and a choice of juices.
The hotel staff was friendly and professional.
The room we stayed in was their most expensive option, and the price we paid was discounted. Their smaller rooms include a double bed for an advertised rate of $32 US a night. $32 is a steal for this quality of place in Vientiane.
We highly recommend Hotel Khamvongsa to anyone visiting Vientiane.
