Nam Khan River hotels & places to stay

this would have to be one of the best places we stayed on our whole trip of 29 days. we were picked up from luang prabang airport and transported to dream accommodation. the resort is relatively new so you'd expect a certain quality, however the design of the rooms and bathrooms was a delightful surprise with the use of exposed timber support columns and a modern bathroom. our bungalow had a veranda that opened out to the most magnificent gardens that lead down to the banks of the nam khan river - as good as botanical gardens and tended each day by a delightful old gentleman who clearly loves his work. the gardens are a work in progress, being only a couple of years old, but already they are beautiful. meals are taken in a pavilion with no walls and breakfast, which was included, consisted of fresh fruit, fruit juice, cereals, bread for toasting with jam and butter and you could also order a cooked breakfast. bicycles were available at no charge for hotel guests and umbrellas were provided in each room - welcome as protection from monsoonal rains and blazing sun. the staff were so friendly and helpful and were being trained by a delightful and informative canadian woman, evelyn, who made us feel so welcome. although the resort is on the outskirts of town, you can walk into town, take the free hotel shuttle, ride a bike or take a taxi or tuk-tuk. there was a lovely swimming pool with lounging chairs and fresh towels laid out daily, although we never found the time, such was the array of things to see and experience in and around town. i would love to go back to luang prabang and would definitely stay at my dream resort again without a moment's hesitation. i could stay a week with no problem.

the soft pastel decoration theme and delightful wall paper reminded one of the charms of south of france! with the nam khan river close by, this small boutique hotel is the venue for a cool and quiet evening after visiting tourist sites and market in melting point heat. we visited luang prabang in the blistering heat of the end of april and appreciated the personable, 'bend backward' service provided by the staff at apsara rive droite. ferry and tuk-tuk service were always available for our use - we were sent to out destinations, at times the tuk tuk driver waited for us to finish and bring us to our next destination, if we take a long time, he returned to pick us at a pre arranged time. and there is no surcharge for airport transfer. food at the apsara main hotel restaurant on the other side of the nam khan river was excellent. a simple bowl of pho (noodles) at the apsara rive driote was just as enjoyable. breakfast was served by a well manicured garden! and the hotel has their own power generator! during our short stay, there was power stoppage everyday for about an hour from noon onwards. in the unrelenting heat this is an important feature as we can lunch in the comfort of a turning fan.

We spent 7 nights at the Luang Prabang Thongbay guesthouse during our wonderful family trip in Thailand and Laos. Thongbay is more than a guesthouse: being a hotel with a beautiful garden and thatched wooden bungalows, it is an oasis of kindness and relax in a romantic and quiet location along the Nam Khan river. We were in two different bungalows facing the river before and after our trip to Pakse, the first time in a pretty bungalow with one extra bed and one mattress for our younger child, and the second time although we did not book in advance, the staff was able to arrange for us an even prettier family bungalow with four beds. In both cases the bathroom was spacious and comfortable, and the terrace facing the river relaxing and quiet.The staff at Thongbay is the best you can imagine. With them, you feel like at home, the breakfast (à la carte) can be booked (including time) on a whiteboard at the reception the evening before, and it is served on the terrace by the nice ladies of the guesthouse.The staff is lovely with children - and with the parents as well.There is a regular free shuttle service to downtown and back, but a 20-minute walk on a secondary road easily bring you on foot downtown and back. We took this shortcut several times with a torch and we had no problems, even with children and stroller. Once a week the staff offers a trip at dawn to attend the ceremony of food offering for the monks. The Thongbay family has an own carpet close to the temple, and prepare sticky rice for the monks as all inhabitants of Luang Prabang. We will never forget Thongbay - never will our children. The guesthouse is held by a swiss-lao couple (not in Laos at the time of our visit) and the staff speaks good english. Keo, Vanh, Net, Thy and all Thongbay friends: we definitely hope to see you again!

Villa Ban Phanluang is one value-for-money guesthouse located in a quiet community in Luang Prabang. Although the owner was overseas (his wife was giving birth), the staff at Luang Prabang were attentive and helpful during our entire stay. They advised us where to go and what to do, then greeted guests with free drinks after a day's activity. Brewed coffee and tea were free, as well as use of the bicycles around town. The free breakfast of cold cuts, eggs, bread and fruits were a heapful, although the additional breakfast we requested was a bit pricey. Using the bamboo bridge over the Nam Khan River, it's a few minutes walk to get to the Old Town from Villa Ban Phanluang, although you have to shell out 5,000 kip per person for the day's use of the bridge (just don't lose the ticket the family manning the bridge will give you). At dusk and early morning, use of the bamboo bridge is free. By bike, you can experience quite a thrill passing through the old wooden and steel bridge to get around town to check out the temples and quaint old buildings, as well as ride by the Mekong River.

This excellent guesthouse is situated across the Nam Khan river in a quiet area of Luang Prabang. The building is kept well maintained by the staff with polished wooden floors and staircases, a nice seating area by a balcony and tidy bedrooms with adequate bathroom facilities. The bedrooms have air conditioning, a ceiling fan, a small television and a comfortable bed. There is a separate dining room with a choice of breakfasts which are pre-ordered the evening before. There are bicycles available which can be used free of charge. Arriving at the airport we were met by the owner who waited for us even though we were late due to the rigorous entry formalities at the airport and transported free of charge to the guest house and also again when we departed.. The centre of the town is on the other side of the river which can be crossed in the dry season in a few minutes via a bamboo bridge for a minimal charge which finances the building and maintenance of the bridge by the local people. A short distance away there is another bridge which is solely for pedestrians, bicycles and motorcycles. I would advise that the bamboo bridge may not be ideal for the elderly or infirm as there are a good many steps to negotiate on each side of the river. The service at the guest house is very good, from the amiable owner' who did all he could to asist us,to his staff who are always on hand and helpful with advice and assistance with tours to local sights. We had a great week here and would stay again if we return to Luang Prabang.

If you wanna stay in the center of the city, this is not the place for you. But If you prefer staying away a little bit farther from the city with the amazing view from the terrace overlooking Nam Khan River with sort of property's private bamboo raft for just chilling watching sunset, this is the place. I stayed in the dorm and it was clean enough. Even though, I found myself have trouble sleeping at night because of the heat during my stay. But everything else was good. I had a pleasant stay.

As I am the first reviewer for this "hotel", I am hoping that it only just opened. We booked the room on agoda.com in the evening, and turned up shortly afterwards, to find the gate closed and all the shutters down. Looked like it had not opened for business yet. That impression was reinforced by the fact that it was almost impossible to find: there are no actual street addresses in Laos, and we could only go by the general indication on the map. It was at the end of a small alleyway, off a small street, and there was no sign on the street to indicate a "hotel". If we hadn’t spoken Lao, we would not have found it. Again I am hoping this is just because they rushed to open for the Lao New Year, and so weren't quite ready. If they have been open for business for a while, then shame on them! So. Closed gates. We called the number on the sign outside (a mobile number) and it took four times for someone to answer it. That person then made a call to the sleeping staff inside and we were finally let in. Great. I would have appreciated an apology or at least a simple hello from the owners when they turned up a few minutes later, but no – they chose to ignore us. Since we were the only guests, I fail to understand why they put us in room number 01 right next to the lobby: we spent the next to days bothered by all the noises, not least that of a squeaky front door. And as this was ground floor AND facing the entrance, the lack of curtains meant that we had to keep the wooden shutters closed at all times. So we had a choice between artificial light or no privacy whatsoever. There is also no real parking space – maybe enough for 3 cars, but not if all guests need to park their car. No parking space outside either as it’s on a narrow dirt road. Ok – the bottom line is: this place is not a hotel, it’s a guesthouse. There is no restaurant, no proper reception area to speak of, no service of any kind except the rooms themselves. And as hard as they try to be luxurious rooms, they a

You can't even expect even the most basic from this hotel-water, safety, basic communication-all of these might or might not be available during your stay. The biggest problem was when they turned off the water for the entire building on a very hot and humid day without advance notice. They said it was for three hours but the water ended up being off for seven hours. There was no attempt at compensation. This incident alone would be okay if not for the numerous other annoyances. The sheets and towels all have stains on them. The bathroom door didn't close. There was constant noise and chanting from the temple next door, even at 3 am at night so don't stay here if you're a light sleeper. The shower was badly designed since it was right next a corner and the shower head was pointed at the corner. The wifi was also flaky but that's more or less what you expect in this region. Despite the English description on Agoda, the staff knows absolutely no English, even the most basic words like "left" and "right." I got by with my Thai, but even with that, there were numerous misunderstandings. The sign for the hotel didn't have the name, "Nakkham Hotel" in English on it which makes it extra hard since LP has street names but no numbers for addresses. The staff don't seem to know how Agoda works.They kept asking me for a paper receipt, and I kept showing them my Agoda booking number. I told them I was checking out in the morning at 7 am. They also claim to be open 24 hours. I waited twenty minutes, knocked on the door, and called. No one was on duty. 2 km from the city center doesn't seem bad, but the hotel is located along a highway with no sidewalk. To get to the city center, you have to cross the street three times to avoid getting hit by a car. And there weren't that many tuk tuks available. There were shops close by for basics, but the restaurants nearby were horrible and not cheap. You have to walk at least a km before you get close to decent places.

The worst place we have stayed while backpacking. The room we stayed in had not been cleaned for years (or ever). The ceiling fan was covered in a thick layer of dust so there was no way we could turn it on. Cigarette buds layed on top of the closet covered by a pile of dust and rubble. The toilet flush was broken and the mirror in the bathroom only reflected years of uncleaned body fluids. There were no cockroaches I think even they felt it was too disgusting to set their tiny paws on. At 02:00 AM a lovely lullaby was sung to us by the loudest barking dog alive, standing IN THE HALLWAY of the hotel! Again this tune filled the halls at 05:00. At around 9:00 AM somebody opened the door of our room and peeked inside??? Without knocking, probably a staff member as the door was locked. We left the room that morning (paid 2 nights ahead). We then booked a room at a resort just to recover from this tragedy. Weirdest experience ever when it comes to hotels or guesthouses!

Really nice and quiet place to stay. Staff (the lady who apparently runs the property) does not really speak English, if you speak French it's a big plus (she apparently is an old school). Extremely helpful with arranging anything, but if you want to book a tour you have to go downtown, they cannot really do it here. Breakfast is basic continental (bread, butter, jam plus eggs of your choice). A nice terrace overlooking Nam Khan where you can have coffee. Rooms are very well kept and tasteful with wooden floors and ceilings, perfectly clean. Beware if you book through Agoda, apparently they had a problem in our reservation (apparently it did not show in their system), but they sorted it out immediately. Hopefully they will rectify it soon. It is a bit off the centre but they have bikes which you can take to get downtown.

Beautifully located at the river with lots of green, relaxing chairs, hammocks et cetera, all facilitated with enough plugs for your electronic devices. Dorms had 2 bunk beds (4pax) with mosquito nets. Very comfortable. There were also a couple of dogs wandering around, including 2 young pups who were adored by all the guests. I think the proprietor is a Frenchman. If you're looking for a cheap, quality hostel, away from the hustle and bustle of the city center, yet on walking distance, then look no further. Fan Dee Lodge also has bikes and motorbikes for rent and excursions & bus tickets can be booked at the reception.