Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
strosity. There's very little that's standard from place to place - even rooms within one es-
tablishment can vary widely - although in tourist centres the cheapest bet is generally a fan
room with shared washing facilities. As you tack on extra dollars, you'll gain the luxury of a
private bathroom with a hot-water shower and an air conditioner. In small towns in the most
remote areas you'll find that the facilities are often rustic at best - squat toilets and a large
jar of water with a plastic scoop with which to shower, though this is rapidly changing. The
further off the beaten track you go the greater the chances are that you'll be pumping your
own water from a well or bathing in a stream.
Mid-range accommodation
Mid-rangehotels
have been opening up in medium-sized towns all over Laos in the last few
years, greatly improving the accommodation situation. Most of these hotels are compact, of
up to five storeys, and offer spacious, air-conditioned rooms with tiled floors and en-suite
bathrooms for between 100,000 and 200,000K. The mattresses are usually hard - but at least
the sheets and quilts are consistently clean. The bathroom fittings in such hotels are usu-
ally brand new but a few don't have water heaters and often sinks and toilets aren't properly
plumbed in. Because the standard of construction is poor and there is no concept of maintain-
ing buildings, such hotels tend to age quickly.
Top-end hotels
Once you've crossed the $25 threshold, you enter a whole new level of comfort. In the former
French towns on the Mekong this level of expense translates into an atmospheric room in a
restored colonial villa or accommodation in a recently built establishment where rooms boast
some of the trappings of a high-end hotel, such as cable television, fridge, air conditioning
and a hot-water shower.
Colonial-era hotels
often have a limited number of rooms, so
book ahead
if you want to
take advantage of them - well in advance if you plan to visit during the peak months (Dec
& Jan). Many of these places are firmly ensconced on the tour-group circuit, so push for a
discount if you're travelling independently.
Thanks to foreign investors, a raft of
top-end hotels
have opened their doors in Vientiane
and Luang Prabang, charging upwards of $100 a night. The best hotels in the capital and
Luang Prabang have international-class facilities, including business centres and gyms. At
the moment, there's a glut of high-end hotel accommodation in the capital, so don't hesitate
to ask for discounts, especially for longer-term stays.
