After a fun night with all sort of flying insects and crawling bugs in Rivertime Resort and Ecolodge, we moved back to Vientiane town and checked into Vayakorn Guesthouse which we had booked online.

We read many good reviews about Vayakorn Guesthouse which generally credit the inn’s cleanliness and good service. The key criteria that I look for when choosing a budget guesthouse is always the cleanliness. One of the reviewers actually said that he stayed in Vayakorn Guesthouse with his whole family for 2 weeks and they were happy with it. So I guess we couldn’t go wrong with this place.

The room rate was reasonably priced as well at only USD30 for a double room. Well, one has to take note that the guesthouses in Vientiane are generally not cheap, unless you opt for a dorm and share your room with other guests.

The Vayakorn Guesthouse is located in the centre of Vientiane’s tourist and business district, which gives it a good advantage over other competitors. We took a tuk-tuk from Rivertime Resort and got off the tuk-tuk in the town. We then walked for 15 minutes to get to Vayakorn Guesthouse while enjoying the view in Vientiane. Along the way, we checked out almost all the guesthouses and hotels we passed to ensure that we didn’t miss any nice accommodation with affordable rates. After personally visiting most of the hotels on the way to Vayakorn, Lao-Paris hotel was the only one that we considered as a backup plan in case Vayakorn didn’t turn out to be as expected. The rest of the hotels/guesthouses were either not worth the rate or kind of run down.

After about 30 minutes walk (15 minutes distance plus 15 minutes visiting hotels), we finally found Vayakorn Guesthouse. We were welcomed by warm greetings from the receptionist. The guesthouse wasn’t grand at all but it had a family ambience. It’s unexpectedly clean and we were even required to take off our shoes at the staircase in order to access the upper floors. We were brought to visit the room and we were quite satisfied with the room for its cleanliness and brightness. There were sufficient windows to bring in the sunshine. When we were about to pay, I saw brochures on Vayakorn Inn, the new branch of Vayakorn, which is just one street behind Vayakorn Guesthouse.

Vayakorn Inn, as suggested by its name, is a higher-end guesthouse. It was built in early 2009 and managed by the same owner of Vayakorn Guesthouse. Since the room rate in Vayakorn Inn was only USD5 more than the room rate in Vayakorn Guesthouse, we decided to take a quick look–it was just aroud the corner from where we were. It turned out to be completely out of our expectations, Vayakorn Inn is worth every single cent of the additional USD5. The photos taken as shown below say it all.

Very new building which looks like a countryside apartment

I love how they decorate the building with greenery and flowers. I immediately fell in love with the place before even stepping into the building.

Indo-Chinese style interior design. It’s like a mini 5-star hotel.

Very cozy lobby with a big TV and comfortable couches. I especially love the brightness of the room and its spotless cleanliness.

There is no doubt at all it’s definitely a 5-star quality room. Look at the bed, how cozy! Look at the floor, so glossy! The floor is so clean and the gloss so shiny and smooth I almost slipped several times when wearing socks. This is the first time I felt so comfortable walking with bare foot in the hotel/guesthouse.

I like the color of the wooden furniture too.

We were lucky enough to get the corner room with 2 huge windows that made the room so bright and cheerful.

Don’t you love its bathroom too?

Don was using the computer in the lobby to browse the net. Internet usage is free!! It’s definitely an added value for the stay.

Feel like reading a good book under the sun with a cup of aromatic coffee? This place is perfect for that.

For the price we paid, I can’t express how much I love the place. Even though it doesn’t have the facilities that most hotels offer, like a swimming pool, business centre, gym, bar, and so on, it doesn’t matter because I do not need these facilities for a few days stay. Most of the time I would be outdoor visiting places anyway. So Vakayorn Inn, a mini 5-star hotel, is just perfect for us.

So we ditched Vayakorn Guesthouse and checked in Vayakorn Inn. One more big surprise about Vayakorn Inn, with only USD1.5 per person, you get an awesome breakfast like this ~~

American breakfast with a 6-inch baguette, eggs, sausages, ham, and unlimited coffee and cordial. I love their western style tableware, it made me feel like I was in a 5-star restaurant enjoying a 5-star breakfast.

Oh, we ended our breakfast with healthalicious fruits!

~*~ Overall Ratings of Vayakorn Inn: ~*~

Room - Love it! 5 out of 5 stars

Cleanliness - Floors so smooth, you can skate with socks! 5 out of 5 stars

Service - Not sure why all the receptionists are guys. They are polite and speak relatively fair English. They even kept apologizing because the stray dogs on the street were barking at night,  interrupting the guests. I thought it had nothing to do with them. 5 out of 5 stars.

Business Service – All I need is internet access. And since Internet access is free, I will give them 5 out of 5 stars.

Food – They only provide breakfast. Since the breakfast is dirt cheap, with only USD 1.5 per pax for the fair amount of food, I will give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Surroundings – Needless to say, as depicted in the pictures, 5 out of 5 stars.

We paid only USD38 (USD35 for one night stay and USD3 for the breakfast for 2) and we received 5-star accommodation. Lovely experience!

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p.s. I have just made a reservation in Sunway Hotel in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, and it is only USD41 per night with breakfast included. Sunway Hotel in Pulau Pinang is a 4 stars hotel with the standard facilities, i.e. swimming pool, gym, bar, business centre, etc.  So now I change my opinion that Vayakorn Inn is actually quite expensive. Nonetheless, I still like the place and I had a pleasant stay there.

Sunway Hotel Website: http://georgetown.sunwayhotels.com/

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Where is Vayakorn (Excerpt from Vayakorn Website):

Vayakorn is located in the centre of Vientiane’s tourist and business district – within walking distance of many historical sites including the ancient temples and a museum, the Mekong River and numerous dining and shopping areas.

Hotel Address: 091 Nokeo Khummane Road

Getting there: Located on the corner of Settathirath Road, Vayakorn Guesthouse is easily accessible from both the airport and Friendship Bridge.  A taxi from the airport will cost USD6 and from the Friendship Bridge approx USD6-8.

• vientiane-city-map.jpg (199.23 KB)Vientiane City Map
  

Distance to attraction points:

• Nam Phou Fountain 0.50km
  
• Bus Station 1.50km
  
• Thalat Sao (Morning Market) 1.50km
  
• Patuxai Monument 2km
  
• That Luang 3km
  
• Wattay International Airport 5km

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More information:

Vayakorn Official Website ~> http://vayakorn.jimdo.com/

Tripadvisor Reviews of Vayakorn ~> Click Here

Recommended Website to look for Budget, Middle-Range and Top End hotels in Laos ~> http://www.vientiane-hotel-link.com/