Where we stayed
Be aware that you do get what you pay for, and our comments are made accordingly. If we were paying £100 a night our expectations would be different than £10 a night, so comments below are based on reasonable expectations for cost. For £15 or less a night, we expect a clean aircon double room and good/clean facilities. We don’t complain of dated decor, or slight areas of imperfection (like broken tiles, missing plug etc etc)or in need of maintenance if they don’t affect safety or cleanliness.
Asia has different standards of cleanliness, so expect cobwebs and worse. Remember this is a poor area of the world – not western Europe…
We have reviewed each place in more detail on TripAdvisor – see HERE for all our TA reviews
Thailand
Bangkok: Sivarin Guesthouse. WEBSITE 650 bhat for double room, aircon, shared bathroom with hot shower and basic breakfast of scrambled egg and toast. Very friendly staff, good location to old town, very clean and good value for money. Free wifi.
Kanchanaburi: Blue Star Guesthouse. WEBSITE 650 bhat for double bungalow, aircon, ensuite, hot shower, on river Kwai and 2 story veranda. Basic but clean. Tiled bathroom and absolutely fine and great location. We almost rejected due to some negative web reviews, but considering cost it is fine. Free wifi (though didn’t work with my laptop!).
Khao Sok: Smiley Bungalows: WEBSITE: 500 bhat for double en-suite ina moden brick fan bungalow. Well built and bathroom good with hot water – though not “special”. Bar and restaurant good, free wifi. Smiley also organise trips and transfers at a much cheaper price than elsewhere. 2 day trip with overnight at their own lake raft house (which was super) was 2200 Bhat (if >8 people) including food. OK – minibus a bit more rustic than the expensive trips!
Khao Lak: Amsterdam Resorts: Website: 750bhat for a fan room ensuite with free wifi. Good location for beach and owner helpful. Cleaned daily. Bungalow walls thin so bit noisy. Khao Lak a bit dull for us and all “sites” need to use a motorbike.
Phuket (Patong): Loveli Guesthouse. WEBSITE Clean large room with AC and hotel-standard including hot bathroom. Bit pricey at 1200 a night, but almost worth it. Fridge, free tea/coffee, daily service. Not perfect, furniture bit dated and not pristine. Free DVDs. SUPERB travel centre for bargain trips
Phuket (Patong): Siam Hotel: WEBSITE Just up the road from Loveli, this is a cheaper (1000/night) hotel – but hotel room very clean and pretty much European chepa business standards. AC, good bathroom and mini-bar. Recommended as cheaper than Loveli, but do use Loveli travel agent.
Raya: Raya Father: WEBSITE Great location and good trip, stunning island and beach. Resort included overnight (1400 each for one night/2 day snorkelling trip via Loveli guesthouse). Room at resort pretty naff, small, noisy, hard bed, but clean. Worth a naff room for a day for the trip.
Koh Phi Phi: Kinnaree House: WEBSITE: Very expensive and not great place. NOT recommended. Narrow concrete corridorsm echoy, tiny room. Clean but hot water shower is tepid. You can do much better than here.
Koh Lanta: Fishermans Cottage: WEBSITE: Good value at 1000 Bhat a night and nice small 9 bungalow resort. Bungalows are concrete and palm/bamboo roof and shower is cold, but they are cute and have a good feel. Great location to chill. Romantic. Mozzie net included as very open…
Ao Nang: Groovy Bungalows: WEBSITE: Slightly expensive (for us), but 5 nights for price of 4; free big breakfast; and free motorbike made it good value. Rooms and bathroom SUPERB. Ao Nang superb base. Hosts own/run Groovy and maintain it to a very high standard. Slightly out of town, but 5 mins by bike means no problem. Fully recommended
Chiang Rai: Orchid Guesthouse: WEBSITE: Motel type rooms, very clean and comfortable. Wifi/tea/cofee for 400 bhats! Recommended
Chiang Mai: Sauby Guesthouse: WEBSITE: Reasonably nice place, really good for price (450) and location, but too noisy and not good enough for us.
Chiang Mai: TJR Boutique : Very good hotel, big clean rooms, bath, quick wifi, good location in old town, and good quality. Pricey at 900 bhat but worth it.
Sukhothai: TR Guesthouse: WEBSITE : Very impressive for money, nice bar/restaurant, and everything you want for 400 bhat. Wifi, TV, AC etc. Good place.
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur: Step Inn: WEBSITE: Cheap and basic but good location. Rooms quite dire and not well maintained (though clean). If you want a private room do not go here.
Melaka (Malacca): Old Town Guesthouse: WEBSITE: Very cheap, but really very smart and good value. Bright rooms and large common areas. Good breakfast. En suite rooms good, and shared bathrooms also goo. Would recommend especially for money RM45-55 with AC, RM30 with fan. Free wifi and PC for 2RM/day
Vietnam
Hanoi : Hanoi Street Hotel: WEBSITE: A very quiet hotel in the noisy busy Hanoi old town. Room good, breakfast okay, but overall really good place. Ensuite with AC heat/cool $24/night.
Hue: Amigo Hotel: WEBSITE: OK hotel down a dingy alley. Bath,AC, ensuite etc. Mainly clean. Breakfast variable. Good location. $16
Hoi An: Sunflower Hotel: WEBSITE: Almost a superb hotel but let down by a couple of minor things. Clean, porter service, excellent breakfast, swimming pool, free shuttle bus. 15m walk (or bus) to centre. Overall good – $18
Ho Chi Min City: Ngoclinh Hotel: WEBSITE: Reasonable location in quiet backpacker area. Clean and good bathroom and wifi – $20. Was fine. Bed a bit lumpy and breakfast was a bit iffy, but overall ok. May be able to do better.
Cambodia
Phnom Penh: Europe Guesthouse: WEBSITE: A fairly basic guesthouse. Clean double room with ensuite and good/quiet AC and wifi/TV for $17. Not fantastic but good locaiton and overall pretty good. Host very helpful making this a recommended place
Sihanoukville : Cinderella’s Golden Lodge : WEBSITE : Over priced for $25 a night. Room small and very dark. Not the cleanest. Loads of naff things about it. Suggest you avoid. Actually, avoid Sihanoukville or at lease Serendipity beach area – its really bad…
Battambang: Asia Hotel: WEBSITE: Cheap and once grand hotel, now a bit budget. Still very good though, good rooms and fairly cheap. AC, TV, Wifi, ensuite for $15
Siem Reap: Motherhouse Guesthose: WEBSITE: $20 for a very good guesthouse – more like 3* hotel. Excellent room, breakfast, and attentive staff. Feels very luxurious and we recommend. Wifi, Fridge and easy tuktuks for Angkor Wat tours.
Kratie: Balcony Guesthouse: WEBSITE: Not really recommended. Clean bedding, but room and sheets and bathroom a bit grim. $12 so cheap, but cheap and nasty. We’d avoid.
Kratie: Oudom Sambath: WEBSITE: Budget hotel for $15 but far better than Balcony. Nice clean rooms with TV and wifi, and reasonable value. Probably the best in Kratie. (50m from Balcony above)
Laos
Pakse: Sang Aroun: WEBSITE: Expensive ($26-$31) but more like a euro business hotel – wifi, tv, fridge, and probably best budget hotel in town.
Savannakhet: Souvannavong guesthouse: Cheap at 100,000 kip (£9) and clean, but bit rough. GH was undergoing rennovation but will never be good – too many bodges. Shame. If you want clean then ok, just don’t hope for anythng else.
Vientiane: Souphaphone: WEBSITE: 170,000kip (£15, $22) for a large clean room, wifi, ac, fridge, tv. Really very good quality for the money and no complaints. Not awesome, just pretty good.
Vang Vieng: Laos Haven Hotel and Spa: WEBSITE: 140,000kip ($18) – too expensive for what it was, and sadly the room was a lot worse than the impression from the website and building exterior. Loads better and cheaper in town
Luang Prabang: Tha Heua Me Guesthouse: WEBSITE: Bit expensive at $25 a night (200,000 kip) – but rooms of good quality and a really nice place to stay. Free drinks and bananas and wifi
Pak Beng: Monsovanh Guesthouse : Cheap at 100,000 kip but clean and perfect for a night. Their cafe is opposite with wifi and take away food if needed.
Houay Xai: Oudomphone Guesthouse 2: Cheap at 80,000 kip, but very clean. Rooms a bit dated, but reasonably big and even with TV!