Vientiane accomodation

I know this topic has been posted many times already, so I am just looking for an update of the situation. I will be going to Vientiane and wonder if the following places are still gay friendly - meaning you might bring a friend back with you if you feel like it. The places mentioned in earlier posts were Douang Deuane Hotel, Saysouly Guest House and possibly Anou Hotel and Golden Lodge. And does anyone know how much these places charge nowadays?

[globalwanderer]

I know this topic has been posted many times already, so I am just looking for an update of the situation. I will be going to Vientiane and wonder if the following places are still gay friendly - meaning you might bring a friend back with you if you feel like it. The places mentioned in earlier posts were Douang Deuane Hotel, Saysouly Guest House and possibly Anou Hotel and Golden Lodge. And does anyone know how much these places charge nowadays?

Douang Deuane Hotel charges US$20 a night... but if you stay there make sure that you don't get one of the rooms without windows.

Thanks. I see from the Douang Deaune Hotel website that the price quoted is 20 US, and I also found a hotel with an identical name on Planet Holiday/Agoda for 45 US. Is there more than one Douang Deuane Hotel in Vientiane? Or is Agoda really overpricing their products? I seem to mhat their prices in the past were very competive.

[globalwanderer]

no there is only one. And yes I've found a number of sites which overprice Vientiene accomodation.

Hopefully there is only one Douang Deuane Hotel.

Stayed there in December. Avoid it. Very austere rooms and the bathroom was up there in the top two or three worst I have ever experienced anywhere.

Not listed above, and definitely not in the $20 bracket, but if you want to splash out a bit, the Green Park is a beautiful little boutique place.

Mr Spoonfed99 and I were made very welcome there.

[jvt22222]

For basic, gay-owned, very gay-friendly accommodation in Vientiane, I have three times stayed at the Dragon Lodge .............. very good location, clean, well-equipped, hosted by owner Peter Tan, from Singapore who has long lived in Vientiane ........... great host and know LOTS about THE SCENE in Vientiane .............. can be contacted by email at dragonlodge2002@yahoo.com

[yaraboy]

I do not recommend Dragon Lodge unless it has improved. Cute but disinterested staff/ Rooms dark/ $25 not good value

Worth checking out....Riverrine.$25 Lao Orchid $45..........Vansana @$25 swimming pool large rooms but 15 minutes from town in a rather boring area. I stay there but have my own transport.

[Jamez777]

There is a guesthouse named Chanthasoum that is located close to Don Chan Palace. Chanthasoum is basic but it's also quite comfortable, you will get a small room with a double bed, cable TV and hot water. They charge $17 US a night, and there are no problems in bringing friends back to your room for the night

[catawampuscat]

I have stayed at Dragon Lodge twice and it was just ok for a nite or two.. The staff consists of young Lao men/boys
and is comfortable to have a drink in the bar/lounge area, but the rooms are very minimal. Both times, the small TV was a problem in different rooms and fortunately I wasn't there when it was hot as there wasn't any airconditioning.
Mosquitos can be a problem, so bring some spray.
Zero views on first floor and both times I was on the first floor. No lift by the way..
Dark too, but quiet ..

The Thailand consulate moved and is no longer as close to this little hotel as before and the tuk-tuks are a ripoff and
expensive.. Nice restaurants very nearby to Dragon but I would not reccommend it for more than a nite and next time
I will try someplace else.. :cat:

[TrongpaiExpat]

and the tuk-tuks are a ripoff and
expensive.. Nice restaurants very nearby to Dragon but I would not reccommend it for more than a nite and next time
I will try someplace else.. :cat:

The BF and I arrived in Vientiane via the bus and was approached by tuk-tuk drivers who wanted 400B to take us to a hotel. I refused and walked away and they followed, some blocking my path, and lowering the price 100B every 5 steps. When it got to 100B, I agreed and we were taken to some hotel near the river, name on the sign only in Lao for 25 USD. It had AC, one 20watt light, small TV, shower with extra mold and one small window.

That morning we awoke to the room filled with smoke. We assumed the place was on fire but it turned out some guy just below the window was smoking fish in a trash can.

We checked out and need to get to the Friendship Bridge and again 400B was the offer for a short Tuk-Tuk ride. This guy would not come down, so we walked and ran into an other driver who agreed to 100B after a long discussion.

Then at the bridge another guy told me that the free bus is not for farangs and I had to follow him to his car for 100B to cross the border.

We have had some posters go on and on with Vientiane being such a wonderful place, I don't get it?

Nice restaurants very nearby to Dragon but I would not reccommend it for more than a nite and next time
I will try someplace else.. :cat:

The BF and I arrived in Vientiane via the bus and was approached by tuk-tuk drivers who wanted 400B to take us to a hotel. I refused and walked away and they followed, some blocking my path, and lowering the price 100B every 5 steps. When it got to 100B, I agreed and we were taken to some hotel near the river, name on the sign only in Lao for 25 USD. It had AC, one 20watt light, small TV, shower with extra mold and one small window.

We checked out and need to get to the Friendship Bridge and again 400B was the offer for a short Tuk-Tuk ride. This guy would not come down, so we walked and ran into an other driver who agreed to 100B after a long discussion.

Then at the bridge another guy told me that the free bus is not for farangs and I had to follow him to his car for 100B to cross the border.



Wow, do you have bad luck. But knowing those way upper limits to getting taken, then I think most of us can feel rest assured

There are no gay friendly hotels, they are all gay-friendly including the Dragon which has a slightly abrasive sometimes staff. Yes, this has been discussed in this forum over and over. Why hasn't Ms. Jinks included this in the recent butchery of moving this here or there I wonder.

The Laos are getting smart about tourism, I have heard and seen!

Just look at it differently and then maybe you won't seem so miserable. Go there and see yourselves.

My only complaint is the grilled fish along the river banks can be a little undercooked so be VERY careful about that. Apparently it doesn't flip over very well, even in the little cages or whatevers that they cook them in, and they try to cook it only on one side. Not a good way to go!

Vien Chang is a wonderful place, but, yes, only for 2 or 3 days, on your way north to LP and Namtha. And yes, if quiet scenes aren't your thing sometimes, then maybe you'll be disappointed.

[nanette]

Lane Xang Hotel, US30 per night, swimming pool and very friendly staff, and observant about guests but didn't ask any questions(one evening a security man, and part-time pimp on the floor was keenly asking me to try out one of his girls, and was shocked when he saw me later with a boy!). Free airport transfers. Buffet breakfast can be bought at US3. Had a pleasant stay, except for some stomach problems probably associated with undercooked fish or meat, or soup not brought to boil, long enough to kill the germs. The Laotians are in general accomodating people.

[catawampuscat]

I stayed at the Lane Xang Hotel once about 5 years ago, and it is located right on the river and is definitely more upscale than the
guesthouses. Lane Xang translates in Lao to million elephants and those who have studied Thai will see the similarity
to lan chang (approximation of million elephants in Thai).
Not for the backbacking set and a bit fussier but good location on the river and in the center of things..
I do recall plumbing and electricity not up to world class standards but hey it was 1000B. for me
and my ex. The pool was nothing special as I recall and in the back. Breakfast standard fare with buffet.. :cat:

[colmx]

we stayed in the Douang Deuane earlier in the year when we visited Laos.

I would consider it more than adequate... at 20USD oper night,..

If i was looking for something more upscale, i think i'd stay in The Novotel...

As as per the others comments above... the Vientiane TukTuks are a complete ripoff...

[TrongpaiExpat]

As as per the others comments above... the Vientiane TukTuks are a complete ripoff...

So, what's the solution, alternatives?

Thank you all for the input. I see that not much has changed from earlier posts about the hotel scene in Vientiane, so I will just have to make a decision and take what is offered. I am only staying 3 nights, so I am sure I will survive it. And I dont really expect Thailand standard.

karius,

just for my peace of mind, would you mind confirming for me that you are not and have no unfortunate connection with ikarus.

No offence intended whatsoever - you are probably a Norwegian friend of Baktus!

Gone Fishing.....Im in awe of your knowledge of Norwegian children's literature. And I dont have any serious problems involving those two guys! As for Ikarus/Icarus, I am not quite sure if you are referring to the poor guy who got burnt, or if there was a poster here bearing that name. Like most of you guys here, I did get burnt a couple of times, but I licked my wounds and tried to live happily ever after.

[Smiles]

Karius . . . 'Ikarus' is one of the most bad-tempered, humourless and self-important SOB's (worse than Homintern in fact!) to call himself a member of this (or any other) message board. I congratulate you for not being him. :cheers:

Cheers ...

[colmx]

As as per the others comments above... the Vientiane TukTuks are a complete ripoff...

So, what's the solution, alternatives?

Get a Laos boy to negotiate your taxi fare!
Or cycle like the backpackers!

Seriously though it seemed like everywhere we went we were being ripped off by the tuktuk drivers.... even the guys on Silom/Sathorn are not that bad... 100B to get someplace, 400B to get back!

[cottmann]

Gone Fishing.....Im in awe of your knowledge of Norwegian children's literature. And I dont have any serious problems involving those two guys! As for Ikarus/Icarus, I am not quite sure if you are referring to the poor guy who got burnt, or if there was a poster here bearing that name. Like most of you guys here, I did get burnt a couple of times, but I licked my wounds and tried to live happily ever after.

So, Karius, are you a self-proclaimed troll - tooth troll, that is?

Karius . . . 'Ikarus' is one of the most bad-tempered, humourless and self-important SOB's (worse than Homintern in fact!) to call himself a member of this (or any other) message board. I congratulate you for not being him. :cheers:

Cheers ...

What, worse than me?? ( a purely rhetorical question)

And Karius, I hope you enjoy your hols - my Norwegian troll, collected after a trip across the Hardangerj├╕kulen glacier many moons ago, now carries a Nepalese flag and many memories, so not all trolls are bad ones!