Hotels in Mandalay

(1)Grand Park
Large, empty hotel. Strange payment arrangement.
The check-in was quick as no one else there. The staff were friendly. They took our passports and we had to ask for them
back later that day. They didn't seem to know they had them and found them on the reception desk. The room was large
with great views of the city. The hotel has been newly purchased, and though it was luxurious, it needs updating in small
areas. The breakfast food was good but there were too many staff to guests ratio in the large dining room you felt a bit
uneasy. The location isnt quite the city centre. We were unsure we had pre-paid or not and they didn't ask us on check-in so
we thought we would pay on check-out like some other hotels. However they rung us at 10pm the night before and asked
us to come to reception and settle the bill. We explained that we were in bed ready to go to the sleep, so they asked to come
up, which they. They also only wanted cash, so we had scramble around for that. Inexperience? Could be a really good
hotel.
(2)Triumph Hotel
Triumph Hotel Mandalay has been established since 2014. Triumph Hotel Mandalay (#2016 Travelers' Choice Winner &
Certificate of EXCELLENCE) is a great choice for accommodation when visiting Mandalay. Located only 10 minutes
away from downtown Mandalay and other main attractions in Mandalay region, the location of our hotel is coined as “the
silent zone” for its peaceful setting and quiet neighborhood. We happily offer transportation arrangements and tour guides
to all of our guests. We offer 3 room variations to suit all types of travellers. Our hotel consists of 46 wood-floored rooms
in total; we have 18 villa junior suites, 18 villa deluxe rooms, and 10 economy rooms. Our economy room can
accommodate 1 guest per room, while the villa junior suites and the villa deluxe rooms can accommodate up to 2 guests
per room. The villa junior suite and the villa deluxe room are our best selling rooms for their spacious environment as well
as their close proximity to our swimming pool and restaurant. Each room comes with a purchasable Longyi, a traditional
Burmese skirt, so guests may have accessibility to traditional clothing while in Myanmar. Our poolside restaurant serves
awide variety of food ranging from traditional Burmese dishes to modern European cuisine. We provide a complimentary
breakfast that is served daily from 6:30am-10am for our guests. In the evenings from 5:30pm-6:30pm, guests are made
available to complimentary free flow cocktails followed by a Myanmar traditional dance and puppet show. Guests are also
encouraged to visit our Spa which offer international standard therapies such as facial massages, foot massages, back
massages, oil massages, and traditional massages. Our gym is located one floor above our Spa with amenities open from
11:30 am to 10 pm (8 pm for swimming pool.). Please book our hotel with confidence, as your comfort is our priority. Our
Neighborhood Our hotel is 10 minutes away from downtown Mandalay and situated in quiet neighborhood of Mandalay.
We are also surrounded by a few well-known local restaurants, which are favored by both locals and foreigners. A few
restaurants we recommend are ‘A Little Bit of Mandalay,’ ‘Too Too Restaurant,’ ‘Unique Myanmar’ and ‘Green
Elephant.’ All information of these restaurants can be found at our front desk. What is Myanmar known for? Myanmar is
also known as Burma as well as Golden Land. The three biggest cities are Nay Pyi Taw the capital of Myanmar, Yangon
previous capital of Myanmar and Mandalay last resident of Kong Bong kingdom. The most attractive landmark in
Myanmar is Shwedagon, which is located in Yangon, the last resident capital of Kong Bong dynasty kingdom which is
located in Mandalay and Bagan the ancient kingdom of Myanmar. Myanmar is known for ancient kingdom, pagodas and
sophisticated traditions as well as its cuisine. Local landmarks around Mandalay Region: Our hotel also offers tour options
to few local attraction places around Mandalay such as Mandalay Hill, Mahamuni Buddha statue, U Pein Bridge and
traditional silk weaving cottage. Visitors are also encouraged to visit ancient cities of Amarapura, Inwa (Ava), Sagaing,
Mingun, Kyaukse and Mackkhayar.
Old, run-down hotel.
Old, run-down hotel, next to a construction site and far from the sightseeing locations. The staff was friendly and the food
was also acceptable. But you can find way better hotels in Myanmar for similar price
Dear zazabo0906,
Mingalabar!
We are very disappointed to hear that you weren't satisfied with our location. Our hotel is set in 3.5 acre and situated on
main road 26th(B) road. Most of the our guests, they like our environment because of very quiet area. And then, next to
construction is not distrubance our hotel area, because they are not doing heavy construction.
Our hotel is just 5 to 10 minutes drive to Royal Palace, The World biggest Book and Shwe Nandaw Monastery. Despite
this, we hope to be able to welcome you back on return visit to Mandalay.
With best regards,
The Management
Triumph Hotel, Mandalay
09777655593
Noise and little privacy
I stayed one night on vacation and during it I switched rooms.
I booked deluxe vila junior suit with specific request to be away from the pool and reception and extra quite room. I did not
get what I asked at first, which I wonder why as after many hours without sleep and many calls later, I finally was able to
sleep as I was moved to a quite room.
The room was clean and basic and the food was ok. The not so good part is that from one window I saw inside the next
room which is maybe 2 meters away and from the other window I can see everyone that walks to and from their room.
The music from the pool and crackers games from the room across got them finally, after a few calls, they changed my
room to the room at the far end of the hotel.
I checked out the next day and moved to another hotel in mandalay
Very disappointing
Firstly this hotel does not warrent a four star status. Chose this hotel from the TA comments but have to say very
disappointed and l feel photos make it look better than it is. There is not a comfortable seat in the whole hotel. Hard upright
chairs even to be found on what is supposed to be a patio at the bedroom. We were upgraded but from what l could see
from open doors thers is not much difference from the room origionally booked. They are over furnished with useless
pieces of furniture and no drawers or suitable units to put clothes during our 7 day visit apart from a hanging rail. A/C is
adequate but not brilliant. Bathrooms large with good water pressure but horrified at the standard of towel. They were grey,
often stained and twice l had frayed and holed bath sheets. The bathrobes again grey in colour. Looks like they have been
in use since the opening of the hotel in 2014. Breakfast adequate needs imagination. Nightly dance/puppet show boring as
it is the same every night could be reduced to 3 times a week. Swimming pool OK for the size of the hotel but needs
maintaining. Quality of water was poor and became more cloudy everyday we stayed. Finally day before we left something
was being done. Hard loungers around the pool with no cushions ..how do you relax on those! Location of the hotel is not
close to the town at all however is close to some of the main tourist sights so you either eat in the hotel at night or pay
about 7 dollars to go to town, as there are no restaurants or little bars within walking distance of the hotel. Be careful of the
taxi drivers that wait outside they will try and rip you off. One redeeming factor which we will agree with all other reviews
the hotel staff especially in the restaurant area are super friendly. Can also suggest you book a driver called Phoe Thar for
your trips as a private driver. He works from the hotel and you negotiate the trips with him usually 15 to 20 dollars US
depending on the length of day (3 to 5 hours). The hotel has his number but he can be contacted on 09-402576829.
(3) Hotel Sahara
Noisy but good service
I visit every month Mandalay and try various hotels. This one was the noisiest and smallest so far since 1year. But location,
price are excellent and staffs are helpful, friendly. You can enjoy riverside walk by the ancient palace.
Just OK - wouldn't stay again
We stayed here with two friends and so had two rooms. Our room was quiet at night but noisy in the morning with the call
to mosque, etc. Our friends' room was really noisy from street noise AND the bathroom was extremely stinky with a heavy
smell of sewage from the drains.
Honestly, I expected better from this hotel given the reviews. The location was fine, nothing special, but the whole hotel
felt crowded. The breakfast is served in the lobby and was bland and unremarkable. Everything was lukewarm and the
eggs were very undercooked.
The bed was comfortable although the room was on the small side. The TV rarely worked (not a big deal but just so you
know). We had a European style shower (shower head with a bathtub) and it was very uncomfortable for western people as
it was super small and awkward.
Staff were friendly but we made all our arrangements through the nearby travel agent Nice Style, whose service was
outstanding.
To be frank, I think you can do a lot better for your money. We were disappointed given the good reviews
Tiny room, aircon would not handle May heat, but good service
This hotel is located just southwest of the old walled city. Our room was clean, but somewhat small. The little space it had
was not very well distributed. Still, believe it or not, the air conditioning would simply not handle the heat of May and any
shower would flood the bathroom and half of the room. WIFI connection was far from good and breakfast below average,
as it did not offer real coffee (only instant coffee!). That being said, staff was very nice and helpful (as, in fact, is pretty
much everyone in Myanmar). There will always be at least three people to service you. At least price was very reasonable.
(3) Yandabo Home is ready to introduce a unique Hospitality concept in Myanmar, where the connection with an
untouched reality marks the wonder of an everlasting memory. Staying at Yandabo Home unlocks the opportunity for the
guests to embrace a new kind of journey; the one that connects different worlds and softly blends them in what can be
defined as real discovery: walking among the villagers' houses and watch them patiently working the clay, sitting on the
river's shore and be charmed by the colors of sunset, traveling by boat to a neighboring farmers' village and feel that
perfection in the balance among mankind and nature.
(4)Mandalay City Hotel
Hugely disappointing
Having been recommended this property by a top U.K. Travel agent we were very much looking forward to staying here.
However a big but.....it sadly doesn't work.
The staff were noticeably absent...the office is just a desk underneath the building. In several occasions I went looking for
people. It felt abandoned! It was not like the place was full. I believe only a couple of rooms were occupied.
We had a trip booked to take the boat across the river( included) only to find that they wanted to charge an extra 60 dollars
for a short journey,..so we walked to the local village.
Electricity frequently failed...at night it was quite frightening as there was no means of communication with staff in case of
emergency. I honestly thought the staff had gone home!
Breakfast was ok...but not a huge choice.
Rooms sparse , no tea facilities nor fruit.
I think as a place to stay at this cost they need a rethink. It's a beautiful building , but that's I'm afraid is the best thing about
it
(4) Mandalay City Hotel is an urban resort hotel that addresses the needs of value-orientated business and leisure travelers.
We have undertaken to renovate the interior of all rooms and works have started from May to August. This renovation
works include installation of new air conditioners, closet and luggage rack, double layer curtains, furniture. All bedding
amenities have been replaced with new ones. The toilet designs are new with new tile walls and floors fitted with up to
date showers, basins and commodes. For security and safety of guest's rooms, we have installed a new "Card Lock
System". The interior walls have been repainted to give a more friendly touch with some artistic figures and photos. A new
lift has been installed for the comfort of guests staying at the upper floors
Back yard place with hospital charme
The entrance raised high expectations.
The Lobby and the Restaurant were really a disappointment. Steril, no charme, uncomfortable chairs and bad lighting.
Our room on the first floor was nice at first sight. A look out of the window made us speechless. We literally looked direct
an roof tiles. Never had a room with that bad view. On our 2 nd check in we insisted on a better room and really thi time
we could enjoy daylights
Exploring the rough neighborhoods is not really fun. Would definitely rate it 2 star out of our experience
Dear Kurt G,
Greetings !!!
Thank you very much for your time to review about your recent stay at our hotel.
Regarding the view, there are some rooms with garden view and some with bad view in our hotel. We usually assign the
rooms with good view if we have prior request. Pls. accept my sincere apology for any inconvenience caused. Your
comments will be brought into our immediate action and improvement.
We hope to welcome you back again in the future.
Best regards with
Mandalay City Hotel
Bad Hotel. Bad service in a weird location.
The hotel rooms are character less. The doormen are clueless and refused to help me get a bike taxi. Even when booking a
room there, the receptionist told me that there are no rooms available because she didn't want to sell rooms and asked to
call yangon number which didn't reply after office hour. There was no one physical to help when I need to book urgently.
They charged me for staining the pillow case with hair color which I was not charged at Yangon at Sakura Residence as
they were able to bleach them. Mandalay City didn't even help to bleach them and made money out of this.
The point is that I made frequent trips to Mandalay for business and personal reasons every month. This hotel's service is
bad compared to those that I had stayed in the past including those 35 USD per night hotel. I never have problems in any
other hotel except this one. My family owned a travel agency and I work for an international company where we are
considering various hotel for our company visits which the hotel might benefit from it every few thousands a week. And I
am not considering this one for sure. I urge everyone to choose any other hotel except this shortsighted low service hotel.
One of the worst properties in Myanmar
I booked from Booking.com. Normally the credit card information is taken so that hotel can charge the customer in case of
no show. In this hotel, to my surprise, even before my arrival, they took money from card and upon asking the reason for it,
they simply said it was company policy.
One of my colleague booked a room on phone. When he checked in around 11pm at night, he had to wait more than half an
hour and then they had to put him in a different room. It did not end there. Next day morning, the reception asked him to
pay extra as they had upgraded him. Really funny,eh? The hotel had upgraded him because they could not provide the
room type selected by him.
Rooms are pretty run of the mill types, breakfast so so.
There are several options in Mandalay far better than this at the same price. Avoid if possible
Standard generic hotel, nice garden area, but only place in Myanmar we felt overcharged.
The entry way, garden and pool area are very attractive, and the staff are all welcoming and friendly. However, because of
the lift placement, you have to climb at least one flight of stairs each time you go to and from your room. The room is fine,
a standard generic hotel room. We ate at the restaurant both nights we stayed here because there weren't many/any other
options within walking distance. The food was tasty, service in the restaurant was good, however the menu was priced in
Kyat and we were surprised to be charged in US dollars on check out at a rate of 1:1, so the meals were charged at about
30% more than the menu suggested. To add insult to injury, they only take US cash, didn't have any change, and rounded
the bill up - having already added an unexpected 30%. We assume it is not the fault of the reception team that they have to
do this, and having read the responses from management to other reviews below, we don't expect much to change.
Dear PhillipaandGeoff,
Thank you for sharing a review. We are delighted to read that you have enjoyed the room and restaurant.
Regards about menu price we only have a same layout in showing price with USD at our Food & Beverages Menu and if
you want to pay by cash we do accept USD or Kyats at our Reception / F&B cashier. We do not have any extra charges
accept 5 %Tax and 5 %service charge only we added on your Bill.
We have duly noted on your comment and will be taken into consideration for further improvements. Thank you for your
valuable feedback and we are looking forward to welcoming you back again soon!
Kind Regards,
Mandalay City Hotel Team.
Horrible smelling room
I would not recommend this hotel based on the horrible mold smell in our room. Everything else is basic and nothing
special but it's a 3- star property so that's ok, I guess. But that smell! Nice restaurant staff, though.
Dear trotamundos1954,
Thank you very much for taking time to write about your stay at Mandalay City Hotel. We are sorry to hear that the
horrible smell at your room which you not up to your expectations. We have shared with the team and your feedback will
be taken into consideration.
However we are glad that the rest of your stay was nice, and our team members were appreciate your positive feedback and
look forward to delivering further great hospitality .
Thank you and we look forward to welcoming you back soon!
Kind Regards,
Mandalay City Hotel Team.
Fell short
Average hotel but a host of minor problems makes me only rate it two stars. We ran out of TP every day. No bath matt or
face cloth in bathroom. Shower didn’t drain. One pillow per bed. Frosted exterior windows so no view. Rickety power
outlets so you have to prop up your plugs. Room safe not bolted down and small/light enough to tuck under your arm and
walk out of the room with. Costly dinner given the quality; even by Yangon standards. Very poor restaurant service: slow,
mistakes, etc. Hotels like this made us realize that we probably should have shelled out for the four-star tour package
instead of the three-star. At least the A/C worked.
Poor managament
The entrance of the hotel is nice and the location quite devent as well. Rooms very clean.
However, wifi barely working in the room and charged me 5$ for a lost simple standard plastic key.
Hotels who respect themselves don't charge for that, however 1$ could have been somehow acceptable (eventhough this
plastic keys are purchased for less than 50 cents).
When I asked to talk with the manager the staff said there is no one in charge and no one to talk with because it's weekend.
Are you not there for your clients during weekends or just lame excuse to avoid customer service?
Few improvements and you could have been worth a 4* rating.
More than underwhelmed
Let's keep this simple and short.
1) wifi didn't work, when it finally did at around midnight, It was slower than my 56K modem from back in the day.
2) AC didn't work. It's like the Indonesian jungle in the room, and when the "engineers" came, they worked outside with
the windows open and it was an open door policy for the mosquitos and other critters who love the lights.
3) The real hotel is a far cry from the pics. Be warned. Who ever they hired to take the pics are a real pro.
4) the bathrobe had a hole on the sleeve
Maybe it's because I had been spoiled in Yangon, but would strongly reconsider coming back to this establishment on my
next trip to Mandalay.
There are better options
The brochures and the initial first impression of this place were outstanding. Its has very pretty grounds and is definitely
the oasis it promises from the hustle and bustle of the street just outside. However, the facade is where it all ends. Inside
the "free" wifi is weak to non-existent so I checked that it does not have wifi, because for all practical purposes, there is no
dependable wifi here. The sheets and towels were old, worn, and dingy. The bathroom was really pretty, but you had to let
the water run for 15 minutes before you got hot water. Every noise in the halls echoes through the rooms. Then there's the
staff. Yikes. They barely spoke English and doubled or tripled the cost of services elsewhere. For example, other Myanmar
hotels with hail a cab for you. Here, they'll get you a cab but they'll double or triple the price of the cab as their fee. All
other Myanmar hotels I stayed in had a business center where I could get on the computer with pretty good internet as a
free service to guests, but not here, they charged for it. I got my own cab to the airport on the day I left, but the front desk
person came galloping out trying to charge me for it. The greed and poor service were almost comical.
Futhermore, this location is pretty awful. There's very little to walk to from here and the street out front is absolute chaos.
Find somewhere else to stay!
I was really disappointed by the Mandalay City Hotel and reading some of the reviews here I wonder if we have stayed at
the same hotel!
Good points: The room is nicely furnished but I have to agree with the previous poster about the stupid grey and dangerous
carpet in front of the bathroom - It is ugly and slippery!
The location in the centre of town is great and also the fact that it is an oasis when you step in off the street,
The staff are helpful although I do get the impression they are not really happy working there.
Bad points:
I have never heard of an hotel asking for a USD10 deposit when you ask for a 2nd room key, but here they do!! Why? Do
they think we are going to steal a room key?
No WiFi in the rooms - now we did know this when booking but thought at least that the WiFi in the lobby would be
reasonably fast and would at least work all the time - no, to both these points.
The lobby is under air-conditioned so if you do want to use the WiFI there be prepared to be hot and sticky after about 5
minutes.
The air-conditioning in the room is inadequate - even at 16 degrees the room takes 24 hours to cool down and if you only
have 1 room key, this is just not possible!
The lobby is a very sad and sorry place to be welcomed - the decoration is nearly non existent and the place feels like an
airport departure lounge - how hard is it to add some nice decorator touches?
No hot water in the room - the cold water runs warm and after several request for the hot water to be fixed, there was no
improvement at all, even though we were told it had been fixed.
Breakfast buffet is really terrible and if you do ask for a ham and tomato omelette to be made for you, be specific in that
you would like the ham and tomato to actually be in the omelette and not next to it. Croissants are dry and feel as though
they are a few days old, especially when they are inadequately heated. The bananas are good though!
My advice is to look around at hotels in Mandalay before looking here - I think this place is going downhill fast. There is at
least one hotel in the area that is new and haa good air-conditioning and super fast internet available in the rooms.
Would I stay here again? Certainly not.
Disappointing
This was a disappointing hotel in central myanmar. The wifi only works (poorly) in the lobby area and the breakfast buffet
was absolutely horrible. Although it was clean, the hotel isnt very close to anything of interest and the quality of services
was poor. Look for a nicer hotel to get better value for money (even at the cheap price that this offers)
Unpleasant stay
As part of a tour package, I had a two night stay and a one night stay within a 12 day period. Both stays were below
expectations. The room size was small, paint was old and dirty, bathroom tile was old and dirty, carpet was old. Bed sheets
were clean. Hotel internet connectivity was terrible. It was suppose to work in the lobby. But on both stays, I came down at
10pm, midnight, 3am and 5am and connectivity was unusable. Mosquitos were eating me alive while in the lobby. Asking
the front desk to reboot the router did not solve the problem. Then magically, at 5:30am (on both stays), full bandwidth
occurred for about 15 minutes before it reverted back to slow, intermittent connectivity level. The restaurant menu variety
was good and reasonably priced but service was friendly but very very slow. On my second stay, there was no hot water
for a 5am shower. The 5am morning prayer was loud but didn't affect me as I was already awake. But after calling the front
desk, it seemed like the hot water switch was powered on as there was instantious hot water. I would not recommend this
hotel even at the low price. The hotel's lcation was not important to me.
Just average
Rooms are functional."bar" is a big disappointment with just four seats almost in the middle of the restaurant. Food OK. Be
careful of a switch inside the fridge cupboard. If accidentally knocked It can switch off all power.
Overrated, tiny/smelly room, 5am prayer wake up!
We were very disappointed as we had a tiny room and smelly room for 100usd!
It is a place for mass tourism, impersonal. Breakfast good but in a big impersonal room.
At 5am, we were awake by the prayer call.
We do not recommend this place!
Very poor and tired hotel
The entrance is the only thing that is nice of this hotel.
The room is very old and facing other people flat. Close enough to hear their conversation. Very poor selection if tv
channel.
Hair dryer not provided. You had to request for one and you are lucky if its work. Mine broke off after one minute. No
replacement as there is no extra hair dryer available.
The worst I've stay so far through out my 6 days visit
Internet is very slow and disconnected every few minutes. Only available in the hotel lobby.
Be ready to climb up stairs to your room on 2 or 3 floor as there is no lift provided. Guest with special need, be sure to let
the hotel knows about it.
Staff are very unfriendly....this hotel need a new wave of change to be able to stay comparative.
Not happy!
Want to be woken up by a rooster at 4am followed by a call to prayer at 5am, walk up 2 flights of stairs because there is no
lift? Then try this hotel. Rooms were clean and tidy but right next door to a Mosque (and obviously some chickens). There
were 9 in our group and we were all put on the top floor - walking up and down stairs was unexpected as some of us had
neck and back conditions which were aggravated by this. None of us would stay in this hotel again.
Early riser hotel
1> You WILL be woken at FIVE AM by the amplified calling to prayers from the nearby Mosque. This worked well for us
on the 3rd day as we had an early morning flight but not so well on the other days.
2> The Hotel is in Mandalay, Burma/Myanmar but if you pay in local currency then cop an 11 per cent surcharge. The
hotel really only wants $US.
3> The hotel opens up like an oasis by entering a tunnel from a fairly gritty part of town. The second tunnel is locked with
tall gates and blocked by cars at the street exit. Very bad if there was a fire or "other" emergency.
4> The hotel is air-conditioned and has a clean shady pool for a swim to cool down.
5> The internet is slower than dial up and would be impossible for a business traveler. The internet access drops out 2 to 3
times in a 30 minute session. I waited for another hotel before I sent this report.
6> The room safe is attached to the back of the wooden wardrobe and the whole safe could be removed quickly and taken
out of the hotel. The hotel does not offer a hotel safe at reception as an alternative.
7> My room safe had a flat battery message (lo bat). I went down to reception to ask them to replace the batteries and they
told me I was mistaken because none of the safes had batteries and to go away. I had to get this creep to come up to the
room to have a look for himself. No apology of course. A lot of training required on the customer service skills of the front
desk.
8> The rooms are on OK size and clean. (this is the reason they did not get a one star).
Old and overestimated Hotel
Two things we enjoyed: the nice entrance through the small lake and the internet wi-fi in the lobby.
Negative points: expensive hotel for what you get; old room; extremely old bathroom with urgent need of renovation; very
tough mattress; unbelievably uncomfortable pillows. Unfortunately, we didn't enjoy our stay here.
Hotel in very poor condition....
Rooms poorly maintained. Poor housekeeping. Pool condition " milky water"....Breakfast quality poor and cheap. The
Manager stays away from the operation. Security and Bell service not welcoming and not interested in serving
guests....Will not use this hotel anymore ..Plumber and electricity room installation is in need of maintenance.
Not much to praise here
Poor rooms, poor power supply, noisy and we were glad to move on. The only redeeming features are location, the pool
and wifi.
Room location is dire, either 'call to prayer' loudspeaker which seems to be in your room or the generator during power
cuts which feels like it is under your pillow.
Located on a busy street it is good to get out on the street and look around, a very nice ice cream shop close by.The pool is
small but cool and very welcome on a hot day, and there are many of those! Wifi in the lobby is free and quite good around
5pm and between power cuts, you occasionally have to ask reception to reset it.
bring earplugs and stain remover!
The hotel is situated in the Indian area of Mandalay, in the courtyard of an old bus station, surrounded by a few shops
selling wheels and wires.
First impression is nice and it looks quiet and peaceful, the staff was very nice and helpful.
Our room was at the second floor (still no elevator and stairs similar to stairs in the Netherlands - very tall), the view was
disappointing (roof covering the entrance, air condition) and it was a little dark. Interior was basic. In the bathroom it's a
good idea to cover the drain at the floor with a towel, otherwise you will hear every water from you or your neighbors
flowing and in the morning it can also get a bit smelly.
Night time was the worst time!! Red, brown and black stains on the bed-linen, every 5 to 10 minutes the fridge was
buzzing and whenever the aircon restarted after a power blackout it beeped. Power blackouts happen not only one time at
night! Every time someone took a shower or used the toilet, you could hear the water or whatever liquid it was flowing
down somewhere behind the wall. The second night was so much better, because of the beautiful earplugs in my ears!
Breakfast and dinner were average, but not bad.
WiFi is free, but don't expect high speed internet. It's a little slow and you have to re-connect a lot of times. Sometimes it
just doesn't work, neither on your mobile phone, nor on the computer aka the hotel's "business center".
Guess there are better hotels in Mandalay.
Foto shop hotel without elevator
Brochure looks wonderfull. Rather disappointing hotel. Booked a luxury room, arrived late in hotel
and got room 501, fifth floor, without elevator. Rooms are really outdated and need urgent
refurbish. You get an automatic wake up call at 5.20 AM from the Mosque loudspeakers, 10 meter from the hotel. Strange
experience. Internet in the lobby goes at a pace from 1 kps, so opening your mail takes 20 min. The Breakfast is decent and
always a smiling service.
Not up to Standard
After such a wonderful time at the Aureaum Palace in Bagan we came down to earth with a thump at The Mandalay City
Hotel.
Staff were surly, there was no tonic at the bar, the rooms were in need of a revamp. The restaurant served a Tom Kha soup
which tasted of nothing and when I sent it back the waiter and chef seemed to be having a discussion on whether I knew
what I was talking about (As both my wife and myself are both Chefs WE DO !!) They then tried to charge me for the soup
and were not very pleasant when I refused trying to barter with me on a price.
Rooms were basic and not very clean. There was no outlook from the window which lokoed out onto a walkway to the
reception.
Breakfast was minimal and again served WITHOUT a smile lukewarm tea and certainly not up to minimal expectations,
I posted ten or twelve postcards at the reception, they charged me for the stamps and promised to stamp and post them, but
none have arrived in the UK as of yet, almost 10 weeks later, so be warned post them yourself if you want them to get
home.
I definitely would not recommend this hotel if staying in Mandalay
Well, it is convenient.
We stayed at this hotel for one night due to a cancelled flight. It is convenient to explore Mandalay city centre. It is tucked
away from the noise of traffic and our room, without any kind of pleasing view, was quiet if basic in its amenities. There is
no lift, wifi does not really work and the breakfast was pretty basic. If you are stuck in Mandalay the hotel is acceptable but
there are better ones.
Impressive entrance to a mediocre hotel.
After a longish drive from the airport, you arrive at what at first seems an oasis in the city of Mandalay. This feeling is
short lived as the rooms, breakfast and service are way below the standards in other hotels in Burma.
Our rooms were on the 4th floor, note there is no lift. They were cramped, dated and with poor a/c. The breakfast was the
worst of our entire trip, cold buffet items (some indefinable).
They charge for everything so be careful and the only supposed freebie was the Wifi which didn't work anywhere in the
hotel including reception (but it's ok because you can PAY to use their business centre computer).
Mandalay is a difficult city to like at first but there are gems under the surface to be found (teak monastery being a
highlight).
The only up side was the location, which was in walking distance of a number of sites/restaurants.
One needs to be lucky to get an OK room in this hotel!!!
One needs to be lucky to get an OK room in this hotel. The groundfloor rooms on the entrance side are very dark and you
get woken up by the tour coaches which depart at undue hour. On the other sides the rooms are facing a wall. Upstairs you
are 10 meters away from the loudspeakers of a mosque... Staff is poorly trained. Few staff members are making an effort
others are damn right rude.
Try somewhere else, tired hotel
The only benefit is that this hotel is set off of the main street and the major traffic in the area. Oh, and the sheets seemed
clean. However, rooms that overlook the "garden" also overlook the parking area and if there is a tour bus idling (like in
our case), it's very loud. Rooms are tired and in major need of a rehab. We were on the top floor in the hot season and AC
did not work well and power keep going off, It was sweltering. We didn't use the pool, though there is one. There is a
breakfast buffet, but we felt that it was probably better than average on the night we were there due to the large French tour
staying at the hotel. Wi-fi is in lobby, but we didn't use it. There is also a pay computer station as well. The area around
this hotel is commercial, car part / house part sellers and the only restaurant our driver knew was Min Min, a Chinese place
that was really uninspired. Otherwise, when the sun goes down there is a sidewalk evening Indian place as well--turn left at
the entrance, on first street across is Min Min, on the same street corner is the pop-up PM Indian place. I would really
recommend finding another hotel in an area of town where there are restaurants and an option to walk around. We couldn't
wait to leave and were glad we were in town only 1 night. *Also, they are building another wing in the front of this hotel;
there is some construction noise from that, so you may want to ask for a room away from that if you have a reservation.*
Stay here if you want to be woke up at 3:38 a.m.
Mandalay City Hotel lies in the center of Mandalay a little back off a busy road. The hotel grounds look up to date and
nice, swimming pool is peaceful (does not get much sun) and the buffet breakfast is decent. But that's all the hotel has
going for it. My hotel in Yangon called the day before I was to fly to Mandalay to make a reservation for two nights. They
confirmed the first night and said when I show up, they have availability and will confirm me for the second night. I
arrived the next day around noon to find out they could only confirm me for one night and not the second. I noticed a big
tour group was staying at the hotel, maybe they wanted to accommodate then over me. I informed the hotel manager what I
was told the day prior, but he could care less. In the end I had no problems just staying one night because the rooms are
outdated and the bathroom had mold on the shower curtain and little holes on the tiled shower wall. There is a Mosque
behind the hotel so being woken up at 3:38 a.m. for the call for prayer was a lot of fun. The hotel charges to use their
internet and to make local calls after. I would not stay here again and would strongly suggest looking else where for
accommodations.
Hotel needs to focus on client experience and service
Just spent ten days in Myanmar. Overall, the other four hotels in Yangon, Inle Lake, Mt. Popa and Bagan provided very
customer centered attention and service. The Mandalay City Hotel front desk staff was surly and uncooperative. This is a
five floor hotel without an elevator in a very congested part of city. There was no air conditioning till a major repair was
completed at 4 AM on the first night. There was no apology from the Duty Manager the next morning even though he
mentioned he had heard about the all night fiasco.
The room was clean though spartan. The Restaurant provided good buffet breakfasts and dinner though the staff was
somewhat inattentive.
Overall, all visitors to Myanmar should remember to bring crisp, totally unmarked, preferably unused dollar bills as the
slightest of creases/folds, pen markings, ink stains make it extremely difficult to be used. Currency conversion is a major
issue because of these circumstances peculiar/particular to Myanmar.
Overall, this is a country worth visiting for its cultural heritage as long as you are willing to be uncritical and apolitical.
You Decide
Ok its a relatively cheap hotel but on reflection next time we'll spend a little more for a hotel room. On arriving we we're
given a room with a view of a roof. Had to call reception to rid us of a lot of mosquito's in the room. Staff member on
arriving in the room gave a couple of spurts of the insect repellent and decided to leave. I Requested the repellent and
decided to do my own fumigation and we went out for a evening meal. On returning around 10 PM went to have a shower
>NO HOT WATER< One more call to reception sorry the Hot water is turned of to save energy, consequently we took
cold showers.Its up to you.
Very bad Hotel
We had booked through our agency Gulliver, but when we arrived the booking had not been transmited by their Yangon
office .
They tried to imposed us a dirty /smelly three beds bedroom for our family .
We had a very bad lunch in their restaurant waiting our agent to find an alternative hotel.
You have to be a cheap backpacker to go there. Why to go in the most polluted street of Mandalay ??? not even nice.
bad service and attitude... and a room with a view of the roof....
we had booked to stay at this hotel 6 weeks before we arrived and paid in advance asking for a room with a view, but quite.
We arrived late in the day and were given a room over reception with a view of reception's roof. quite literally all we could
see were roof tiles. We complained to the reception and were told they had no knowledge of the view request but as were
were late checking in - 5pm - we got the last room available. and that basically was the end of the conversation as far as
they were concerned. We spoke to the manager who was equally dismissive. I guess they assume you will not be going
back to Mandalay s why bother trying to be nice.... Had I not felt so tired I would have moved hotels I was so upset y the
hotel attitude and crappy room. We were supposed to be in a deluxe room - apparently because we had a table and i eve
suggested that they downgrade us to a small room with some natural light but this didn't get me anywhere either. Breakfast
buffet was ok.
OOh and there isn't a lift so that is something to think about if you aren't good with stairs.
OK lobby but pity about the room mosquitoes
This hotel is just borderline O.K. The lobby is fine for relaxing but the restaurant food rather poor...the hamburgers must
be the worst in Asia !! but the Thai food is reasonable but ultra spicy The bedroom had a lot of mosquitoes and once these
had been got rid of it was comfortable enough.
Summary ...fine for an overnight stopover but otherwise avoid.
(5) Ayarwaddy River View Hotel
is located on the bank of Ayarwaddy River,not so far from the downtown and guest can go most of the tour interesting
places within 15 minutes driving time. Guest are being served with complimentary free flow cocktail(Happy Hour) in
every evening and they can see the beautiful panoramic sunset view from our sky bar.Free Xylophone and Puppet show are
the special entertainment programs for the guests who stay within October to March. We also welcome outside guest to
join dinner and drinks at our sky bar. Thanks for taking your time to read our descriptions. If you have any
inconvenience,please let us know and if you satisfy for our service,feel free to share with your friends.
Not to recommend
Travelled a lot but this was far the worst neighborhood I ever landed at. It was sad to see the misery.
The hotel building was ok. The only one around.
Personnel didn’t comprehend a thing, answered “yes yes” but nothing got done. Couldn’t get a taxi or tuktuk. You
definitely need transportation as there are no other hotels, places to eat or things to see near by. Feel for this young crew
who seems so insecure at their job.
Not again
The hotel in general is ok but: how less responsibility to the local people and the environment does this managment has to
have to build a hotel directly in an area where you have a view of poverty. From the rooms and the rooftop bar you have a
view for the river as well as on families who do live on the streets. May be the hotel might change the name to „view of
povrty and pollution. Joachim Herold Germany
Who on Earth got the idea building a hotel here???
This is a complex review concerning the hotel and the area where it is, so it should be considered as a whole.
The hotel itself I'd give 4 bulbs, but the area should be -1, so cumulative it's 2 bulbs.
HOTEL - nice architecture and beautiful building. The lobby is nice and spacious, front staff very kind and polite. There
are five floors. Corridors up look little bit tired, but rooms are OK, big and very spacious. You have river and city view
rooms, both are OK. Comfy bed and pretty big bathroom with a tub which is already in need of renovation. Wifi in room
great, but the minibar fridge not cooling??? (on outside 40'C). AC also had some issues, but they fixed them.
Breakfast was great, good choice of all items and fantastic omelettes.
Biggest con concerning the hotel itself was the pool. It's on the ground floor, just by the noisy and very polluted street I
will describe later. It's secluded by a fence and some greenery but it hasn't any effect. The water was also unpleasantly
cold.
AREA - total DISASTER. Maybe it sounds inviting when you hear it's by the Ayarwaddy river, but believe me, it just
sounds. When approaching it with our driver I couldn't believe when he told us we've arrived, as the last 10 min we were
driving through a shanty town.
And yes, the hotel is in the middle of shanty town. Very dusty, noisy, no pavements, nowhere to go from the hotel makes it
the worst possible location. Thousands of people live in any material huts, tents and trucks around. They live and sell
something there, just by the river front, and all around the hotel. The hotel is the only solid material and above ground
building for miles around. There's a market place 200 met down with a fish section producing awful unbearable smell.
Spilled liquids and rubbish around require no sandals or slippers, but closed footwear.
One evening we dined at the 5th floor hotel terrace with really nice views of the river, but unbearable mosquitoes all
around, so we hardly waited to finish our meal. Food was average with higher hotel prices (in terms of Myanmar, but OK
prices for western standards). The other evening we went to a local restaurant by the river front, a mile away,
recommended by our tour guide. We were the only tourists there, had problems in ordering (literally no one speaks
English), but had a great delicious meal at the end for a bargain. The scenes along that route to the restaurant are for a
documentary, you can see part of them in photos I attach.
To conclude, due to the catastrophic area where it is, this is a hotel to avoid. Being by the Ayarwaddy it has a great
potential, but I don't see a rational time in the future when they're going to improve the entire area.
Dear our valuable guest B1714D,
Mingalarbar!
Warmly greeting from Ayarwaddy River View Hotel, Mandalay.Thank you for being our guest and we much appreciate to
receive your feedback letter via tripadvisor. We welcome your suggestion.
We got one information that is the area near our hotel will be develop in near future.
Our Government will maintain this area like other strand roads from other cities.
After reading your feedback, we know well what should need to improve our property. We will make sure to upgrade as
per your suggestions, furnishing, renovation and maintaining processes will be start first week of June.
We will care on pest control process more. We will check and control the quality of foods and beverage to match with
price. We reported that cases to our Management.
We do apologize for having some inconvenience while you staying in our hotel, If you tell that inconvenience while you
stay with us, we will be got a chance to solve to have your satisfactory.
We still hope to make you satisfy on your next stay and we would like to serve you as our guest again.
If you kind on us, it will be the greatest pleasure for us.Thanks for your suggestions on last time and hope to have more
further suggestion on next visit.
Have a great day!
Thanks and best regards,
Thet Htar San @ Sara San
Assistant Sales & Marketing Manager
This review is for the restraurant
We just had dinner at the restaurant and the beef burger I ordered was absolutely terrible. It wasn’t real beef, god knows
what it actually was. It was also very expensive, so for the price it’s pretty ridiculous not to offer real beef. My boyfriend
ordered pork and his was very dry and had no flavor. The hotel is nice and the staff are friendly, but the food is awful.
Dear Catherine,

Thank you for letting know the thing that make you satisfied on your stay and some unsatisfactory cases too. We order
domestic beef and pork from our reliable suppliers and the quality controllers from our hotel check it every day. We will
check it back and we will try the best to be better. We do apologize concerning the things you did not satisfy and we take
caring in special so that we can avoid that kind of guests unsatisfying. . We ensure to fulfill nice taste for all food and
beverage for all of guests in future. Hope to have a chance to serve you as our guest on your next visit to Mandalay.
Have a nice day!
Best regards,
Thet Htar San @ Sara San
Assistant Sales & Marketing Manager
Good for the most part , let down by single waitress
So we went here on our last evening for a couple of cocktails and some food ( we weren’t staying at this hotel ) . Food and
cocktails were good but not amazing and potentially a bit more expensive that other places ( to a point it’s expected since
it’s a hotel ) . Anyway I would have given 4 stars but I am giving 2 stars because of a single waitress who after we paid and
brought our change over literally stood half a foot next to me waiting for a tip ( I hadn’t even counted the change - for
reference I always tip at least 10% but this time I gave hardly anything just because it made us uncomfortable). I found this
rude especially in a hotel where from what I saw the majority of customers are western .
Dear Nick G,
Thank you for being our guest and letting know your feedback on tripadvisor.
Firstly, we do apologize for having some inconvenience while you came and joined for dinner. We shared and discussed
this with Management Team.
After checking to have a solution, it was misunderstanding between you and the waitress.
As she knew that you came from outside, she would like to know what can she do for you.If you needed more further
assistance for your transportation or some more information about our environment, she would like to help for that.
Really sorry to hear that you feel uncomfortable in this moment and we told the service team to take care while they
serving the guest.
We always upgrade our service and we ensure not to be the same manner in future.
Always welcome for your suggestion and thanks a again for your kindness.
We would like to see you again in our hotel on your next visit.
Have a nice day!
Best regards,
Thet Htar San @ Sara San
Assistant Sales & Marketing Manager
Bad exchange rate with them
I'm disappointed that the balcony view is not that great. It's a very small balcony. It has a net outside of balcony. Second,
they charged me additional 2.6% fee if I want to use credit card. Which hotel charges credit card fee? only this hotel.
Third, when I checked in, the staff didn't tell me they will charge on USD. So I exchanged money to local currency with a
pretty bad rate with them. On the evening I found out on the menu everything is on USD. So I tried to exchange back to
USD. But they won't give me the same rate. They gave me another pretty bad rate to exchange money back to USD.
Ridiculous.
Firstly, we would like to apologize for you had some inconveniences while you staying in our hotel. As rich of natural
resources, birds can be disturbance of the guests’ privacy, so that we keep them away with net cushions. We also reported
to Hotel’s BOD to discuss about the banking systems to encounter further situation. Thanks a lot for your suggestions and
warmly welcome to our hotel on your next time visit to Mandalay
Have a great day!
Dirty bathrooms and noisy street. Avoid this hotel
I am very disinclined to recommend this hotel. I have done many hotel reviews before on Trip Advisor and try to be
correct and fair in my assessment. This hotel was booked by someone else on my behalf, and I was unimpressed to say the
least. The rooms are large, but are not very clean, the beds are not comfortable, and there were (ugh) cockroaches
(seriously) running around my bathroom. The shower curtain was the dirtiest I had ever seen (see image attached). The
hotel is on a busy street. You can choose from the noise of traffic of the street, or the 24/7 chanting of the monks whose
monastery is a few yards away on the other side. I chose the monks. I had to sleep with the lights on to keep the
cockroaches at bay and got out of this hotel as soon as I could. The only reason that the hotel gets more than one star from
me is that the staff was friendly and tried as hard as they could to meet your needs. There is slow, free internet. There was
hot water.
Find another hotel in Mandalay. There are plenty of other choices.
Old fashioned hotel
Rooms are old en not very clean. Staff was very friendly and tried to do their best although their english was very poor.
Distance to the city centre is big. We were there at a windy night. The wind whistled around the hotel all night which keep
me awake most of the night.
Noisy
This hotel is great if you like 24 hour amplified Buddhist monks and barking dogs. Food so so, although roof top restaurant
might be nice for a sunset drink. Bed sheets grubby and well used. Inconveniently located....hmmm, maybe stay
somewhere else!
Very Noisy
We stayed in this hotel for three nights. We were part of a small tour group (8 people) and arrived a day earlier as the rest
of the group. I was worried because a lot of reviewers mentioned that it is a very noisy hotel. Let me tell you it IS a very
noisy (chanting monks, barking dogs, traffic) hotel especially at night. We ask if we can switch to a room that faces the
river/street but the ladies at the reception said it was not possible even if some rooms where empty and waiting for the next
guests. Also our tour agents tried to have them switch our rooms without any luck. Otherwise the reception staff was
friendly and was helpful in calling us a driver with a car for one afternoon.
The rooms and bathrooms are outdated but functional and the mattresses are very hard.
The only good part was the breakfast, with freshly cooked eggs, fruits, etc. The service staff was very friendly. We did not
use the pool however our friends did and she liked the refreshment.
Internet was not working in the room and worked in the lobby area.
As mentioned by others there is not a lot around. There is a restaurant on the river bank, it's a 10 minute walk on the main
road. We went down to the river banks and walked through the settlements there. This was quite interesting, everyone was
very friendly but it was devastating to see how little they have.
The rooftop bar / restaurant is nice and I'd say the best feature of the hotel. We had a beer up there after dinner, which was
nice. However it seems that all the groups which stay at the hotel eat there.
Noisy, uncomfortable and bathroom filled with cockroaches
The room started our nice, with the free whiskey sour on the roof for sunset. But, this was by far one of the worst hotels we
have stayed in.
The bed is rock hard, and so are the pillows.
The cockroaches kept coming out of the drain in the washroom at night.
Like other reviewers stated, the 4am chanting, barking dogs, and street noise will keep you up all night.
There are a total of15 light switches in the room, so good luck trying to figure out how to turn them on and off if you need
to go to the washroom at night.
Pay more money and get a nicer place. It is not worth it here.
Out of Place Hotel
I had stay in this hotel for 2 times. The first was a river view room but in turned out to be one floor above the main
entrance. Whatever view was blocked by the tree line on the opposite side of the road.
The second stay was a room facing the town. Upon drawing back the curtain of the room, a dead pigeon was found in the
anti roosting net setup by the hotel and had not been removed for some time.
This hotel is out of town area and would need to take a cab to experience downtown Mandalay
Only consolation may be the roof top bar to see the sunset but there are better sunset scenery in Bagan and Lake Inle. The
river banks offered nothing spectacular compared with the two places mentioned.
Don't expect to enjoy the 'River View' from here!
What a disappointment. Having read all the glowing information on the hotel's website, and particularly that it had this
wonderful roof deck, I chose this as my base to explore Mandalay.
Upon arrival, a relatively surly receptionist greeted me. When all the necessary documentation was completed, I noted that
the price now quoted was somewhat higher than the price offered to me in email correspondence from the reservation’s
office of the hotel. Begrudgingly, they lowered the price.
I was advised that there would be no internet for the day, which I accepted, as this was Burma, and I had been warned
about this. However, and as a result, I needed information as to things to do in Mandalay, so I asked said receptionist for
some tourist information. 'Oh, we have none'.
On to the roof deck: It turned out to be a large area covered with a bird dropping and nothing else. Gone were the tables,
white linen, and chairs proudly advertised on the website. So, I stood and tried to enjoy the sunset. I asked the waiter if I
could have a sundowner - to which he responded that this was not possible and that I would have to go down to the ground
floor for this. Sadly, they had also 'run out' of the ingredients for my cocktail I asked for.
Dinner was OK, but extraordinarily highly priced by Southeast Asian standards. On the second evening, the tablecloth was
still the one from the previous night - full of greasy marks. The dining room also seems to serve as the TV recreation room
for the staff - even during dinner time.
The following day, I asked to speak to either the owner or the general manager to discuss these and other issues concerning
the Hotel, but neither of them could make themselves available to meet.
The result? A sad and disappointing introduction to both Mandalay and Burma. I might add that the prices for
accommodation and food are far higher than in places such as Thailand and Cambodia. The locals have jumped on to the
bandwagon that tourism to the country is booming - and taking advantage of travelers. This does not bode well for a
sustained growth in the tourism sector in the future.
Oh, and did I mention earlier: When it came to pay the Bill, a further 5% was added to pay for 'credit card fees'.
Too dated and too noisy
We spent only one night at this hotel, on the way to Inle Lake. We had read some 'not-so-good' reviews, but there seemed
to be not many other options. Starting with the positive comments: good staff, quite welcoming; internet WiFi connection
is better than average; the rooftop restaurant offers reasonably priced food of decent quality. For the rest: rooms are very
dated and look old.The shower in our toilet did not even have curtains; the sink was so small.But for me, the worst
experience was the noise. The windows would let any possible noise go through.We had two rooms, and I asked to change
mine to 'city view' ( rather than 'river view', as the road facing the river was very very busy). Well, we still had dogs
barking all night and the sound of music. Our friend, staying in the river-view room, was waken up by very early morning
prayers sung through a loudspeaker. So, unless you do not care of old and noisy hotels, choose another accommodation.
Don't Let the Pictures Fool You
It starts with the location. It is on very, very busy street. The noise never stops. When folks in our group asked for a room
on the other side (away from the river) they were told it was even worse. Upon entering the hotel for the first time you are
welcomed by an employee with a tray of wet naps. They were obviously removed from the package and rolled
individually. That's an indication of the degree of service. In the room you find threadbare and stained towels. In our
bathroom they built a tiled moat around the tub. This left a 4" gap between the tub and the most so you could catch your
wet foot in it. It was tiled to make it even more slippery. We only got hot water after letting it run for over an hour. We
discovered this after starting the day with a cold shower. The sink aerator and the shower head were both clogged to the
point that only small sprays came out. The safe was locked when we arrived and numerous requests to have it opened went
unnoticed. The beds and pillows are extremely hard. All-in-all it was the worst hotel experience we have ever had and I
would highly recommend staying elsewhere.
Needs a Better Maintenance Staff
We spent 3 nights at the Ayarwaddy River View Hotel in Mandalay while on a bicycle tour of Myanmar. It is in
Myanmar’s second largest city and was the largest hotel we stayed in. Therefore, we had relatively high expectations of
things working. Sadly, we were disappointed and would rate this experience in the bottom half of all our Myanmar hotel
stays.
The bellman gave us a poor first impression with overly rough handling of our luggage. Shortly thereafter we were
disturbed in our room by an administrative person wanting another copy of our passports. Of course, these are minor
issues. More annoying was the lack of hot water. The first day we had none for 7AM showers. At 4PM when we finished
touring, same story, no hot water. Mysteriously at 6PM there was hot water. The pattern repeated over the course of our
stay. Equally frustrating was the property’s internet. When it worked it was as slow as any of the remote Myanmar
villages. We had thought a big city property could [if they wanted] do better. Then, one day it quit working. The outage
lasted a little over 24 hours. The hotel blamed their supplier. Every once in a while, the power would go out for a few
minutes. We got to carrying our headlamps with us and avoiding the elevators – just in case. Next, the Air conditioning
wouldn’t respond to the remote control. Our room was unbearably cold as the Air conditioner tried to reach the mid-teens.
We finally resorted to unplugging the AC for a while. This pseudo-rebooting restored remote control functionality. The last
inconvenience to share was the nightly call to prayer by a nearby mosque. Myanmar is predominantly a Buddhist country.
But apparently near the hotel is a Muslim community. The hotel’s single pane windows transmitted sound quite efficiently
and we were awakening every morning well before sunrise.
Apart from these issues, the Ayarwaddy River View Hotel had a number of nice features. The room was pleasant, featured
a king bed with nice linens and a large window. Come evening however we found the room dimly lit. We also thought it
was on the smallish size for what we experienced elsewhere in Myanmar. There were a number of amenities including hair
dryer, in room coffee maker, mini-bar fridge, and TV. The bathroom was quite clean [among the best for Myanmar]. It had
a large sink placed in a granite vanity. The sink’s drain was not tight so when running water it would always leak onto the
floor. The bathroom had a genuine tub, albeit with older fixtures. [The tub drainage also needs some re-engineering as it
dumps water into puddles on the floor]. We worked around both these problems by moving the bathmat to the entrance to
the rest of the room.
W used the front desk staff for some activities booking and they were very helpful. There was no problem to communicate
in English. They also arranged taxis for us, albeit at a cost about 40% higher than the return trip. Bellman were always
opening the doors for us and wishing us a good day. At night there are floor guards on each floor. I guess that’s good and
bad.
Breakfast each morning was excellent. The hotel employs an excellent omelet chef. The breads were decent. The fruit was
fresh and sweet. There was a mixture of local and western side dishes.
A hotel that needs to be upgraded for travellers
It may be that this is the only available hotel for western visitors in Mandalay but it was disappointing in a number of
ways. We had a superior room on the fourth floor and the room was fine in terms of its size and furnishings with a view
overlooking the river. The problem was that we could not get any hot water during our 3 night stay for bathing (making a
Legionnaires' Disease a risk) and there was a smell of faeces present in the corridor outside our room.The service in the
restaurant was extremely slow -one hour to bring our dinner.
As with other hotels in Myanmar you must present pristine new Dollar Bills as they will not accept anything else even a
folded note was refused as it had a crease!
There is an ATM kiosk outside the entrance -but no ATM in it!!
Stay away unless you want to be stranded
To start with there is not much of a river view gracing the front of the Hotel. Right in front of the hotel is a fisherman
slump. Also dont expect too much of a river view as the slump blocks your view.
To make matters worst the hotel is stuck in the north west end of Mandalay with no access to any transport any time of the
day or night. If you need to go to the city you either have to book for a cab or hire the hotel car. Needless to say all these
require extra charges on op of the normal ones.
There is nothing within on Kilometer from the hotel except slump dwellings. At night the roads are pith dark with no street
lamps.
Unless you want to be imprisoned, stay away.
Not for me
The rooms are very very basic and our suffered from a poorly fitted aircon unit that dripped all night and so, I didn't sleep
at all. The room was not well appointed and whilst I can live with occasional power shortages, the TV was bust and would
not work.
Staff, very friendly however and the breakfast was fine. Not the best part of town and so either search for something more
comfortable, or rough it a bit for a night or two.
Worn out and very noisy
I spent three days in this hotel. The location is unbeatable - overloking the Ayarwaddy river. Rooms were spacious and
clean and the beds comfortable. Hot water available throughout the day was a huge plus.
My room overlooked the city and I had three sleepless nights owing to music from loudspeakers situated just under my
window. I mentioned this to the receptionist after the first night and she assured me that this was only for one night - it
went on for the next two whole nights barring a respite from 1 am - 5.30 am.
Food was very good at the roof top restaurant. The loudspeaker noise from the surroundings made it impossible to hear the
live music. The flies / mosquitos at night were unbearable.
Not a very good value for its price
We stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights, and we weren't very pleased with it. The room and the bathroom were spacious
and clean. Breakfast was OK. We were given a 2-single-beds room even though we clearly booked for a double bed room.
Our room was located on second floor and there was no river view. My guess is you can only see the river view if your
room is on 3rd floor or above. We requested for a room change for these 2 reasons and they just shrugged off and told me
they don't have any other room available. That was BS, but we didn't make a big deal out of it. We just thought that they
should at least provide us with what we booked for, and a sincere apology for failing to do so. The sky restaurant was
pretty bad in my opinion. There were lots of mosquitoes at night, the puppet show wasn't that great. There was a local fish
market on the street nearby the hotel, so the fishy smell does travel to the Sky restaurant located on the top floor of this
hotel.
No Sleep No Power
We had a really bad experience at this place. The area is not really for tourists which we didn’t mind, nice to have a look at
the Mandalay river life. Because of the power outages the lack of street lights and the HUGE holes in the footpath it’s not
safe to walk around at night without a flash light.
The power was constantly go out and the amplified signing/chanting all night long coming from the street meant zero sleep
for the two nights we stayed there. First night I went down to reception and asked to be moved to the other side of the hotel
but was told that the noise was the same everywhere and was assured that it would stop….. it did between 3.55am and
3.59am (I think another hotel guest pulled the power generator plug on them to get some peace) short lived, 4 minutes later
the same noise like a trumpet being blown in your ear from 1 foot away. Turn the TV up full but could still only hear the
noise from the street.
Second night went up to the roof bar/restaurant to see if a good amount of alcohol would allow any sleep. The roof to was
every nice and had a great view of the Ayeyarwaddy River no luck with the sleep though. Two nights of hell at
Ayeyarwaddy River View Hotel.
Can’t say much about the cleanliness the power lights weren’t on long enough to see anything!
Bad value for money, next to main road, very loud, constant petrol fumes.
Very bad value for money, we paid $80 for a double-room. The french windows, which don't shut completely, open out to
a very busy road, with spluttering Burmese trucks trundling down the highway all night, this letting in a lot of noise and
more importantly tonnes of gas/petrol and diesel fumes meaning you feel constantly sick.
We complained but they said they wouldn't move us.
The rooms are extremely dated and soul-crushingly depressing, on par with $10 hotels in Bangkok, they lack even the
basics. There is no wardrobe.
The location is quite far from everything else, so you're looking at least a $10 return trip every time you want to do
anything in the city.
The rooms are quite clean and the service is pretty good, the staff were helpful, outside of refusing to move us.
Still not enough for me to ever consider coming back.
Ayarwaddy No River View Hotel
This hotel was one of the most disappointing places in Myanmar we were this november. Y
ou think you have river view but end up looking at ugly backyard buildings
from a very small room.
I wouldn't go back there.
Just in front of the hotel the third world is at your feet!
City view = no sleep
What a shame. I would love to given this place a great rating, because it deserves it, except for one major defect. First, the
good stuff. Great location - Mandalay is busy, by being right on The Strand works well. The rooftop terrace is great for
sunsets, made greater by the free cocktails from 5:30 to 6:30. The breakfast buffet is strong, and even the hotel restaurant
(usually poor choices) is not at all bad. Rooms are clean, good size and modern. Now for the bad: just one thing. The hotel
is about two blocks from a major monastery (I think it is the Monastery or Megaphoning Monks) that begins chants at 4
am. This is a common experience on Myanmar, but if you build a hotel that close, you had better invest in good
soundproofing. Instead, the window glass is so thin, I kept checking, thinking the windows were open. Even dogs barking
in the middle of the night sounded like they were on your room with you. We tried two rooms, both on the City View side -
one high floor at one end, and another low floor at the opposite end. I can't speak for the River View side, but City View is
insanely noisy. (Also, the 4th floor is right below the rooftop terrace, and that also had sound issues.) So overall, you come
to a hotel to sleep, and unless you're a VERY sound sleeper, or don't mind wearing earplugs, I can't recommend this hotel.
Dirty rooms, very noisy, overall poor quality hotel
Breakfast options extremely limited, table cloths dirty, were in two rooms, both had leaking showers flooding the
bathroom, cold shower on last day, two different people independently chanting against each other the entire evening,
preventing ability to watch a movie, lobby full of mosquitoes, not allowed to sit on roof terrace during the day.
Hilton Mandalay
Nestled on four acres of beautifully landscaped gardens, our Hilton Mandalay hotel offers a prime location facing
Mandalay Hill and the majestic Royal Palace. Enjoy breathtaking views from your guest room, Executive room or suite
and savor a variety of on-site dining options. Stay active in our fitness center and outdoor pool.
Business trip to Mandalay
The rooms are badly in need of refurbishment, everything about the room, bathroom and amenities leave a lot to be
desired.
Staff are genuinely very helpful but the service for me left a lot to be desired e.g. I still have not got the points for Hilton
Honors etc.
Dear Ram S,
Mingalabar!
Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us during your stay at Hilton Mandalay. We truly value your
feedback about the room condition and we are delighted to inform you that we are in progress of upgrading the rooms.
Please provide me your contact detail to me for Hilton Honors' points.
We look forward to welcoming you back to our upgraded Hilton Mandalay.
Best regards,
Ruby Khin
Half renovated and work in progress
On the positive side we were really pleased to be welcomed to the hotel and given the possibility of an early check in. We
asked to wait in the executive lounge while the room was prepared.
The executive lounge on 4th floor seems to have closed and an annex of the restaurant is being used. However it is not
staffed and on several occasions there were no staff present to fetch drinks.
I’ve got to say that it did then take ages from ordering a a drink to receiving it. I’ve also got to add that it’s the first hotel in
the world I’ve ever stayed at that doesn’t offer a breakfast service in the executive lounge. It doesn’t open until 10am
apparently!
So if you are thinking of paying extra for the room like I did in order to get some breakfast in the lounge then be warned.
You will be forced to oh an extra 11.5 USD per person for a buffet breakfast in the restaurant in addition to the more
expensive room.
The restaurant breakfast was amazing and well worth it but it’s total robbery to be charging executive lounge customers for
this. I’ve got to say this was a huge disappointment and goes against Hilton brand standards I’m sure.
The lobby and renovated areas looked amazing as you can see. The rooms are of course much more 20th century and not
up to the same standards. The aircon didn’t cool the room properly and the housekeeping standards were not up to scratch.
The only lovely touch was a bouquet of real flowers and some chocolates delivered to the room. This was very appreciated.
This will be a great hotel to stay in when the drilling and noise from the renovations stop and the rooms are more in the
21st century.
I just hope they get the executive lounge sorted out because my experience for this part of my stay was very poor. My
friend asked if there was any prawn in the canapé due to food allergies and told there wasn’t - five minutes later after he ate
it he was told there was. This was very poor and the lack of staff and attitude not good.
ANNIVERSARY STAY ALMOST RUINED
My Girlfriend and I chose to stay in Hilton Mandalay not only because of my loyalty program, but also because of the
great location. Because of my Gold Status, we got upgraded to King Executive Suite with Terrace overlooking Mandalay
Palace & Hill. Everything was going well until we got disturbed by the hotel staff opening our hotel room without
knocking or ringing the doorbell.My girlfriend got really upset, but we let it slide because they thought we were not in our
room. However, the same thing happened again TWICE the next day. I tried reaching the room manager during my
checkout, but she was not available at the moment, so I instead talked to the Senior Receptionist regarding the ISSUE. She
was extremely polite, and apologized for the mistakes the hotel staff had made. She also promised to take FULL
RESPONSIBILTY of the issue to avoid similar mistake with Future Guests. Apart from that, we really enjoyed our Room
and the magnificent Views from our Terrace. I would give 5 out of 10 for this Stay.
Dear Mr William Myo, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience about your recent stay at our hotel. We
sincerely appreciate your feedback and we're very sorry you were unhappy with our staff entering your room. We have
taken note of all your feedback to improve our customer experience and train our team. Please let me know, please don’t
hesitate to contact me directly at any time should you be considering returning.
Sincerely,
Saw Win Phyo
Rooms Division Manager
Hilton Mandalay
[email protected]
Nice Room But Poor Service
The room was fine. Not much of a view, but nice area. Check in staff was fine. Went for late lunch before tour and it took
an hour to finally get food for four people. Missed an hour of the tour due to this delay. Then the car reservation for the
next early morning was written in the book, but not made... so we were large getting to the boat. Service definitely needs
work!
Think twice about staying here
- Toilet seat slides around a lot every time you sit on it.
- In the morning, no hot water to take a shower.
- Internet is extremely unreliable.
- Breakfast is chaotic during peak hours. They tried to force us to share a large communal table. Very noisy environment.
Food runs out quickly and not replenished for a very long time. Only One person preparing noodles that’s served in a
tiniest bowl. Only one person preparing made to order eggs. The food stations are so crammed together that people are
pushing and shoving each other to get food. This hotel should know its occupancy based on the reservations they have.
They are ill prepared.
The main dining room serves passable food. But, keep in mind that it takes at least 45 minutes to get your food. Another
word of advice, do NOT order the Shan noodles.
The evening snacks served at the executive lounge is horrible. I would not serve that food to my worse enemy. When I
asked for ices the 2nd time one night, the waitress told me in a nasty way that they don’t have an ice maker at the lounge.
They have to bring ice up from the main restaurant downstairs. So, this is my problem?
The one and only thing they have going at this place is the view of the palace, if you’re willing to fork out the money.
Only the lobby and the pool are worth it
Rooms: YOU CANNOT OPEN THE WINDOW!!
So if you like fresh air, this is NOT the place.
Worn out rooms
Bathroom: not even a 3* level, leaks, MOLD around bathtub, WC is in cheap plastic
Cannot say the service is good comparing to all other hotels we have been to in Myanmar, though local staff are always
friendly.
HIlton standards seem low (I am not a Hilton frequent guest at all), all they seem to want is for you to spend money?
And it is a BAD VALUE!
Maybe a chance after renovation is completed, in the meantime THEY SHOULD LOWER THEIR ROOM PRICE, I
cannot recommend.
SPA is CLOSED but NOT MENTIONED neither on their website nor when exchanging direct mails with them.
Again, the lobby is pretty, pool is practical, location is good (near the Palace, almost the only place you can walk in
Mandalay) but service and cleanliness are way below standards.
Hope it was better
Wifi in room was terrible for last trip and the same for this trip despite feedback to staff; not action was taken even
feedback was given. Staff that came to attend to the WiFi issue for this trip pretend the issue is a surprise. The toiletries for
last trip were not complete as in the last trip. We have three rooms for this trip and some has only Bath Gel, others have
bath gel and lotion while another has bath gel, body lotion and shampoo. Rooms smell of sewage.
Toilet floor has stain in corners. Bath tub slippery without rubber mat or metal bar to support. With shower head too high,
it’s dangerous. Aircon was on generator until complain given to staff. It was switched to normal electricity after that.
Breakfast variety is does not match even that of a 4 Star hotel not mention that of Hilton brand. Cannot find a single trash
bin at lobby.
Poor room conditions
Broken air-con, fridge, and safe. The rooms' glass windows are all sealed and can easily suffocate you when the AC is
broken. Body hair found on bed-sheets and internet keeps disconnecting. Amazing breakfast and high-quality service from
front desk and hotel manager.
Don't bother with the Hliton Mandalay's MOAT restaurant until Hilton gets its act together
Staying a 20 minute walk away in another hotel, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal at the Hilton before leaving
Mandalay. Our disappointment began minutes after being seated in the Moat restaurant when we began getting bitten by
mosquitos (the only time in 9 days in Myanmar) and as the smell of fresh paint began to rise up from our table. Things
went downhill from there.
We had read that the Moat restaurant had beer on tap, but could not find any mention of it on the beverage menu. Instead
we ordered a 4500 Kyat "mineral water." What came was a plastic bottle of the usual local "purified water" which can be
had in virtually any store in Myanmar for 400 to 500 kyat - a markup of 1000% for something that no well traveled person
could accept as "mineral water" (which often means water that comes from a natural spring).
We ordered our food and the server carefully repeated the order back to us. I had asked for a baked potato and a Waldorf
salad to accompany the Goan Chicken. 10 minutes later the server came back to again ask if that was what I wanted and if
I wanted it all at once. Of course I said. My wife mentioned the mosquitos and the server said she would bring a spray.
That was the last we saw of that server.
When the order came (after an inexcusable 45 minutes) the food was lukewarm and there were some cold potatoes and an
unattractive, somewhat wilted salad without dressing of any kind. And while the place settings had been brought right after
we ordered, there were no napkins nor salt and pepper. We asked for these as the food got even colder, and I also asked
what happened to the baked potato and the Waldorf salad. The waiter asked me if he should ask the kitchen to prepare
them now. I said don't bother, it's too late now. 12 minutes later he brought these items, which I refused. By this point my
wife and I had pushed our barely touched plates away; what we did eat was close to tasteless.
The bill took 10 minutes to process, and we were asked to wait in the reception to get away from the mosquitos. There for
the first time we met someone who seemed to care, and who asked us how our dinner had been. We explained and she
immediately offered to reverse the charge on our credit card. This was the right thing to do, but it did not make up for a
disappointing and frustrating evening.
Dear Valued Guest,
Greetings from Hilton Mandalay
I was concerned to learn of your unpleasant experience caused by the service rendered to you during your recent patronage,
as a guest here at Hilton Mandalay
It is our responsibility to ensure that the satisfaction of all our guests who dine with us to experience the hospitality
services from our hotel. Our firm intention was for you to experience the very highest level of service and consideration.
Unfortunately, that we failed to satisfy your expectation.
I realize the frustration, inconvenience and disappointment you must have felt, I wish to assure you that I had personally
brought this point to the attention of the department concerned and appropriate measures are been taken to ensure that there
will be no future recurrence.
We look forward to an opportunity to make amends and to provide you with the warmest welcome and the attentive service
that we proudly extend to our guests.
Best regards,
Rahman Lal
Director of Operations.
Overpriced. Not Befitting Hilton Standard.
Just checked in with family for holiday here. Realised that the hotel is undergoing renovation. Most hotel facilities are not
available for use! Even the restaurant looks bare. Hotel offers alternative swimming facility which requires 15 minutes
drive away! Totally doesn’t make sense. Why would the hotel charge their guests full room rates for sub standard facilities
when they are not ready? We are prepared to chill in the hotel but there is nothing to do! Even the bath tub is broken and
looks patched up. Absolutely disappointed with the hotel. Totally no value for money at all!
To be fair, the hotel staff offered very friendly service but there is really nothing much they can do as it is not their fault
when the facilities are not ready
Dear Valued Guest,
Thank you for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback following your stay with us. This specificity is extremely
beneficial for our team in continuing our improvement efforts. We sincerely apologies for all the inconvenience cause.
We look forward to welcoming you back to Hilton Mandalay very soon!
" Season Greeting & Happy Holiday"
Best Regards,
Rahman Lal | Director of Operations
HILTON MANDALAY
Extremely disappointed
Really bad experience and so disappointed with the five-star rated hotel. Nonprofessional. Ignorant. I have stayed in many
hotel brands, I am also IHG gold elite and gold member of Accor hotels. They are all better welcome and more customer
centered. Excellent service is what we expect from this rate of stay but we could not receive any from Hilton Mandalay.
Very bad impression about Hilton hotel brand this time. I regret making a booking at Hilton, should have chosen Mercure
resort or the newest hotel, Pullman Mandalay.
Dear 4857745,
Mingalapar! Thank you for taking a moment to share your experience while visiting Mandalay.
First and foremost I warmly thank you for staying with us. In order to improve these areas, we appreciate if you could give
us some details. Your comment is very valuable for us to do follow up corrective action and improvement.
We look forward to addressing your needs and welcoming you back to Hilton Mandalay.
Best regards,
Ruby Khin
Worse Hilton experience
This hotel should not be part of Hilton portfolio: old rooms not well organized not well furnished much too expensive
compared to other mandalay hotels check in staff inexperienced wine quality in lounge is catastrophic. However staff is
friendly but I think this is thanks to the people of Myanmar. Avoid. I should have read previous comments rather than
trusting the brand...
Bad customer service and attitude at concierge
(I browsed through a few reviews before writing mine. It seems like some of the complaints date back quite a while. If
you're the manager of Hilton and are going to write another generic apology response, please spare that and spend the time
actually training your staff.)
Currently staying here. The staff at the lobby was extremely inefficient. We got here at 2.45pm with advance booking and
our rooms weren't ready. The check-in time apparently was 3pm, which is late-ish compared to other hotels. But every
place has its rules and so be it.
Here's what really ticked me off:
1. One staff member took 15 minutes to figure out our rooms weren't ready. I don't know what they were typing away in
their computers for the entire duration.
2. We were travelling for business and started working in the lobby. They took exactly 58 minutes to get an extension. And
that, with two reminders in the middle. We were told that required the approval of the general manager of the hotel. You've
gotta be kidding.
3. Also when I went back at about the 50 minutes mark for the second reminder, the same staff said the extension could
potentially disturb other guests. The entire lobby was empty except for three other guests sitting down at a corner and we
were sitting quite close to the power outlet (but not close enough to get the laptops charged directly). There is absolutely no
chance of anyone tripping over the wires, if that's the concern.
To be fair, it was one single staff with really bad attitude, and her colleague apologised on her behalf. But seriously, this
experience is more like walking into a cooperative store in the Socialist era in the 1960s Burma than a Hilton. Ridiculous.
I'm staying put only because I've already booked for a few days. Please consider investing more training in your staff.
Dear AyeKS,
Thank you for your honest review as it really helped us reevaluate where we are and where we need to be.
My sincere apologies on behalf of my team for the inconvenience you experienced, as no one should have to go through
this.
As a an immediate action, we would like to inform you that we have prepared a structured training program for the Front
Office team to address the shortcomings highlighted and have also put in place an empowerment guideline to ensure that
all team members are empowered to make decisions and solve problems.
On behalf of my team please allow us to make it right and welcome you back to Hilton Mandalay on your next visit.
Have a lovely day ahead.
Sincerely,
Stay away Hilton
Terrible stay at the Hilton. Dont be swayed by the name which does not equate to the service provided.
Only highlight of the stay was its proximity to the historical palace.
Otherwise not worth it. Be careful of the bed mites as I was bitten and developed a huge painful blister.
If you want peace and quiet this hotel is not for you. Stressful eating breakfast in the mornings. Trying to avoid the bus
loads of Chinese Zero tourists that arrive at the hotel daily.
Breakfast is a chore trying to get a seat! Do think twice before choosing Hilton.....because you will regret it like I did.
Fantastic.
Current guest. The hotel is nothing short of fantastic. Relaxing, amazing pool area. 5 star magic. Here for 5 nights.
Attentive lovely staff. We had an airport pick up included, and were picked up from the railway station, after our 16 hour
train trip from Yangon. Nothing but the highest praise for staff here. Breakfast amazing. So pleased we are staying here.
Dear Ms Susan,
Mingalabar! Thank you very much for sharing your recent experience with Tripadvisor community. We are delighted to
know that you have had a enjoyable stay with us. Also we are thank you for your praise our team member and your review
is a motivator for all of us to continue creating guest experiences. It was a pleasure to provide you with all round of
services during your stay and we were able to create memorable experiences. Again thank you very much and we look
forward welcoming you back in a near future.
Kind regards,

$100+ a night building site

Whilst there's a lot to like about the hotel - location, decor, general up-keep of the facilities, etc, there were two glaring
issues. (1) The fact that half the ground floor was undergoing extensive building works. (2) The fact the staff were unable
to do anything other than try charging me more money to resolve it. The noise from the power tools, etc, could be heard 4+
floors away - loud enough to prevent sleeping. The hotel insisted I pay a surcharge to sit in the executive lounge to try to
have somewhere quieter to work (it was still too noisy for a phone call, and I was still expected to pay). The only
alternative: "Go outside". In the midday sun. To do work. I can sit in a park for free, thanks. No warning this was going to
be the case in advance, no attempts at making my stay better despite this; just charging me more.
A number of other things feel a bit "unfinished" - service at breakfast, missing items in lobby bathrooms, etc; all of these
could be forgiven and didn't really detract from what's a nice hotel. I'd generally deduct a point for the bland restaurant
options from a relatively up-market hotel (hopefully addressed by whatever the building work will result in delivering), but
it would otherwise be a nice place to stay.
For my personal experience and the lack of addressing it in any way that salvaged the stay, I can only give 1*, though.
Dear Valued Guest,
Greetings from Hilton Mandalay I was concerned to learn of your unpleasant experience caused by the service rendered to
you during your recent patronage, as a guest here at Hilton Mandalay It is our responsibility to ensure that the satisfaction
of all our guests who dine with us to experience the hospitality services from our hotel. Our firm intention was for you to
experience the very highest level of service and consideration.
Unfortunately, that we failed to satisfy your expectation. I realize the frustration, inconvenience and disappointment you
must have felt, I wish to assure you that I had personally brought this point to the attention of the department concerned
and appropriate measures are been taken to ensure that there will be no future recurrence. We look forward to an
opportunity to make amends and to provide you with the warmest welcome and the attentive service that we proudly
extend to our guests. If you have anything please let me know and we are more than happy to assist you.
Kind regards,
Rooms and bathrooms very old
Do not stay here. Rooms have never been renovated in 30 years. It is actually a 3 stars rooms with a 5 stars hotel lobby. For
such a quality you have a rip off rate. Air con cannot be adjusted and keeps on cooling the rooms when you shut it off. I
got a cold sleeping in such a freezing temperature.
Dear Joy,
Mingalabar!
Thank you very much for sharing your recent experience with Tripadvisor community. It was a pleasure to provide you
with all round of services during your stay and we were able to create memorable experiences. We are very sorry that you
ware not happy with our room condition and the Aircon controlling. Please accept our apologize and we already have plan
to do the room renovation in near future. Again thank you very much and we look forward welcoming you back in a near
future.
Kind regards,
Saw Win Phyo
Avoid it!! Nothing to do with Hiltons standards!!!
We stayed 2 nights with my husband and the room was old and very humid especially the smell of humidity was horrible..
a dirty over-cleaned carpet and old bathroom with cracked tiles.. give your money to a better place cuz that one is not
considered cheap!
Dear Value Guest, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience about your recent stay at our hotel. We sincerely
appreciate your feedback and we're very sorry you were unhappy with our room that all the guest room are the old and we
already have planning to do the room and corridor renovation. We have taken note of all your feedback to improve our
customer experience. Myself and team would like to extend our apologies for your disappointment during your stay with
us. We look forward to welcoming you back to our hotel in the not too distant future.
Sincerely,
Saw Win Phyo
Rooms Division Manager
Hilton Mandalay
[email protected]
Go Somewhere Else
Decent location, extremely personable staff who have a very difficult job of keeping its guests from revolting in a 2 star
property that is really not fit for habitation. The rooms are old, the wifi works in the hallways but not in the rooms (i had to
work outside my door one night at 2 am for a conference in the US), the bathroom tubs and tiles are chipped and cracked,
and the air conditioner did not work properly. The staff were very responsive, but unable to really do anything other than to
apologize and promise that the rooms will be upgraded in the future. Stay away! Find a small, local boutique hotel that has
more Mandalay charm.
Dear Mr Michael
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience about your recent stay at our hotel. I would like to express my
sincere apologies for falling short of our high service standards.We sincerely appreciate your feedback and we're very sorry
you were unhappy with our room and the internet wifi. All our guest room are the old and we already have planning to do
the room renovation. We have taken note of all your feedback to improve our customer experience and train our team.
Myself and team would like to extend our apologies for your disappointment. As mentioned it would be great to welcome
you back at some stage in the near future and reverse the poor impression, please let me know, please don’t hesitate to
contact me directly at any time should you be considering returning.
Sincerely,
Saw Win Phyo
Rooms Division Manager
Hilton Mandalay
[email protected]
A MOSQUITO INFESTED HELL!
I had stayed at this place many times before, when it was the Sedona Hotel. At the time it used to be the best place to stay
in Mandalay. However, I was not prepared for what I experienced this time.
There was construction work going on everywhere, and the hotel was VERY expensive, especially for a low-cost place like
Mandalay. It cost way over what a hotel of similar standard would cost in a modern Asian metropolis, or even in cities like
Dallas or Philadelphia. I tried to get a discount from the manager, but it turned out to be impossible.
Secondly, the rooms were well appointed but literally INFESTED with mosquitoes. There were clouds of mosquitoes in
the rooms, the corridors, EVERYWHERE. Literally thousands of them. Getting into the elevators was an ordeal because of
the mosquitoes in it. I complained to the staff and nobody ever did anything about it, except nod their heads and smile. My
friends and I had no other choice but to smear ourselves with Repellent Cream all-day long.
Needless to say, I will NEVER stay in this hell-hole again, and will dissuade my friends from doing so, out of concern for
their well-being.
Dear Valuable Guest,
Thank you for your feedback, the hotel is in soft opening stage hence there are still ongoing works.
We will address all the feedback to our team members about service standard that been rendered to you, your specificity is
extremely beneficial for our team in continuing our improvement efforts.
We sincerely apologies for all the inconvenience cause.
Thank you for your understanding.
Best Regards,
Rahman Lal
Director of Operations.
Far below expectations
The location is about the only good thing about this hotel. The rooms were very old and outdated and I hope that they
planned for a renovation soon. The bar did not have a nice atmosphere, it felt more like a canteen, with a car showroom in
front. Hot chocolate tasted like water, cocktail was served 15 minutes after the other drinks and there were many mosquitos
in the bar. Worst of all was that the staff forgot to arrange our airport transfer upon departure and did not come up with a
proper solution, rather than to keep on calling and trying to arrange a driver ad-hoc. We had booked the transportation the
night before, to be sure to leave on time, but we could have missed our flight due to this unprofessional follow up from the
staff.
Dear Valuable Guest,
Thank you for your feedback, the hotel is in soft opening stage hence there are still ongoing works.
We will address all the feedback to our team members about service standard that been rendered to you, your specificity is
extremely beneficial for our team in continuing our improvement efforts.
We sincerely apologies for all the inconvenience cause. Thank you for your understanding.
We look forward to welcoming you back again soon.
Best Regards,
Rahman Lal
Director of Operations.
Best place to stay in Mandalay
Outstanding location with direct view of Mandalay Hill. Newly renovated. Staff could not be more welcoming,
professional and helpful. Breakfast a culinary treat. Everything fresh and well prepared. I am a Diamond member and
believe this new property just opened already exceeds Hilton’s high standards for its international guests traveling abroad.
Warning! It is way below the standard of Hilton. Avoid it.
Way over price to its service and quality. To be fair, we can here when it is still operate under a local chain. But, there isn't
much changes at all after it is re-brand to Hilton. Even the renovation work was bad with the fallowing defect from the old
days. First of all , only two power plug is working and one was clearly damage from old days with out even try to hide it.
The mirror in the bath room with the defaced which only happen after quit long time. The tile on the wall of the shower
with dirty that must take at least a year to develop it. To make my point even more powerful. Our foreign guest who came
in town with their private jet walk in the room then turn around say it is no where close to the Hilton that I know. Lets look
for better one in town.
Warning! Mosquitoes!
Absolutely substandard for Hilton! The whole place is infected with mosquitoes. Although to be fair, the staff tried their
best and provided us upon request with a mosquito tent, that was only a little to small for our bed.
All the rest would qualify for 3 stars, due to poor maintenance. The price however is still Hilton standard.
Complete shambles
Still at this place. Mores the pity. Fawlty Towers has nothing on this hotel. This is not Hilton standard. Pool under
refurbishment. Was only told this when I went for a swim. Breakfast was in a Mercedes car showroom. Construction noise
ongoing. Avoid at all costs.
Hotel Amazing Mandalay
Hotel Amazing Mandalay is an excellent choice for travelers visiting Mandalay, offering many helpful amenities designed
to enhance your stay. Rooms at Hotel Amazing Mandalay offer air conditioning, a refrigerator, and a minibar providing
exceptional comfort and convenience, and guests can go online with free wifi. A 24 hour front desk, a concierge, and room
service are some of the conveniences offered at this small hotel. An on-site restaurant will also help to make your stay even
more special. If you are driving to Hotel Amazing Mandalay, free parking is available. Nearby landmarks such as Shwe In
Bin Kyaung (1.6 mi) and Skinny Buddha (1.8 mi) make Hotel Amazing Mandalay a great place to stay when visiting
Mandalay. While in Mandalay be sure to experience local dumplings favorites at Mogok Daw Shan Noodle. If you’re
looking for things to do, you can check out Mandalay Palace (1.1 mi), which is a popular attraction amongst tourists, and it
is within walking distance. Enjoy your stay in Mandalay!
The Most Deplorable Hotel
I had the misfortune of staying in this hotel for one night. The photos in the website is grossly misleading. I must say that
Tripadvisor and travel agencies have a moral obligation to its clients to portray an accurate detail of the hotels. The hotel
should have been closed down. The rooms were so run down and smelt mouldy and the bathrooms had fungus, in one
room a portion of the ceiling collapsed. Fortunately it did not fall on the couple sleeping in the bed. The air-conditioning in
the dining area was not functioning and the fans were not functioning too. It was mosquito infested and there was a
disturbing noise from the karoake joint nearby all night. For the safely of customers, this hotel should be closed down or
renovated before opening to the public.
Not so Amazing
Came to the hotel, it was highly rated, but counter help barely spoke English, rooms were ok, but very dated and power
went out several times a day, advertised breakfast came with room, we were given a menu to ask which breakfast we
would want, menu said bacon, sausage, fresh fruit....but never gave us bacon, or fresh fruit....all in all it was a below
average hotel, would recommend staying somewhere else
pls don't go there
Nice hotel from outside
but everything seem bad inside
Dust in both 2 floor
Room in lower floor smell bad and dirty
Room on second floor is better but sometimes no water ,in some room hot aircon.
Many times during my stay ,no light; need to wait in the dark for more than 30 minutes!!
If you read this please believe me don't go there!!
One thing which is good is restaurant staffs and also a la carte breakfast
Very disappointed
Hotel staff at the fornt desk wasnt helpful. He was calling us in ealryn moring just for ask how many people stay in each
room that very annoying. And keep calling many time after called for make resevation. Alot mosquitoes. Old room.
Electricity not stable. Away from every town, nearby the railways which is noisy. Im not recommended
Dear Eve N,
Please let us express our thanks and at the same time our sincere apologies for the series of inconveniences caused during
your stay. It must have been a disappointing trip if we were you too. We will make sure to improve it for the better and
take action for the mosquitoes, constant phone calls to the guest room and the unstable electricity. For the noise cause by
the railway, may we kindly request for your understanding as it is due to the location of the hotel. However, if that is the
severe cause, we will surely come up with a solution to solve it. Regardless, please join us again to see our improvements
if possible. We will be looking forward earnestly to seeing you.
With warmest regards,
The management team of Amazing Hotels & Resorts
Practical and central but not amazing
This small hotel has a nice bedroom, big bathroom and good wifi. However, the restaurant located outside in a mosquito
prone area near the truck park, the breakfast eating area at the top of the stairs, the waiters who cannot speak any English
and get the meals wrong, and will not change them, and also the dirty/stained towels, make this a disappointing experience.
Also, the management insisted that I pay for my room for an extra night, booked in error. The lack of flexibility is
disappointing, and hence this review.
Not very Amazing
We stayed here for one night arriving around 6.30pm and leaving early the next morning due to our flight being
rescheduled. We were given a room on the ground floor near the courtyard, the bathroom window's did not close properly
so security was not the best, the room was also musky and dated. The hotel is located on a main road to the front and to the
rear their is a train track, both of which provide a steady noise level.
We ate in the restaurant and after a long delay we were served our drink and our underwhelming meal arrived. During this
time we were subjected to a puppet show, which was horrendous!
All in all would not recommend this hotel.
Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort
Crescent shaped Hotel situated at the foot of picturesque Mandalay Hill, near the Mandalay Royal Palace. Set at the foot of
Mandalay Hill and facing the Royal Palace, Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel offers International standard facilities with
exceptional Colonial style Executive suites including the renown Mandalar Suite and Spa Villas. Each of the 206 luxurious
rooms and Suites enjoy breathtaking views of legendary Mandalay. A choice of dining options are available with
Yandanabon Café, Ming’s Asian Restaurant, the outdoor Kinsana Garden Theatre Restaurant and the Pavilion Private
dining. Mandalar Villa & Spa the first international Spa in Myanmar offers the mind, body & soul a rejuvenating
experience. We invite you to rejoice in the beauty and splendor of Myanmar and experience the special magic and luxury
of Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel.
Don't stay if you want reasonable peace and until the hotel invests in double glazing
Position, facilities, catering, staff great. But I'd never, ever stay here again. There is a major concert venue next door, and
staff warned on arrival (not before) that the noise would disturb. Huge understatement. Ear splitting until 11.00 pm. Private
event around the pool couple of nights later involved a band. Deafening noise again until 10.00 pm. Again a meaningless
apology warning letter. Ear plugs useless. Noise drowned out TV. Be warned. No one expects perfect quiet but this hotel is
useless without serious investment in double glazing. Talk about taking your guests for granted.....
Dear Guest,
Mingalabar from Mandalay.
Thank you for taking the time to share your review with us. We appreciate your valuable feedback as it helps us identify
the areas we can improve the guest experience. We feel very sorry to read that Your stay was over-shadowed by the public
music event near our hotel. We have already raised the flag to the local authorities regarding the level of noise. We are
certain your comments will be of help for the authorities to understand the necessity to control the volume and we regret
you could not find the peace and silence you expected during your stay with us. Thank you once again for your stay with
us at this time and we look forward to welcome you back to our resort again in the future.
Kind regards,
Chotsittisak Chitsanupongthorn
Rooms Division Manager
Needs renovation
Even that you have all the new branded things, the hotel it’s old, needs investment.
The breakfast buffet was not nice...
there is no noise insolation in the windows, difficult to sleep.
the only place I found comfortable was the pool area.
Dear Guest,
Mingalabar from Mandalay,
Thank you for taking the time to share your review with us. Your feedback will make an impact on our overall quality and
performance of the hotel, since we strive daily for improvement in the quality of service, we give to our valuable guests.
We have noted the challenges you had during your stay and apologize sincerely for any inconvenience that caused you at
this time. Also very well noted regarding your comment about our room's windows, however, the improvement on this
matter will be part of our renovation plan. Thank you once again for being our guest, we hope to welcome you back to our
hotel again in the future.
Kind Regards,
Chotsittisak Chitsanupongthorn
Rooms Division Manager
Old hotel not charming at all
On the picture it looks like a very charming hotel . It is not it is big and very old : room is old Bathroom same towels have
the same age as the hotel and swimming pool is not charming . What you see on picture is the SPA...
Very disappointed !
Dear Guest,
Mingalabar from Mandalay.
We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with such candid feedback of your recent stay at our resort. We are very
sorry to hear that our room and other provided facilities did not meet your expectations. Please note that your comment has
been passed on to our Executive Management team. Improvement on this matter will be part of our upcoming renovation
plan. Thank you for being our guest and we look forward to welcome you back to our resort again in the near future.
Kind Regards,
Chotsittisak Chitsanupongthorn
Rooms Division Manager
Seriously Not Accor brand
What a shock to say its Accor.
This hotel is So Outdated to the extent that it is not hygienic to sit, sleep or eat. Just horrible.
It is an Ancient hotel and still staying in those ages and not progressing with time. The smell of old furniture, the itch from
the old cushions, the bites of mosquitoes is very disturbing impossible to relax and enjoy Mandalay.
The bathroom is so old with a mildew smell. Bad flashbacks of 30 years ago. Not updated at all. Wooden doors with slates
for ventilation, no fan.
The bathroom is very narrow and miniscule. The shower door hits the toilet, you need to tip toe around everything.
The bath towels are like hard RUGS that no hotel in the world should offer their guests. Some of the bath towels are brown
and have stinky smell. If the management could not renovate their rooms and all the hotel, but how could they offer dirty
smelly towels to their guests to use after a shower? This is not hospitality this is INSULT to hospitality.
The breakfast is really sad, it's a small buffet, limited choices, so if you are expecting a big buffet breakfast, lower your
expectations.
We were very shocked as Accor has this hotel on its website, why? This is Shocking Accor !! We don't understand how
can Accor put its label on it with this such very very low standard.
And FYI, Accor LeClub members can''t earn nights or points at this property. It is very contradictory!
This property used to be Novotel Mandalay centuries ago. It failed the standard of Novotel Accor lowered it to Mercure
name. This hotel level is much lower than any Mercure it is a roadside hostel no brand.
Even though Mercure is a lower category, this hotel is not up to Accor standards. In the least, it will need demolition and
truthfully renovations is not enough, especially the rooms. You can't have old rattan furniture with 20 year old worn out
cushions in rooms. It would take Years for this hotel to bring it to Accor standards, it needs major and now !
We did observe a group of backpacking tourists staying here through cheaper rate travel agent presumably, and maybe the
guests keeping this property alive. Not sure if that is the direction this hotel management seeks.
But for the traveller expecting a good luxury branded hotel, please beware and take into consideration, at least until Accor
publicly addresses these low standards and concerns to travellers.
Dear Guest,
Mingalabar from Mandalay.
Thank you very much for sharing your comments about our Hotel with TripAdvisor readers. Your feedback will make an
impact on our overall quality and performance of the hotel, since we strive daily for improvement in the quality of service,
we give to our valuable guests. We have noted the challenges you had and sincerely apologize for the shortcomings during
your stay which definitely do not represent our high standards. We very well noted regarding your comment about our
room and facilities, improvement on this matter will be part of our future renovation plan.
Thank you once again for being our guest and we looking forward to the pleasure of welcoming you back in the future.
Kind regards,
Chotsittisak Chitsanuponthorn
Rooms Division Manager
Room is not clean
Very disappointed. Check in process is slow. The hotel is very old and dated. The signs of age is evident everywhere.
Elevator is super slow. Have to wait a long time for the lift to come and is always crowded. The rooms are small bathroom
is tiny. The faucet is broken and the glass shelves were coated with a layer of dust. Makes me wonder if they actually
clean. The rooms.
Dear Guest
Mingalabar from Mandalay, Thank you very much for sharing your experience about our Hotel. We are terribly sorry to
hear that our service quality didn't meet your expectations during your stay, also very well noted regarding your comment
about our room and elevators, improvement on this matter will be part of our renovation plan in the next couple months.
Please allow me to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that may cause during your stay.
Thank you and kind regards,
Chotsittisak Chitsanupongthorn
Rooms Division Manager
Popped by for a swim - got treated like dirt
Went to the hotel to see if non-residents could use the pool. We were told by reception we could use the pool, with no
mention of a charge. This was surprising so we double checked, explaining we are not guests, but we’re assured we could
just go and use the pool.
Great! We thought. Maybe a Christmas offer. I went in to the fitness centre to get changed - I was happily directed to the
changing rooms. Again, no mention of any charge. It must be true then, free swim!
Only when I emerge from the changing rooms in my trunks does someone decide to ask if I am a resident and then
explains that it costs $17 per person if not!
What an unpleasant and embarrassing thing to do. I presume the intention was to embarrass anyone in the hotel who
doesn’t look like they belong....
We obviously left - who pays $34 for 2 people to swim!? Not to mention being upset at the unpleasant treatment.
To those who are spending nearly $1000 a night to stay in places like this I say save your money and go somewhere the
staff don’t treat you like dirt.
Not the best option
I know there aren't a lot of options for a fancy-ish tourist hotel in Mandalay but I'd avoid this one if possible.
The rooms are ok although the bathroom is pretty small. Breakfast is decent. The lobby is ok. Those are the good things.
Here are the problems:
The hotel is not in walking distance of any decent restaurants (hint: there's a little place called Bar a Vin in the almost-
abandoned night market nearby which is worth going to if it's still open; prices much better than the Mandalay Hill and
better service) so they take advantage by charging dumb prices at their restaurants and at the bar.
A drink at the bar will cost you $.50 less than the Strand in Yangon for a pretty skimpy drink. Also the staff has pretty poor
English, can't communicate very well, and will probably forget part of your order (though this may just be part of the
communication issue).
The rooms facing the hill have a nice view, but some nights there will be random music blaring outside (I'm not going to
complain about religious music and chanting) 'til 4 a.m. Not great for a restful night.
Heaven help you if you're trying to get breakfast or use the elevators if there are a lot of guests. Because there are so few
tourist-grade hotels in Mandalay the Mandalay Hill can be insanely crowded in the mornings, with literally no free places
for breakfast and crazy waits for the elevators (hint: if you see this happening, just give up and use the stairs, you'll save
time).
Finally, despite guidance on this issue from the government, the staff continues to be incredibly annoying over accepting
foreign currency that doesn't look like it just came off the printer. Trying to use a bill with a crease or a tiny mark? You're
outta luck, pal.
I don't like leaving reviews like this, but people should know what they're getting into if they stay here. I've been visiting
Myanmar virtually every year since 2004 and understand the challenges of running a good hotel there so I try not to be too
harsh. That said, Mandalay Hill is not a good option unless it's your only option.
Dear Guest,
Greetings from Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel and Merry Christmas to you. Thank you for taking the time to share your
review with us. We appreciate your valuable feedback as it helps us identify the areas where we can improve the guest
experience. We were disappointed to learn some of the points that made your unsatisfied during staying with us and we're
currently taking steps to upgrade some of facilities as well as the bedroom & shower space in the next couple months. We
sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused you. I hope that I can convince you to change your mind
about another visit to our property. Please contact us directly if you would be willing to give us a chance to turn your
experience around. It would be such a pleasure to personally welcome you back to our resort again in the future.
With much appreciation,
Chotsittisak Chitsanupongthorn
Rooms Division Manager
Too expensive for the quality expected
Large tourist group hotel with clinical atmosphere. We had a room on the 4th floor, ok but a little old and overlooking the
front entrance which can be noisy from the road. The room didn't have much insulation so adjacent room noise was easily
heard.
We would have tried the BBQ outdoors but as there were only two other guests, the atmosphere was rather lacking.
Goodness knows what they do with the extreme amount of food that was waiting to be cooked and we felt sorry for the
dancers who only had two in the audience.
The evening meal offers a wide selection BUT the hot food choices were barely warm and who wants to eat semi-cold
meat, vegetables and potatoes? The price is expensive and the wine is extortionate for a very poor wine. The best part of
the menu was a crepe Suzette which at least was hot!
Good service varied. The breakfast was ok.
This hotel has a captive audience, especially if you have arrived after a long travelling time and don't have time or energy
to look around for alternative eating places ( which are a taxi ride away).
We wouldn't recommend this hotel as the quality of food and standard of wine do not deserve the rating.
Could and should have been better
Pulling up to the hotel and you think all good. Fancy lobby area and check in was quick and easy. Booked a junior suite on
the eight floor. Room looked like it hadn't been redecorated since the 1970's. Had to call maintenance due to a blocked
drain in the shower, as the floor began to flood after about two minutes. None of the drawers had stoppers or guides on
them so if you pull too far they'll come out or be an effort to put back in. A real niggle was only two electrical sockets in
the whole of the suite available that weren't already connected to a light fitting. Only one in the bedroom that was not by
the bed either. If you wanted to use the hairdryer you would have to sit on the floor. Is that what you are really paying over
$200 a night for? The balcony was barely that. Just a small outdoor area with enough room for two to stand but no room
for a table and chairs.
There is an executive lounge on that floor but what it's purpose is, I couldn't fathom. There are four tables with chairs and a
tv. No drinks or food set out or even a member of staff was ever there during our stay. Maybe it was because it was low
season but again that should not matter at those rates.
Having said that, the staff were all very pleasant and food was average, nothing special but good enough. Of the three
resturants at the hotel, two were closed for refurbishment. It would seem the hotel was gearing up for the busier times of
year and so happy enough to provide a skeleton service for now. Pool area was quite nice, good temperature and a pool bar
that again wasn't staffed so there went our afternoon drink.
A bitterly disappointing time when we had been looking forward to it so much for our first time in Mandalay. This hotel
could definitely do with some serious competition because it certainly needs to up its game.
Looks are deceiving
Impressive as you approach the lobby, but this hotel is tired, dated and in need of some basic cleaning and painting. With a
toilet that didn't flush, it took several contacts with housekeeping before the adjoining room was made available for
bathroom facilities.
Post river cruise stay
For supposedly the best hotel in Mandalay very disappointing that toilet in our room did not flush even after 5 attempts by
staff to remedy the problem. Service and food in casual restaurant was very good as was the pool, but rooms are tired
Sleepless night
Our first night in Burma we stayed at this hotel and were unable to sleep,
The hotel has serious maintenance issues as our room reflected this. Their plumbing is appalling as we could hear running
water from the adjoining bedrooms toilets.
The air conditioning unit was so loud we had to turn it off.
Stray dogs around the vicinity barked all night.
Breakfast buffet was chaotic and disorganized and of mediocre quality.
Could not get out of the hotel quick enough to continue our trip to Bagan.
Nice reviews on TripAdvisor but not too impressed!
For the price they charge, its not worth it. Stayed at some beautiful properties in Myanmar but unfortunately, this was not
one of them. Its an old property, a bit run down. The rooms are dark and dreary - actually quite depressing. I believe it is an
old property - the lobby and the gardens have some charm. Ordered room service for dinner and was very disappointed -
overpriced and under performed - Maybe the only place in Myanmar that I found that unfortunately. Will never go back
there or refer it to anybody. Service was ok though.
Mandalay Hill? You must be kidding!
I am currently in the middle of a private, guided tour of Myanmar. All of my hotels up to this point (except for Mandalay
Hill) havd been great. This morning after checking out of Mandalay Hill, as my driver was about to pull away, the manager
runs up to the car and tells me that I owe the hotel for a can of tonic water. I told him that I didn't have any tonic water but
he argued with me for three or four minutes telling me several times that housekeeping told him that I took a can of tonic
water! I told him that the only thing that I had from the mini bar during my entire stay was two cans of Sprite. He smiles
sweetly, says OK and we pull away.
About 10 minutes later my guide gets an excited call from the manager telling him that housekeeping made a mistake and
that I really owe him for two cans of Sprite. I could actually hear the guy yelling at my driver even though no
speakerphone was on. He was so excited, you would think that I kidnapped his only child! At this point, I was fuming and I
simply gave my guide money to pay the charge as I didn't want to spend another second with this nonsense and I didn't
want my guide or the company to have trouble with the hotel, in the future. Later, I looked at my bill and saw that they had
charged me (and I had paid) for a can of Coca Cola, that I never had!
This all may sound trivial in terms of the amount of money involved but it ruined a morning of a trip that I paid a great deal
for and left me angry, (now 9:00 pm) into the evening.
This is penny-ante stuff that is beneath any decent hotel. They should be ashamed to treat a guest like that.
Normally, I don't write reviews, good or bad but since I had to go to the trouble and aggravation of posting this, please let
me share a few other candid comments.
The hotel appears, from the lobby, to have been, many years ago, a high end hotel. The rooms (at least my room) are
anything but "high-end." Worn out, tired looking and decorated with cheap furniture and outfitted with a small bathroom
with a tub/shower. My room in this place wouldn't compete with a decent mid-level American highway-side motel.
I've read, from other reviews, that there are better places in Mandalay to stay. Surely, none have a worse sense of
appropriate customer relations! I regret that I chose Mandalay Hill and had this extremely unpleasant experience.
Dave Klein
Waldwick, New Jersey
USA
[email protected]
The rooms are beat
The furniture has gouges and is all scratched up. I would understand for a hotel that costs $75 a night, but this place is
expensive for Myanmar. The grounds are nice and the pool area is pretty, but this hotel has rooms that are beat. There is
touch up paint all over the walls and ceiling.
Tired hotel with unresponsive poor service
This hotel has lovely grounds and foyer. However, the rooms are very tired. Worst of all, after booking 6 months in
advance and requesting a king bed room we were told on check-in that there were no king bed rooms available. We would
have to have a twin bed room. The staff did nothing to repair the situation other than offering to push the two beds
together. Unacceptable. I would not recommend this hotel if you are looking for good service.
Mandalay Hill resort - Avoid
Like everywhere and everything in Myanmar this hotel is way way overpriced- they really need to research international
standards and price accordingly.
Their staff have never left the farm so have no clue what travellers expect, English skills of staff appalling and they stick to
their superstitious and archaic rule of not excepting currency unless it needs the personal standards of the receptionist- too
bad if that is all the money that you have? Totally backward.
Stayed 3 nights unplanned. Very old hotel trying to present itself as modern. Need a refurbishment badly, it is 20 plus years
of age. Rooms knocked around , weird furniture placing everything in what seemed to be the wrong place, the TV is 2
metres left of the bed. Bathrooms cramped. Cheap mats on the floor , air con is like a freight train. The bed was on blocks
so cannot be moved to clean underneath so don’t look if you don’t want a shock. This property has the luxury of having
lots of space so big public areas and corridors and a beautiful pool and garden area. Staff can’t seem to get the pool cleaned
in time for their opening hours and argued with us re access –don’t forget Mandalay hill resort, customer service and
hospitality for over $300.00 a night if I want to swim in the pool during daylight hours this should be ok? Pool towels have
a velour strip sewn around the edges to extend their life- oh no!
Cakes from the lobby stand were nice and good value, the gym is filthy unhygienic and needs a revamp, spacious and lots
of machines but really grubby. Internet working here for the most part. We walked to the closet city mart on 19th street
alongside the old palace moat, here you can change currency, brand new huge supermarket and restaurants, the thai
restaurant in this complex serves tasty food fresh and cheap the best food we had in myanmar in 2 weeks. There is also a
bakery, IT and ice cream store.
Yes the views at night are nice and location is really the rest of what is available. The breakfast buffet is good, quality
smoked salmon and lovely bread and crepes freshly made, here the staff tried very hard – special mention to HTET SAW
who was friendly , professional and gave great service thankyou to him for making a lasting impression on us.
Mandalay is absolutely polluted we did not see blue sky the whole time we were there , the locals burn off in their areas
and the whole sky is dark and smoky – its really horrible and an awful way to live let alone witness, you can taste it and
breath it in – gross
The airport is not 20 minutes away unless you go by helicopter- its an hour in good traffic . the airport is really barren and
basic everything a total rip off of course. No aircon in airport. Dinner at the hotel was way too expensive- total ripoff the
tourist situation. The hotel pool is not cold at all its lovely and enjoyable it gets sun much of the day.
Oh and the noise yes you have a zoo, amusement park and water fun all next door and they are packed all day and night
every day and as previously mentioned slippers in room unwrapped and already worn- lovely!!!!!
Be warned...hotel is located right next to a concert venue
We chose this hotel on it's 5 star status......not so. Tired from having travelled all day we arrived at the hotel which is
situated right next to a concert venue. We were greeted by a local rock band performing until late and our room was
situated so close to the stage we could see and hear the performance as if we had balcony seats at a theatre. We were
unable to relax in our room and the hotel staff assured us this was the only night there would be noise. Not so....on evening
two there was an event in the hotel pool area, again with music, and on the last night we were treated to the local boy band,
again at the concert venue. The hotel management were appalling on their handling of the situation. Completely ignored us
until we had to insist on seeing the general manager to which we were told they did not want to disturb him. How ironic as
our 3 day stay was completely disturbed. The hotel itself is very poor and the food is terrible. They do not deserve their 5
stars and do not deserve to charge the prices they are charging. It was the 5th hotel we stayed in on our amazing trip to
Burma and it was by far the worse. So, do your homework and you might be better off staying in a less expensive hotel.
Kippers & Curtains!
Views - wonderful
Entrance - impressive
After that everything went down hill -
The curtains did not quite meet when closed
The flowers were tatty & silk - there were lovely fresh flowers for sale at very cheap prices in the markets.
Only 2 bottles of water in each room before having to pay extra - hardly enough to clean your teeth, which is hardly
healthy in such a humid climate.
The bath is too deep for less agile guests to get in but they did supply a little wobbly stool eventually.
The spa was very good and the staff there very professional.
What a pity they could not spend a little time and money on making this a perfect hotel, they already have the perfect
location
Great views but rooms need updating
The hotel is located away from the city centre with great views of the Mandalay Hills and its Pagodas. I was assigned a
room with views of the Mandalay Hills which was accompanied with the noise from both the celebration in the hills and on
the hotel property itself. The room was dated and needs to be refurbished. The bathroom was small and needs to be
refurbished - stains in toilet bowl and cracked marble on the vanity. The grounds of the hotel are OK. The gym equipment
old but functional. Misquotes were a problem as the hotel was swarming with them and the staff just nodded and smiled
when I tried to discuss it.
The restaurants are overpriced and the food is substandard. Guests do not have many options since the hotel is far away
from the city centre and restaurants.
The spa was even more overpriced - the rates for a massage were more than I would pay at home. Once I saw the prices
and the mosquitos in the spa reception I opted to skip it.
This hotel had better days.
We had a suite at the 8th floor, spacious with beautiful view. Air condition was not very efficiant. Staff effeciancy varies a
lot from one employee to the other. Some can hardly understand english. Diner at the asian restaurant was very good and
staff perfect. Breakfast was poor.
Awful pool
Didn't actually stay here but came to use pool facilities. Pool is large but completely in the shade of the hotel building with
no sunlight in any of the bar, poolside or sun lounger areas. The pool itself was literally freezing, and noone was actually
keen to use it except one guy who got in and then got out to complain. Then they tried to charge me 23000 kyat for using
the pool, though according to rough guide it should only cost 5000 for non-guests. As I said, didn't stay here, but seems
like a ripoff hotel with not a lot to justify except, at a stretch, for the decent view of the hill.
Great staff and service, but hotel let them down.
As part of a package tour I [we] were booked in to the Mandalay Hill, Hotel and Resort. The hotel is impressive to look at
and is at the bottom of the Mandalay hill. On entering the hotel the foyer was great and the staff were attentive and helpful
[as I have found most in Myanmar to be]. Check-in was smooth and bags delivered to rooms without any fuss.
It was only when I entered my room [and most others in the group had a similar experience that things went downhill.
Despite the thermostat showing 266C, it was in fact a very chilly room probably closer to 16 or 18C. Adjusting the
thermostat did nothing. Turning it off left the room like a fridge. Eventually management turned the aircon off in most of
our rooms. We opened the windows to let the warm air IN, but as there are no screens on any windows we were forced to
close them before dark due to mosquitoes. We needed an blanket on overnight as well as the doona provided.
The BBQ meal on the first night sounded great, but when mine was delivered to my table it was more like blackened,
cremated offerings. A friends, on the other hand, was almost raw.
The rooms [and the hotel itself] is in need of refurbishment as it is looking old and almost "run down", but I repeat the staff
were delightful but even they could not rectify the air conditioning problem..
Need for refurbishment
Hotel with zero interest. We stayed a couple of nights. I had to change room as the A/C was not working. The safety box in
the hotel was from another age and everyone in the group (20 people) could not figure out on how to make it work.
However in a pretty good central location of Mandalay. However I really don't know why the group picked this hotel as we
were supposed to stay only in 5 stars hotel. I was not expecting 5 stars european or Thai standards, but this one barely
reach 2 stars.
Patchy Experience
What a disappointment at the end of our Irrawaddy cruise. As soon as I entered my room I could smell something nasty.
Apparently I was in a smoking room - I didn't even know they existed any more, So if you are staying here, make sure you
ask for a non smoking room. While there was a great view of Mandalay Hill from my room, the room itself was in need of
an update. Lots of scratched wood and mismatching furniture. The shower was over the bath and managed to flood the
bathroom every time I used it. The bathroom products were so cheap and nasty I stopped using them and didn't bother
pinching them. For some reason I had to keep signing back in for the Wifi. The breakfast was patchy at best. Sometimes
food which should have been hot was cool and the wait staff were abrupt and very difficult to locate when needed. The
BBQ dinner in the gardens was beautiful but the cultural performance did go on a bit. Another buffet dinner seemed to be
about eighty percent desserts. Just so you don't think I'm a whinger, the pool was magnificent. However, for an alleged five
star hotel at a premium price, this place was a huge disappointment.
This is a hotel with a big isolation problem!
We stayed here for 3 days and couldn’t sleep any night. The rooms are as well small and not at all isolated. You will hear
everything that goes on around you, at your level, as well as the levels close to your room. You will hear everything from
closing doors to flushing toilets, or simple conversations somewhere in the hotel…
We also “heard” the music from the disco/restaurant, facing the hotel until two o’clock in the morning, every night, I
nightmare!
The management didn’t care about my or other guest’s insomnia problems.
5 star lobby
I am very disappointed by this hotel
I cannot understand the good reviews; maybe it's better then other hotels in Mandalay but I did not try another
The reception was pleasant. The lobby is very elegant and the staff was prompt in getting us in
However the negatives are in large majority
The rooms are not even close as elegant as the lobby.
The water pressure is low
Bed is hard, difficult to sleep
This is the only hotel we have been in Myanmar that does not offer sufficient complementary drinking water; it is not a big
money deal but still
The money exchange rate is 10% worse than any other place we encountered in Myanmar
There are only 2 elevators; at certain hours you might wait a long time before getting in and customers are regularly
squeezed in tight even at not busy hours
The breakfast room cannot accommodate all the customers and there is an overflow to the first floor area; although they
say that breakfast is the same it is not and service is horrible
Noisy: they sell the back for private parties such as weddings mentioning they would do every to minimize noise: this is
purely false
Dinner
We took a garden dinner with a watered down traditional show and this is a real feat to make a barbecue almos inedible;
also overpriced.. On the good side the deserts
One time we took a a la carte dinner
Overpriced
Very small portions
Not a better Asian menu than any small American city only much smaller portions at similar prices
I cannot recommend not to go there because I am not aware of the alternatives in Mandalay
A typical tourist hotel
The hotelis an ugly high rise concrete building with a traditional design entranceadded as an after thought, it doesn't look
right.
The inside feels tired and is in need of a facelift.The rooms although comfortable are indeed dated.The bathroom is of a
poor standard with cracked tiles.The water was tepid not hot.
Our first room faced so not much of a view but the 2nd room faced the hill and the gardens and had excellent views.This
room was rather dark and the toilet flush was very noisy.
The quality and choice of food was average and limited.The restaurant manager struggled to suggest vegetarian options for
me.The restaurant staff were indifferent.
The Ming restuarant was little bit expensive.The Thai green curry had no sauce and the portions were small.
On our 1st night we were told that the restaurant was fully which is unacceptable in my view when one is a guest in the
hotel and has just arrived.
A REAL DISAPPOINTMENT
We stayed at the Mandalay Hill Resort for 5 nights, just a week ago, and almost immediately realized that we’d made a
mistake and should have stayed elsewhere. This hotel might be worth 4 stars if it were priced differently, but given their
rates, I have to give it one star. After all, we all look for both value and quality in any hotel we stay in, and the Mandalay
Hill Resort has none of the former and very little of the latter. In fact, in our view it is poorly designed and poorly
managed, even by Myanmar standards. (We had previously stayed at the Sule Shangri-La in Yangon for a lower price, and
loved it.)
The problems started on check-in. The hotel had a new advertised special of 25% off their rack rate, and we asked them to
apply it to us (to reduce the rate at which we had reserved the room). Half an hour later and after discussions with two
managers they finally agreed, and even gave us an upgrade from a Junior Suite to an Executive Suite. As that suite is their
top-of-the-line room (priced at over $600/night), we expected better quality than we received for the nearly $400/night that
we paid for it. Here are the problems we encountered:
1. THE SUITE WAS NOISY. (If you like peace and quiet, avoid this place.) We were on the top floor, which should have
been the quietest place (since the floors are wooden, and we would otherwise have heard the guests above us). However,
there were clanking sounds all night from machinery that I believe is on the roof. And each time the generator came on
(when the local power supply failed), we heard it. The room’s sound-proofing is poor, and we could hear both guests and
staff as they walked by the room in the hallway. Every night we had to listen to loud music from the Kinsana Theater
(which, although it was reasonably good when we attended the show, sounded like a cacophony from a distance). One
night the hotel hosted a wedding until 10 PM, and we listened to that as well. And, to top it all off, every time someone in
the adjoining suite used the toilet or shower, it sounded like a 747 taking off.
2. THE SHOWER WAS POOR. (If you like a nice hot shower after a day of touring, don’t stay here!) The water pressure
would change every 30 seconds or so, and, each time it did, the water would switch from cold to nearly scalding. At first,
they told us this couldn’t be fixed. After I complained some more they told us they would try to fix it. Then they told us
that they HAD fixed it- but in fact whatever they did lasted only one night. 5 nights there, and we had only one decent
shower.
3. THE AIR CONDITIONING WAS TOO COLD. (If you like to be able to control the temperature in your room, stay
elsewhere.) We would set the temperature of the AC, but the system would ignore that setting and wouldn’t shut off-- and
the room kept getting colder. So, we’d have to turn the AC off when it got too cold in the room, and turn it on again when
it got too warm. You’d think that fixing this would only be a function of changing the thermostat— but, once again, first,
they told us this couldn’t be fixed, then, after I complained some more they told us they would try to fix it. Then they told
us that they HAD fixed it- but in fact they had not. The entire time we were there we were either too hot or too cold.
4. THE LIGHTING SYSTEM IS TERRIBLE. (If you like simplicity, forget this place.) All the lights in the suite, as well
as the air conditioning, are controlled by a single box on one of the night stands. After 5 nights there, we still couldn’t
figure out which button controlled which light, as the buttons are badly labeled. In addition, the system was poorly
conceived. When we turned on the bathroom light it also turned on the light in the dressing area next to the bed. And when
we turned on the lights in the adjacent sitting room it also turned on blinding lights over directly over the bed.
5. THE FLOORS ARE DANGEROUS, AND OLDER PEOPLE COULD EASILY FALL. (If you decide to stay here, be
very careful!) In their infinite wisdom, the designers used highly-polished marble tiles for the bathroom floor. Given that
the shower leaked like a sieve, the floor was always wet, and in fact my wife fell once and hurt her back. I almost slipped
twice. They had also placed a very flimsy rug just in front of the bed— and each time we walked on it it bunched up and
nearly tripped us. Finally, there is a step as you enter and leave each of the toilet rooms in the lobby, and there is no
warning sign. We both tripped on this step. When I told the duty manager that someone was going to be seriously hurt by
those steps, she seemed not to care. Personally, we prefer to stay in a place that doesn’t threaten our health and well-being!
In this regard, note that the pathways to and from the Kinsana Theater are confusing and dangerous. On two occasions we
got lost, and ended up in grassy areas, both of which had large sump-like holes open— which we could have fallen into in
the dark.
6. THERE IS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE EVERYWHERE. We saw it in the lobby as soon as we arrived, as we
waited for the managers to make a decision about the room rate. There were cracks in the marble, places that needed to be
painted, and so on. In the room, there was rust in the shower. The moving puppet theater broke down during the Kinsana
Theater performance that we attended one evening. Overall, it appeared as though a shoddy renovation had been
accomplished.
7. THEY NICKLE AND DIME YOU. On top of the expensive room rate, the hotel socks you for an additional 3.5% if you
pay with a credit card. They also charge you for bottled water in the restaurants and bar, even though bottled water is free
in the room. And when I asked to borrow an extra electrical converter they made me sign a receipt— for an item that I
purchased the next day in a local hardware store for fifty cents USD!
8. THE FOOD IS NOT VERY GOOD AND IS OVER-PRICED. We ate at the hotel 4 nights and 5 breakfasts. The
breakfast buffet was the same every day, without change. In my view, the selection of fruit (in a country overflowing with
excellent fruit) was limited and often unripe. The cole slaw had absolutely no flavor. The smoked salmon tasted old. The
restaurant staff, though very nice, could barely communicate in English. The dinner buffet was $32 USD, and although
there was a decent selection, we didn’t find the food to be at all tasty. I’d suggest that they hire a new chef.
9. MISCELLANEOUS. The bathroom vents into the bedroom (which can be unpleasant for one’s traveling companion).
There are only 2 small guest elevators, and when tour groups arrive it can mean a goodly wait to get up or down. The
onsite Kinsana Theater performance was OK, but uninspired— and the show at the Marinette Theater in town the next
night was much better. There was a musty smell in the hallway every morning. There wwere no food or drinks in the
Executive Lounge the entire time we were there—even though it was high season.
Overall, this would not have been a bad hotel (and I would have given it at least three stars) if our room had been priced at
$200 a night. However, at nearly $400 a night, it was very disappointing. STAY SOMEWHERE ELSE!
Mass market tourist hotel & very average to boot
Everyone goes on about the lifts, so I will only mention in passing...two too small lifts for such a big hotel! As my
guidebook says it looks nicer on the outside than from inside. I found our double-room strangely long and thin, and
CARPETED, very unusual in Myanmar...the bathroom had seen better days - the shower was sited over the bath and very
clunky, where for that matter do you have a bath in a hotel in the Far East these days? And the plumbing was poor (toilet
didn't flush properly). The rooms were dark and poorly furnished, altogether felt dingy and tired. The breakfast buffet was
wide and varied, but I felt like part of a huge package tour, sitting cheek by jowl with strangers, not a welcome feeling,
when travelling in a small group. Dinner in the oriental restaurant on the mezzanine floor was expensive and the portions
small. And no spice in anything! The bar was far too small for a hotel of this size and we had to resort to sitting in the hot
and stuffy smoking area for a cocktail. Had no time to sample the pool area, which looked quite nice. I was upset that our
travel agent had not found a more interesting place for us to stay in Mandalay.
Desperately Needs More Lifts (among other things)
The Thai owned hotel building is impressive but that’s all that is impressive. The hotel has 8 floors and 2 very small lifts.
The common complaint by guests was the constant wait for a lift – and then when it came it was invariably full and
couldn’t be used. The rooms are a reasonable size with wooden floors. The room lighting is inadequate. Coffee is not sold
in the hotel cake shop and cake is not sold in the hotel coffee shop. So guests buy cake in the cake shop and take it to the
coffee shop. After ordering coffee in the coffee shop, the order is made somewhere else and brought to the coffee shop!
The other problem is that the hotel cake shop charges in kyats and the coffee shop charges in US dollars! It’s quite a farce.
Showers are over the bath and the water runs hot and cold. Bath towels are on a rack some way above shower height at the
opposite end of the shower. So if a guest gets out of the shower before getting a towel the guest can’t reach the towel after
stepping out of the shower! If a guest is a light sleeper and likes to sleep late it is a real problem as the monastery next to
the hotel starts its daily broadcasting in the early hours of the morning. The hotel caters for private functions. Each day we
were there a noisy function with blaring music started in the hotel grounds at 4.00pm and went until 10.30pm
(officially).The restaurant service was poor, breakfast was average. I wouldn’t even consider staying there again.
Definitely NOT a five star hotel
The size of the room and it's bathroom are too small to meet the standard of a five star hotel. Bathroom is very cramp and
it's design is very dangerous for elderly visitor to use. Here are a list of thumbs down:
- no handle bars for getting in and out of bathtub
- towel racks are built for 7 feet people
- air con in the room is very noisy and it's remote control doesn't work
- wifi is very slow and difficult to connect
- staff cannot understand English
The hotel management does not understand the standard of a five star international hotel yet.
Grand hotel Fawlty Towers style
While we were upgraded to an Executive Suite upon arrival, things went downhill from there. For starters, the whole
electrical system in our room was not to be mastered by a seasoned traveller: the lights went on or not and bizzarely the
power points were totally random as well. The bathroom is flooding after every shower; the handles on our bathtub went
missing and now we only see gaping holes instead. Dining in the Ming restaurant was ok but overpriced and no amount of
complaining got them to reset the audio which on top of deplorable loud music had a high frequency reverberating pitch
that was very unpleasant. In the bar, when trying to order a glass of wine, the only product available was dubious local
potion, the french choice supposedly wasn't available. The whole place is served by two elevators, whenever a bus arrives
the fawlty towers come to a standstill and you need 15 minutes to get to your room. Seriously poor management overall. on
our trip through Myanmar this has been by some distance the worst experience
Not very happy!
Arrived yesterday. Lovely hotel with excellent staff who are friendly, speak good english and go out of their way. Rooms
are comfortable and wifi is good. Now, onto why I am not happy. We have paid over 200usd per night. On arrival we are
told that they have a wedding the second night of our stay. I understand this is how hotels make money. Except that the
wedding is by the pool. The only pool. Which means that hundreds of guests also paying a good amount of money have
been told they cant use the pool all day and night. Its hot here. Then the wedding actually begins and its as though the band
are playing in our room. Then the nightly dinner and dance show starts as well, so it's a cacophony of cheesy western cover
music and traditional music. Top it off we both got sick. We did eat dinner out of the hotel but both felt fine overnight and
I got sick almost immediately after breakfast. Cancelled the day's activities and came back to the hotel to use the bathroom
and sleep. Husband, bored wandered off to have some lunch in the hotel. He got sick a few hours later. Now I know we
can't just blame the hotel for making us sick but it's reasonable to consider them a suspect! I just hope we make the 6 hour
drive to popa tomorrow.... its a shame that this hotel has put a function over the mainstay of its business who are the paying
guests. The few have been well put ahead of the many in this case. And there was no notice upon booking. Might I suggest
they stick to indoor functions that dont impact the stay of their customers. I will not stay again and as we have not seen
much mandalay, I will be back but take my business elsewhere. Rant over.
Good quality but add ons are rip off
Our stay was quite pleasant until we got the bill for 5 phone calls we made to Yangon to organize a trip (and didn't want to
bother the staff downstairs). $32. For 16 minutes. The Skype rate is 30 cents for comparison.
On top of this they charged is $6 for a 5 minute taxi ride and pretended we would not be able to find a cab. Apart from that,
the hotel building is very big and non description. However they did a good job at decorating the rooms and the swimming
pool is beautiful. The spa area is absolutely lovely but of course the massage were very expensive. The restaurant is also
crazy expensive. $7 for a soup - as in the USA! The room was big and Internet fast. However there were issues with the
water as sometimes it was hot enough or hot at all.Staff was very friendly (except when they told me I was lucky they
didn't charge me for the other phone calls they made to arrange our trip).
Near Death Experience !
Whilst stepping out of the shower my partner slipped on the very slipper shower floor and fell through the glass shower
pane. The pane shattered into millions of sharp shards of glass which he fell into and severely lacerated his back and arms.
The hotel staff were very helpful and took us to the local hospital where he received 40 stitches and he was discharged that
evening, and the hotel staff treated him very well thereafter. However, despite assurances by the hotel management at the
time that something would be done about the slippery shower floors and the obviously non-tempered glass shower pane,
after more than 4 months the only change they have undertaken is to review the type of cleaning product that they use to
clean the showers with. This clearly enough to prevent this from happening again.This is a warning to all future guests who
are considering staying at this hotel to consider staying at another hotel that provides a safer alternative at least until this
problem is eventually adequately resolved by the hotel management.
Small rooms overlooking car park
This hotel is all show. The hotel's architechnical design was a curved structure with the rooms on the inside of the curve
being small (and with a view of the car park) and the rooms on the outside of the curve being a lot larger with a view of
Mandalay Hill.
We had booked a Mandalay Hill view room but due to a mix-up were allocated one of the inner rooms. (So sorry, but we
have just had a tour group and a wedding group take all the available outer view rooms). Needless to say we weren't happy,
and there was no hint of a refund or other compensation.Consequently, the bathroom was correspondingly smaller. The
hotel is well out of town so one was forced to eat in the hotel or a very noisy restaurant (?) across the road. The restaurants
in the hotel are very good - both The International, and Asian on the 1st floor. One compensation was that the wedding
around the pool went to all hours and our room was on the opposite side of the hotel, and was sheltered from the noise. The
breakfast was very good.
However, visiting Mandalay again, I would not stay at this hotel and stay at the Sedona for the same or less money. The
Sedona is well in town and the city is an easy walk. People that we had met during our travels had invited us to the hotel
for a drink and it was far superior in service and value.
Nice lobby but rooms are very badly designed
We stayed 3 nights in the Superior room. We were quite impressed when we turned into the hotel driveway and when we
entered the lobby. However, the good impression was short-lived. The superior room was long and very narrow and the
bathroom was tiny. The TV was not aligned with the bed and you could not turn the TV at an angle to watch it. Seems like
the hotel grounds were designed to impress but the owner/management decided to squeeze as many rooms into each floor
as possible without consideration for the comfort of the hotel guests.
Horrible
Very tired and neglected hotel. Broken entry door, leaking toilet and shower not attended to despite 2 requests. Dirty
tablecloths with large holes and stains. Swimming pool area decrepit, broken down deckchairs that should have been
thrown out 5 years ago.
The entrance side of the hotel faces a large karaoke bar with screaming music until 1 AM, so forget about an early night.
Only 2 lifts, totally inadequate. Constantly broken down.
During our four-day stay the whole swimming pool area was off-limits all afternoon and evening due to a private function.
This is totally inacceptable.
Totally overpriced, poorly maintained.
Staff are friendly and smiling but very few speak reasonable English.
Needs more consideration for guests
The Mandalay Hill resort needs to work harder to satisfy the needs of its guests. It has some strong points - a nice pool and
restaurant area with generally good food. However, the bathroom is tiny - befitting a 3-star rather than a 5-star hotel.
Most importantly, any serenity we had watching a very nice dance performance was shaken by the loud music at a private
party at the pool. What's worse, they scheduled a full-scale rock concert two nights later. Fortunately we left the hotel just
before the concert.
Paying guests need more consideration if this is to be a 5-star hotel.
Although excellent service avoid hotel because of terrible noise !
This hotel would be excellent, unfortunately there is now an open air night club just next to it, with terrible noise and loud
music from 6 pm until midnight, non stop. Impossible to relax in your room or sleep ! This hotel should be avoided until
they obtain closure of this night club!
"You Cannot Check Out Until We Confirm Bedsheets Are Clean"
Decent rooms & good location but the value is truly terrible. Place is way overpriced, the food was horrendous & the staff
made us wait 20 minutes to confirm the sheets were in good shape before we checked out. Lordy.
Only Two Stars!!!
My wife and I stayed there for 4 nights. Upon checking in, we were told that no credit cards were accepted. Their system
was down for a month and a half and was still down and they were unsure as to when it would be fixed. This is terrible for
a so called 4 star hotel. The staff were friendly, especially those at the concierge as they were the ones that got us a travel
agent who accepted our credit card. If not for them, we would not have seen anything in Mandalay. The gym is not worth
visiting as the equipment is ancient. Only one restaurant was operating. The club lounge was closed. Shame on the
management of this hotel as it is quite obvious that they are an incompetent lot!!
Weird Place...
This was an odd place to stay...
Technically all the factors were "fine." The room and bathroom were clean, A/C blasting which was essential in Mandalay,
food at the restaurants was pretty good although expensive...
But I didn't like staying at this hotel AT ALL.
My favorite part of our trip to Myanmar was interacting with the people. But this hotel was too corporate feeling to do
that... I think we were the only guests there that weren't on some package tour...
The pool area could have been nice, but it was kind of grimy, and it doesn't get good sunlight.
Plus, since there was a wedding there almost every evening, I got the impression that they were constantly setting up and
taking down all over the pool area.
If you have a choice (and there weren't very many when I was looking) in Mandalay, pick something else...
AVOID THIS SHAMEFUL ESTABLISHMENT
We had been bookd to stay here on two occasions during our recent vacation in Myanmar. Thankfully this hotel could not
accommodate us on our first leg and we stayed at the excellent Sedona hotel instead, (see my other review). However, we
were booked in for one night as we transited Mandalay en-route to Heho.Firstly, the Mandalay Hill Resort is a foul blot on
the Mandalay skyline. A giant white block under Mandalay Hill , it is only on ascending Manadaly Hill that one sees what
a true eye-sore it is. But the problem of the building does not end there. It is huge and busy with mostly tour-groups. The
two lifts are small and usually manned by a security guard, so there is even less room for the numbers who need to get to
and from their rooms. The lifts play loud and absolutely awful music. They are slow and much time was spent hanging
around waiting for a lift.
Unlike every other hotel I stayed in in Myanmar only this place charges for Internet access, a rip-off at $5 a day. It also
sells the most expensive beer in Myanmar. At $7 a bottle, it beats even the fanciest Yangon hotels for price. The rooms are
small. there is hardly enough room to walk around the bed. Everything about the place is miserly. the bathroom towels
were thin and small. The overblown decor - black and gold everywhere is oppressive. The restaurant has a miserly buffet
and, unsurprisingly expensive and very poor a la carte menu. This is a two-star establishment masquerading as four or five-
star.
To be fair, the front desk was most welcoming on our arrival, but for us, the dreadfulness of the facilities and our treatment
by the hotel didn't start or end with the regular staff. The hotel claims to have the first and best spa in Myanmar. It may
have been the first but as for being the best, this is simply not the case. The grounds of the hotel are large and well laid out.
The pool is terrific. Stupidly, they have built the spa over a mosquito-infested swamp.
My wife wanted to try the spa and made a reservation for a session of reflexology at the spa reception in the hotel foyer.
When she went, her appointment had been lost and they did not have the room available. They offered my wife an
alternative room with a bed, but she needed a reflexology chair. The spa manager then offered her another room which he
assured her was suitable and, although it was not private, being open on one side to a staff corridor, she accepted. What my
wife did not expect was what happened next. The room was full of mosquitoes. The spa manager and an assistant remained
in the room zapping mosquitoes with electric killer’s whist the treatment started. After a few minutes the spa manager
asked my wife to take one of the zappers and to continue killing the mosquitoes herself. As she was half way through the
treatment and in order not to cause a scene she took up the apparatus. The treatment over, she complained to the spa desk
staff but neither apology nor an offer of recompense was made.
At this point I felt i should intervene and asked to see the duty manager. he appeared to know about the incident. i
suggested that perhaps, in the light of my wife's experience, he should waive the charge. He said he couldn't do this
without consulting the spa manager first, but he assured me he had us, his guests, best interests at heart. As we were
leaving at dawn to fly to Heho my wife and wanted an early night. I was called by the duty manager who asked if he and
the spa manager could have a meeting in our room, which, considering my wife was trying to get to sleep, I felt
inappropriate, but I was happy to talk to the spa manager on the phone.
He duly called and after a protracted discussion in which I had to demand an apology for the way my wife had been treated
he agreed to waive the charge. I thought the matter was settled until i arrived at the front desk in th morning to settle my
bill and found the charge still on the account. At this point I refused to pay, reminding the staff that the spa manager had
agreed to waive the charge. He, unsurprisingly, was not available to confirm this and the staff said that he hadn't agreed it
anyway. I asked to see the General Manager but was told he was out of the country. The duty manager was busy and I
would have to wait. We had a plane to catch, we were running late and I said we were leaving. As I got into our car the
duty manager arrived and told me he was calling the police. He refused to accept the fact that the spa manager had waived
the charge and made me feel like a liar and a cheat. He then closed the hotel gates to prevent us from leaving. At this point
I felt I had no choice but to pay him otherwise we would have certainly missed the flight and I did not want to have to
spend hours arguing with the Mandalay police.
What is such a shame about this whole sorry affair is that I found on my journey around Myanmar nothing but politeness,
helpfulness and really excellent customer care. The Mandalay Hill Resort is clearly an establishment where management
cannot manage and where profit comes ahead of customer service. It presents a truly dreadful image of Myanmar and is a
disgrace to the tourist industry. I have informed the Minister of Tourism directly.
I would urge anyone thinking of staying here to reconsider. there are other, better, nicer and more reasonable hotels in
Mandalay.
Very disappointing
A four star hotel with accommodations of a three star and five star pricing. I was told beforehand that because of the lack
of tourist infrastructures in Burma, the ones already there took advantage to increase their prices in an outrageous manner.
Nowhere can it be seen better than in this hotel :
- very expensive restaurant not only for local standard but also for western standards.
- mediocre breakfast : synthetic fruit juices, so on...
- if you want to go to the city, you will be obliged to take a cab. The hotel will do it for you at the price of 12 USD round
trip, three times the price than in yangon.
Plus what has been said by others :
- only two lifts for the eight floors : means LOOONNNG lines. And beware that because of frequent power cuts, your trip
in the lift can be longer...'
- very average fitness centre with broken machines
- nice swimming pool but the water is very cold : impossible to have a long workout without freezing.
- if you stay by the pool to relax, you will be eaten by mosquitoes
In a nutshell, we could tolerate everything of this (after all, burma just opened up) but not when you are charged 300 USD
the night
I forgot to mention that the city of Mandalay is ugly : why bother going there ? Go directly to Bagan
Mandalay Hill Resort
We have been here 4 hours and not impressed. Room needs updating. Only two elevators and only one key per room. We
asked for another key but was told we could only have one key and if either my husband or myself needed to get into the
room, they will have someone open our door. Slow elevators, one key per room, makes for old, outdated hotel. Drinks,
even water comparable to USA prices. Worst part, you will be eaten alive by mosquitos.
Noise, Noise, Noise & Overpriced
This was the worst hotel during our trip through Myanmar. This is a large tour bus hotel, with overpriced and very
mediocre food. Rooms are seriously out of date other than the flat screen TV. The mattress in our room should have been
replaced years ago. Pillows were horrible. I would expect to pay $50/night for a hotel like this in Thailand, not the $200+
this place is currently charging.The hotel held a car dealers award show on one night. The music was so loud it shook the
entire hotel. Our room was vibrating from the bass. Totally unacceptable considering the rates being charged. Management
could not of cared less.I would never return to this hotel. I wish I had chose Rupar Mandalar instead.
Typical Myanmar hotel: badly maanged and maintained
This is a typical Myanmar hotel: badly managed, poorly maintained and without any regard for the environmental
consequences. The hotel is a high rise monstrosity that can be seen from any high point in Mandalay. It has complete
disregard for aesthetics and local architecture both inside and outside. As a consequence the whole hotel has a permanent
stench which is particularly disturbing around the pool and the spa. The hotel rooms are acceptable, although very badly
maintained. Their size is more or less what one would expect from a three star hotel and so are it amenities. The electricity
goes on and off constantly, as Mandalay struggles to cope with its population and the latest onslaught of tourists – but I
suppose that this is not the hotel fault. However, this makes the use of the hotel lift a rather dangerous experience. The
hotel reminded me of average hotels in Thailand in the 90s and before Thailand made an effort to improve its standards. I
was not surprised to find out that the hotel was Thai managed!
Because of the size of the hotel, the breakfast experience is a scrum although what is on offer is very respectable and of a
high variety. We found it difficult to maintain our seats at the restaurants as the staff were moving our plates and the seats
were occupied by new arrivals. The hotel is very far from anything in Mandalay and as a consequence you are captive an
obliged to use its restaurants. There are three restaurants that operate during the evening but we experience the one where
breakfast is served only. During dinner the restaurant is not very busy, but the kitchen finds difficult to cope with even the
small number of visitors. As a consequence our order took 45 mins to arrive and not all of us in our party were served at
the same time. Overall not a very pleasant experience.
This is one of the few places in Myanmar where customer service has gone downhill since the increase in tourist numbers.
The staff is not very obliging and yet they expect a tip even for the smallest service. This is despite the fact that any
transaction at the hotel carries an additional service charge and tax.
In conclusion there is little to recommend in this hotel. Its size works against it, its location could is disadvantages and the
staff need a very good training in customer service.
The not so 4 star hotel
This was one hotel we were really looking forward to staying at and were very disappointed. We are a family of three and
were not part of any tour group - the staff seemed fairly disinterested in us and whilst they answered our questions - it was
not with the same level of courteousness as we had experienced at other hotels in Myanmar. Maybe it is too
commercialised?
Avoid at all cost
My first visit to Myanmar and we were recommended to this hotel by several "specialist" UK travel agencies. A very grand
building greets you but this hides a terrible experience awaiting you. The first problem one encounters are long and always
present queues for the (only) two lifts. Not only should there be at least double the number for an 8 floor hotel but the ones
in use are painfully slow. The toilet in our room did not flush and a complaint was rejected with a claim it was working
fine! The two restaurants in the hotel serve bland and expensive food and the so called "fitness centre" is a collection of
some very poor exercise machines, many not in working order.
A request to extend checkout time by a mere hour was greeted with a firm "no" using the excuse that the room was rented
for an early arrival. Accordingly, when we left the hotel the next morning for sightseeing we asked for our bags to be
brought down and stored. We returned to collect them 3 1/2 hours after the checkout deadline only to find that they had not
been removed from our room. In other words, the room was obviously not rented.
To cap it all we used a car and driver supplied by the hotel for sightseeing. I discovered after the fact that we were charged
more than double the going rate.
"Take care...this hotel appears to be double booking "
I cannot review the facilities and service at this hotel because, although our agent in Yangon had received confirmation of
our reservation of a Junior Suite for 2 nights, when we attempted to check-in we were told that our agent had only been
given confirmation for the second night of our intended stay. Our guide telephoned our agent in Yangon, who said that she
had been advised earlier that afternoon that a room was no longer available for our first night. To cut a long story short...we
moved to another hotel for the two nights and during a conversation with a couple from Sweden ( the lady was a travel
agent) in the hotel restaurant, they told us that they had had a similar experience to our own....in so far as they had received
an email a week previously from the hotel advising that their previously confirmed reservation was no longer available !
On our return to Yangon, we met a representative from our agent and she was able to show me the confirmation of our
reservation, which she had received in August ! My guess is that if the hotel receives a booking for a large tour
group...independent travellers are pushed aside !
Mandalay Hill Resort, no resort for me!!!!
High expectations after a brilliant experience in Yangon, however cold shower at the reception: Our three rooms are
cancelled!!! Why? No proper explanation. The name on the reservation does not correspond to the name on voucher??!!
After leaving behind thousands of kms, change of hotel for nothing is not something you look forward to. Probably some
kind of problem between the hotel and the local agent. They were also not cooperative at all in locating another place to
stay.
Thanks to our talented guide Ms Gonzales, we were able to find rooms in another 5star hotel. Mandalay Hill Resort, no
resort for me!!!! Once competition is present in the near future, they will be wiped out with such practice.
Overpriced - especially the extras
This hotel can only survive because there is a lack of alternatives. Rooms are old and worn, kinda Eastern European
chique. Pool area is inviting and half the gym equipment is broken. Food, drinks, spa massages are ridiculously overpriced
($50 for a one hour massage). And Internet is painfully slow and they still have the nose to charge you... Kipling Bar is
quite nice and lively.
Well located but fell short of expectations
We stayed at Mandalay Hill resort for our quick half day visit before heading to Bagan. This hotel is well located next to
the entrance of the Mandalay Hill temples and sunset viewing spot and a short drive (we walked in the afternoon heat
which is not recommended) to the East gate of the Palace. The hotel is rather dated and despite being given one of their
better rooms on the 7th floor, we were disappointed with the overall standard of the furnishings. We were told that this
hotel was formerly a Novotel but it is now a Burmese-Thai joint venture. This is why we expected a higher standard than
that currently on offer.We didn't try the spa in the hotel because we felt it was too expensive. There is a very nice pool and
garden area where you can relax at the end of your day. Be warned - there were a lot of mosquitoes, even in the restaurant!
We had an expensive though perfectly acceptable lunch at the ground floor cafe but chose to eat out at night (Green
Elephant Restaurant in town). We were disappointed that the hotel's Chinese restaurant was closed despite our stay
coinciding with Mid-Autumn festival! The hotel bar had some atmosphere given the live band performing Mamma Mia
hits in the evening.Do allow yourself plenty of time to get back to the airport: at busy times this journey could take longer
than 90 minutes. It took us 45 minutes travelling at 6:30am.
the worst ever!
I would never ever go back to this hotel. I have never expereinced such poor customer service before. The hotel decor
looks nice and that's about all the good at this hotel. Some staff at the reception look stuckup and unfriendly. When we
checked out we were charged for the wine that we did not drink and also for the oversea phone bill that we never used!
Later, they found out that the room service forgot to restock after the previous guest left, but no "sorry" nothing. They said
I made a phone call to Italy. I don't know any one in Italy and I asked them to prove it. They showed me a little slip
showing less than 10 sec phone to a really long # like 15 digits. The only thing I called that night was to an operator to set
up the morning alarm. After a long period of arguing back and forth for $7, I decided to pay because we were already late
to go to the airport and our poor driver was already waiting out there for about 45 mins. However, our luggages were still
not ready!! If you want a bad service stay at this hotel, but dont use the phone for any reason.
Three stars would be over generous
Hotel that has a hangover of state run atmosphere. Very unhelpful at reception. Whatever you do don't make a foreign
phone call from your room. I had to and was charged $100 for a 3 minute call to Europe. Check the fine print, as the
operator certainly won't warn you! Inedible food at the restaurant and overpriced to boot. Complete lack of taxis at this end
of town in the evening, have to stand on the street for ages to flag someone down, no help from the concierge at all. Rooms
wee satisfactory.
Very Mediocre Hotel Masquerading as Luxury Hotel
This hotel is pretty mediocre, and that's about it. The lobby looks nice, but the rooms are small and out-dated. The few
restaurants in the hotel are so over-priced that it's comical. The pool is decent, although the water temperature is so cold
that it prohibits and real swimming. I found the service to be abominable - I was in a bind and needed some help with a few
small things, and the employees at the front desk didn't even bother pretending to care, let alone actually going out of their
way to help. The only redeeming feature of the hotel is that its setting is very pretty at the base of Mandalay Hill.
unprofessional duty manager
we stayed at this hotel during Christmas holiday. On the 24th there was a compulsory dinner planned. Upon arrival on the
22 I notified the 2 duty managers that 2 family members were very ill and we all would not join the dinner. I told him I
would like a refund and he said yes and he would notify my travel agent that booked the dinner. Not only did they not give
us a refund, when we went to the restaurant to order for the other family members they charged us for the meal. They were
very unprofessional in handling the situation. They should have told us the 3 days we stayed there would be no refund,
instead they said yes to the refund. I would not recommend this hotel or the travel agency that booked it for us. They took
no responsibility in handling it professional. The agency name is Gulliver Travel and I would not recommend them.
Tired hotel with average service
We stayed at the hotel for three nichts, including the New Year eve. Although we liked some things about the hotel, like
the pool and entrance to the spa, overall impression was not great:
1. Halls, rooms and elevators look worn-out, with scratches, rust on the windows frames, and pieces of decorations falling
off
2. Claimed to be present, Internet was not functioning at all, though we tried it many times, and the staff claimed that 'some
times it works'. The staff was totally unhelpful with it
3. Phones didn't function properly - on the day we were leaving, I could not call bell service and had to go downstairs
myself to ask a bell boy to pick our luggage
4. Loud music at nights - the lobby bar was used as a sort of a night club, and every single night some local pop band was
playing Western pop hits till about midnight. I don't usually have problems with music, but there was no place to hide from
that one - very load and not too likable, the whole building was shaking. That happened on all the nights we stayed in the
hotel.
5. Bad, bad New Year party - don't want to repeat what had been said by the previous negative reviewers on Christmas and
New Year parties, but wholly agree with them. We had our Christmas dinner at Sedona Hotel in Yangon, and the contrast
was too big to even compare the two - there we had good and plentiful food, attentive staff, decent music and a right
atmosphere, while at Mandalay Hill Resort it was nothing but 'Surprise Concert' (as they called it)...
On the positive side - the staff was very friendly, even though not always helpful
Cynical service and overpriced
We stayed at the Mandalay Hill Resort over Christmas eve and Christmas Day. The room was very average as was the
service. The hotel appears tired and unloved.
The biggest gripe was the food. We had a compulsory meal on the 24th Dec where we had to sit with strangers on a table
for 4. The food was buffet and all the food was boring, poorly cooked and cold. It cost $80. To add to it the the scenery
was ruined. There are 2 beautiful pagodas looking over the hotel which were obscured by a huge billboard with neon lights
surround it saying "Merry Xmas sponsored by Alpine Mineral Water". Hardly an authentic Myanmar experience.
The next night we had to eat in the restaurant at a rate of $90 (excluding drinks) and we were convinced the food was left
over from the previous night. It was also buffet and consisted of the same dishes which were utterly cold. I had to leave
mine.
We left feeling like we did not want to return and that there was a cynical attitude towards foreigners and tourists who were
there to be fleeced. Do not stay at this hotel there are better ones in town.
Dear Carly & Ewan,
Thank you for your review of your stay at Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel. Our Christmas Eve dinner menu included
traditional items that had to be imported , Turkey (USA), Hams , Atlantic Salmon (Norway) and Beef (Australian) and a
selection of local seafoods along with free flow of Beer , Wine & Soft Drink. At the price per head of $55 per person it is
not unreasonable.However the celebration at the poolside was affected by the weather. It was particularly cold that evening
and whilst the Chefs were endeavouring to keep the buffet food hot we were not successful in some cases.
We take note of the sponsors signboard and take heed for next events to be not so intrusive.
Christmas Day in Yadanbon Restaurant was a similar menu with Christmas trimmings at a price of $35 per person
excluding beverage. All food was presented fresh as the hotel policy is not to recycle food particularly in this environment.
Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to welcome and meet you during your stay. I trust you will find your way
back to Myanmar and visit again. Please be assured we have taken your comments seriously and our team has committed
to resolving and improving these issues for the future. Thank you again and best wishes for this New Year.
Our worst Myanmar experience
We stayed at the Mandalay Hill resort, a former NOVOTEL but now a Thai-Myanmar joint venture with an European
manager, NYE 2009.
The hotel is well located north/east of the palace - but that's already all good said.
It's a completely run-down Novotel from the 80th which already years ago needed paint, renovation and also upgrade.
Really everything, from A to Z looks (and is) worn (including the clothes of the staff). Internet only party works in the
lobby and in business center.
We had a Suite at the Executive floor (8th) with a balcony towards the palace (which you anyway can't see). There's even
an Executive lounge - which is closed.The worst has been the NYE party. The setting wasn't nice, the music terrible and
the food uneatable (and cold). The management even has been to stupid to put the Europeans together (so we could
communicate) but instead mixed us with the locals and Chinese which didn't speak any English. At the buffet the locals
were always prefered over the foreigners and served first - even they came last.At 24:00 there was a big bang, a Happy
New Year and appox. 00:10 the closed.Such a mistake to stay at this very, very bad Hotel where there're 2 very nice Hotels
in Mandalay. We've checked them for my fathers trip and I can say No. 1 clearly is "Rupar Mandalar", a newly build 16
room teak boutique hotel with stunning pool and very good service and No. 2 is "Hotel by the Red Canal". No.1 is a bit out
of town, No.2 is near center but I didn't like the location due to a lot of rubbish around.
So, if you visit Mandalay, please don't stay at the Mandalay Hill Resort!!!
The
Screaming loud speaker monk 5AM to 8AM daily!!!!
Remember all of Myanmar is CASH ONLY including hotels!!! For a huge hotel like Mandalay Hills, their prices, what
they call "plus plus" added taxes and fees, an average meal is about $30.00 for bread and water, don't go for the buffet
$150.00 set back and it is really fly infested in the morning and totally we got Montezuma's revenge for 3 days. Worse was
the hotel room. It's ok, not what you think of when you see the lobby area but it's morning prayer service that happens
EVERY DAY to get the local villagers up to feed the monks. Begins at 5AM. You're thinking of lovely temple Tibetan
type, WRONG!!!Some guy with a loud speaker intoning in a monotone horrible horrible, wicked headache. Can't escape.
Didn't try the Sedona, but at least it takes credit card, a plus as you'll need it if you plan on doing any site seeing. Also,
Leave Mandalay as fast as you can and get yee out to any other city.
Hotel Yadanarbon
Located in Mandalay, Hotel Yadanarbon Mandalay features comfortable rooms with air conditioning. Other facilities at
this hotel include a 24-hour front desk and a restaurant. Free Wi-FI is available throughout. Hotel Yadanarbon Mandalay is
within a 5-minute drive from Mandalay Railway Station and Mandalay Royal Palace. Mandalay International Airport is a
45-minute ride away. On-site parking is possible. Cosy rooms here are provided with a TV, a seating area and a
refrigerator. They also have an electric kettle and a safety box. An en suite bathroom comes with a bathtub and a hairdryer.
Free toiletries are provided. For meals, guests can enjoy local dishes at the on-site Yadanarbon Restaurant. This is our
guests' favourite part of Mandalay, according to independent reviews. Couples particularly like the location — they rated it
8.0 for a two-person trip.
Bed bugs - avoid this hotel!
I am a positive reviewer and can usually find something nice to say about most properties, but I had a very bad experience
at the Hotel Yadanarbon and urge you to avoid staying here. The worst experience involved encountering bed bugs in an
upholstered chair in the lobby. I sat in the chair for about 15 minutes and immediately started feeling bites on my arms. I
assumed the bites were from mosquitoes, even though I hadn't seen any land on me. Afterwards, however, the bites
developed into red welts and exactly match bed bug bites. I got 54 bites in the 15 minutes I sat in that chair! This happened
as we were waiting for a car to drive us to the airport. I immediately emailed the hotel when I arrived home in Shanghai
but haven't received any response in two days. Other things that weren't great: we had arranged airport pickup but no one
came (we were told this was a mistake on their end). We hoped to exchange USD at the hotel desk (a service offered by
every other hotel we stayed at in Myanmar) but were told they hadn't gone to the bank that day and couldn't offer that
service. Our room was right beside the elevator on the 1st floor and we could hear everything that happened in the hallway.
There was zero noise protection between our room and the hallway space. Breakfast was okay but did not measure up to
others we experienced in Myanmar. For this price, you can find other hotels in Mandalay that are much better. And if there
were bed bugs in the lobby, I can only imagine that they exist in some of the rooms, as well. I would NOT recommend
staying here.
"outdated"
 Jan 26, 2019  Brijou47, Lyon, France
This hotel is outdated, uncomfortable, the rooms have inadequate lighting, and the odd amenities. Baths with plastic
curtains for example. To access the pool, you have to go down to the ground floor to take another elevator!
"disappointment"
 Nov 14, 2018  Cando75, Stuttgart, Germany
We stayed in this hotel for 3 nights in November 2018. Unfortunately, there are some things I did not like: - the rooms with
"garden view" have no windows outside. Just behind the window is a plant and a lamp. At the reception one called the
"artificial garden". A bad joke for me. - the rooms on the 5th floor are directly under the breakfast rooms. Here are from 5
o'clock the preparations for the breakfast made. Including dislocation of chairs and tables. This is very loud in the morning
in the room. - The prices at the poolside bar are quite steep for Mandalay standards. A Bombay Gin for 6 €. In comparison,
we stayed at the Mandalay River Hotel (better hotel category and a tip for the sunset) for sunset at 2 euros for a bombay
gin. - At check out we had to pay extra for using the credit card 2%. When booking on Booking.com (with credit card) was
nothing of the extra fees. - After the payment (I did not complain to the above points) there was no adoption. The lady at
the front desk turned away and did something else. In other hotels in Myanmar it's very different.
Cutting Costs Cutting Services
No Hot Water in our room and couldn’t fix. Cutting Costs.
Bed with Springs poking thru should get burnt. Cutting Costs.
Elevators sometimes out of service so have to climb the Five levels. Cutting Costs.
No Bacon for Breakfast when asked why told Cutting Costs.
Grilled Tomatoes Cold. Cutting Costs.
Maids kept turning Air Con off so we would come back to a hot room. Cutting Costs.
Two nights in a row wrong soup brought and waiter argued that it was the correct one until we showed him the menu.
Cutting Costs will cause Management to loose clients.
Beware of the odor of room 405...
When I arrived I was told I had received a complimentary upgrade so I was delighted. I was taken to my room and it had a
good view of the city and it was cosy, I couldn't complain, well not yet anyway.However the air-con didn't generate
enough cool air and wasn't able to properly cool the room down, I asked reception if there was anyway to make it colder
and two maintenance workers were sent up to help me with the problem. One of them seemed to think it was working fine,
but it clearly wasn't as it could only blow a weak gust of air felt only if you were standing directly under it. Anyway it
wasn't a big issue, they moved me to another room.When I arrived in this room, after turning on the air-con I noticed a
horrible stench, of which smelt like a dirty bathroom. I noticed that there was a window and it was obvious from the way
they had completely sealed the window and hidden the view with fake bamboo plants and a plastic sheet on the window,
that something 'undesirable' was lurking behind this window that they did not want guests to see! I hate staying in rooms
that have no window or a 'fake' window with no view like this one.Anyway the next morning the stench had become
unbearable, so I called reception and asked them if they could move me again. The receptionist said she'd inform the
manager and let me know but that was the end of it. No call back and no move, so I had to endure another night of staying
in this foul smelling room. I was also concerned about ingesting the smelly air coming into my room, it can't have done my
health that much good!When I checked out, I asked two members of staff what it was behind that window in my room, but
no one could give me an answer! I informed the manager of the smell and that my request to move had been ignored and
he said he'd look into the smell. Beware of room 405.On the plus side, the staff were very friendly and kind. The
receptionist organised my bus back to Yangon for the next morning. The rooftop pool and bar was a redeeming feature and
I spent some much-needed sun lounging up there! Toby, one of the staff members was great and even showed me around
Mandalay on his scooter once he had finished his shift, he makes for a fantastic tour guide!I have given two stars due to the
smelly room I was put in, but the facilities and staff I would of course rate higher.*see attached to this room the dreaded
'cover up' window
"Very low range"
 Apr 9, 2018  KenzoX99, Paris
Well ranked on the site, the hotel seemed less worse than the competitors ... Unfortunately, despite the friendliness of the
staff, it was not a satisfactory stay. It is old, very bad taste 'Chinese style'. The bathroom is dilapidated, the water lukewarm
and there is a slight smell of sewage. The air conditioning works better than the fridge. There is no soundproofing. Avoid
during party time. The breakfast is awful. Almost no fruit, stale croissants, brown ham is in the open air. Only the pool is
nice. We will not come back to the establishment
"benefits below normal, no window"
 Mar 19, 2018  Justin_Navis, Pertuis, France
Admittedly this is not strictly mentioned, but the room we had was windowless. The rental via booking (redirected by trip
advisor) asked us for 10% additional costs. That said, the location of the hotel is ok (hard to find a great location for
everything given the size of Mandalay), and the street is relatively quiet.
"I would not go back"
 Nov 12, 2017  crsduarte, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
We stayed at the Yadanarbon hotel in Mandalay and our experience was not the best.The hotel is noisy And there is a
building being built right next door. Workers working on this building had access to the bedroom window, as shown in the
photo I am attaching to this assessment. The room will be windowless when the work is completed. Also the room smells
musty. The plug was so hot that we were afraid to put the laptops in charge. The decoration of the hotel is of doubtful taste.
We saw a mouse strolling between the tables of the rooftop restaurant. The staff is smiling and provides information about
the sights, but soon tries to persuade you to hire the taxi indicated by them, eliminating your freedom of choice. Please
note, too, that your hotel bill is increased by 5% when you say you will pay by credit card. This would be no problem if
this information was provided in advance or was fixed in a conspicuous place upon check-in.
Time to admit you're renovating
We chose this hotel because of the photo of the roof top restaurant. We had a 5th floor room directly below the jack
hammer renovation of said floor. This went on day and night. we asked to be moved and staff assisted, putting us on the
3rd floor but the noise was still terrible.
Congratulations to staff for trying to keep customers happy but really, the hotel has to own up to the fact that major
renovations are taking place. It is NOT a quiet place to stay for the next twelve months.
Terrible experience
The website did not reveal the construction work going on at the hotel and that the rooftop bar is closed. The work
encroached into the restaurant so you eat breakfast while the builders are working and walking through the dining area.
Our room was clean but being on the 5th floor right below the dining room was very noisy not only from the scraping of
furniture upstairs but also from the hallway. The staff were numerous but we had to ask several times for our drinks and
bill. In fact we only got the bill when we left the restaurant and they chased after us. However they accepted our
cancellation of the second night and organised transport to the replacement hotel.
Didn't mention extensive renovations when we booked....
Booked this hotel to coincide with the Mandalay festival of light (Oct 4-8). The hotel's main attraction is their rooftop
terrace bar at which we'd planned to spend evenings watching the fireworks. Arrived the night of Oct 4 to find the upper
two floors (including the rooftop terrace closed for renovation. To add insult to injury they gave us a room directly beneath
the area having all its floor tiles being ripped up. This hotel doesn't give a damn about integrity.
"Price - performance is not correct!"
 Sep 29, 2017  MrDanDre
We chose this hotel because it should have a great rooftop bar when we arrived we saw the huge construction site to the
left of the building. The rooftop bar was not available. The staff is friendly and courteous, but there are other negative
aspects, the temporary breakfast room looks like a storage room has almost no daylight and is illuminated with cold white
neon lamps. It is constantly loud whether in front of the window that we were facing the street or in the corridors where
Walkytalky can be heard shouting from 7am. The request to be a bit quieter was only partially met. It is questionable
whether you have to bring the laundry to your room at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, there is a lack of sensitivity and simple rules.
Otherwise the hotel is clean and well equipped, but not for this price!
Does the job.
There seem to be limited hotel options in Mandalay compared to other places in Myanmar, which is not a problem, we love
that it's not touristy, but this hotel has a long way to go. The staff were friendly and helpful, as you would expect. They
helped us organise a great cooking course for the day which we really enjoyed.
What lets this hotel down is the is dated and unloved feel. The furnishings are old, drab and a bit depressing. It needs some
TLC.
We chose this hotel because it had a roof terrace that looked nice in the photos, but when we arrived we were told that it
was under construction and couldn't use it. The building next to the hotel is under huge (noisy/dusty) renovations as the
hotel is expanding. This takes over the whole of the top floor (terrace) of the hotel, our room was located one floor below -
not ideal. We thought that first they should probably revamp the current rooms before they add to it and should tell guest
before they pay that areas of the hotel are unusable and being worked on.
Breakfast was held in a poorly lit and dingy room at the back of the hotel. The lighting was terrible; green/fluorescent
bright lights and windows with curtains pulled shut, during the day(?!).
Good position but nothing more
Good position to visit Mandalay and room clean. Unfortunatey the sky restaurant (on the top of the hotel) was not available
due to renovation. It was not possible to sleep well due to noises, the market in the street started at 5 AM and the
renovation works at the sky restaurant started at 6 AM, using jackhammers. Moreover one day we decided to have a dinner
but the quality was not good and we had a discussion because they didn't want to accept some dollars, considered old.
Run down
We were at this hotel during Thingyan and while that was a ton of fun, the hotel disappointed.
The hotel is run down, they say they reno'd it recently, but you could not tell from our room. We actually had a bathtub and
it still leaked water all over the floor when we showered (and after). That's worse than a shower that gets it wet and then it
dries. We woke up every morning at 7 am to preaching over a loudspeaker. The street was dust bowl. The breakfast is
mediocre. The rooftop patio was nice. The neighbors seem to think the hotel is owned by unsavory people.
The hotel staff were unable to answer simple questions like is the palace open? They were not interested in finding out for
you either. If you asked different staff you got different answers and you had to decide what to believe. There were not at
all helpful with further travel plans because you couldn't trust their information. They charge over double for a taxi to the
airport during Thingyan and I can't for the life of me understand why. There was a car sitting there and presumably the
man with it was the driver but he was unwilling to drive us anywhere for any price. Bizarre. Thank heavens for Starsky - a
taxi driver down the street a bit.
They wanted us to pay our incidentals in US$ and when we did they were unable to make change in either currency. We
ended up taking a lot of very gritty 1$ bills off their hands. I wouldn't recommend this hotel.
A bit of an odd ball place
We managed to stay in 2 of this chains hotels, and noticed a theme that the glossy frontage in no way represented the
shabby very low grade rooms.
Firstly I'll praise the bed as it was wonderfully comfortable, but it’s a shame the rest of the room was not up to the same
standard. We had a room at the very top of this hotel but it seemed to have been left half finished and we joked that the
plasterer must have left halfway through his job and forgotten to plaster the other half of the room just leaving sharped
edged bare bricks instead. There was also a very strange blue pipe entering and exiting the bathroom above head height
that seemingly had nothing to do with the plumbing.
The staff were very helpful, friendly and always wanted to please, sadly the breakfast was just cold and horrible and not
really worth having.
Its an OK hotel but don't expect so much and don't be fooled by the glossy frontage. maybe best described as more hostel
style than hotel
Dismal rooms
My room was dark, tiny, depressing. I opened the curtains in front the only small window but the glass was too dirty to see
outside properly and didn't lighten the room. Trying to negotiate the small space between the bed and the small ledge
where the kettle was situated I knocked over a glass. I was charged $10 to replace it when I checked out. It's only saving
grace is its lovely rooftop restaurant and bar. I wouldn't recommend this hotel. The tiny lift does not go all the way to the
restaurant and there are another two flights of stairs before you get there.
Dark and Dingey -
The overall feel of this hotel is depressing and oppressive. The rooms are underwhelming - worn, aged and in desperate
need of some TLC. The bathroom was dirty - ground in dirt on the sanitary ware and tile grouting. Felt like a state run
option!
The staff were friendly and as helpful as possible, but not able to do much with the options given to them. Although we
were offered an upgrade on arrival at 4am in the morning, it was no better - just bigger. And the staff asked that we go
straight on to tripadvisor to say how good they were, or they would have money deducted from their wages! Food was
below average.
I would not recommend this hotel to anyone - the rating is too high as is the cost.
"What faded glory"
 Nov 22, 2016  Trudi2016, Venlo, The Netherlands
Rooms are reasonable just a lot of noise. Probably a water pump that starts between 7 and 8 pm after a lot of water use.
This hotel would no longer be our choice. Staff is very friendly and the food really good.
"Noisy, not very clean"
 Aug 10, 2016  RomaPiera, roma
It is not a good hotel. Very noisy rooms even on the upper floors. The restaurant is dirty and despite being on the roof of
the hotel, the view of the city is not the best. In the city, don't miss the jade mercayo.
"Narrow, noisy, full of mosquitoes"
 Jun 13, 2016  nike707, Fukuoka, Japan
Close to the center. The room is small. Because it is a busy street, you can hear music from the opposite store to midnight
and it is very noisy. There are many mosquitoes in the room because the windows in the corridor are opened. When I told
the front desk and asked me to pesticide, the smell was so great that I couldn't enter the room for a while. The handle is
breakfast on the rooftop. There wasn't much, but eating while watching the dawn felt good.
"Bad hotel"
 May 6, 2016  A TripAdvisor China Member
Seen on the top of the tripadvsor order. The hotel is next to a street market, which is very noisy at 5 or 6 in the morning.
Bath towels and towels were yellow. The car rental in the hotel cost us 60,000 Burmese currency a day. It's a lot more
expensive than the 30,000-40,000 rental cars you see online. And when the driver knew that we wanted to drive to the
ancient city of Guta instead of going by boat, we had to pay us another 10,000 Kyat. Renting a motorcycle from the hotel is
also very bad. The companion drove me to Mandalay, and the car couldn't move on the mountainside.
"Decent hotel, restaurant and poor service"
 Apr 1, 2016  alexissD9499VZ, Paris, France
We spent 3 nights at the Yadanarbon Hotel in March. The hotel and the value are ok, the rooms clean. By cons the
restaurant is a disaster and the service not up to the height. I was sick for 3 days (food poisoning) because of the pizza of
the "chef" with seafood ... My girlfriend having eaten exactly the same thing as me except this dish, it was not hard to find
the source. Reported the next day at the reception, then reported in the kitchen, then again at the reception during the 2
days that followed, we were not allowed to apologize and we were even forced to pay this rotten pizza at departure, despite
our protests we did not have time to wait for the manager with our departure by boat for Bagan. In short, service and
cuisine to review completely!
Definitely not recommended
I definitely do not recommend this hotel. It is in the bottom 5% of the over 100 hotels I've stayed mostly Asia. I've only
stayed at three hotels in Myanmar but the other two are highly recommended by me.
The good part is very nice staff at the front desk, the restaurant, housekeeping all 5! Very clean, reasonable sized room,
comfortable bed. I had an issue with wifi and resident manager arranged meeting with me and IT manager! That is
customer service. This lady needs to be General Manager! But is ineffective. General Manager absent!
The bad...so much work needed to make this a recommended hotel.
- Tourist hotel. Prices is USD. If prices in USD you know they are ripping you off as a tourist. This is Myanmar, as in
almost all other countries this country use their currency. It is my policy when prices are in USD, walk out. Taking
advantage of you.
- A/C basically nonfunctional. Put it at at 18 degrees C and the best it can do is 26 or 27. My hotel in Yangon and in Bagan
the A/C work! Set it at 22 and room goes to 22!.
- Shower also nonfunctional. Water head that is above your head when standing has no pressure so you are left with a hand
held shower hose which is very low so you must sit in bath tub and hold onto it with one hand. And try to shower!
- Wifi...IT person is ripping off this hotel. Wifi not secure, your info not encrypted so anyone can see what you send. Your
Android phone will say "not secure", iPhone says unlocked (meaning open door), Windows computer will say "other
people may be able to see info you send over this network". When I talked to IT manager he agreed with me that not safe.
But told the resident manager too expensive to make secure. Big lie. One hour of effort to lock all routers. Rip off
company. Also wifi super slow. Drops you often and then you have to log onto constantly for an unsecured wifi. After
trying for three days I was not able to download my Myanmar Lonely Planet eBook on the hotel's wifi, but it took 5
minutes on my cell phone internet! What is the point? Cell phone internet ok. Problem is hotel.
I went to Bagan next. My hotel here is Shwe Poe Eain 1 Motel, excellent secure wifi. My previous hotel in Yangon, Bahosi
Hotel also secure wifi. Both I recommend. Just down the street from Yadanarbon Hotel in Mandalay is Tiger One. I did not
stay there so I cannot recommend them but I checked their WIfi and it is secure. It can be done.
- Food at restaurant: for breakfast is Western and Chinese...only a westernized Burmese soup. I would not eat at restaurant.
Real Myanmar food at locations all around the hotel. At 1/10th the price.
- The safe in your your room locks but it is not bolted down. If bad guy gets in your room it will not matter safe if locked.
Out the door the safe goes. This isn't only the second hotel I've been in over more than 100 hotels in Asia that does not
screw down the safe!! How hard is this?
- Yadanarbon is in the bottom 5% of the last 100 hotels I've stayed in the last three years of my travels, much in Asia. How
they made "Travers' Choice for 2015" is a reflection of TA.
I stayed here! My review is what I found as compared to many other hotels.
Manager Cornered Me and Forced to Remove My Trip Advisor Review
So this is going to be a strange post...
I stayed at this hotel about 2 years ago for a few nights which was shortly after Burma really opened up to tourism. During
our stay I left a raving review about location, staff and overall accessibility. It was a pretty good hotel but I did type about
one potential concern which was their family ties to the Myanmar government. Trying our best during our travels to limit
supporting anyone affiliated with the government or any places founded by government money we did a bit of digging.
So I stupidly left a great review during our stay (thinking it would post in 48 hours) with a short clause at the end which
stated that they may have some government family ties. It was brief. It wasn't confirmatory. It was speculation with a
sincere intent on trying to give future travelers an option to support non-government affiliated entities if they so chose to
for ethical reasons. From my limited understanding the owners are not directly government. One is a foreign trained doctor
and one is a merchant. However, from my limited understanding after speaking with some people they are from military
families (logically speaking...which regular burmese person can have a foreign MD education?).
So anyways. I posted this great review with a bit of speculation. Didn't really think much about it since it was overall a
solid review. Review unknowingly posted immediately. Went on a tour of the city to see some sights and bridges. I was
then approached during our tour by a guy we met down the road who also does tours. He immediately came up to me with
a cell phone and stated "the manager wants to speak with you about a review you posted." Kind of random. Kind of
strange. Kind of scary. Really scary..especially in Burma and writing a negative connotation towards the government.
I then denied the phone call at that point in time and told the guy we would talk when we got back to the hotel. Shaking in
my boots for the rest of the day since we had to return to retrieve our bags they were holding during our trip.
Once we returned to the hotel to retrieve our bags. We did our best to avoid eye contact. Make it simple.Get out of there.
The manager however cornered us. Sat us down in their breakfast area. Asked if we left the review. I tried to pull a lawyer
move and dance around the question. He then asked again. And again. "Did you leave the review." There was no dancing.
It was direct. It was not a conversation. The only response I was ultimately willing to give was "if i did leave a review I
will be sure to take it down." I was so scared during and after this confrontation since i've read so much into the history,
Orwellian ideology and strict governmental policies.
After this awkward scary interaction. I immediately removed the post since we were on their turf.
Our minds definitely got the best of us since it is such a strict country. The hotel had our information and wasn't happy
with us. The country tracked where we were going. I'm sure one phone call to the correct Burmese official could have done
us in or restricted our flight. Needless to say we kind of had a gray cloud over us for the last few days in Burma due to the
interaction with the Manager at Yadanarbon.
*This is the first time this story has been shared since we were forced to remove the review during our trip.
"I HAVE PAID TOO SO MUCH"
 Aug 24, 2015  cassilvia
My fault, I paid too much for this hotel that if taken directly to the place costs $ 35 max 40. For this figure it can go
differently is not good. We have a bad room with a view of the palace wall. Upholstery everywhere, so not really clean. I
can't recommend it.
"Overrated hotel"
 Aug 16, 2015  bnckf, Cortona, Italy
The hotel was not a nice surprise. With room superior option we were given room 111. Terrible with window on the wall
of a shed. Imagine the standard room .... Not recommended, it can only be fine if the price is very low.
"Mice on the terrace and delirium in the streets"
 Aug 3, 2015  Atmosferico, Milan, Italy
The hotel is not as clean as we read, just look under the beds .. if I accidentally look for something with a torch it would
start to shine all over the bottom. Sleeping is not so simple, between the quality of the mattresses, the dogs that fight in the
middle of the night and the music at full volume from 6 am, the ability to sleep is put to the test. We often had dinner in the
hotel because going out to go to one of the few restaurants in the city was inconvenient (The taxi is strictly necessary even
for a few blocks), the dishes were not bad, with a pretty nice puppet show .. too bad that towards the end of the dinner a
mouse took a walk around the room .. Better a hotel outside the center in mandalay
could not sleep at night
hotel based in a very good location staff were friendly and helpful.
unfortunately all turn down when we realized there is a temple nearby and they were prying all night also in that street
there were many dog and start barking from midnight til morning. our room room were in 3rd floor and we all could not
sleep all night long even we have had used ear plug......... even out friend were drinking in the room top still hear the noice
from temple and dog barking....
we did not go back there on our last night as we were supposed.
Dear Ms Ngo Thi Ngoc Khuyen
Warmest greeting from Hotel Yadanarbon Mandalay.First of all thank you for taking time to write review for our hotel.
We are glad to hear that you like our hotel location and our staff service.
But we are sorry to hear that you didn't had enough sleep due to surrounding noisy. For this issue we can empathy your
feeling , May i explain regarding about our country religious things.
In our country, during this period have Buddhist sermons ceremony in every township and it took 7 days only, this kind of
religious things is happen most of place in our city, it celebrate 3months in one year and they don't have announcement for
date, we know when they celebrate and it took 7 days in a year.
So it was finished on May 5 for our township for this year. It will not happen again in our hotel for this year .
Our Management team have planned to solve this problem for next year to make renovation with Double Glaze
window( Sound proof ,Heat Proof) for our guest to get comfort sleep at night time.
We hope you will be accept our excuse.

Best Regards
Than Than Aye
Resident Manager
Good at first, failed in the end.
We stayed at the Hotel Yadanarbon for two nights while stopping through Mandalay. For the most part, the hotel was
great. Before arriving in Mandalay, I had various questions for the hotel, which they promptly responded to via email.
The hotel is in a great location within the city, and there is ample night life happening just outside the front doors after
dark. We had breakfast included on the terrace restaurant for both morning, which serves a great selection of Burmese and
Western cuisine. At night, here's a puppet show hosted by the hotel...though for the two nights that we were up there for
post-dinner drinks, it appeared that the show was the same.
I would provide a greater review beyond this if I hadn't run into issues with the hotel after leaving. While staying at Hotel
Yadanarbon, we provided two bags of laundry. While pricier than your outside options, the clothes came back nicely
pressed and even individually bagged in clear plastic bags!
However, after leaving Mandalay, my girlfriend realized that one of her shirts was missing. We were charged for the
cleaning charge of this shirt, but it was no longer in our possession, and likely misplaced by the hotel after being washed.
Note I mentioned earlier that they were great on email up until now - a strong point. Naturally, I emailed the Hotel
Yadanarbon advising that they had lost one of her tops. Radio silence. I tried again with two subsequent follow-ups, once
from my girlfriend to clarify the article of clothing, and a second time from me for a follow up. No response.
My conclusion is that when there's an opportunity for the Hotel Yadanarbon to make money off of you, they'll be quick to
respond. However, when they've messed up...don't expect a response.
I'd advise against the hotel given that level of service...but if you're still up for it...just remember not to leave your laundry
with them! Expensive...and you won't expect to get all your clothes back!
Average noisy hotel
This hotel located in the centre of Mandalay and cheaply decorated as luxury hotel has main characteristic : Noise. By
staying in this hotel you'll have the opportunity to hear the sound of any opened or closed door (room or cupboard),
anybody taking water or anybody speaking in corridors, walkie talkies of the employees or service phones ringing
corridors. All of this at any hour of the day and of the night. Hoh yes and there is the small show held every night (7:20 to
9:00) that you'll be able to hear directly from your room. I'm not including the street noise because it minor compared to
the rest. And this was for a quiet room... Breakfast is very OK and You have good WiFi and TV programming. The picture
says it all...
Dear Valued customer
First of all i we would like to say thanks you for taking time to write review .But we are sorry to hear that you are not
happy with our hotel because of noisy .We really apologize for inconvenient case.We are very take care about customer
satisfaction during their stay and we always appreciate for guest feedback. Because we can improve our requirement from
feedback, we have planned to change sound proof glass and we will take out our service phone on corridors and we already
remained to our staff not to speak loudly with walkies talkies on corridors.
Apart of this we glad to hear that you happy with our breakfast , WiFi and TV programming .
Thanks you for staying with us and writing review to improve our service. We invite you to come and visit next time to see
how improve service for your requirement.
Best Regards
Than Than Aye
Resident Manager
"overrated, sad and disappointing (avoid room 111!)"
 Aug 28, 2014  MiciPlan, Florence, Italy
A few times TA is wrong. Certainly for this hotel. Chosen just based on reviews (often # 1 in the ranking, but!?!?) Was a
disappointment in everything. A few positive aspects: location, bathroom cleanliness (room definitely not, with layers of
dust etc), rather quiet, terrace view, good wifi. All the rest disappointing, with a final treat. Low quality breakfast, very
expensive restaurant and poor quality. Room very different from the advertised ones: old and poorly placed furniture, old
towels. The entrance door that opened only by pushing and forcing it. corridors of floors and poorly maintained common
areas (there are steps everywhere). In short: a really poor quality / price ratio. But the thing that bothered us most is the
attempt by the staff (so kind and helpful, but?!?!) To give us a room not of a superior level - as paid - but clearly inferior
(not even standard). The room is the n. 111, mark it and avoid it: window panes with a view of the cornice facing the
building; two beds in a square and a half stacked in a corner of the room for no reason (or perhaps to hide something, who
knows), without even the possibility of moving the sheets and getting out of bed. Also with all the electrical cables
dangling over the pillow. Not being first-rate travelers, we immediately disputed the whole thing and only insisting did we
change rooms with a better one (even if always below average). What to say, if you can avoid this ugly hotel, clearly
overrated and definitely avoid the room n. 111 !!! Until next time from Thailand !!! mp
Not way I expected
My first experience ever to Myanmar and let me tell you, this hotel possibly ruined my experience a lot. Before i booked at
the hotel, I thought it would be a great hotel because i judged the hotel by just looking at the reviews and pictures. The
customer service was really bad. All the employees seemed like they did not want to be there or help people at all. The
rooms were not clean and overall, it was nothing like I expected it to be. Regret staying at this hotel very much.
Dear Tim M,
Greeting from Hotel Yadanarbon Mandalay, Myanmar.Thank you for taking time to write review for our hotel but we were
very sad to hear that our service is not reach your expectation.
Kindly help me for specific department to improve our service. If you mention details about our service i will be appreciate
because i have to give more training to all my staff.Our hotel aim is customer satisfaction is our first priority. We, our staff
always tried the best for customer service ,thus why they were very sad for your feedback and they would like to know
which part they need to improve.Thus why please help us to improve our service according to your feedback and you can
send email to [email protected] for your corporation.
Please give us chance to serve you again and i will be thanks you if you give some suggestion to improve our service.
Warm regards
Than Than Aye
Resident Manager
Horrible Stay
Seriously this was the bad hotel choice I have ever made in my travel experience. I am a traveler and I travel all over the
world. I booked this hotel because of their ratings but I had worst experience. I paid for double bed room but I got twin
bed. When I asked them why I didn't get it, they said because they are sold out and didn't care at all. The room itself is very
old and smell like mold. And next morning I have bites all over my body, there were bed bugs in my room. That is so
disgusting, imagine sleeping in the room with bed bugs. I thought this is 5 star hotel but there is no way it could be I
personally with all my experience I give 1 star. Never ever going to stay here again. Worst trip!
Dear Ricky G
Greeting from Hotel Yadanarbon Mandalay Myanmar, first of all I would like to say we are so sad for your review and we
tried to investigate your register name ,booking source , your room number and check in ,check out date ,for monitoring
our service.
Unfortunately we can't find any information concerning your profile.Thus why we sent a message to you but we didn't get
any reply from you.
We hope that you will understand our above explanation and we are waiting for your response to improve our service
because our aim is customer satisfaction is our first priority.
Best Regards
Than Than Aye
Resident Manager
Simple hotel, nice roof top restaurant with good food but overpriced
When first arrived, I was shock by the surrounding location. However the room is clean and simple. We checked in the
first night on 5th floor which I think it was near the road which was noisy from the preach at night. We are back again from
Bagan to check in a room on 1st floor which is a bit at the back end. It was less noise but still as it is close to the ground
floor. The only good thing a bout this hotel is roof top restaurant which food was good but the portion was so small
compared to price.
Okay but way overpriced
This way overpriced hotel has a great rooftop breakfast but apart from that it charges way over the odds for what in reality
is a rather plain hotel. We booked a superior double and then were stung US$25 per night extra for our 14yo son, making it
easily the most expensive yet tiny room hotel we stayed at in Myanmar. The hotel has obviously decided to focus on high
end tourists so the whole operation is now geared to extracting cash.
Dishonest place
Hotel looks great when one walks in but staff was quite unhelpful.
Two big issues: They run a taxi syndicate as a previous traveler has mentioned and the taxis outside of their hotel will rip
you off compared to any other taxis in town and its quite clear by the fact that the hotel manager gets involved when one
tries to negotiate that there's something fishy going on.
When i checked out - i sent some laundry to be washed and it came back the day i was checking out and it was in what
appeared to me was a disposable bag i simply put it inside my luggage. When i checked out i was charged 2 dollars for
taking the bag......Simply direspectful and cheap!!!!!

rooms are very small but very clean

restaurant/bar on rooftop is way overpriced and service is terrible (went for dinner and just trying to get a drink took over
15 minutes as staff didnt care and when wanting to order they werent trying to offer any service so we left.
The included breakfast isnt bad
Sketchy business happening here
Our room was very small (the one side of the bed was against the wall). I am not sure how the other rooms are. They let us
have early check in which was nice. The service at the restaurant and bar is shocking, and also the prices are ridiculous for
Myanmar.
Now for the bad part...
There is a syndicate of sorts running with the hotel owner and local taxis. The taxis outside the hotel will charge you triple
(or more) than the taxis around town. Before you go somewhere, the owner speaks to them, so there is no chance of
negotiation, and they set a crazy, overinflated price. Obviously they overcharge and the hotel gets its cut. To fetch us from
the airport cost 12000k. To take us back to the airport the next day cost more. And they are not willing to negotiate. And it
is the same with the hotel car service. It's very fishy. If you choose to stay there, please don't support this dodgy business.
Rather go down to the main street one block away and hail a taxi there. Rather support the honest people than the cheats at
the hotel. The hotel owner (or possibly manager) is rude and sketchy. No apology for his dodgy business when we called
him out on it. Pretty much just expected us to accept it. We almost missed our flight because the hotel refused to order us a
taxi unless we accepted their crazy rate with their taxis outside the hotel.
Clean, but poor value & service
I booked this hotel based on TripAdvisor reviews, looking for a little splurge after several dusty days in Bagan. I was really
surprised at how different my experience was from what I read here. The hotel is clean and modern. That's about all of the
positives. Here's the rest:
* When you come in to the hotel you are greeted with orange drink (Tang) and a cold washcloth; this should be a nice
experience, but they seemed impatient for me to take them, while reception was having me fill out a form and give them
my passport... the idea is nice, but the implementation doesn't work.
* In hotel restaurants prices are outrageous (in USD) and service is awful. If you are dining downstairs when they open the
rooftop restaurant, you are left with no waitstaff and have to move upstairs. I was having an appetizer when this happened
to me. I went upstairs and after 20 minutes of trying to get the attention of one of the waitstaff... nothing. There were 2
tables of people and probably 7 staff, but they were apparently too busy to take my order. The staff at the front desk only
recommend the upstairs restaurant.
* Wifi works about 1/2 of the time. They will blame the provider when it is down, and that is common in Myanmar, but
most of the time it seemed to be a configuration with their router (different behavior on my computer and mobile)
* Likewise, they will tell you that it is an issue with the provider if you don't get, for example, CNN in your room as in the
lobby. Rescan channels on the TV and there it is... I get that they probably lack the expertise for these things, but the staff
are entirely unhelpful.
* Outrageous laundry prices. Cost more than 4x what any other place has charged me in Myanmar, tried to overcharge me
in spite of my having filled out the form.
* Housekeeping keeps the hotel clean, but there was no toilet paper when I got to the room. Nor did any arrive until my
second day, when the housekeeper barged in to my room, though I asked for privacy since I was sick, and told me that she
couldn't come back because she needed to change the shower curtain (!) I have no idea why this was an emergency to her,
but I spent an uncomfortable 10 minutes in the hallway while she did that. (I had been using the restroom, so it was
extraordinarily unpleasant.)
* Breakfast was basically non-existent by 8:30. The trays were all empty and the staff told me that they don't re-stock
them... there was only white bread and 3 (rotten) bananas, and orange drink. On the last day I asked for a to-go breakfast
since I had an early train, but that didn't happen either.
* Other reviewers commented on how helpful the staff was in organizing travel plans, but that seems to only be within
Mandalay, with their taxis/drivers (which they charge much more than the going rate for). I asked several questions about
my ongoing travel to Hsipaw and they only said "we don't have any idea about that." They also could not call ahead to a
guest house, as every other place I've stayed in Myanmar has bent over backwards to do. They are pleasant enough, but not
at all to the standard of even bare-bones budget places in the rest of the country.
Check out took more than half an hour! The front desk guy was sleeping on a couch and was very difficult to wake, then
tried unsuccessfully to call housekeeping to check the minibar in my room.
Finally, the hotel is not near many restaurants/etc. and taking a taxi there will cost twice as much since the hotel is well-
known with taxis (who see it as a high-end option.) That's not the hotel's fault, but you should be aware.
Bad Experience
We chose this hotel because of the glowing reports on Tripadvisor but I think we must have been staying at a different
Hotel Yadanarbon! Our room was on the 5th floor (top) and noise from the roof made our stay most unpleasant. One night
(out of 3) builders worked all night preparing a soon to be opened roof top area for an early function. On the other 2 nights
there was a lot of 'machinery' type noise which echoed to our floor. Given that there is going to be a restaurant/bar or
whatever opening on the rooftop steer well clear of the 5th floor! Management were unwilling to change our room.
Whilst the room was just adequate for the price, like other reviewers, we found the bathroom to be smelly.
cheap "hotel" in a hectic city
Staff are very friendly and helpful. That's it for the good side.
Not enough hot water for the shower, the shower curtain weirdly positioned so u must turn the bathroom into a pool,
pillows are as high and stiff as encyclopedia (we had to ask for new towels and sleep on that instead), noisy - there is a
"warm note" by the management that the adjacent temples have morning service during summer. but instead of asking all
customers who stay in the summer to endure the service broadcast that starts from 4am everyday (we are already staying
on the top floor (5)), why don't the hotel invest in better windows and sound-proof curtains, or at least, ear plugs?
we skipped breakfast (doesnt look appealing at all) and went to a tea house nearby, which is recommended by the front
desk and it's great!
We can't help but thinking where all the earlier "excellent" comments came from.
Hotel by the Red Canal
An oasis by the landmark Red Canal in local folklore just minutes from the famed Mandalay Palace and other attractions,
Hotel by the Red Canal is a convenient sanctuary with its lush tropical greenery and calming water features, amidst the
hustle and bustle of Myanmar's cultural city. By choosing to stay with us, we will provide you with the extra measure of
quality, comfort and personal convenience you are looking for. Being small, we look to provide personal attention to the
needs, wants, and expectations of every guest. The boutique-style hotel is a celebration of all things Myanmar, featuring
teak furniture fixtures and fittings made from rattan, mother-of-pearl and other local materials as well as Myanmar marble
lining the bathroom walls. Each of the 4 types of suites - Chin, Shan, Kachin and Rakhine - bear the names of the major
ethnic groups in multi-cultural Myanmar and are adorned with rich traditional paraphernalia and trappings reflecting their
respective cultural heritage.
Skip this stop
Two couples made reservations and had dinner at this restaurant. The experience was very poor, the food was mediocre
and the process of paying for dinner was insulting and pathetic.
The restaurant requested that we pay in American currency, apparently preferring US dollars over credit cards or Myanmar
currency. We paid with $20 bills that had recently come out of a cash machine at a major bank in the United States and the
restaurant refused to accept the payment.
The bills were not damaged and had no tears or visible deformity. Yet, the staff argued that the bills looked used and they
said they could not accept previously used currency.
If the food isn’t good and payment has so much drama, I question why anyone would bother going there. I guess the
answer lay in the fact that there were only two other people at the restaurant.
Overrated
Nice location , nice decorated was for us the only positive things at our 3 night stay.
Rooms are really to small and no space for 2 lugguage and 2 bags.
The view of our first room ( we booked shanroom with balcony)was terrible.
We woked up at 23.30 from a terrible noise ( i think a watertefullmachine), after calling the reception the could stop the
noise but at 05.15 it started again. The next morning they moved us to another room without apologize of the
management .
The breakfast was the poorest of our 3 weeks myanmartrip , very basic ! The price you pay ( 250$ night) is totally
overrated for what you get. If you want to feel like a cashcow this is your place.
Happy that i think her name was tutu ( girl at the reception) could give us a positive vibe in this descent hotel .
No hot water and pesticide treatment
We stayed here for one night - even though paid for two (not refunded for the second). It was miserable. While the staff is
very nice, there was a funky smell in the room, it was pretty tight (Chin class so not the inexpensive ones) and no hot water
- slightly tepid but too cold even for a shower. Went to bed dirty and woken up around midnight by a spray noise all over
the building. Apparently we missed the notice they were doing their weekly "fogging" that night (No idea if it was there -
we never saw it but hotel insists it was there somewhere). So we didn't know to shut off the AC and our room filled up
with nasty permethrin which they must have sprayed right into the units. I prefer not breathing in insecticides in my sleep
and especially hated the thought of my asthmatic son next door. So frustrating because nowhere to go and can't open the
window to air it out. Terrible sleep made worse by someone knocking at our door at 6 am. No one was there when I woke
up to answer. Random I'm sure. Breakfast was eh at best - kids thought it was terrible. Perhaps we were spoiled by some
other hotels in Bagan, Yangon and Inle which were great. Very disappointed and I personally recommend against this
hotel. Red Canal was our least favorite of all hotels in Myanmar - including even the probably $5/night one on trek from
Kalaw!! At least there we knew what we were getting and weren't subjected to chemical exposure during the night.
never again
What do you want from a hotel? How about a bed which you can get into without vaulting over your partner or moving all
the furniture to get circulation space? How about recharge points in the room? How about a bathtub which you don't have
to climb over an 8inch (20 cms) rim to get in? The list goes on. The restaurant is super-bland.On the plus side the hotel is
very pretty and as long as you are pretty nimble to get up and down many odd staircases and very thin so you can get into
the bedrooms (they are not all that small actually; the furniture is too big and there is too much of it ) and as long as you
prefer style over substance you might try it. For us it was AWFUL.
"Failed for a macroscopically wrong choice"
 Aug 22, 2015  23_gls, Milan, Italy
Magnificent structure. Small but well maintained, as it is quite recent. Wooden furnishings, tasteful details. A swimming
pool of not large but very pleasant. Cocktail offered every day. Perfect cleaning. Discreet and very kind staff. No harassing
noise. In short, a hotel that deserves the highest rating were it not that the rooms from 106 to 110 are blind. Without
windows. A front wall, which even if gracefully camouflaged as an external shower does not allow even a blade of light to
penetrate. Identical day and night. In practice, luxury cells. And for a hotel of this range it is simply unacceptable. These
are not rooms that should be offered to guests. And that's that. Therefore the overall evaluation can only be equivalent to a
rejection. It is not possible to go through basic rooms of rooms like this: it is a choice that disqualifies the entire structure.
Dear Valued Guest,
Thank you for your precious time to write a review to us. It was great to hear that you liked our boutique style hotel that is
situated in quiet local folklore quarters and thank you again for your kind words “Perfect cleaning.discreet and friendly”.
Your mentioned room 106 and 110 are our Kachin Room type, named with one of our major ethnic groups.It has outdoor
shower and water fall with elegant style dim light. Our honeymooners couple guests are mostly enjoyed at that Kachin
room type. I would like to personally apologize for the series of unfortunate incidences that you experienced during your
stay. . I will look into each issue that you have noted, in an attempt to correct and improve our hotel.
With Warm Regards,
Ahwin
quite a lot overvalued "boutique" hotel
A very tinny suite and bathroom, a smiling but incompetent staff, unflexible management
a very small pool, and a location far from everything by walk
This hotel is charging the price of some of the best Five Stars Hotels of Bangkok
when we are just in Mandalay
It's just worth half price,that means that the management is taking opportunity of a lack of
competion to overcharge
Only the wooden decoration in the rooms is outstanding
I remain very doubtful on all the comments regarding this place ,which is obviously overvalued
Dear Valued Guest,
I would like to personally apologize for the series of unfortunate incidences that you experienced during your stay with us.
We continually try to do our very best for all of our guests, but unfortunately, sometimes we do fail.
I will look into each issue that you have noted, in an attempt to correct and improve our hotel policies.
I would invite you to contact me personally at (email is [email protected])
With Warm Regards,
Ashwin
"IT'S BEST JUST TO LAUGH"
 Feb 5, 2014  JC P, PARIS
If you go to the Red Canal, ask for a room with a swimming pool view otherwise ...... and well like us you will be entitled
to a view ... WALL at 30 cm !!!!!! Amazing at this price that we can sell this type of product .... And yet the place is nice,
the staff at the top, the restaurant of Indian type correct and full of small attentions (free drink around the pool between 6
and 7 p.m., French info under the door in the morning). Small average breakfast. You choose, but choose well!
VERY BAD CHOICE
I never like to write (and read) the negative reviews, but have to be honest - this property could ruin your Mandalay time.
We stayed their just for two nights (hooray!).
Positive sides
- amazing staff. They are so helpful and polite. Honeymoon decorations:)
- good indian food restaurant, the best in the city
Negatives:
- pool was closed
- the rooms are EXTREMELLY SMALL. 10m2 or so? VERY VERY SMALL.
On their website these rooms are "suites" and we had to pay - attention - non-refundable 336 USD per night! In Myanmar!
We were expecting to have suite, but it was very little room just very close to the reception (you can listen to all the
stuff/guests conversations)
- SPA is very poor. Seems, the girls never have enough practise.
- mosquitos. In rooms. All the night
- their mattress in the morning smells urine. Disgusting
- breakasts. I had to ask 3 times to do eggs "overhard". They didn't.
- you have to pay the room rate via paypal directly to the GM account. 672 USD for 2 nights.
- no wi-fi in the room. Enough?=)
Okay. Skip it if you can.
Dear Valued Guests,
Thank you for your precious time to write a review to us. It was great to hear that you satisfied upon our staffs’ services. .
Hotel service attendants are helpful, friendly, polite, professional, responsible, attentive and courteous. We are trying our
best to do service for all of our valued guests, but unfortunately we are not gained our service target at you. Spice Garden,
fine dining restaurant served the freshest quality food of Myanmar and Indian traditional cuisines. I would like to
personally apologize for the series of unfortunate incidences that you experienced and unfortunately we are not gained our
service target at you. I will look into each issue that you have noted, in an attempt to correct and improve our hotel.
With Warm Regards,
Ashwin
"really not satisfied!"
 Jan 16, 2013  Christine D, Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
The rooms are nicely furnished; however, they are not just small - they are tiny! Too small for two adults, even smaller
with suitcases! A person always has to crawl out of bed over the foot end because the bed is directly against the wall! The
rooms are terribly dark, the attempt to read in the evening has failed - due to the lack of light. The shower head was broken
(broken off), the water was cold, getting out of the bathtub was just dangerous, the bed wasn't made, the door could only be
closed and opened properly with tricks, the service staff were a disaster !! Unfriendly, inattentive - if you had to beg for a
second cup of coffee - it wouldn't have made much difference. The bad breakfast service kept us from eating in the
restaurant, we just didn't want to do this rude staff. The service at the reception and the care by a young man (managing
director ???) who tried to iron out the shortcomings with friendliness and kindness was excellent. Something we liked
exceptionally - and actually expected better - we arrived in the evening, the area was lit with candles, it smelled
wonderfully of cinnamon and spices. We would prefer another hotel.
Dear Valued Guest,
Heart felts thanks for taking time to write a review. It was great to hear that you satisfied upon our reception. I would like
to personally apologize for the series of unfortunate incidences that you experienced during your stay at our boutique-style
hotel that is situated in quiet local folklore quarters. Hotel service attendants are helpful, friendly, polite, professional,
responsible, attentive and courteous. We are trying our best to do service for all of our valued guests, but unfortunately we
are not gained our service target at you. Spice Garden, fine dining restaurant served the freshest quality food of Myanmar
and Indian traditional cuisines. Breakfast full buffet provided with various choices for our valued guests. I will look into
each issue that you have noted, in an attempt to correct and improve our hotel policies. I would invite you to contact me
personally at +95 09 2042042 (direct line), to discuss this with you further. (email is [email protected])
With Warm Regards,
Ashwin
Beware the Red Canal
We booked this hotel more than six months (!!) ahead of our trip over Christmas, as we had heard great things about it. We
had email confirmations from the hotel for the dates of our booking and had even made arrangements for onward
transportation through the hotel, so there could not have been any doubt about when we were planning to arrive and leave.
Our trip to Burma involved meeting friends from China, as well as several other flight and hotel bookings for onward
travel, so it was quite an organizational effort. Four days before we were due to leave, we received an email from the hotel,
confirming our reservation, but for DIFFERENT DATES! We responded to the hotel to clarify the timing, but we were
met with all kinds of excuses and evasions. First the hotel said it was their fault and apologized, but refused to make any
changes. They offered to organize a room in another hotel that was fourth-rate, at best, and when we continued to push
them to make good on their confirmation, they even withdrew that offer. Then they said that it was our fault because we
had not paid a deposit. We had never been asked to pay a deposit and had the email trail to prove it. Then the hotel
forwarded us a footer to an email that said that all bookings are subject to a down payment. We had never seen that footer
before (and, again, had the emails to prove it). It was extremely difficult to find any other hotels in Mandalay for this time
(over Christmas), let alone any decent hotels, and despite four days of cajoling, begging and negotiating, we made no
progress with the hotel. Throughout these discussions, management (specifically, the genial manager) was difficult to
reach, unresponsive, evasive and rude. It was clear that they had made a mistake but that they were not interested in
rectifying the situation or helping us to salvage our long-anticipated trip. I would assume that it was an honest mistake (that
was handled very poorly), except for the fact that the same thing happened to TWO other parties whom we met on this trip,
one of whom had flown in from South America (27 hours!) and received notification of the cancellation of his reservation
as he was boarding his flight. So the suspicion arises that this is more of a systemic problem or a deliberate attempt to
squeeze the highest possible room rate out of customers. This may be a great hotel, but we would never know, since we
never got to stay there, despite having a confirmed reservation for more than half a year (and no, we did not check it out
when we got to Mandalay). If you try to stay here (especially during a busy season), be wary of having your reservation
changed or canceled -- better make some contingency plans, just in case...
NotImpressed
Dear Valued Guests,
Thank you for your precious time to write a review to us. I would like to personally apologize for the series of unfortunate
incidences that you experienced and unfortunately we are not gained our service target at you. I will look into each issue
that you have noted, in an attempt to correct and improve our hotel policies.
With Warm Regards,
Ashwin
"bad organization"
 Dec 1, 2009  lu s, Trieste, Italy
They made our reservation wrong, made by a local agency and confirmed by us, and after a night spent in the hotel, arrived
in the evening after a long day in the heat of Mandalay they made us leave the room immediately, because already booked,
forcing us to prepare the cases and look for a new accommodation at 7pm. Research that proved difficult because the best
hotels were all occupied.
Old, overrated and noisy small hotel with limited facilities
Except for the great and very helpful staff service, this Hotel is overrated. It is on a noisy street, with strangely shaped
rooms, limited facilities (small gym) and a with a restaurant that serves only Indian food - not even one choice for local
cuisine. A good but overpriced spa service.
Mingalabar,
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your kind review to us. Our hotel is located at the corner of 22nd and 63rd street which is near from Royal
Palace , Golden palace monastery and Kuthodaw known as world largest book and known as quite place beside of "Nan
Shae Canal'' which is not a business area or a downtown.As we are boutique hotel, our rooms are uniquely decorated with
our Major Ethnic trademark and given the rooms names of our ethnic group name Chin, Shan, Kachin and Rakhine and in
rooms set up show our Myanmar Culture. Our Spice Garden Restaurant is Mainly in Indian foods and famous for this in
our Region also available for Myanmar, Asian and European cuisines.Thank you for using our Prana Spa and glad to know
that you take two times spa treatment from us.Our Prana Luxury Spa and Hotel by the Red Canal most warmly welcome to
you for your next visit.
With Best Regards,
May Thu
Poor value for Money
We booked a Shan room which we under the impression had a garden view. On arrival we were shown a fairly large room
looking out on to the street with no balcony. As an alternative we were shown a small room which did overlook the garden
and did have a balcony which we chose. In hindsight this was probably not a good decision as the room was very small and
inconvenient. There was a bedside cabinet on one side of the bed, turned sideways on so you couldn’t use the drawers and
only enough room to squeeze sideways on, to access the bed on the other side. There was nowhere to put two suitcases so
they weren’t in the way. To switch the lights off when leaving the room you had to crawl across the bed. The view to the
side of the balcony was of a building site cum staff car park. We had one meal in the restaurant but the menu was not very
specific and although the mutton curry was very tasty the chicken dish we ordered was very dry and disappointing and only
came with a couple of lettuce leaves and a few potatoes. The best things about the hotel are the happy hour where free
cocktails are served and is a really good opportunity to meet and share experiences with your fellow guests, and the staff
who are charming, friendly and helpful. There may be a few rooms in the hotel which justify the prices charged but
otherwise, this hotel represents really poor value for money and I’m sure there are others with much better rooms for a
fraction of the price in central Mandalay.
A very poor value for money experience
The hotel is cozy and the service at high standard but we got a very small room ( the 301 Shan type which is the more
expensive one: room itself not more than 12 sqm) so no true sitting area and no room for two suitcases ( in the cupboard
only 3 hangers!) . On top of this the room was dark and at the third floor with no elevator and uncomfortable stairs. And
the price was in line with 4 stars hotel in a top touristic attraction in Italy! Whatever nice reception and free drinks at the
pool deck was spoiled by the fact of having such a small room at a price of a suite.
"Mixed feelings"
 Jan 21, 2018  THEDAI, Oudenaarde, Belgium
The hotel is nicely situated in a quiet area not far away from the palace. What immediately bothered us was that they
already credited the full amount (3 nights) from 2 months before. This is usually only done in the last 2 weeks. The
acclaimed welcome drink is a pathetic glass of barely 25 cl. The ladies at the reception are extremely friendly unlike the
people in the resto. The room was very small and there was hardly any room for our luggage. The price is totally
disproportionate to what you get (26 $). Breakfast was as well as very ordinary, pancakes and French cookie bread lying in
a bain-marie, but 1 piece of fruit is pre-sliced (3 days the same kind!). Was the worst breakfast in myanmar so far. The
only thought was the happy hour for 1 hour without surcharge. To use the bicycles and to be paid ($ 6 day), our previous
hotels in Asia were completely free. At checkout a 3% extra credit card charge was charged. So if you think you will get a
lot in return for 260 $ you will return very disappointing! For us this hotel was a letdown.
Beware - Dangerous Staircase
When we arrived we were shown to a room on the 2nd floor which the only access was via the main staircase then up a
spiral staircase. The room was very small with one side of the bed hard against a wall and nowhere to put our cases we
immediately asked for a change of room. We were reallocated a room on the first floor but with access only via the main
staircase.
The main two flight main staircase has no handrail on the left hand side for its entire length. On the right hand side there is
a nice handrail which starts at the bottom and continues all the way until four or five steps from the top when it stops
completely leaving you with no hand rail whatsoever. When entering the staircase at the top you are faced with a shear
drop without a hand rail. I have attached photographs of the staircase which I took after my wife's accident which was due
to the dangerous construction of the staircase at the top. Also the lighting on the staircase is very dim which adds to the
perilous situation.On the day of departure we were being collected at 6.30am so at about 6.20am I phoned to say that the
bags were outside the room for collection and after they had been collected we proceeded to exit the hotel via the main
staircase. My wife was in front of me as I had locked the door etc. At the second stair with no handrail to hold on to my
wife fell and went crashing down several stairs on her back/bottom and elbows.She sat on the staircase for a while to try
and get over the shock of what happened and eventually we moved her to a seat in reception and had to ask the hotel staff
to get her some water.After 20 minutes or so she struggled to get into the car to take us to the airport to catch the flight to
Heho.I have requested a copy of the hotels Third Party Liability Insurance details. In English.This request has been
refused, the only conclusion can be that the hotel does not have any insurance to cover it's guests.
I have also asked the hotel for a written apology which should also contain details of the works that they intend to carry out
to remedy the dangerous staircase. This request has been refused by the hotel.I also felt that a refund of our bill would be
appropriate. This has been refused by the hotel.
So in conclusion this hotel does not care about the safety of it's guests and unless you are easily won over by a "happy
hour" think very carefully before you book to stay
"Disappointment !!!!"
 Feb 19, 2017  865jeanmichelr, Barcelona, Spain
The room did not have a balcony worthy of the name and was very noisy on the road side !!! Too bad because the service
is very good and the staff very attentive. The room itself is clean and nothing is missing but the balcony measures 40cm x
1.5 m. We will not come back or we will specify the desired room.
So much overpriced!
360USD per night for a 12sqm noisy room, really? We took a "wedding package" which was supposed to have 75min
couple massage per day + sparkling wine. We ended up with a standard bottle of red wine + one massage only as they
argued it was not for each day. Room was extremely noisy also. People are nice but luxury is an art.
Worth half the price at maximum. So much overpriced.
Dear Valuable Guests,
Thank you for being our valuable guests and we served your wedding package with one time allowance of myanmar
massage herbal ball which is 75mins per each and welcome with a bottle of wine and sangria drinks. As our hotel is
situated in the quarter of nan shae and surrounded with University of Foreign Languages Mandalay, Ma naw Ma ya
monastery and people houses. At that time was our tabodwe festival and monks prays early morning. Hope to understand
of our religious occasions. Heart felts deeply thanks for your kind words" People are nice" . We would like to serve you
again in near future.

With Best Regards,

Ashwin
Photographs can be deceiving
We chose this hotel and rooms, asked for pool facing, based on the photographs and reviews we read. Were highly
disappointed.
To begin with our rooms were not ready though check in is at 2.00 we got our rooms at 2.45 p.m. for tired passengers that
is the worst start. The reception kept saying they are giving us really good rooms with windows. We enter a space which is
cluttered dark brown with teak all over. and the fixed glass ( not window as promised ) looks on a dirty wall which is a foot
away, so one can never open that curtain. Paying for a double King sized bed, we got two single bed joined together with
all the lights and plug point switches at the back of the bed, so every time one needs to put a light off or on you have to
jump on the bed put your hands behind and turn off or on. . There was no space to move, it was claustrophobic. The staff
were helpless as they said they were full and could not help. This kind of room should never be sold.
The hotel has its charm in some spaces. lots of teak wood furniture fixtures but in very tight spaces. Though it looks good,
but very impractical to walk down a narrow steep staircase ( no elevator) which feels very uncomfortable.
The food is good, the staff try hard to help. Worse two nights we had in Myanmar. Please do be sure in asking for pool
facing rooms and get it. Dont get fooled like us.
Mingalabar,
Dear Valuable Guests,
Thank you for staying with us and happy to hear from you that you delighted upon our Spice Garden Restaurant's Foods.
Let me explain about our Hotel. Our hotel by the Red Canal is one and only boutique hotel in Mandalay which decorated
with traditional accessories and themed with national ethnic of Myanmar. As we are boutique hotel, small, lovely, tiny and
charming is our concepts.The room you've got is called Rakhine Room which is our widest and largest room of other room
types.The other viewed room with balcony rooms are smaller than Rakhine Room. The advantage of Rakhine Room is
Large, got sunlight and can put extra bed and without views and balcony. Even we categorized with our room situations
and decorations, in rooms facilities, quality and services are the same standards.We didn't categorized by floor by floor or
numbers. We only focus and differentiated with our Room Decorations of Ethnic groups and Room status.We have only 26
rooms and ever fully book at every peak seasons and announced the checked in time is after 2:30pm. We assigned the
guests rooms according to the Travel Agents Reservations via email.We send confirmation letter to Travel Agents about
their room bookings and room types. When we got confirmation letter from Travel Agents, we assigned the rooms as per
their reservations confirmations. We are three stories building and not big enough and high to put elevator. We got four
stars recognized from our Country and are certified from Hazards Analysis Critical Control Points of EU Travel
Associations and USA. We aimed to show our culture and nature of Myanmar family type warmth so our hotel style is
based with these facts. Our hotel staffs willing to change room for you but the current situation at that time was house full
with other room types and we feel sorry upon that and at that time can available only the Rakhine Room type that your
travel agent booked to us.
We would like to get a chance to serve you with our personalized services and the view room in near future.Is there any
confusion and complicated upon the explanation, please do not hesitate to call me directly and personally. We hope to see
you again in our Cultural City,Mandalay.
All the Best,
Ashwin
All is not what it seems !!
All looks good on arrival , but on our recent trip we stopped in room 206 which must have the worst view from any hotel
ever and should not be rented out . should have known when the curtains were drawn . There is no bar and drinks orders
from the restaurant are very slow and restaurant food is living on its reputation . you will get better food from your local
Indian very poor and overpriced .
EXPENSIVE FOR WHAT IS OFFERED
First I never received answers to my mails (our hotel in Yangon phoned them many times!), but decided to book after
looking at TripAdvisor. Second, when we arrived, no word at all about the mails. The rooms are comfortable but small and
some of them are dark (we changed room) the bathroom is old. The breakfast is...Ok. It is out of everything and taxis are
quite expensive compared to other towns in Myanmar.
Dear valued guests,
Thank you for your comments. We confirm reservations via emails. Online booking and Hotel direct bookings are always
work with emails. Emails addresses should be double check before sending. During your stay, if you ask about that case
we will definitely find out and apologize to you. As we are boutique hotel, bathrooms floor made of woods and basin with
marbles. Mandalay taxis prices are quite expensive than other cities as per their taxi business. Our hotel is to fulfill our
guests needs and wants during their staying with us.

All the Best,

Ashwin
"Disappointing"
 Sep 4, 2016  ChusSerSac, Lugo, Spain
Superior room that looks like a dark, small basement compared to the ones we had, minimal and unattractive pool, sparse
and bad breakfast, yes, lovely staff people like in the rest of Burma
Dear Valued Guest,
We are happy to see your comments. Not only our staff but also our Myanmar People are friendly and helpful. Thank you
very much for your kind comments. You are most Warmly Welcome to our Golden Land Myanmar!
With Best Regards,
Ashwin
Beware
To start it must be said that the staff of this hotel are charming, kind and helpful. The hotel is also immaculately clean.
Room layout, lighting and bed quality are the issue.
We upgraded from the standard room because many reviews had commented on room size. We looked in disbelief at our
premium room which had the double bed jammed against two walls allowing access from only one side or by climbing
over the carved and raised bed frame. The person jammed against the wall had no access to any light switch or bedside
table. Net result if the inside person needed to go to the bathroom in the night both had to wake. Totally unacceptable. In
addition the bed was rock hard and to us most uncomfortable.
The level of lighting in the room was terrible as others have mentioned.
A further small warning, my wife had a glass of white wine in our room, it cost $10. The comparison I would make is with
the Shangri La, Yangon $5 !!
But for the staff this review would be 1 star however for the modern mid/up market customer this hotel does not provide
rooms that are acceptable based on our experience.
Dear Sir/Mam,
Thank you very much for your review of your stay at our hotel. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us. I would like to
personally apologize for the series of unfortunate incidences that you experienced during your stay with us. We continually
try to do our very best for all of our guests.I will look into each issue that you have noted, in an attempt to correct and
improve our hotel policies.
I would invite you to contact me personally at +95 9 2042042 (direct line), to discuss this with you further. (email is
[email protected])
With Warm Regards,
Ashwin
Not typical of other guests' experience
Sometimes things just don't work out the way you expect so this is not a vindictive report but more due to happenstance.
The hotel is located in an affluent residential area and there are signs all around the property developers are at work. The
charm of this boutique hotel with its rich teak construction is undeniable and the staff a credit to their country. There is a
charming small lounge on the first floor overlooking the pool. However there were 3 events that justify a low score. Room
304 is on the second floor (no lift and up a spirral staircase) and overlooks another property guarded at night by Alsatian
dogs. So I found myself woken maybe 4 or 5 times when the dogs barked or howled. The next comment concerns the
restaurant - a separate building with tables also on the terrace overlooking the pool. Three times we chose wines in the
USD25 range only to be told they were not available. We also had higher expectations of the food but accept this is very
much a personal matter. Note also that there are no other restaurants within easy walking distance. The third event was
bizarre. We had just checked-out and whilst waiting for our mini bus with other guests a manager came out and said that a
bathroom face flannel was missing and could we check to see if we had packed it in our luggage. We felt like we had been
accused of shop lifting and protested our innocence. And no we hadn't packed it. Might make a good dinner party yarn now
but at the time we were not amused.
Does not live up to self raised expectations
Surely, this hotel is nice and comfortable. But it comes at a fairly steep price and pretends to be top of the bill. And that is
not reality. Breakfast is very poor, the restaurant has a nice setting, but is expensive and for half of the price we got far
better meals in other places.
The rooms are dark and small. We had a double bed and one had to climb over the other one, as the bed is in a corner.
And by the way: in a country with millions of fresh cut flowers on sale everywhere it could be expected to have real
flowers in the room rather a plastic version.
Disappointing service in a nice hotel
My 2 friends and I stayed here 2 nights and paid in full upon check in. We had made advance reservations in Yangon and
were not walk in clients. The hotel room was nice, clean and spacious and they had a very good Indian restaurant.
The problem started when we came back from sight seeing the next day in the evening and the hotel staff asked us to pay
another $300 dollars for the room which we had actually already paid in full at check in the night before. $150 extra for
each night. The reason they said was because one of our friends was a foreigner.
At check in we presented our identifications a passport and 2 local ids so they knew one of the persons in our group was
not a local, before we paid for 2 nights stay in full. We asked to speak to the GM but GM was not available. It was obvious
that the front office staff did not know how to handle the situation because they were flustered when we refused to pay
more money for the room we had actually already paid for!
Having a local and foreigner rate is very discriminatory. The foreigner rate they were asking was double the online rates
for the room which was about $158 on agoda at the time.
After they saw how outraged we were at being asked for more money for the room we already paid, they said we could
have an extra room. So for the first night we didn't pay the extra money they wanted because of their foreigner policy, but
we paid another $150 2nd night but we got a second room.
All in all it was just badly handled and we felt like we were being discriminated because one person in our group was not a
local. Their front office staff should have been fully aware of their foreigner policy. Since they made a mistake according
to their policy, they should have just handles it internally instead of upsetting the guests and asking for more money.
What had been a good impression of the hotel was ruined by the unprofessional service.
I would not recommend foreigners to stay here as they will be paying a lot more for a room than locals.
"They closed the pool and bar to celebrate a private party"
 Sep 1, 2015  Ezquere, San Sebastian - Donostia, Spain
It is a very small hotel, most rooms are very small. They also closed the pool and the bar and garden because they
celebrated in it, the annual celebration of the workers. They were singing at least until 11 p.m. The only spacious rooms
face a back, directly to a uralite roof, which is not pleasant as seen. It is true that at dusk they offer a couple of varieties of
cocktails with local alcohol, but when they closed the pool they stopped doing so. The wi-fi is non-existent, connecting is a
miracle. Small and not very clean pool To reach an area of interest it is necessary to cross several streets without sidewalk
and almost without lighting, in fact you can only leave the hotel by taxi.
Over-hyped and underwhelming
This hotel is described in the guidebook as a "26-room bolthole ...in the city's quiet north-east corner". However this was
not our experience. Although we had booked and paid for a 'suite' they do not have any suites in the hotel only rooms!
They first showed us a very dark and poky room that was not big enough to swing the proverbial kitten. We got a room on
the upper-floor which was tiny but at least had some light. As to peace and quiet, the hotel is between two roads and so
there is the constant sound of car horns and there is a very big building site (the University extension) nearby; the
neighbourhood dogs yap and bark incessantly and there is the scraping of chairs overhead as well as the racket from a
noisy air-con which was on its last legs. The place is over-hyped and underwhelming. We had barely checked in when we
got a phone call and someone knocking on the door asking us when we were checking out! At 11 p.m. on the site adjacent
to the hotel someone began to chop wood (or what sounded like it). The restaurant served very decent Indian food: nan,
tandoori, spicy fish, okra etc. We ordered the local wine which tasted like petrol. We only took a sip from it and left it with
the waiter but we noticed it still appeared on the bill..
"Without interest! To avoid"
 Jan 17, 2015  Gastro84
Here is a hotel which is very badly managed, staff speaking poor English, poorly trained in this profession. The rooms are
small but well decorated in wood. The pool is tiny and poorly maintained. The service is very long, often rough. But the
worst part is the "restaurant"! With mediocre Indian cuisine, slow service and incompetent waiters, And expensive !!! But
it is difficult to go to town to dine elsewhere .... The Spa is to be avoided absolutely. In a cave, cleanliness is limited and
masseuses are anything but masseuses !!!!
An unfrotunate incident
We recently spent three nights at this hotel in Mandalay and generally had a good time. It is located in a quiet side street
well away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Mandalay. The grounds are lovely with lots of greenery and a water
feature, which runs past just outside the downstairs rooms. We found the breakfast good and also liked the Spice Garden
restaurant at the hotel. Our room was neatly decorated but we felt that despite being a boutique hotel, it was a touch small
and cramped - the bed seemed oversized for the room. It was also very dark, partly due to it being downstairs and located
in one corner of the building. But it was not helped by the internal lighting which was not strong enough even to be able to
read by. There is a small pool outside which we had looked forward to using, but this turned out to be somewhat
impractical, as there were no steps to enter the pool. My wife has a mobility problem and the lack of steps put paid to our
usage. We did notice another elderly man struggling in and out on all fours - not the most graceful of things. Despite all
this we would have given the hotel a more positive score but for an unfortunate incident. When we returned home I
checked my credit card bill to find that we had been charged for our three night stay, which I immediately queried with the
credit card company for the following reason - we had already paid for the stay many months before. I have the
documentation which shows two payments via PayPal in January 2014, upon which we then received a pre-paid voucher in
February. I had shown this to reception when we checked in in November and assumed that aspect was closed. Two things
worry me about this incident. Firstly, their records should have shown that we had already paid, confirmed clearly by the
presentation of the pre-paid voucher. Secondly, whilst there we used other services, such as laundry and two meals in the
restaurant, for which we were billed and received an invoice which I paid by credit card. However in relation to the three
night stay at no time was I presented with a bill, at which I could have pointed out their error. The hotel simply deducted
the money without my approval. We are sure this was all simply a mistake, but the poorness of their record keeping and the
deduction of the extra money without my approval, are not really actions, which I would expect of a hotel of this class and
quality.
Renovate immediaterly!
A few details about me: I worked in a global well-known hotel-chain in a managerial position. I lived in 6 different
countries and travelled in more than 30 so far.
Therefore i have a clear view of what luxury hotel is.
-The room was very dated and bad maintain, therefore overpriced! The one side of the bed was against the wall hence in
case of double occupancy both guests should use the same bed side in order to lie down!!!!
-For 2 nights in a row and after 21:30 in the night the hotel staff did contruction work in garden's pathway just across my
room. Therefore no sleeping quality!! Although next morning i complained about this, the very same night again they did
construction work until late at night!
-No smoke alarms inside the rooms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Dirty run-down switchers (same old problem in many hotels around Indochina).
-No hot water, only luke warm!
-Away from city's center as well as tourist attractions.
-Very noisy roads around the hotel, not good for light sleepers!
-Not many food options at the restaurant as the owner is Indian and they serve mostly indian dishes from various parts of
India.
-Not enough plugs available inside the room in order to recharge my appliances. No computer desk either.
-Most of the sockets/switchers are placed behind the pillows!!!!!!! I was searching for them for about 15 min.
-The most slow internet connection in Myanmar and in whole Indochina where i travelled for 40 days!!!
-Be careful after dark as the hotel is surrounded by muddy full of holes roads with no lighting whatsoever!!!!!
-Lots of mosquitoes inside the room due to the nearby canal despite the electrical mosquitoes repellent appliance.
-No elevator. Mind the slippery wooden stair!!!
-Wooden floors through out the rooms and corridors make light sleepers suffer!
YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT BUT SOMEHOW YOU CHOOSE NOT TO DO SO!
Disappointing
After reading all the excellent reviews on Trip Adviser we were really looking forward to our stay here but we were very
disappointed.
The hotel is small and full of character, however the rooms are exceptionally small - we booked a Shan suite and it hardly
had room for the luggage. The bed was two singles pushed together against the wall so the person on the inside had a
scramble to get up, especially in the middle of the night.
I was very ill while at the hotel (we did eat in the restaurant on the previous three evenings but I cannot say for certain this
was the cause) and the manager was very unhelpful. Then the final straw was when he tried to stop us leaving after we had
paid our bill, accusing us of taking the 'Do Not Disturb' sign from our room! Why would we even want to take it (!) and to
be accused in an aggressive manner front of other guests was very upsetting.
I appreciate this is probably one of those bad experiences that happen from time to time but I certainly could not
recommend this hotel and would definitely never return.
Most overrated hotel on Tripadvisor?
I couldn't recommend this hotel to anyone whose good opinion of me I wanted.
But before I go forward I should say my methodology. I start all hotels on a 3-star score: detract for bad things; add for
good:
Quality of room - minus 1.5 points
Comfort - minus 1.5 points
Facilities - minus 1 point
Food - add one point
Staff - add 1.5 points
Cleanliness - add 0.5 points
Now I have to say the reviews here are a *lot* better than how the guests talked amongst themselves when I stayed here
last week for three nights and in the 'room tips' section I've explained in detail why the Rakhine Suites, so-called, are
dreadful and - to be clear - if you've a rear-facing hotel room you're likely to have one of the worst, most disturbed nights
you've experienced in a hotel.
The hotel doesn't have a bar area, which seems pretty bad management planning (so 2 out of three nights we went to the
Mandalay Hill Resort for our evenings); lots of guests go elsewhere and spend their cash because there's no bar, which
seems poor business planning.
Air conditioning is OK in the rooms (but rather smelly like cat's urine) and in reception (where staff are). AC is
abominable in the dining pavilion. We ate - a good - dinner here on our first night but it was spoilt by inadequate air
conditioning (even the Singaporeans complained) and management needs a rethink about its AC for the dining pavilion;
again losing lots of guest custom: a good hotel can function even in hot weather!
BUT the Indian food at this hotel - it's Indian owned - is EXCELLENT and I heartily recommend it. There is a super
Indian cook in the kitchen. Avoid the non-Indian food (it's bland and meh). Breakfasts are good and a freshly-made
omelette very good.
The 'spa' is in a bunker under the dining pavilion that smells revolting and it's like having a spa treatment in a torture
chamber.
Like everyone else I think the staff here are fantastic - actually they tend to be all over Myanmar I have found - and they're
very helpful. But they and management are also aware of the issues about noise and other factors and ultimately I think this
was the worst hotel we stayed at, out of four in Myanmar. Oddly it was the cheapest but felt like the worst value for
money. Would never stay again
A very disappointing experience
We stayed in this small boutique hotel for 3 nights. The hotel looks nice from the outside and comes highly recommended.
Rooms are rather small (said to be 25 m3) with a small bathroom. The rooms are rather tired, with paint peeling off the
wall in several location and some mould in the bathroom. There was hardly any lighting in the room, making it not a nice
place to relax and impossible to read. Our room had a very narrow balcony (some 30cm wide) directly above the road – a
degraded tarmac stretch, next to the canal.
The bed, connected twin beds, was rock-hard and had bedding that was too small for the total bed. We requested an extra
roll-away bed for our 5 year old son, which was in the room when we arrived and adequate. However, I consider the 120
USD per night that the hotel charges for the extra bed outrageous.
The bathroom was also small, with a narrow bath, no separate shower and a single washbasin.
Together with bathroom amenities earplugs were provided. Alarm bells should go off and indeed it was extremely noisy.
There is hardly any sound insulation to the outside, so any car or motorcycle driving on the road resulted in lots of noise.
The packs of dogs howling and barking during the night did not help either. On top of that sound insulation to corridor and
other guestrooms was non existing, resulting in loud noise when neighbours visited the toilet or had showers.
What the hotel staff lacked in professionalism was compensated by enthusiasm, friendliness and helpfulness. There were
always smiles and offers to help.
The small pool looks very nice, but at this time of year the water is cold and not very inviting.
The hotel rolls out a happy hour every day we were there, which is very nice. However, the cocktails provided were very
sweet and made from local alcohol, which we avoided. Snacks and coffee were also provided during the afternoon, which
is a nice touch.
Breakfast was served in the Spice Garden restaurant. A basic breakfast, but OK. The restaurant itself is subject to a
separate review.
Wifi internet was free, but quite slow.
The hotel is a few 100 m from the walled area with what once was the palace. Not far to walk to other restaurants and
interesting places. It is a relatively quiet neighbourhood, with the hotel at the corner of a degraded tarmac road next to the
canal and a dirt track.
We very much liked Mandalay, but the hotel was overpriced, poor quality and not worth staying. However, staff was very
friendly and helpful.
Retravels
There is a great disparity in the rooms. We were told upon arrival that we were upgraded to room 301. There is no elevator
so its a 3rd floor walk up. The room ( suite?) was so small the only place you could open your suitcase was on the bed and
even then only one at a time. When we questioned the upgrade we were told it was the view of the pool. They didn't
mention that the "terrace" was so small only one person at a time could stand on it. After we complained about the walk up
and size of the room, they finally agreed to move us to room 109. It was bigger but does NOT have a window much like an
inside stateroom on a ship. We tried to get our money back so we could move to another Hotel but they refused. The pool
is small, not well kept and they only have 8 lounges. Overall we felt totally ripped off by the hotel and the attitude of the
front desk staff.
"Not terrible at all!"
 Mar 29, 2013  VeroniqueM952, Paris, France
It is true that the hotel is sheltered from noise, the only positive point! Small room in very bad taste. Same bathroom, no
place to turn around or put a kit. The swimming pool looks more like a fish pond. Conclusion: to avoid
"to avoid because overestimated"
 Mar 28, 2013  Guy d, Paris, France
While this hotel is praised by the guides, it offers ugly rooms, with bathrooms with inaccessible baths, windows that open
on a wall, a faulty electrical installation. The glass served at the entrance should not obscure the quaintness of this
pretentious and very expensive hotel
"Oversold by tour guides: little smart, lonely ..."
 Mar 28, 2013  Yolande M, Paris, France
For 227 dollars you will have a room larger than the others with, like the others, pillars in the middle of the space and a
window placed 1m50 from a wall of the building opposite, on which hang bits of filthy plastic. and if you want a large bed,
management will not tell you that it does not have one ... system D: we bring the 2 beds together and place a piece of foam
between the 2 to fill space (therefore switches are inaccessible). Which is particularly uncomfortable! As for the tiny
bathroom, access to the bathtub-shower requires flexibility and great separation. Following our complaint, the rooms
offered do not allow the opening of 2 suitcases. As for the decor, no need to add any ....
Price is crazy for rooms this size
Prices now at well over 200$ a night make no sense .My room was well appointed but up 3 flights of stars including a
circular staircase. The room was quite small and so was the bathroom.
Breakfast was ok for a small hotel not as much choice naturally ,waitress wore her overcoat it was quite cold. There was no
hot water one afternoon but they fixed it in a couple of hours.
Staff were pleasant but English wasn’t as good as in other hotels.
The cocktails were a nice idea and the restaurant is good but expensive.
This rating is based on the room price/value ratio for a 3 star hotel.
Boutique hotel with cockroach in the bathroom...
The service and location are great but the room was really tiny without any natural light. The worst was to find a
cockroach, really bad. The pool is tiny and was green from the rain, so if you go during the monsoon, not good.
The breakfast food was not very good though was very nice to see the locals on their daily lives while you're having a
coffee, the monks, the women going to the market..
They claim is a boutique hotel but is really a small one with good service.
I suppose I was quite unlucky since everybody likes it so much, but our stay was not good.
One bitten!
This is a really friendly hotel with good food but ohhhh was I bitten. I think it was some sort of bed bug as they only
appeared after sleeping but I was with my husband and he wasn't bitten at all. This does tie in with research that says that
50% of the population are immune. I am one of the unlucky ones. So, if you know you are immune, you will enjoy your
stay. We loved Burma anyway.
"lilliputien hotel"
 Aug 17, 2012  tripcdesvendus, france
lack a little space, all in reduced model, like the swimming pool which you can reserve the surprise of being covered with a
floor intended for the organization of a party with music etc .... there is better for the same price in Mandalay
Exspensive hotel not value for money
The rooms are not what you see advertised they have obviously been photo shopped to make them look larger along with
the swimming pool you cant even get out of one side of the bed and the window view from the larger rooms looks out to a
filthy wall, the rooms were clean and the staff always had a smile and were very helpful, the only thing red about the red
canal is the rubbish floating in it, the restaurant is very overpriced and therefore empty every night, there are also notes
everywhere asking you to make a comment on trip advisor, whilst the staff are fantastic they all seem terrified of the Indian
manager who apparently is a friend of the owner, this hotel is poor value for money.
Nice local staff, arrogant management, overpriced
During our trip in Myanmar we stayed 2 nights in Mandalay. We selected this hotel due to the good rating in tripadvisor,
but finally have been very disapointed.
The welcome at the maingate was allways warm and friendly. The room, 1st floor - Ralchine Suite - did not fulfill our
expectation. One big bed, but no space for lugagge or any other furniture. No lighting concept in the room. The bathroom
too small for two people. Showering without splashing everything is inpossible. Not to mention the problrm we have had
with the safe. And as per other reports we were not the only one.
WiFi is very slow and the computer offered to the guests occupied by the manager surfing in facebook.
Breakfast is very poor. Not even orange juse is served.
The pool very small and full of chlorine. This probabely due tonhe fact, that no shower is provided at the pool site.
Nevertheless, the staff is friendly and they do their best.
All over, this can definitively not be the best hotel in town.
Triumph of style over substance
This hotel came highly recommended, and occupies the number one slot for hotels in Mandalay on Trip Advisor, so we
were really looking forward to staying here. As it turned out though, we were really disappointed, and I endorse much of
what was said in the recent review by Utahlover. We were fortunate to get our free cocktail, and only succeeded in so
doing (having also arrived shortly before 7 PM) because our guide was very assertive, and is known to the hotel staff. We
were assigned room 109 on the ground floor just off reception, and it was pretty dire. The bath was filled with cold water
artfully decorated with flower petals, but it took an age to drain and was clearly a complete waste of the precious resource.
The outside shower dribbled cold water and we were expected to stand on very uncomfortable sharp pebbles to avail
ourselves of its feeble dripping. This obsession with pebbles was everywhere, including a trough of them on the edge of the
bath, making it difficult to get in and out without risking a minor fracture.
The safe didn't work and we had to call for assistance so often that we were eventually given the master key to it. We
noticed another guest seeking similar assistance. The bed in room 109 is flush against one of the walls, so there is no
bedside table on one side. We spent an agonised 10 min looking for light switches which were hidden and almost
inaccessible behind the bed head
while I was covered in soap, the shower broke, sending water cannon style jets everywhere in the bathroom.
The food in the restaurant was very poor indeed, though we did not try the Indian menu, which is supposed to be good.
Also extremely expensive.
Staff were generally extremely courteous and helpful however.
After one night in Room 109 (probably should be redesignated room 101), we switched to room 110, next door, which was
slightly better but still cramped (nowhere to put your suitcases) and with a dodgy safe.
One more thing – there's a big sign on the front desk saying that they accept Visa, but the small print then tells you they
charge 15% if you use such a card.
A hotel which looks great, but just prod below the surface and it all falls to pieces.
After much planning and research, dissapointing. Not a Number 1 anymore.
I normally love to express how pleased I am with a choice of a hotel as you will see in all my other reviews of hotels in
Burma and other countries that we have stayed in. Frankly, I spend many months planning a trip and reading tripadvisor
and have had very good experiences with the results.In this review, I describe my poor experience at the Red Canal. We
arrived at several minutes to 7 pm (somewhat fatigued by plane travel) and were told to go to happy hour by the
greeter...then were laughed at by the manager when he said" it was over". I thought he was kidding...but he was not. We
were then taken to a room that I did not book (8 months in advance that is ). We specifically requested what appeared (on
the website) to be the attractive Kachin suite with an outdoor shower but were taken the busiest cramped Chin room next to
the reception. The hotel blammed my travel agent on the mistake (even though I even emailed the hotel to confirm the
room months in advance). When I asked the manager if there was a store near the hotel to purchase beverages and chips he
again laughed and sneered and said there "was nothing close". I like to venture out and support the locals..and basically he
lied as there were many local vendors within a 5-10 minute interesting walk. There was even a local colorful market. The
manager said there was another room (Shan) but it was dirty...so we went off to get a beer at their restaurant ( On us of
coarse). The Shan room is small and we actually were tripping over our luggage.The manager sensed we were obviously
upset but there seemed to be no apology only blame on our agent. I actually sensed that he was actually tired of tourists and
had no sense of hospitality.The next day I reported this behavior to the higher level of management and my excellent travel
agent at Santa Maria Travel which seemed to spur some action. On the second night we were placed in the Kachin room I
believed I actually paid for and there were apologies by the staff who did seem very concerned. I do not fault the staff that
actually had a sincere desire to rectify the problem (as there were several women on day 2)...I do fault the management for
hiring someone in a management capacity that does not seem to have a true sense of customer relations.
In a nutshell, we would not stay there again and feel the place is very overrated. The breakfast in the morning was also the
poorest of all hotels we stayed in while in Burma. The Kachin room although nicer has an outdoor shower but the water is
cool. If I were planning a trip again I would consider other highly rated hotels in Mandalay that might be more suited to
giving a true welcoming experience. So sorry...but we must be truthful.
"Disappointment and misunderstanding"
 Dec 20, 2011  lafourmi7, Paris, France
All the reviews were favorable and we went with confidence to this establishment. But what a disappointment! If the style
is there (elegant vegetation, refined welcome), it quickly turns short. Our room was tiny and ... windowless. We must not
be claustrophobic! It is downright shameful. As for the swimming pool, small but not unpleasant a priori, as much to
advise against it: the water is cold and acidic. Yes, acid! Perhaps an incorrectly dosed product? Personally, I did not want
to repeat the experience. Even the restaurant is pretty dull. In short, not exciting at all. Impossible to understand all the rave
reviews about this hotel, definitely. Arlette C
Dear Valued Guest,
Thank you for your precious time to write a review to us. I would like to apologize personally for your inconvenience
cases. Our staff members take their roles in our industry very seriously and try, everyday. I will look into each issue that
you have noted, in an attempt to correct and improve our hotel policies. I would invite you to contact me personally at +95
09 2042042 (direct line), to discuss this with you further. (email is [email protected])
With Warm Regards,
Ashwin
"Show off and sadness"
 Dec 18, 2011  Denis F, Paris, France
Four nights in November 2011. Bad pick. The hotel is located in an off-center and dusty area plunged into total darkness
from sunset. The rooms on the ground floor (like ours), scandalously called "suites", are blind and tiny: you can barely
open (on the floor) two medium-sized plane suitcases. Ditto for the pool: if someone started to swim before you can stay in
your bathtub. The restaurant is grim, the food tasteless (a shame in Southeast Asia) and mediocre, the prices prohibitive.
The staff, like the manager (who does not know what a smile is), only thinks of making you spend money. In fact, it is a
showy and pretentious hotel: the owner wanted to make it a "hotel of charm and high standing", probably inspired by
illustrious models (Phou Vao residence in Louang Prabang, Angkor residence in Seem Reap, Governors residence in
Rangoon , for example) but without giving themselves the means. Everything is cheap and expensive for the customer. Go
your way: Mandalay can be an attractive city: choose a large hotel in the center (you may not have the charm but modern
comfort at least).
worst hotel experience ever
Without a doubt this was our worst hotel experience ever - from the stinking canal outside, the slimy manager to the
obnoxious front desk staff.
Dear Sir,
First of all I would like to apologize for lack of our management. Please accept my sincere apologize.
I am so sorry to hear that you have been unpleasant with our service & management while you are here. I would like to
know and request to you about check in date and check out date if it is possible with your name. We will definitely
compensate your stay. Thanks for your kind cooperate with our management team.
Ashwin Kumar
"Tiny and not so nice ..."
 Apr 17, 2011  LaTour_16, Paris, France
The Red Canal has excellent word of mouth. The welcome is friendly and everything is done to set up a friendly
atmosphere. A massage is thus offered in the event of a stay and a cocktail each evening. However, the rooms are tiny
(even those described as the largest) and the Management very eager to gain, for example awkwardly prompting you to
take meals at the hotel or taking FEC only if the change from the Kyat is favorable to him. The initial positive impression
therefore moves quite easily into a sullen impression. Our room was quiet but that of our children, facing another direction,
rather noisy (barking dogs). Avoid rooms on the street (or those that are blind) and know that the suites are not real suites!
The breakfast was not very varied and not very generous. The rooms have wifi. The staff are friendly and efficient.
Dear Valued Guest,
Heart felts thank you for your precious time to write a review to us. We appreciate your kind positive feedbacks upon our
friendly services and atmosphere. And also happy to hear that you enjoyed at our evening happy hour beside the swimming
pool. I would like to apologize personally for your inconvenience case upon the noise of dogs that you experienced during
your stay as our boutique-style hotel that is situated in quiet local folklore quarters. We provide Full Buffet Breakfast for
our valued guests. Our staff members take their roles in our industry very seriously and try, every day, to provide that
quality customer service, that our guests expect.
With Warm Regards,
Ashwin
A nice hotel but very noisy and with a poor quality breakfast...
We spent 3 nights there in February 2010. Key points: Internet direct booking, 115 US Dollars per night breakfast
included.

The Red Canal hotel is a charming, cozy hotel (all in wood) which could be nice and worth staying, but unfortunately we
do not recommend it for a few reasons.
To start with our comments, the hotel is well located, at a walking distance from the palace, the Mandalay hill, interesting
pagodas and other entertainment places like the puppet show, Green Elephant restaurant, etc.
The service is of an overall good quality. The staff is friendly, smiling and tries to do its best to answer your needs. They
speak English which helps a lot (one lady also speaks French).
On the other hand, the breakfast is average. You can have a kind of traditional "western breakfast" but it's far from good or
very good. No bacon available with eggs, fruits of an average quality compared with what you can buy on local markets.
The coffee and tea are not very good. The croissants are definitely not good and this would be better to withdraw them
from the buffet... The bread is average, the jam is not home made, etc. Let's say that for the room rate (115 USD) and the
standard of living in Myanmar-Mandalay, the management of the hotel could easily do something much better.In the
evening, The Red Canal hotel organizes a welcome drink at 6pm. This is a very good idea for customers to socialize. The
cocktails are renewed every evening so you can't get bored.You can enjoy free Internet access at the business center.You
can also relax on the balcony on the first floor. Large enough with 8 armchairs, tea and starters are available there in the
afternoon.The swimming pool is small. Actually, of the size of 5 big bathrooms, 10 meters, not more. The water is not
heated. Besides, there are only 5 long chairs around the swimming pool for potential 30-35 guests.The gym is very small
with 3 machines only.We booked a Shan Suite, view on the swimming pool with a (very) small balcony. Basically, the
room was very small. It would have been better to call it a Shan Room as you can't even walk around the bed (see the
picture). The range of amenities is good. The bed and pillows are hard. May be the Shan style... The TV is ageing (still
with satellite and all international channels) and you can enjoy a tea set (boiler, tea or coffee bags). There is also a safe.
Purified drinking water is available all day long. And really hot water in the bathroom is a dream you can have ! Such a
small room is not worth 115 USD.The Red Canal hotel is also located not far away from major Buddhist centers. This is
good for the sightseeing. But the first morning we were waken up at 4.30am by Buddhist loud music and songs which
lasted 2 hours and a half. Those music and songs easily cover the whole district of the hotel. That's a nightmare if you want
to rest...
The second night, the Buddhist monks played loud music and songs and we were not able to sleep. At 1.30am, we asked to
move to another room at the backyard. The room was nice and larger but unfortunately the water pump was making a loud
noise every minute or two. Impossible to sleep well... In the meantime, the music of the monks lasted all night long...
Quite tired, we learnt during breakfast that local guides are used to requiring for their private customers, rooms located
North wing, backyard, 2nd or 3rd floor... We did so, the staff at the front desk helped us and the 3rd night was better, even
if the 2 dogs of the neighbor barked from time to time when somebody passed along on the street.
Still, the monks started to sing at 5.30pm and this went all 3rd night long... And even the 4th day long... Annoying !
Actually, at the time we stayed in Mandalay, the monks planned to sing all night long for 2 weeks... (May be for the Moon
festival ?). This is a stressing music which denies you even 1 minute of rest. This is harassing... Really not good during
holidays !
So, the best rooms are located in the North wing, 2nd and 3rd floor, backyard. There you can sleep well, despite the dogs
or the Buddhist songs.If you want to enjoy religious songs all night long or early in the morning, the Red Canal hotel is all
yours.As far as the US Dollars are concerned, the staff scrutinized them as if we were crooks. But this is the Myanmar way
to do it in all hotels... Tourists are welcome in Myanmar... But with brand new notes only !On the other hand, you can
change your US Dollars at the reception. The rate is double the airport rate. This is useful.To conclude with, we were quite
disappointed with this hotel but not with the staff which is excellent. But an outstanding staff, really customer focused, is
not an excuse for the remaining issues. We honestly did not really enjoy our stay in the Red Canal hotel.When we left this
hotel, we were exhausted! Holidays?
Rupar Mandalar Resort
Nestled within tropical gardens and located just 15min. from the city center, Rupar Mandalar offers the most charming
accommodation away from the bustle of Mandalay. Featuring two big outdoor swimming pools, for both adults and
children, there is enough space for everyone to splash, sunbathe or just relax and do nothing. Guests can enjoy a cocktail
and a quick bite at the poolside or a meal a la carte at the in-house restaurant. In the evenings, we recommend enjoying
your dinner at our outdoor terrace bar while immersing in our traditional Burmese folklore and puppet show. We highly
recommend our authentic Myanmar cuisine, accompanied by either a glass of local white or red wine, a cold local draft or
our home brewed ginger prosecco. If Chinese cuisine is more to your liking, our Chinese chef will ensure that your dining
experience is as authentic as possible. Interested in a massage? Then look no further. We have an amazing, solid teak
walled spa, set in a 3-bedroomed villa, for your complete relaxation experience. For something different, a solid wood
jacuzzi and sauna for two are also at your disposal. Just inquire at the reception for availability. Our fitness center is small
but adequate for your daily workout. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the whole property. Featuring 38 luxurious rooms
and suites, the property has become famous for its exceptional teak construction craftsmanship. Each room is air-
conditioned and features a flat-screen TV with a variety of international and local cable channels. USB plugs are fitted in
almost all rooms so that you don’t have to worry about carrying all these power cables with you. All rooms come with an
outdoor seating area facing lush tropical gardens, where you can relax, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and make plans for your
next day’s adventure. Every room is fitted with a separate bathtub and shower. All rooms are fitted with a mini bar and
Room Service is available from 6am to 9.30pm. Laundry service is available and our wonderful laundry team will wash,
press, fold and deliver your clothes to your room the next day. Our 24/7 front desk associates will only be too happy to
assist you with your inquiries at any time of the day or night. Allow us the opportunity to make your visit to Mandalay that
little bit more special and memorable. Let us be part of your extraordinary moments!
Dusty and bad location
Stayed one night here, it it was enough. Large but not very personal, the rooms remind of some post-soviet mausoleum
type dungeons, dark and moody. Large pool, but again gives you a somehow depressing feeling.
Breakfast was ok, didn’t dinner here. Staff very friendly, however, their English skills are very moderate. The hotel is way
outside, meaning you’ll need a taxi for everything. Mandalay seems a little difficult in terms of good hotels, so I guess
there are not many better ones. It seems reasonable to check the alternative options carefully before booking here.
Very Annoying Stay , Worse Service!!!
My room Type is Junior Suite Orchid
- No safe and no privacy because room keys are not work well. Hotel stuffs can only handle the keys and always need to
ask their help to open and close the door.
- so many mosquito are in the room and can't even sleep well.
- Hotel stuff are so rude and no efficiency. They refuse to open the main entrance when I come back from outside after
dinner with my business partner. It's really disappointed for me that I stay at expensive room.
- I made an special order of seasonal fruits with extra charges (not small amount) for my business partner who visit to me.
But, no one take care for it.
- Even in the greeting letter, there is no specific name of management team.
Shouldn't choose this hotel if you don't want to get such kind of worse experiences in Mandalay.
"Sadness to mandalay"
 Jan 7, 2015  Mariangela P, Bologna, Italy
We had the misfortune of spending the New Year in this hotel: gloomy, in the common parts and in the rooms, it bears,
who knows how, the appellative of boutique hotel. It is awkward in everything, from the furniture to the service, from the
pool, to the ominous position. Not to mention the breakfast: indecent, worse than in any two star hotel. I do not dwell on
the show and the dinner organized for December 31: embarrassing. To be avoided with care.
A very disappointing experience
We stayed one night on Jan 26,2013 and this was one of the worst hotel experiences i have had in my many years of
travelling in Asia. We had a confirmed prepaid reservation for a deluxe room and on check in we were taken to a tiny
closet like room in which the bed hardly even fit. We spoke to the manager on duty and were told absolutely no other
rooms were available.After 15 minutes we again called him and he moved us to a regular room which was bigger but very
noisy as it was on the main road.We settled down and went to dinner. We ordered Thai food which was bland and tasteless.
Then on our return to the room the worst part of this stay happened. At turndown service the housekeeper took the wet
dirty towels which were crumpled on the floor and folded them and put it back on the rack.We called the manager again
and explained how unsanitary and unhealthy this was. Again like with the room he was arrogant and nasty and really did
not care. To further insult me he offered to take 10% off my dinner bill. We told him it was one of the dirtiest experiences
ever experienced in a hotel but he did not care or even apologize.Lastly as other reviews have said sleep was not possible
as the pillows were rock hard.
Charles and Monique
Boca Raton , Florida
Excellent service
Our budget did not include a 5 star hotel so we were delighted with this first class option in very busy Mandalay. We were
busy with touring so did not miss being out of town a bit in this more residential area.
Lovely cottages with great bathroom, beds, nice porch, gorgeous huge pool that was most welcome after a humid, hot day.
The restaurant was good and we had the added benefit of 3 musicians on traditional instruments, a dancer and marionettes.
Just great!
But the biggest asset may be the employees who were so helpful, observant (rushing with umbrellas when it starts to rain).
Even the trainees were a level above normal. The trainee at the breakfast buffet made perhaps the best omelet aim have
ever had.
Kudos to management for having such a great group of employees.
Dear Mrs Vicky,
First of all I would like to thank you for your amazing comments and I will most certainly pass them onto our employees
and most specifically to Hsu Lae Phyu, the trainee who served you the best omelet ever. It is our mission at Rupar
Mandalar Resort to make each and every guest's experience unique and memorable and I am glad that during your stay
with us, we achieved just that. Comments like yours is what keeps us motivated and committed to delivering exceptional
service all the times.
On another note, I have noticed that even though you rated us 5/5 for service, cleanliness and sleep quality, the overall
score is only 2/5. Is there something we did not do well in order to meet your expectations? If yes, I would very much
appreciate it if you could let us know so that we can improve in the future. If, however, this was just a typo, would you be
kind enough to adjust accordingly in order to reflect your total experience with us?
Thank you once again for your great comments!
Yours sincerely,
Kyriakos Sarridis
To avoid- To avoid"
 Mar 22, 2019  Florianeg
Very nice yes but dilapidated and not very well maintained. Dust in the banisters, dilapidated bathroom even if it is only
two years old ... the catelle of the shower is already yellow orange ... see with black spots on the circumference of the
bathtub ... doubtful (while they are clear at the base ....?) Small bed and uncomfortable cushion. Not sure if they do
anything else to clean the floors in the rooms other than sweeping the floor. Really bad restaurant food whether it's dinner
or breakfast. By cons really very nice service. Bad location
Matt but remote and the rooms are only separated by a wall from a main street"
 Jan 9, 2019  ManfredHoch, Vienna, Austria
At first impression the hotel looks good and nice and the staff is great and overly friendly. The surrounding area is,
however, remote - nothing works without a taxi. Next to the hotel is a very busy street about 1 meter from the rooms -
making mosquitoes very loud in the morning are a problem if you want to visit the sauna it costs 30us per person restaurant
has a good selection but it is also quite expensive and everything is in US There are certainly much better and above all
better located hotels
So-so"
 Feb 8, 2018  240wolfgangd, Ellwangen, Germany
We had been looking forward to our second stay in this hotel after eight years. Unfortunately, there is not much left of the
former charm. We were quartered in an ugly new building with a view of a factory site. The water splashes out of the tank
day and night in front of the window. The rest pretty shabby. Too bad.
A poor attempt at a well-designed hotel
While the hotel's layout is quite nice, the rooms leave much to be desired. They're massive -- way too much open, unused
space. Then there's the lighting. Switches are in the wrong place and often don't make sense. The bathroom (which has one
of those clear glass partitions between the bedroom and the bath) is dark, especially the vanity. I couldn't get enough light
on my face to shave. And there's no storage space in the bathroom: no flat areas to put toiletries. This seems to be a
bathroom designed by someone who doesn't use bathrooms.
Misleading...
We spent 3 nights here, knew immediately after getting in the room that we made a mistake. We travel as couple, not in
group.
Rooms: we booked a PREMIER SUITE: these are big, new rooms, with basic furniture, a comfortable bed, an
uncomfortable Chinese sofa, no chair, only a footstool. Terrace-sitting: 2 uncomfortable easy-chairs+ table.
Bathroom: modern design, stylish, but no place to put your things, lights shine everywhere but not on your face!
The system of switching on/off the lights in the room is the craziest ever seen, Gives you stress and a headache, because it
is just crazy!
The room is cold, without any warm Oriental touch.
We were not happy with this 'Suite', paying USD 240 per night. We saw other rooms like the Standard rooms which are
much nicer, a bit smaller, but wooden decor. We refused however a downgrading!
We argued for getting a 'Suite', however they have other ideas of what a Suite is:
The junior suite = Suite with 2 bedrooms +2 bathrooms, which they sell separately:
The family-suite= Suite with 3 bedrooms, etc, where they put tourists travelling in a group.
We could have the Junior-suite, if we paid for the 2 rooms, something like USD 470 per night, we refused..
Now, if you pay a suite, you get a suite; not a basic, uncharming room.
Attention: Corner Premier Suites are just 2 steps from the swimming-pool, the baddest location ever!
Thanks to our agent, we were 'upgraded' for the 2 remaining nights to the Junior-suite, without extra charges This was very
nice, spacious, good comfort and all warm, wooden walls. So, this ended up good.
Breakfast: below the level; breakfast-restaurant= Chinese big living-room, we could sit outside,however, which was nice.
(Not enough tables outside). Attention: if you want a cappucino at breakfast, order in time, it takes very long. And they
charge you, do not accept this. We did not pay; in other hotels, you have any style of Expresso-coffee free with breakfast.
There was a very big wedding-party the last evening, there was no noise-disturbance, as these parties finish very early,
BUT: the tables were put just one step away from the swimming-pool, no loungers, guests were asked to stay away. Just at
the hour for relaxing near the pool!
Of course, a hotel can arrange many parties but, they must respect the guest; if you pay for the full thing, you must get the
full thing.;Or you should be offered some compensation.
We did not dine in the hotel, as we like a quiet place for dining, not every evening a show with loud music while dining.
So, we found 'A little bit of Mandalay', just 5 minutes walk, when you go outside, turn right. A very good, nice place, good
food, good staff. We were very happy to have this restaurant so close.
Choose a Standard-room or go to MandalayHill hotel, a nice place.
Would Not Stay Here
The resort grounds and rooms are lovely, but INFESTED with mosquitos. We enjoyed the puppet show & Burmese dances
as entertainment at dinner the first night, but the food was terrible. My husbnd got sick and though I didn't get sick my
noodle dish was tasteless. Because the resort is way out of town, in a sort of industrial area, it was a pain to fight the traffic
and get into town for dinner elsewhere. Breakfast was OK, but service was terrible with lots of waitstaff just standing
around. We had to get up to find tea or coffee as no one came around to offer any. We had pre-booked for 3 nights and
were very happy to leave!
KN london
We stayed here for two nights on a tour of Myanmar .
The staff were charming and the food was OK
BUT
The dining arrangements were the least welcoming and badly arranged, we have ever come across. Far to few tables for 4
or more and no bar area.
The swimming pool was featureless in an empty area with only five loungers and no shade.
The rooms were large and high ceilinged, but showed a complete lack of design skill. No bedside reading lights and no
light over basin or mirror in bathroom. Unusable!
The Rupar is more a local conference centre than a hotel.
We would not return.
You'll pay 5-star prices but the Rupar Mandalar Resort is not even close yet
Myanmar is new at tourism and especially at high end tourism. Prices are 5-star prices; however, the facilities, services and
infrastructure are nowhere near. Nothing worked well at this hotel. Electricity is unreliable. The water is not potable, even
after boiling, and smells "off." The food at this property was not particularly appealing and was not especially well cared
for in the buffet presentation (think lots and lots and lots of flies, everywhere). The a/c units in our suite were old and
functioned only modestly. Internet access was so spotty as to be non-functional. We had no cell phone service. When we
needed to speak to a family member, he had to call the hotel repeatedly until the call landed on an incoming circuit that
could be transferred successfully to our room. The hotel apologized for the ongoing renovation of the swimming pool area
in a letter that promised construction between the hours of 9am and 6pm. Don't you believe it. Construction noise was our
background music for breakfast at 7:15am. The hotel's marketing material promised, "Warmly, Natural & Privacy," an
adverb, an adjective and a noun, quipped my husband. It delivered none of these. Myanmar is a fascinating place to visit,
and will become even more fascinating if/when/as the transition to democracy succeeds. We cannot, however, recommend
this hotel.
Go elsewhere
At first glance, it all looks great, especially the pool. The deluxe rooms are very large and then you discover a bathroom
too small for a separate shower and that the room actually backs on to a noisy road. We were woken at 4.30am by
impossibly loud music from a nearby building. None of that would have mattered if the service hadn’t been so terrible. On
our first night the restaurant went into complete meltdown, people waiting over 20 minutes for a menu, hopelessly
understaffed thanks to a large function. We went elsewhere the second night but buffet breakfast was also a comedy of
errors. None of the 3 staff on duty early on understood the word ‘jogurt’ , we asked for milk which was presented in its
original carton….It’s not worth the hassle. Those who stayed at the Hotel by the Red Canal fared much better.
"Bel Hotel but beware of the environment"
 Feb 19, 2015  jylr, locquirec
Very nice hotel with poorly soundproofed rooms. It would be quite bearable if happy roosters did not sing from 4 a.m. to
6.30 a.m. every day (we stayed there for three days in the two-story building opposite the swimming pool). the staff are
attentive, the swimming pool large and very clean, the restaurant without much interest and the dance and puppet show full
of good will.
Cock a doodle don't
I'll start with the fact that this is my first ever Trip Advisor hotel review.
We just stayed there in early Feb. 2015 for 2 nights. Great looking facility once you get there but it is out of town a bit. The
hotel put on a nightly puppet show and/or ethnic dancers to entertain the dinner crowd and that was very pleasant.
We stayed in room 808 on the second level of the 2 storey building by the pool . The balcony overlooks a neighbor's
compound. You know how in the movies a couple awakens at dawn when a rooster crows and they smile and stretch to
greet the day. You can forget about that. Two competing roosters started crowing both nights at 2:30am. I literally counted
the 10 to 20 second intervals between their crows all night long. Warning, I am a sound sleeper so imagine if you're not.
Bring earplugs if you get any of these rooms. Otherwise you may find yourself obsessing about how you can bring about
their imminent demise all night long like I did. My vision of Rambo-like hellfire with M16s from the balcony of my room
was my personal favourite.
At least my insomnia on the second night was broken up by my body violently rejecting (in both ways) the food poisoned
Myanmar chicken curry I had at dinner. So much for trying local cuisine over their extensive menu of non-local choices.
We did appreciate the one complimentary cocktail each night at the bar. The bar staff was pleasant and helpful but if you
wanted to actually have another drink and pay for it they seemed a bit perplexed by this concept.
Good breakfast, bad sleep, mixed staff
Location: As others have noted the hotel is a bit away from everything which is mostly goood because the sound and the
smell form the streets is much reduced, on the other hand it will leave you with no choice where to eat.
Overall layout: A very nice layout with a lot of open space and trees, a very nice large pool (not heated), breakfast is
served al fresco under trees (choose your seat with care, the wooden planks can make for sudden movements of the tables)
3 restaurants, all nicely decorated, very wooden. The stay comes with a 15 minute complimentary massage, very nice to
have your feet and legs stretched a bit in the evening and a traditional puppet theatre in the evening (for free but the music
is not that nice to listen to by western standards)
Rooms: Very dark in the decoration with a very nice and extralarge bed, large TV set, bathrobe and slippers and enough
space. (rooms 1-10). The bath is a bit oon the small side but did do the job, all needed amenities were to be found and the
room was very clean. The one big issue we had with this room was the more or less total lack of noise insulation. If the
alarm clock in room x set off, rooms x+1 and x-1 were wide awake. So whatever you do, people in the neighbouring rooms
will hear it and vice versa. This caused some serious sleepping trouble and this leads to two points lost.
Food: Basically the breakfast is very good. Hot and cold dishes, cereals, rolls, jam, eggs the way you want them a very nice
noodle soup and sitting outside in the sun made for a nice setting. Alas: The first night we were alone at breakfast that
menat many supposedly hot dishes were not heated. The second morning some more guests arrived and that meant that
some items quickly vanished to never be replaced and the eggorders got mixed up.
We had dinner one evening and were not impressed at all with the food quality especially the lack of spices. So if you can
skip it, no loss. If you want to order a cocktail, that can take quite a while 25-30 minutes, so the second time we did it I
ordered a beer for the waiting period.
Staff: Generally very friendly and helpful but the moment things got a little wrong that´s when they got nasty. We were
told that two bottles of water from the minibar were free and after we did check out our car was literally blocked to get
some money from us for the one bottle we actually took.
"poorly located hotel and questionable cleanliness"
 Dec 4, 2012  cdele, paris
The hotel is very badly placed, far from everything, and the road leading to it is dotted with open dumps. This hotel is a
paradox: created like a boutique hotel: few rooms, teak everywhere but it seems that there has been a change in strategy or
owner. Management finishes and stinginess are unacceptable. I had reserved a deluxe room: I arrive and I am told that I am
upgraded to a family suite! good news in appearance but I realize that I was placed in a small room with a tiny bathroom of
foul taste: basic white tiles, questionable cleanliness with a terrible "green lawn" carpet, swearing with the teak decoration
of the bedroom. In addition, I did not have the suite for myself alone but I had to share the living room with the other 2
bedrooms occupied by perfect strangers! And they had the nerve to present this room as an upgrade! I expressed my strong
dissatisfaction to the management who ended up giving me the room I reserved. The luxury room had the same drawback
for the bathroom: small, not nickel, bathtub with shower curtain - in short, far from the standards of a luxury hotel. Then, I
was surprised to find that the disposable cloth mules provided by the hotel were dirty (upside down) had already been used
by previous customers: yuck! and watch out for mycoses! As in many hotels in Asia, there is a kettle and 3 small sachets of
instant coffee consumed on the 1st day. The hotel did not see fit to renew them and I found that mean. Breakfast is average
with soft pastries (so not daily or industrial) - terrible coffee. short I do not recommend this hotel
"it's a social club"
 Aug 31, 2011  anap378, Madrid, Spain
Although we were very few guests, the large pool was crowded at all hours by people outside the hotel (rich Chinese who
live nearby) who use it as their social club, and so from 7 in the morning at the pool there are children learning to swim
with a teacher, and until 6-7 in the afternoon both children and teenagers cram the pool making the place very little
relaxing and you don't want to be. Although we complained repeatedly, the only response we got was that a few sun
loungers by the pool (about 4) were reserved for guests. In the evening, again the hotel is filled with outsiders who use the
hotel's lounges as reserved and organize mass dinners, so that guests, always feeling like someone outside the social club,
are relegated to alternative rooms. Anyway, although apparently it is one of the best hotels in the area, nobody wants this
plan: if we choose a small hotel with a pool it was because we like peace and quiet at the end of the day or in the desktop
and the atmosphere that usually exists in this type of hotels, but we did not find any of that.
"disappointment"
 Aug 22, 2011  martaris, Milan, Italy
this hotel has deeply disappointed me: too new, without charm, the rooms all made of wood turned out to be too dark and
the only window could not be opened without someone not looking inside. moreover too far from the center (about 20
minutes by taxi) and it is often necessary to wait for the taxi 10 minutes good: the kindness of the staff and the garden for
breakfast
"I would but I can not!"
 Feb 14, 2011  Caterina C, Madrid
This hotel would like to be a luxury resort ... but it can't! The structure would not be ugly (although I do not totally agree
on the style, but it is personal tastes). The problem is neglect and lack of attention to detail. Things like old chairs piled up
next to the pool (in a corner of the garden) or the terrific breakfast tablecloths or the horrible bathroom mats or the village
fair-style tree lighting. Unfortunately, it is the details that make the difference between a real luxury resort and a
pretentious hotel (even if cozy and with good service) that goes from luxury to far ... The only point worthy of a 5 star is
the service which is really excellent, lovable and attentive. For the rest, this hotel leaves enough to be desired. I don't
recommend it.
Ned Kelly Hotel & Irish Pub
Mandalay's newest and coolest poshtel (a posh hostel and hotel mix)! World class experience at backpacker prices. Meet
people, enjoy our ground floor all day dining café, see the sights of Mandalay, and finish your day off at Myanmar's only
rooftop Irish pub. All rooms are private, no dorms. Shared bathrooms, private Off-Suites and En-Suites bathrooms
available, depending on your budget. Single, double, triple, and quadruple rooms. Come solo or bring the whole gang.
Find somewhere rlse
Had dinner there tonight based on all the god reviews but were really disappointed.
Atmosphere is ok and my husband had a nice burger (if a little salty) but my panini was the worst that I ever had.
It was suppose to be pulled pork and caramelised onion which sounded delicious but what can our was anything but.
A thin smear of some type of funky smelling paste in the bread, no sign of an onion (caramelised or otherwise) and a sort
of plastic looking cheese. I took 2 bites and left the rest. Despite leaving more than 80% of my meal the staff asked me if it
was delicious to which o responded no that the food did not taste good at all. They smiled, took it away and brought the bill
I’ll including the panini.once again my husband raised the fact that the panini was not good and that I didn’t eat it but to no
avail.
I have already thrown up once since eating it!
Seriously, we have had much better food in Mandalay for about a third of the price. Go elsewhere
A Little Bit of Mandalay Tavern
A truly Mandalay style quaint and cozy inn with home atmosphere. Quaintness and simplicity merge with Burmese
friendliness to create an ultimate unforgettable lodging experience. All 24 rooms showcase simple interiors with a touch of
Mandalay and are appointed with local products. The TAVERN is located in eastern part of Mandalay gazing at Mountain
Ranges, a tranquil ambiance for a perfect rest after a tiring day. A variety of entertainment, city's highlights, shopping and
dining venues are within 5-10 minutes drive distance, suitable for both long and short term stays, for tourists, business
travelers, families, couples and individual travelers
"Aging, eccentric .... and stingy!"
 Oct 16, 2019  MaudT39
Aging hotel, really eccentric and without any charm. The rooms are clean but nothing more, there is not really a garden but
only an outdoor dining room full of mosquitoes. The food is nothing exceptional except the price, much higher than
elsewhere in Mandalay. The icing on the cake: I was asked to pay 5,000 MMK to be able to take a shower the night of my
check-out! And that when there were only 3 rooms occupied in the hotel ... In short, do not go there, there are many
cheaper and much better options in Mandalay!
"Restaurant for tourists"
 Aug 28, 2017  ludovich449, Montigny-les-Metz, France
We are very far from the good street restaurants that we were able to taste during our whole trip to Burma. In addition, we
are double the normal prices, without being expensive anyway. The staff are attentive and since we had a child, they even
took us back to the hotel, but we have to judge a restaurant ((((
"Without any kind of luxury ..."
 Feb 1, 2017  849susannem, Copenhagen, Denmark
Clean and nice hotel without any kind of luxury. Some noise from dogs and chickens in the morning. The restaurant was
good but relatively expensive. The staff was super sweet and helpful. Also with arranging tours.
Reasonable budget option.
The hotel is situated on the outskirts of the town but if you don't mind walking - which we don't - it's an easy 40 minute
stroll into the centre. The hotel itself is clean and comfortable, the rooms of decent size, good air con, average shower and
plentiful hot water. Staff are friendly and willing to help, although they are not always particularly knowledgable about
tourist essentials, (e.g. location of ATM's). Breakfast is poor, in the six days we stayed there the fried eggs were always
over AND undercooked at the same time!, (i.e one egg would be almost raw while the other would be almost rubbery),
which is amazing given that the food in the evening was never short of excellent, (just as well because there's nowhere to
eat in the immediate area). WiFi was poor, only available in the lobby and, unless you asked for it, rarely switched on. It
should also be noted that while the hotel is on the outskirts of the city it's not exactly in the countryside. There are may
fields around the hotel but also some industry - immediately in front of the hotel is a construction company site which was
rather noisy on a couple of mornings during our stay. It's also such a shame that the hotel doesn't have any outdoor areas
for relaxing - a small garden area would make all the difference.
Nice, but simple
This was a nice clean place to stay and a good budget option. Wasn't flash, and the bathroom felt very 'dorm room' like.
We asked for a double bed and get two singles on either side of the room (we didn't bother requesting a room change
though)When we arrived really early (5.30am ish) the staff were really helpful, and great with our bags being held till our
room was ready. They also helped arrange a taxi driver for us for the two days we were there, and arranged our boat tickets
on to Bagan for us.Internet is only in the lobby. But this is not unusual for Myanmar, and expected at this price range.The
food was ok only. Was tasty enough but we had awesome food elsewhere in the city.I recommend this place for its great
friendly service and good price.
"Disappointing"
 Jan 17, 2015  Delphine P, Paris, France
The hotel is far from the center and taxis are not given in Mandalay, backpackers go your way! The hotel is nevertheless
clean and the restaurant is of good quality. I was disappointed with the reviews read on trip advisor, especially since the
relationship with the staff grew tense as soon as we tried to negotiate a little.
A little bit away.... from Mandalay!
Our rate is mainly due to the position. The hotel is tidy and clean. Unfortunately we got a room with the window above the
main entrance: it was exposed to the sun for the whole day and therefore it was really hot...anyway we cannot change the
sun direction so if you can choose, it is better to take a room on the other side of the building. Breakfast was really good
and we had also a great dinner in this place... in my opinion a little bit overpriced according Myanmar standards, but it was
tasty and the location outdoor is extremely nice.
Coming back to the position... it is true that the city centre doesn't offer that much but if you want to have a stroll you must
take a taxi... the tavern is located around 10-15 minutes from the main streets of Mandalay. Hotel personnel can call you a
taxi to go to the city centre: the problem is when you want to come back! It is not that easy to find taxi even around 10PM
and after having searched for half an hour, we asked to an hotel of the centre to call a taxi for us (the fare to go back to the
B&B was extremely higher than normal). So... pay attention and be prepared with a taxi back up solution!!
Ostello Bello Mandalay
Ostello Bello Mandalay is strategically located in Mandalay, one of Myanmar’s ancient cities and home to 4 capitals across
the centuries. The hostel is located within steps from the city moat and the Royal Palace and a few minutes away from
Mandalay Hill. Hop on a bicycle and immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of this trading hub. Cross the magic U Bein
bridge at sunset. Explore Mandalay’s unique surroundings: Inwa, Amarapura, Pyin Oo Lwin, Hsipaw and the rich
waterfalls. A transportation hub for travelling in Myanmar, you can fly in to Mandalay’s international airport from
Thailand, Singapore and China.
"Terrible service"
 Jul 22, 2019  Yupm20
It has been the worst hostel I have ever stayed in, the staff is the worst, I had a problem since I was sleeping alone in the
room and at 3am a super drunk couple enters the obvious room they were not guests, they were local friends of the People
at the reception, the girl tried to raise the bed above mine which obviously fell drunk and the boy went up and was trying to
do things with her but she was telling him to stop. I went down to the reception at 3am to find out why they had handed the
keys to the room to a drunk couple who were not even staying in the hostel and still laughing in my face, in the end a boy
came up and told him he will take them out and the place He began to tell me rudeness in English and the girl was sleeping
in the room, after all the mess she made in the room. I tried to sleep a little and in the morning they started knocking on the
personal door of the hostel to talk to the girl and that she left early which did not happen and went up and entered the room
a million times. I went down in the morning to the reception to claim what happened and they told me they couldn't do
anything. It is not normal for me to have that happen since I paid for a room and gave a guest. The next day I talked to the
hostel manager and he started yelling at me and he started telling me that this was not his problem. Terrible staff service
without education, efficiency and zero empathy with the guest. Apart from the fact that the rooms do not serve the air
conditioning in any friends because they have said so and the food is bad and expensive. And the rest of the common areas
without more. For me in summary the worst hostel in the chain.
Tours and transportation desk not honest
They sold me the bus ticket from Mandalay to Bagan. I waited for 1h30 for the shuttle to bring me to Bus Station. The
excuse was that they were waiting for a passenger in another hotel.
The bus does not leave you at Bagan, but 10 km away at the middle of nowhere. The taxi rude mafia drivers of the place
charge 15000 k per passenger for a transfer to Bagan. If you arrive after dark is a big problem. The area of the bus station
has no internet access. Do not forget to take with you the phone number of your hotel to ask them to send you a taxi.
They should be honest to the guest explaining that the bus they were selling was not to Bagan, but to another place far
away from the Bagan hotels.
Very disappointing.
In the ostellobello desk they also tell you that foreigners are not allowed by Myanmar government to drive scooters. It is a
dirty lye. There are companies renting motorbikes and driving them in the region in not that difficult.
As for the hostel conditions cleanliness, etc., it is ok.
Nevertheless a little bit overpriced.
Food and excuses.
Wow, in 5 months in Myanmar I have not been so insulted.
I have been traveling for over a year in the back of beyond in se Asia. Nothing better then to get to civilization and real
food.
I am not a backpacker and was put off more then a little at the “ pay when you order policy” never experienced this outside
of McDonald’s.
But I was told it was the best pizza in Mandalay. That is all I needed to hear.
I ordered my pizza explicitly without peppers, explaining in no uncertain terms that I cannot take the taste. If we were in
the country side, I shut up and eat whatever is given me.
Pizza arrives, looks lovely except the peppers. I asked for another pizza. It went back into the kitchen, after some
ridiculous excuses and comes back with the peppers picked off. Do you think I cannot still smell and taste the peppers ?
What an insult to my intelligence!
I am at this moment waiting for a replacement. I would walk out, let them keep the money but I am hungry. Jeez,I have a
#1 trip advisor ranked business and if anybody working for me risked my reputation over something so trivial...
Hostel Ostello Below Par!
As a group of experienced backpackers in our late 20s, we were disgusted at our recent experience with this chain.
1. Arrived at 5am, to be told we could not check in until 2pm, despite our room being empty, unless we paid additional $5
per person.
2. Everything is overpriced for a hostel and more expensive than local bars and restaurants.
3. Despite this, our party purchased drinks and food at the rooftop bar, but after a while opted to hang in our dorm, due to
our budgets and the dire atmosphere.
4. Received a rude wake up visit to our dorm the following morning at 7am! by the self important, snobby, blonde,
American receptionist! Just to remind us check out time is at 11am, we were all aware of this. No mention of any other
issues at this point...
5. Upon check out (at 11am), we were told by the above staff member that we would not be receiving our key/ towel
deposit, due to extra cleaning requirements in room. Unsure how this could have possibly been inspected since checking
out, we challenged her to check room condition. No damage or irregular mess was noted. We also documented this with
photographic evidence, as they will literally try anything.
6. The receptionist then stated the reason we would not be receiving the deposit, was due to a noise complaint about our
party. However we had no prior warnings to keep volume down, at any point during our stay. I again challenged this, and
asked to speak directly to her manager - this did not happen. I personally would have loved to do this.
Eventually after being unable to produce any plausible reason, deposits were reluctantly returned.
7. After check out, while waiting for our transport (which we had booked through the hostel), we were rudely asked when
we would be leaving. We told receptionist we had purchased food. Our presence was no longer an issue. (She’s happy if
you’re spending money).
In summary, I’d advise all backpackers to avoid this chain. You are lining the pockets of rich westerners, who attempt to
incorporate additional charges at every opportunity. The mentioned staff member is extremely arrogant, unwelcoming and
incompetent. Instead opt for a locally run hostel, who would at least would be happy to host you... probably for half the
price!
Ciao X
Hostel good but services not
Great hostel as far as beds and air conditioning go. However, DO NOT BOOK BUSSES OR SERVICES THROUGH
THEM. I booked a bus ticket and after they insisted that I show up for my pick up time only to have me wait for two hours
insisting that the taxi was “5 minutes away”. When I talked to the reception staff and manager, they did nothing to help. I
loved the Bagan location but the two others were SO disappointing.
I wouldn’t mind the later pick up time if they would tell me, but having people sit and wait at the front door for 2 hours is
just ridiculous. I’ve worked in a hostel and gone above and beyond for customers that needed help and that was far from
the experience here.
On the bright side, the waterfall tour was absolutely incredible and we had a wonderful time. Also, the breakfast is terrible.
So, overall: good hostel, terrible bus and travel staff.
Rude staff. Попсовый дорогой хостел.
Awful staff. It was really unpleasant experience . A manager on reception was extremely rude and unprofessional. When
he took my passport, he was really nervous and couldn't find my visa and rumpled pages. After that he calculated a price
and it was higher than I booked from Booking . Because a hotel provides the price for a room only in dollars (and rate of
exchange really high) and after that calculate to local price. It's really strange, I showed him my reservation from booking
with the price and he answered me that It didn't mean anything, that it was my problem with Booking. Manager couldn't
explain it calmly and with respect, he was rude, and all time asked me "what do you mean local price /currency, what is
this?" I wanted only ask ,why the price was different, but his behavior was unprofessional and aggressed. Actually another
stuff didn't help to make this situation clear for me. This inadmissible behavior for hotel and why this person work with
people. Main complain on European staff the gue was impolite and a girl was watching his attitude and did nothing. And
after that he told about service and tour agency in hotel, really? How it possibly to have case with hotel which doesn't
respect guests.Another stuff to busy and leave dishes for guests near kitchen for 10-15 min before lift to a roof top bar.
Hotel has ridiculous laundry rules. Breakfast just a lot of bread with rice or egg and jam with butter are the cheapest and
tasteless
Look at the small letters !
This hostel unfortunately does not possess the same level of kindness as Myanmar people have shown during my trip. It
seems to have a bad cancellation policy with little consideration for circumstances with the aim to just take money. I would
not recommend!
Very anti-social and expensive hostel
We came by nightbus to Mandalay and arrived around 6am at the hostel and we couldn't do an early check-in for our room.
The options were to wait and sit in the common area or buy a bed for full price in a dorm for 7000kyats for only a few
hours....we never had that before in Myanmar. We decided to wait in the common area ....at 6:30 we could have breakfast
for 3500kyats which is really expensive for 3 small toasts, butter, jam ...and one piece of watermelon. So we went to a nice
local restaurant close to the hostel and had a delicious Mohinga for 400 kyats each.Even when the room is ready you
cannot have the room before 2pm and no exceptions made ... They don't care if you are already waiting for hours.The
hostel itself looks nice, but they owners are total hypocrites and try to get the last kyats out of you without any empathy.
Money over , worst hostel ever
After traveling for 2 years I have never been more disappointed in a hostel. The staff was unorganized and rude. The only
thing they wanted was my money, and they didn't care about me at all. After staying there for 4 nights I still had to pay for
a fresh towel. They didn't clean my room probably, so it had a bad smell the last two days. The food was good, but super
overpriced and the portions was not enough. Cups stank of rotten fish, and the staff didn't care.. even after I told them.
They screwed up the deposit, so paying became really inconvenient. They lied about no public transport running under the
water festival, and instead advertised about their own private taxi. But the trains were actually running the whole time. I
have never felt more like a "money pig" in my whole travel. And met more incompetent staff (mainly the western staff) ..
Unlike all the other hostel I've stayed in Myanmar, the staff didn't want to book anything for me. And pretended there was
only one taxi running in the whole town.
I wouldn't have mind these thing so much, but since this is the most expensive hostel I've ever stayed in. I expected more.
Bad value for money. Go anywhere else
Hotel Magic Mandalay
Welcome to Hotel Magic Mandalay Hotel Magic Mandalay conveniently located in Mandalay. Our architect carefully
designed to your comfort and memorable stay. Whether you are traveling on business or leisure, our friendly service team
will proudly cater to the needs our valuable guests by providing the highest standard services.We try to meet and exceed
your needs during every stay and all the time.
"Purple, or the last try"
 Feb 25, 2019  Tiffy0815, Hamburg, Germany
Hotel is far outside, only one can be in the vicinity. The lobby looks cool. Room too big and still without storage space.
The dominant color is purple. In the hallway is the safe, which you can only kneel on the floor with a torch because there is
no light. We had a lot of mosquitos because we were not given mosquito repellent in the room like the others in our group.
Nobody was interested in the safe not working or nobody understood it. It was the worst hotel on our tour. Pool was ok.
Cocktails moderate and breakfast surprisingly useful, especially the pasta station.
Management response
Feb 26, 2019  ThantZinHMM, General Manager, ThantZinHMM (Management representative)
Dear Mr / Mrs Tiffy0815, Best regards from the Hotel Magic Mandalay! Thank you for taking the valuable time to write a
review and share your real experience about us with the TripAdvisor community. It is of course an honor to receive such
an encouraging comment from a seasoned TripAdvisor member and a person who has traveled all over the world. World
like you. I am sorry that your experience did not meet all of your expectations. Please be assured that we take appropriate
measures to address the problem and prevent it from occurring in the future. However, we apologize for the inconvenience
that has occurred, particularly with regard to the mosquito and Language barriers. I am sure that in the future you will give
us the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to satisfaction in all areas of the guest experience, which will not only
give you a legitimate three-star ranking, but a solid five-star next time - will result. Thanks again for your convincing
comments. Sincerely, Thant Zin
"Very friendly staff but hotel not really intended for westerners"
 Aug 23, 2018  Olivier-B1080, Brussels, Belgium
- very friendly staff - very poor knowledge of English, which can really complicate the service (eg receiving a lemonade
when ordering rice) - design and layout not in line with expectations of Western customers (eg shower in the toilet) - very
limited and very poor Western breakfast plays - sickly obsession with covering up against any potential damage by a
customer. A price list of each object in the room is displayed on the door in the event of theft. We only receive one card
per room and announce a penalty of $ 5 per card in the event of loss (there or other hotels systematically give you 1 card
per guest and do not even ask for them at the start) - absolutely no acoustic insulation in this building which undoubtedly
has serious manufacturing defects. We can hear street noises even on the 6th floor, we have the impression of sleeping in
the corridor when someone passes by, and we think that the ceiling will collapse when someone walks upstairs or moves a
chair In short, really not convinced!
Dear Mr. Olivier-B1080,
Warm greetings from Hotel Magic Mandalay.
Thank you very much for your comments following your recent stay with us.
We were extremely happy to read that your stay with us at Hotel Magic Mandalay was so enjoyable on regards to Hotel
staff's very friendly services.
We will surely share your appreciation with the team to serve as encouragement to always strive for the best.
However accept our sincere apologies for any disappointment you experienced regarding the issues mentioned and
breakfast display, language barriers (ordered foods and key card), sound concern from outside environment.
Refer to display of item prices tags are as usual as our guests wish to buy then we are happy to sell to them (Such as mini
bar price tags, snack price tags, logo items price tags display in the room). Of course, taking hotel items are not allow in
every countries, some are for sale and some are for souvenir.
I have shared your comments with the department in charges and also the persons taking care of breakfast display
increment From Current (Bacon, Sausage, Eggs to order, Juices, Yogurt, Fresh Fruits, Assorted Cheeses, Scrambled Eggs
pre cooked, 3 different kinds of Cereal, Dry fruits, Grilled tomato, Different style of potato on daily basic, Assorted breads
corner, Danish pastries, Croissant, Live Cooking Asian corner, Cushi, Pan cake or Crepes, One cooked meal, Fried
rice/noodle, Vegetable one dish) To further more items so that we make sure situation like yours does not occur in the
future.
I am sure you will give us the opportunity in the future to demonstrate our commitments to satisfaction in all areas of the
guest experience which will lead you to, not only legitimate two star ranking, but next time a solid five stars.
Sincerely yours,
Thant Zin
Decent hotel
Decent enough hotel for the area. Clean rooms, quiet except for the morning wakeup call from the rooster and dogs
outside- although in the city, had the noises of the rural countryside. Nothing to see/do around the hotel. Mattress very
hard. Morning buffet just ok- quality of food- meh. There's a spa on the premises- I had a massage, it was ok- did the trick-
got me relaxed but....not sure what type of certificates/licensing is required in their country- she didn't really have good
technique. Staff friendly and helpful.
Two biggest issues with them: 1. They moved my luggage out of my room the day of check out without my permission
because they needed the room. Thank god I was already packed. 2. They also charge a 3% fee for using a credit card which
is the cost of doing business and should not be put off on the client.
I feel bad giving them only 3 stars- in Mandalay it's probably really a 4 star hotel.
Dear Mr/Mrs. 333ghosts,
Warm greetings from Hotel Magic Mandalay, Myanmar.
Thank you for your assertive feedback.
I am sorry that your experience did not meet your total expectations. Please rest assured that we are taking the appropriate
measures to address the problem and prevent future occurrence.
It has came to my full attention who against our guideline as of without permission we don't do that refer to your issue
number 1 as well as our hotel's reputation concern. In order to do that efficiently, may you privately contact me in details
about your checking in and checking out date.
I am sure you will give us the opportunity in the future to demonstrate our commitments to satisfaction in all areas of the
guest experience which will lead you to, not only legitimate three star ranking, but next time a solid five stars, base on your
expression in the last sentence.
Sincerely yours,
Thant Zin
Just about okay....
My experience here was that things were not yet fully in place...were kind of being figured out. The staff still seemed to be
in a learning stage. It took time for things to register and materialize.
The rooms are large, very modern in their planning and as such lose out on warmth and overall comfort. And for me it was
the un-lockable bathroom doors that were a big 'no-no'...more so when the room is shared with a non-family member.
Breakfast was fine with a fairly large spread. However an order of eggs took far too much time to materialize.
Dear Mr/Mrs. Pahari,
Warm greetings from Hotel Magic Mandalay.
It is a great pleasure to read your review and find that we met some part of your expectations and thank you for telling your
experiences as very clearly figured for area of improvements at Hotel Magic.
First of all, on behalf of entire team, please kindly accept my sincerest apologize again.
Accidentally happened for delaying your check in process and we will be ensure for this similar service to anyone from
now on. As well as order delaying eggs at our show kitchen.
I am sorry that your experience did not meet your total expectations. Please rest assured that we are taking the appropriate
measures to address the problem and prevent future occurrence.
I hope we have the pleasure of welcoming you back for another unforgettable guest experience in the near future. I am sure
you will give us the opportunity in the future to demonstrate our commitments to satisfaction in all areas of the guest
experience which will lead you to, not only legitimate three star ranking, but next time a solid five stars.
Sincerely yours,
Thant Zin
Food is a disaster
Nice hotel that would like to say it is a 4 stars but if they are not doing something about the food, they will never reach the
standard. The problem is that the location of this hotel is far away from any other restaurant so you are trap inside...and
have to eat there. Don't go to late for breakfast because nothing will be available. On the first morning we went at 8:30 and
plates were empty, we also had to get the coffee by ourself. It was a little bit better on the next morning and the last one
was almost perfect, but this is just breakfast. We had dinner there and nothing improve during our stay.The rooms are very
confortable but don't know who did the design as our shower was located near the toilet, so if you take a shower at night,
expect to get your bottom wet if you are using the toilet.Now talking about the use of the walkies talkies from the staff...
Could you please tell them not to use them at 06:00 AM when everyone is sleeping??? or in the afternoon when we are
trying to have an afternoon nap?Wifi was not very slow but they installed a router in our room.Staff is trying very hard,
they should reach the 4 stars, eventually!
Dear Ms. Caroline P,

Warm greetings from Hotel Magic Mandalay!

Thank you for taking the time to leave us your feedback. It was a treat to see that you, we are trying hard several way to
reach all our guests' expectation.
I am truly sorry that your experience did not meet your total expectations. Please rest assured that we are taking the
appropriate measures to address the problem and prevent future occurrence.
I hope you will consider giving us another chance in the future to demonstrate our commitment to satisfaction in all areas
of the guest experience.
We hope you will return to stay with us the next time you are in the area so we may demonstrate the world class hospitality
and accommodations you expect and deserve once more.
Sincerely yours,
Thant Zin
A little cheaper is better"
 Sep 8, 2017  naoakin
A new hotel near the city center of Mandalay. It stands out in the appearance of a purple hotel. The room is also purple.
There seem to be two types, standard and deluxe. The standard was USD65, and the deluxe happened to be USD68 in the
campaign, so I stayed in the Deluxe. The room was large enough, with a king-size bed, a small sofa, a mirror / desk, a
closet and a safe. The bathroom had a bathtub separate from the shower. The bathroom was small, and I thought it would
be difficult to use the toilet because the shower would be a bitter and the washbasin would be a bitter. It was a room on the
6th floor, but I was woken up from 6am in the morning of the day off by the sound of moving the terrace seats at the
poolside, the table in the bar, and the chair. It is better to avoid rooms on the 6th floor. The internet is free, but the speed is
too slow to connect. I ended up tethering with my mobile phone. The small gym has towels and water bottles, so you can
use it 24 hours a day. There is also a spa on the 7th floor, so you can always take it. However, it is higher than a typical
store in the city, and it is USD30 per hour in Myanmar traditional. Is your arm normal? Breakfast is neither good nor bad,
and I think that it is good for the price if it is a little cheaper, but it feels like a new hotel. The same level hotels in the city
are almost as cheap as USD10. By the way, the room is dark. I felt dark even if I opened the lace curtain because I put a
film on the window. Not suitable for reading documents at work. However, it did not feel so dark at night. It may be
because indirect lighting was working
Dear Mr. Naoaki N,
Warm greetings from Hotel Magic Mandalay!
Thank you very much for your genuine views about us which are extremely important for our improvement. I do apologize
for the inconvenience on behalf of Hotel Magic.
I am sorry that your experience did not meet your total expectations. Please rest assured that we are taking the appropriate
measures to address the problem and prevent future occurrence.
I hope we have the pleasure of welcoming you back for another unforgettable guest experience in the near future.
Sincerely yours,
Thant Zin
Yuan Sheng Hotel
A 3-minute walk from Diamond Plaza,the biggest shopping mall in mandalay. Yuan Sheng Hotel is located in Mandalay.
Free WiFi access is available in public areas. It is near the Mandalay Railway Station , Zaycho Market,guests can easy to
reach tourist destinations such as Royal Palace,Mahamuni Pagoda. Mandalay International Airport is 32 km away. Each
room here will provide you with a flat-screen cable TV and air conditioning. Complete with a minibar, there is also an
electric kettle and a seating area. Featuring a shower, the private bathroom also comes with a hairdryer and free toiletries.
Some room types include a bathtub and a balcony. At Yuan Sheng Hotel you will find a bar and a 24-hour front desk with
concierge services. Laundry services and a free daily housekeeping are available. The property offers free parking.
Disappointed
Don't normally review but I had read lots of positive reviews on here, and was disappointed with the reality.
Minuses:
- location, not the easiest to walk around in the evening. We tried to walk to a cafe a few blocks away but was impossible
as there are no safe walkways and it was hugely difficult to cross the busy roads. Went back to the hotel and was charged
7000 for a taxi which seems a lot when hiring a driver for the whole day was 45000.
- rooms, small and cramped. Bathroom smelled and wasn't the cleanest. Toilet seat had lots of stains on it and towels were
like rags and stained too.
Average:
- breakfast on the rooftop, nice selection but did not seem to be replenished. Many flies at the uncovered food too.
Positives:
- friendly staff who do their best to help.
Dear Holly S,
Greeting from Yuan Sheng Hotel.
Thank you for your review and sorry for your inconvenience.
We will try to prepare our weak points and we will keep our strong points for our best service. For the next time, we
promise, you will satisfy our best service. We will wait for you for the best service.
Best Regards,
Yuan Sheng Hotel
Mandalay, Myanmar
Dirty and underhanded, no hot water
Don't ruin your trip by staying here. First I want to say that overall, Myanmar is incredibly hospitable to it's tourists. For
some reason, this place is the exception to the rule. I booked this room because it seemed very good for the price, but now I
understand why it was so cheap. The bathroom did not seem like it was clean and the toilet seat had stains all over it. I
never sat directly on it because I couldn't get over the mental hump of putting my bare skin on such a vile object. The
towels were also pretty ragged and smelled like they had never been washed in hot water to be disinfected. Luckily we had
our personal beach towels with us.Many of the reviewers say they had hot water and some say they did not, so here is the
story on that: The room we stayed in never had hot water from the time we checked in until the time we gave up and went
elsewhere. The staff kept assuring me that they were working on the issue, kept coming in the room pretending to fix it
which was a big annoyance since it was so late at night, but it turns out the hotel does not get hot water on the two lower
floors because the boiler sits on the roof. So roughly 50% of the hotel only gets cold water. Those are not good odds. If you
are unlucky and end up on one of those floors, that's what you'll be facing. The hotel was mostly empty, and yet they didn't
want to move me to a higher room with hot water. I spoke to some people at breakfast who stayed on the 3rd floor and they
said confirmed that there were plenty of empty rooms. Such strange customer service in a country that was otherwise very
tourist-friendly.The desk was very disorganized. We asked to book a tour for the next morning, and they assured us it
would be done, but it was never done so we missed out on many morning activities.Breakfast was decent, but the other we
moved to so we could take a hot shower was much better. The restaurant was a rip off and the food is not quality. The
puppet show is cute for all of 2 minutes, but pretty silly and amateurish.Other reviews talk about the location, but in
Mandalay location doesn't matter because it's not a walkable city. It's tough to cross streets and there are many open holes
that you could easily fall down that go into the sewer if you're not paying attention or it's dark and you can't see them. You
will always need to hire a taxi for the day, so anywhere in the Downtown area, which is huge, is going to be the same.
The hotel has a terrible exchange rate if you need Kyat and also charge 3.5% to pay anything with a credit card, but you
definitely should avoid using cash with them, as they tried to tell me that I hadn't paid for my room and proceed to charge
me twice! It was impossible to convince them to get the second payment refunded, but since both were on cards, I knew
that the bank would come to my rescue anyhow.
Mixed review
We stayed here twice within a weeks time having travelled to another city and returning for a one night stay before flying
back to Yangon.Our first room was fine. The room was large and mostly clean and comfortable. Air con worked well and
the room was generally quite. This experience probably would have earned a three star rating if we hadn't come back for
the last night.But before I get into that, the staff should be acknowledged as friendly and helpful. If we needed anything,
they were quick to provide it. The hotel grounds were nothing special and offered few amenities other than basic hotel
services. Hotel could definitely use a facelift as there are areas that have a definite need for repairs including our bathroom
faucet which would completely come off every time we used it.Breakfast was nothing to get excited about, in fact I
probably wouldn't have paid extra for it if I knew what was offered. No inspiration or attention to detail just kind of thrown
out there in no particular order. Where this hotel lost a star was during our last night we returned there and were apparently
given the last room in the hotel as supposedly they were fully booked which I don't believe as when we asked for another
room, they said sorry. I hardly saw any people around and very few the next morning at breakfast. Either way, the room
was terrible and if it truly was the last room available, I can definitely see why! This room was small, mismatched looking
like it had been vacant for a while as if people were afraid to occupy it. The air con didn't work well, the room wasn't very
clean and when I went to see why my table side lamp wasn't working, I pulled up the cord only to find there was no plug at
the other end of the wire.The bathroom was a shower basically with a sink and toilet in it. The shower head had the
capacity to reach every corner so nothing was safe from becoming soaked so basically everything was wet because there
was no sort of barrier, curtain etc. Water temp was moderate and never fully hot. Here's where it gets good. Grabbing for
the amenity razor box provided by the hotel, I noticed it was very light and for good reason, it was empty. So we're half of
the other boxes I checked?Needless to say I was not happy at all as I wanted to do was simply grab a quick shower and get
into bed after arriving from a long bus ride. Instead I had to call the front desk to check the water which they said was ok
but it wasn't hot, replace the lamp and I didn't bother having them replace the empty boxes because by this time I just
wanted to go to bed, check out and never look back.
Dear Kert F,
We are very pleased upon your two stars comment. Really very sorry for your staying at Yuan Sheng's time. We can solve
this problem according to your felling and really thank you of your vision. By the way, on your second call booking, we do
not mean that fully book of our hotel, only mean upon your booking room type but really very sorry of our service and for
your next time, you can see the very satisfied service at our hotel that I agree. We arranged immediately that problem now
it is fixed.
So, I apologized to you again and please try again to our hotel.
Anyway, really very thank you on your comment and beg your pardon again.
Yours truly,
General Manager
Yuan Sheng Hotel
Good and bad
On the positive side, the staff were delightful, friendly, helpful and efficient. On the down side there was little or no hot
water most days, the room was rarely cleaned thoroughly and the breakfast was largely cold leftovers, apart from the egg
station which was great. The 4th floor bar was good with nightly puppet and acrobatic performances
Our worst night in Myanmar"
 May 26, 2016  Dinamena, Buenos Aires, Argentina
For several reasons: although we arrived after check-in, our room was not ready and they accommodated us in a much
smaller one. The bathroom was dirty, literally speaking, and at night the light was constantly cut off in the room. which
involved dispensing with the air conditioner when it was 40 degrees hot. No one spoke English at the reception and it was
very difficult for them to understand our problem. We had booked this hotel just to rest.
Dear our valued customer, really thank you on your vision about our Yuan Sheng Hotel. By honestly, we will try to solve
our weakness. But I can't find any your reservation at our hotel during Oct'2015 to end of May'2016. So I want to know
your staying date at Yuan Sheng Hotel and I will send to your email with our apologizing letter with especially thanks’ to
you. However, for your next time to Mandalay, you are the special guest of our hotel and you can test upon our service.
But if you need anything, you must need to inform to us immediately at the time and we can solve urgently on your
problem. Our air-condition remote control is located at the head of your bed and you can manage your satisfied
temperature easily. 75% of our staff can speak English language. Really thanks again and hopefully to see you again at our
hotel as our special guest. Thanks, and regards,
General Manager. Yuan Sheng Hotel (Mandalay)
Comfortable but not quite right
Our third hotel on our trip around Myanmar. Comfortable beds and very lovely reception staff and concierge. Room keys
were a pain! Many visits were made to reception to re programme the key card. This hotel is basic and the breakfast is also
just satisfactory in a strange annexe of the hotel. Rooms are spacious with high ceilings and big beds. Bathrooms are very
cramped and you are showering almost on top of the sink and the toilet! I didn't like coming back to my room one evening
and smelling cigarette smoke?? Perhaps it came through the vent from the room next door.
To
Leelondon40
London, UK
Dear Valued Guest,
Many thanks for your 2 Stars TripAdvisor review comment, i.e. " comfortable but not quite right."
Yes, this Management understood the problems.... viz,... The pain ( the key card ) you said ( it was reprogrammed for you)
and the toilet, bathroom shower and cigarettes small came-in from the Vent.
In fact, sometimes after the Electricity outage it happened ; but though as well, human error. Thus, I
have taken strict action, regarding your case and the employee concerned has been reprimanded,
this will not happen again. As we remembered, that evening, the FO young-lady had reprogrammed it duly and also they
apologized you about this incident on the spot., But, yet, you are not satisfied
with the vulnerable friendly helpful Staff 's apology. ( You had kindly praised these Reception Staff
and the Concierge in your review comment ) already.
A good friend of mine, an experienced Hotelier from Europe told me after, he read your review, he
said, " one should not write such minus comment / for a friendly polite hotel Staff, in this case, the
bad and gloomy Image fell on the one who writes ,. Sorry about that, well, as a gentleman, if I were you, I would accept
the " apology" from the Reception Staff... He added.
For me I always understand the work situation and position of hotels whenever I travel. For example, I went to London and
Liverpool, via Abu Dhabi by Etihad Airways exactly 50 days ago.
I faced some difficulties and problems with Airline and at a hotel in London. But, I never made a fuss, no complaints, I
wrote fair comment in TripAdvisor etc. ... the best Principle e.g. is " respect and
forgive and forget. " Lesson ..... If all could, follow above motto, this World will be a beautiful and
peaceful place to live-in .
We are Hoteliers, without Frontiers..
Terrence
General Manager
bad experience"
 Mar 30, 2015  guyjack, Nethen
Tiny room, seen on a filthy wall less than a meter away, was next to the restaurant and very noisy! Shower with bad
drainage which floods everything. Breakdown three times of air conditioning at night, went to the reception and no
excuses. Breakfast really not terrible. Mal located in Mandalay, no restaurant in the area. Absolutely not recommended.
Bagan King Hotel
Mingala Par! Welcome To Bagan King Hotel! This is not one of those run-of-the-mill places that feel like any decent hotel
anywhere. It is the hotel of choice for the discerning traveler who likes to make the most of his experience of a new
destination, a different culture - a hotel where you stay immersed in the rich cultural heritage of the destination while
surrounded by modern comforts. Bagan King is a boutique hotel of unique decor located in the heart of Mandalay, attended
by a friendly and dedicated staff. The hotel's public spaces and guest rooms are tastefully decorated and furnished with
original local products handcrafted by Mandalay's best talent. A short step away from the famous moated walls of the last
kingdom of Myanmar, the hotel is placed at a highly convenient spot within easy reach of major sights - tourist attractions,
old-style street markets, tea-shops, modern shopping malls and all
Very loud and poor service
The rooms are very small, a little bit dark and we could not sleep well because the bed is very hard and you can hear all
night the honk from cars and scooters. The hotel is located directly next to a crossing of two big streets and it is very loud
at day and at nighttime.
The staff have been very friendly but the service was really poor because they never helped us really with our requests.
Also the transportation from them is very expensive.
Dear Michelle,
Thank you very much for your precious time to write a candid review of your stay at our hotel which was not up to par.
I would like to personally apologize for all the service deficiencies that force you to complain during your stay with us. I
am looking into it to ensure it does not happen again. However, it blackened your stay at our hotel, and for that I am very
sorry.
We always strive to provide the best service to our guests and especially to regular guests such as yourself and on this
occasion we did not exceed your basic expectation.
I hope you can forgive this inconvenience and not let it stop you from staying with us in the future.
I look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you warmly again at Bagan King Hotel.
Yours sincerely,
U Bo
General Manager
"Rooms are tiny and service is poor"
 Feb 27, 2018  derdanyo, Cologne, Germany
We stayed at Bagan King for 3 nights in February. The hotel is simple on the outside but nicely decorated in Burmese style
on the inside. The staff is suitably dressed and friendly, although you often rely on management guidelines and customer
service suffers as a result. The rooms were clean and the breakfast was good too. we found the dinner and the drink prices
to be absolutely overpriced and were therefore not in the restaurant in the evening. Here you can eat and drink cheaper
even in German hotels than in the Bagan King. Unfortunately we are not satisfied overall. This is due to the following
points: - On the first evening, our free cocktail (between 6 and 7 p.m.) was refused even though it was 6:57 p.m. It was said
that there were no more. - Breakfast was cleared at 10:00 am, even though 2 couples were eating apart from us. - The hair
dryer is so small and underpowered that it can blow-dry a man's hair, but not a woman in less than 1 hour. - The hotel is
located at a busy intersection and it is very noisy even at night because the cars keep honking here. - ATTENTION: If you
order a taxi you don't get a taxi but a driver of the hotel. These trips, like the restaurant, are absolutely overpriced. Local
drivers are also booked if their own are not available. Our driver was funny but he tried penetratively and with a lot of
pressure to talk us about tours for the next few days. - The rooms resemble a "nicely furnished" broom closet. We had
booked a 30sqm room with "city view" and two windows. We got a ~ 16sqm room with a window and a view of the next
wall on the second floor. After complaint it was said that it was fully booked but the next day we would receive the booked
room. Unfortunately, it was not like that. An attempt was also made to offer us a room that was much too small with a
window. Supposedly they would have given us "wrong information" the day before and for and there would be no better
room for us. After complaining, there was a corner room with a view of the city. But ATTENTION: The rooms are given
with 30sqm, but are only about half the size ~ 3 x ~ 6 meters minus all walls and doors for bathrooms etc. We feel
deliberately deceived here! We booked a large room and paid for it! We got a better broom closet. - There was a strong
smell in the new room, which we attributed to the air conditioning. This was then suddenly broken. The technician was
there 3 times and could not repair them immediately. The third time it was 11:40 p.m. and we were in underwear. The hotel
offered us to carry out a repair which would have taken 2 hours to pack our bags and move to a new room or to put a
mobile air condition in our room. We chose the latter. Unfortunately, the device only made a lot of noise and did not cool
at all! We could only sleep 2-3 hours at 27 degrees and were ready in the morning. As a result, we had to cancel the
booked excursion the next day. As a result, we missed many sights and lost € 80. We turned to the manager about the many
problems, who agreed to speak to the general manager and to speak to him about a discount. When we wanted to talk to
her later, she had already left the hotel and left us no letters. For us, this is a typical example of the hotel's poor service. We
then had them called because there was nobody else in the hotel to talk to and it was said that the general manager had
refused a discount, we could have packed our things and changed rooms at 11:40 pm. We find this unreasonable and
outrageous. Overall, we are very dissatisfied with the service and do not consider the expensive prices to be justified. The
rooms, which are much too small, do not correspond to what we paid for. Here, performance was ahead for a lot of money.
knowingly or intentionally withheld. We feel deceived and cheated of our money. We find the behavior of the General
Manager of King Bagan to be customer-unfriendly and outrageous. We reserve the right to take legal action if the German
travel provider does not reimburse the costs.
Dear Mr Daniel,
I’d like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to you for your stay in Bagan King Hotel.
At the same time, I was extremely sorry to read in your review of the problems you experienced during your recent three-
night stay. On behalf of Bagan King Hotel, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience that these
problems have caused you.
Thanks are due to you for your candid review which is most appreciated and extremely valuable to us as we strive to
improve with each and every stay of our guests of honour.
We used to pride ourselves maintaining high standard of customer care and service. However, I am surprised to find out we
fell far short of your expectations this time.
If you give us a chance to earn back your trust, you may rest assured you that we will do our uttermost best to give you the
complete satisfaction.
Yours sincerely,
U Bo
General Manager
Don't bother
Only nice thing about this hotel is the restaurant on the top floor where you can sit and have pre dinner drinks with the
windows pulled back looking at the view. Other than that it's dark and poorly lit and totally spoiled by the noise of the
traffic. On suite is a cubicle wet room with the shower next to the toilet which gets wet too along with your toiletries! It's
not a boutique hotel it's a Burmese hotel which is quite different. There are much better hotels nearby.
This hotel is ok - nothing more than that.
The location is quite good as it’s reasonabky close to most things. Be aware though Mandalay is very spread out and he
map we were given was not to scale - difficult to work it out.
The room was fine and the bathroom was ok too. I know a lot of people don’t like the ‘Thai Style’ bathroom where the
shower doesn’t have a cubicle and wets everything, this was ok for us.
Breakfast was limited and very repetitive if you are there for a few days- quality was ok but just lacked imagination.
The toilet flush broke in our room. We told the staff first thing in the morning and returned to the room 9 hours later and it
was still broken - they fixed it quickly after our second complaint.
The hotel is very noisy. It’s located on a busy crossroad junction and all Local drivers spend most of their time sounding
their horns. So expect to get woken at 6am as the traffic picks up.
The general manager has a very annoying habit of trying to photograph himself with guests ! Probably for Facebook or
something. He lurks around at breakfast and pounces on you as you try to leave the restaurant - quite intrusive.
DON’T rely on the hotel calling you a cab ! We asked for one to take us to the airport - so timing is crucial. We booked it
an hour beforehand. It didn’t turn up on time, I checked with reception and they said it’s on it’s way. They didn’t know
how long it would take so as by this time we were 15 mins behind schedule we hailed one ourselves. The booked cab still
hadn’t turned up.
So all in all it’s just ok. You can do better for your money in Mandalay. Would I stay again ? No.
Noisy old Mandalay Hotel
Staff were very good on pre-arrival communication. Hotel is older, on a very noisy busy street corner. It's all full of dark
brown wood and brick inside which is depressing. Bed was the hardest and most uncomfortable one in our 2 week stay in
Myanmar. Bathroom has a shower in the middle of it which soaks all the other fixtures in the room. Breakfast was
surprisingly good...the evening meal was not great - and the puppet show very lame. Their 6th floor lounge/dining room
has lovely views from it. Just don't ask for a quiet room and get one on the 5th floor where in the noise from the 6th floor is
very audible. Staff didn't even know the price of a taxi to the airport and seem young and inexperienced on the front desk.
Would never return
"Better not!"
 Nov 30, 2017  wolfgange66, Munich, Germany
Actually, everything has already been said in the previous reviews, but we cannot understand the number of points
awarded. We give one point for bar / restaurant / breakfast / food and another point for the always friendly staff. There are
no points for the very small room (instead of "stylish" we would have preferred to have a few storage options), the rock-
hard mattress (you could also sleep on the floor), the impossible bathroom (the term "wet room" wins here a whole new
meaning) and ultimately the omnipresent noise. We cannot recommend the hotel to travelers who want to take a shower a
second time a day and who have certain demands for a good night's sleep.
Good hotel ... insufficient reception attention, no resolution to problems and questions and concerns, lousy !!!"
 Aug 6, 2017  Javier D
A contradiction, a cozy, comfortable, central, functional hotel, with good breakfast, comfortable beds, especially in the
Deluxe rooms. We were staying for 3 nights and we tried the superior rooms and the Deluxe rooms, the latter are quite
better quality price, without being anything exceptional but above all I highlight the comfort of the bed. THE PROBLEMS,
the reservation both by its website, at its reception, as well as by a reservation center, shameful, you ask a question about
the availability of rooms and they send you at the reception desk at the front desk to send an email to the hotel .. ..what .....?
When we booked one of the nights through a reservation center, we asked for twin beds, and we arrived at dawn, if they
had a free room please let us change, leave luggage ... it was like talking to the wall, we had to clean up Badly in the
reception basins they made us wait more than 4h in the hotel hall at 6 AM, having free room and finally put us in a double
bed .... incomprehensible. When we booked the Deluxe with its website, we had a basket fruit, and we never saw it ... We
hired services with the hotel such as motorcycle rental, airport transportation, transportation to Bagan ... and they could
have tried, more expensive services that in the street and poor service, especially the rental of the moped, they brought us
an old motorcycle full of blows, the speedometer did not work .... a scam, we complained with little success in the claim
and at reception they washed the hands, we rented it because we didn't have more time, but I recommend not doing it.
Please improve customer service, on your website, at the reception, and in the observations from a reservation center.
Dear Javier D,
Please allow me an opportunity to introduce myself; my name is U Bo and I am the General Manager at Bagan King Hotel.
I am extremely concerned to note your dissatisfaction in the Trip Advisor review which you had mentioned. First and
foremost I want to sincerely apologize for this.
On behalf of Bagan King Hotel, kindly accept our sincere apologies for not being able to provide you the services which
did not live up to your expectations. We genuinely regret the inconvenience caused to you during your stay.
We hope you would pardon the mistake on our part this time. In the meantime, we reassure you of our excellent co-
operation and look forward to your continued patronage.
We hope to have the chance to welcome you at Bagan King Hotel again.
Lo sentimos mucho. Por favor perdonanas esta vez.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
U Bo
General Manager
Is not a fabulous hotel
After our experience in Mandalay, we have following opinions about this hotel:
Pros: The hotel was good located, and staff was friendly. Food was ok, but expensive if you compare prices in similar
places in Mandalay. Probably is due to the night show that the Hotel is offering to their clients, which is a nice experience.
Cons: Bathroom was very small, and every shower was a complete mess (no shower cabin at all), for us it was more like a
hostel bathroom but price of a hotel. Room was quite small too and again, for the price we were paying , we could have
something better.
Tourism in Mandalay is growing and there will be more options in the near future. By now, there are no many competitors
to offer or improve a better accommodation services, so you have to get what is offered for relative higher prices than in
other southeast destinations.
Terrible management"
 Dec 30, 2016  Merche_8, España
I booked a room with a free cancellation period, for reasons of family member admission I could not make the trip and
therefore I was not at the hotel. What I did not think is fair is that by notifying me in advance I will be charged both nights
the full amount. I understand that they keep some of the money, but they could book that room again. I did not find it fair,
also seeing that other accommodations did not have that behavior. Of course, I will not go to this hotel on the trip to
Myanmar
Dear Valued Guest,
I was so sorry to have read your review on the Trip Advisor under the title “bad management” which all concerned
charging you full amount for your no shows to our hotel.
To keep it short, you booked a Superior Double Room for 14 Dec to 16 Dec 2016 (2 nights) on Aug 22, 2016. Again, you
made the next booking on Sept 5, 2016 for a Superior Double Room for 18 Dec to 19 Dec 2016 (1 night).
On 6 Dec 2016, you wrote that you would like to cancel the above bookings to allow free of charge without any penalty
fee. From our point of view, due to the fact that you were in complete cancellation period, we advised you to change your
stay date before cancelling for sole reason to avoid charging you cancellation fee.
We typically charge a fee if you cancel your reservations within a certain time period, typically between 14 days before the
check-in date. Each hotel has its own policy that specifies when a fee is charged and how much you will pay.
If you are subject to a fee based on the policy, you have the option of negotiating with the hotel to get the fee waived.
Hotel cancellation fees make customers think twice before skipping out on a reservation, but we understand travel plans
can change quickly.
Being in the high occupancy of the season, our reservation advised you that you had already been effected with the
cancellation period and that it was better for you to change the arrival date rather than cancelling the booking so as to avoid
the cancellation fee. However we waited, no response came Yes/No from you until appeared no shows on 14 Dec and 18
Dec 2016.
According to the policy of Booking.com clearly states that, if cancelled or modified up to (14) days before date of arrival,
no fee will be charged. If cancelled or modified later or in case of no-show, the total price of the reservation will be
charged.
In conclusion, we were terribly sorry in this matter for not being able to comply with your wish for a refund of your
cancellation fee for (2) no shows due to our normal policy of the hotel and as well as Booking.com.
Yours sincerely,
U Bo
General Manager
"Run away !"
 Jul 20, 2016  Madeinjapan93, Paris, France
A stay in two stages at the BAgan King but which leaves a bitter taste ... If you like: - the badly designed rooms with each
shower the impression of having sprinkled the whole room and the toilets - Cold breakfasts (Nems .. .) - Food without
much interest. - The fact that the customers in front of you have the right to a towel and a refreshment and you ... nothing!
With the feeling of disturbing ... - Having to have negotiable prices for a late Check (as in the street in fact) - Not having an
answer when it is a complaint email addressed to the manager and the direction ( e-mails for transport and reservations are
fast though!) - Having the wifi network cut in front of you because it is late. - Dust in the light fixtures Well this hotel is
for you ... Those who want comfort and a service worthy of the price paid ... FLEE !!

I’m U Bo, the General Manager at Bagan King Hotel. I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for the problems you
encountered during your recent stay at Bagan King Hotel.
Your recent review on the TripAdvisor has seriously brought to my attention that your stay with us was not up to par. I was
embarrassed to have encountered such problems with you as to accommodate in a poorly designed room, the wet shower,
Wi-Fi , food and late check-out.
Providing the highest level of hospitality is our topmost priority. Knowing it has blackened your stay at our hotel and for
that I’m terribly sorry.
My sincere deep respect to you that I could not give you free late check out for (7) hours. However, I offered you free late
check out for 2 hours, hoping it would make you satisfied.
I will do everything in my power to ensure it does not happen again. I hope you can forgive all these inconveniences and
not let it stop you from staying with us in the future.
In fact, I would like to offer you free half day late check out based on room availability on your next stay at Bagan King
Hotel.
Sincerely,
U Bo
poor service !
Poor wifi, poor service, very poor English ! incompetence receptionist, yesterday evening we rent a taxi to restaurant so i
already reserve for restaurant but they transfer to another restaurant. ..••••••••••°•••••••••••••••••
ABUSIVELY OVERCOTE"
 Feb 19, 2016  gillesBievres, Bievres
I do not understand the excessive enthusiasm for this establishment located at a noisy crossroads in a sinister zone of
Mandalay. However, this hotel was recommended to us by our travel agency Fareastour in Hanoi, which should make sure
of its choices of selected establishments. Frosty welcome on arrival at reception, we had reserved a deluxe room. After
trying to make us accept a room on the 1st floor above the street (last minute change, I checked that initially we did have a
room reserved on the 4th floor which was written on the voucher sent by the central We were presented with a standard
room, a real oven because the air conditioning had not been activated, view of the roofs of the ugly buildings in the area,
tiny bathroom where there was a dirty kleenex in the sink. We decided to leave this hotel within the hour and start looking
for another establishment. Our agency asked for the reimbursement of our two nights which it was refused because "it is
not the policy of the establishment and we were in high season ...!"
Very acceptable city centre hotel
Centrally located city centre hotel. Staff were all good and helpful. Restaurant food was good and reasonably priced. Free
afternoon drink and snacks and free happy hour cocktails. Good view from roof top restaurant. Although the location was
very noisy it was not as bad during the night as I thought it would be. Our only complaint was that we were charged 3% for
using a credit card. Now, I know the credit card will charge but this was the only time the cost was passed on to us. Also
when I tried to pay a different bill using US dollar notes, they kept rejecting my notes until I found one that looked like it
had just been printed!! I did not experience this at any other hotel nor street seller throughout the country.
Good location but a bit noisy
My wife and I stayed at the Bagan King for 4 nights in a fourth floor room.
The room was reasonably laid out, although it was quite noisy with traffic and barking dogs. Ear plugs are provided in the
room.
The restaurant staff and kitchen staff were excellent; friendly service and well cooked food. Breakfast choices good.
This hotel is the only business that we found in Myanmar charges an extra 3% on credit card transactions. Not sure if they
are really passing on the cost or skimming extra profit.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Mingalarbar.
Warmly Greetings from Bagan King Hotel, Mandalay.
Firstly, we would like to do apologize for our inconvenience. We are really sorry for extra 3% for bank handling fee.
Actually, banks are charges from our Hotel. So, this 3% not for our Hotel. However, we are very sorry for that.
We are very thankful for your review. We will try more the best of our Services. If you have a chance next time to
Myanmar, we are warmly welcome to our Hotel. We would vey appreciate for your kind understanding to us.
Thanks & Best Regards,
Win Thaw Tar
"Pleasant city hotel"
 Nov 25, 2019  Wolfgang S, Velbert, Germany
Centrally located city hotel with individual furnishings. Rooftop restaurant with an interesting view over Mandalay.
Breakfast offer limited. Room rather small, bathroom needs getting used to: shower without partition or splash guard in the
middle of the room between the sink and toilet.
Great breakfast and staff but no soundproof in rooms
We received a warm welcome from staff members and the rooftop restaurant served good food and entertainment.
However, rooms were not very well insulated and we suffered a lot from noise coming from passing vehicles. We had to
use earplugs all night. The hotel is a bit far from the main tourist attractions.
Good location, average service and room. Rips you off on the FX rate.
I stayed here for 3 nights at the end of a 2-week trip through Myanmar. The location is good for walking to nearby
restaurants and is fairly central. It was always easy to find taxis/tuk-tuks to visit tourist sites. The room itself was small and
quite dark due to the brick / Bagan theme, which I wasn't personally a huge fan of. I also didn't like the dark bathroom (due
to red brick/Bagan theme) and the shower that went directly onto the floor, thus soaking the bathroom with water. AC &
Wifi worked very well (probably the best and most consistent Wifi I experienced in Myanmar). The breakfast was average.
Service was relatively friendly, although not a standout compared with other places I stayed in Myanmar.

Biggest drawback for me came when I checked out and it was time to pay. The hotel prices everything in USD and then
when you want to pay in local currency they give you a HORRIBLE exchange rate (like 15% different than what you
would get if you exchanged the cash yourself). To make matters worse they charge a 3.5% credit card fee, so unless you
pay in USD cash, you will get ripped off either with a credit card fee or an extremely poor exchange rate. For this reason
alone I wouldn't stay here again due to this dishonest and scam-like practice.

A couple tips:
- pay in USD cash unless you like getting scammed with bad FX rates/credit card fees
- hotel car prices are a rip-off; I hired a taxi outside the hotel for 50,000 kyat for the day; hotel wanted $65 (nearly double
this) to arrange the car themselves
- easy walking distance to good restaurants (Mingalabar, Indian Tadka, Ginki, Koffee Korner)
"you can find better"
 Mar 4, 2019  paola c, Rome, Italy
The spaces are very narrow, the slippers have already been used by the previous guests and it is the only hotel in Myanmar
that made us pay for the water bottle! The staff is courteous and helpful. The restaurant is on the top floor but breakfast
was not very varied. In short, it is better
Beautiful decorum, small rooms, even smaller bathrooms
The decoration in the reception area, the restaurant and the rooms is very tasteful local style. We had a standard room the
first night and upgraded for the rest of our stay there. The first room was rather small but the bathroom was puny. Open
overhead shower so the bathroom will be full of water and slippery. Hardly any space where to put your toiletries. At USD
20.00/night for the upgrade, we got a bathtub with hand-held shower next to the open overhead shower so that simplified
washing up. The De Luxe room was also slightly bigger. Meals in the restaurant must be paid in USD but there are
sufficient places in Mandalay where one can eat well. Breakfast buffet was fine, with a selection of local, Asian and
Western offers. Espresso is extra charge (USD 2). The staff is very pleasant and the beds were fine. WiFi worked very
well. Street noise at night may prevent you from catching sleep so ear-plugs are recommended if you are sensitive to noise.
"Fair"
 Nov 17, 2018  ZabZ8
We stayed 3 nights, the rooms are large and the bedding is comfortable. However, we did not feel welcome. We arrived at
4am. We couldn't of course check in, but we weren't even offered tea or coffee. After sleeping 2 hours in the lobby. We
asked where to have coffee. They neither helped us nor offered to take it up to the hotel restaurant ... They called us the day
before we left at 10:30 p.m. to ask us what time we were going to check out ... Prices are very high.
It is nice, but not that nice
Be careful of Mosquitos. There are, but not many. Water pipe flowed on the wall can be heard at night from neighbors'
bathroom. The amenity of the hotel is complete, you can ask if you need something. Nothing is around. There is one cafe
in from of the hotel, I tried, food is so-so. Also there is free snack from 14:00-16:00 but limited and there is no addition
when it is empty. I also took dinner on their upstairs restaurant, food is good and there is a show.
ATTENTION: Room 105 has no daylight!"
 Nov 12, 2018  Koestenberg09, Vienna, Austria
ATTENTION: Room 105 has no daylight! The window is behind the facade. The cheek is - the room is sold as a deluxe. It
would also be nice - but the window leads to a wall. It is also VERY loud. In my view - deliberate rip off!
Left disappointed
I have mixed feelings about Bagan King.
Most of Myanmar hotels you leave with a sense you do not wanna leave since it feels like home... not with Bagan King.
Yes, staff from the restaurant are friendly, and the rooms are uniquely decorated, a surprising all will be wet bathroom...
First night was placed in a room with a huge pillar in the middle, felt very claustrophobic especially because of the
overload of ‘boutique’ furniture. Not sure why the dare to charge more than 120 USD for it. But next day they did allow a
room change. Food in the restaurant is ok but bit overpriced, breakfast has sufficient choices. I did not appreciate the
several requests by the staff for a tripadvisor review and to name their names. Tour booked via the hotel was more a taxi
only thing. The driver was surely fun, but I was expecting more of a tour guide... my fault. Anyway, left a day earlier then
planned, and manager did not want to refund my last day. So, no Bagan King does not feel like home and am not sad to
leave them.
Nice hotel but small rooms
Very cooperating staff and nicely decorated. Rooms are new as well. However the rooms are very small and we were
struggling where to keep our staff. So if you are travelling solo or couple it's fine, but with a kid would recommend to look
for a bigger hotel.
A newish hotel not quite close to anything
A ne small hotel with comfortable rooms-courteous and obliging staff with average and relatively expensive food.
Whilst in the heart of Mandalay, it is really not close to anything of consequence except the fort, and taxis and cycles , and
tuk-tuks are not that readily available.
Just OK
The street noise is the biggest problem. The hotel is at a busy intersection in a dusty noisy town (don't be attracted to
Mandalay because of the romantic name; it's a flat ugly concrete city), and motorbikes roar by at all hours. The rooms are
basic and small; the copper above-counter bowl sinks look pretty, but water gets everywhere behind and under them (must
be a nightmare for housekeeping); the rain shower in our room was practically right over the toilet (what were the
designers thinking?) The staff are friendly and kind, but Burmese generally are everywhere. And yes, it is a relatively
inexpensive hotel but one can find the same or better in Mandalay for a similar same price.
Beautifully decorated and comfortable hotel but two major issues
The moment we entered this hotel, it was obvious that the decoration had been undertaken with great taste and care. The
lobby was ornately crafted with Myanmar artefacts. The bedrooms were also decorated in a contemporary Asian style
(with extremely modern 'wet room' bathrooms). The restaurant on the top floor was charming, with a nightly music and
local puppet demonstration, and with a good menu of local food choices. However, two problems prevent me from giving
this lovely hotel a higher rating: Firstly I had the worst night's sleep of my entire stay in Myanmar. Not only were the
synthetic pillows far too high and unyielding, but when I finally did fall asleep, my entire face was savaged by mosquitos.
How mosquitos got into a third-floor room with closed windows is puzzling. The room staff should spray each room with
insecticide after they have been working in them! Secondly - and a much more important issue - I have been double-
charged by the hotel. I paid the full room charges upon check in and then - three weeks after I had left the hotel - I was
charged the full amount AGAIN on my credit card. This is going to take weeks of arguing to resolve and is very poor
service indeed.
Only recommended for the hearing impaired"
 Feb 2, 2018  Emely2010, Düsseldorf
Nice little hotel with friendly staff near the Royal Palace. The food is good, but nothing special. For dinner there is music
and puppet theater, very nice. Where the great view is supposed to be is not clear to us. We only looked at the roofs of the
city, not very stimulating. Our room was quite small, functional, but had two separate beds. Small bathroom with
(redundant) tub and shower corner without any partition. This causes a morning flood. All of this would be bearable if it
weren't for the horrific street noise. There is hardly any traffic, but the constant honking is especially annoying. In bed you
feel like sleeping down in the middle of the intersection. We endured it for one night, but when choosing this hotel I clearly
missed it. Therefore I can not understand the many positive reviews. Or are the other assessors all hard of hearing?
Improve attention to customer
At Bagan King they have to improve attention to customer, I book transfer from airport to hotel, but nobody was there
waiting me. I ask for cash payment, but they charge my credit card. Apart these inconvenient the staff and the Manager
where helpful and the hotel is good. I think I'll be back.
A solid choice
Good location, older hotel but very clean. Even though it is right on the corner of two busy streets, it is quiet enough to get
a good night's sleep. Standard shower incorporated into bathroom with no curtain, so water spray direction needs to be
observed. Nice top floor dining area and small bar. Great look over its part of the city, especially during the free happy
hour each evening. Menu is fine and the evening puppet show and harp concert are fun. Wine list limited and somewhat
high risk if you order the local stuff (but when in Myanmar the one time in your life, you have to try it, right?) Good
breakfast included, with both Myanmar and western options. Staff is very helpful.
Rude Reception and windowless room
I found the reception very rude. I had a friend from Mandalay who planned to come over for some drinks before heading
out for a meal. On arrival the reception stated that no guests are allowed and if I wanted to chat with my friend it had to be
done at the lobby. I do not understand this policy; some hotels would perhaps register the guest but to point blank refuse is
very rude and embarrassing.The room itself was nice but the windows faced directly onto a brick wall making the room
very dark.
Pretty but ..."
 Nov 6, 2017  LBCB77, Lesigny, France
Very nice little hotel, a very nice Burmese decor, the hotel has + and - everyone will find their choice, the +: the setting, a
very nice restaurant and bar room, the -: The rooms a bit small, the breakfast not top (fried egg not cooked), expensive
meal (European price),
"MITIGATED NOTICE"
 May 17, 2017  ganesha78, Paris, France
My opinion is mixed indeed for this hotel. When you arrive the facade is pretty, but quickly an impression that all this is
only "facade". First the rikiki room and a very noisy room because noisy street but they will all be because the hotel is
located at the crossroads of two large streets where cars pass non stop. Then the staff, although very smiling did not seem
very aware of much. We wanted to do the night market, I ask for the address and they sent us to a big mall without interest
and zero night market on the horizon; then the next day we have the timetables for the boat to go to Mingdun confirmed.
The receptionist confirms to me that a boat at 9 am and a second at 1 pm, I ask her because a driver told us the day before
that there was only one boat. Bingo we arrive at the pier at 12:30 p.m. and no more boat, there was only one at 1 p.m. So
we had to pay the equivalent of 40th to be able to have a private boat, much more expensive than that of the morning, but
when you are passing through 2 days we had no choice but to pay for a private boat because we were no longer there the
next day. These are little things that put us through our nerves a little annoyed because 55 dollars remains a large sum in
Asia for a hotel that wants to position itself rather upscale and ultimately is not.
Mixed feelings
Overall a reasonable hotel. The rooms were ok and clean but the bathroom was a wet room without much room to put toilet
bags etc. The only hook in the bathroom was at the top of a very tall door which made hanging clothes away from the wet
floor rather a game if you are short! Breakfast selection was very limited but there was a lovely view.
Although Mandalay is a dusty town, the reception area looked like it could do with a good clean around all the ornaments
and corners.
Excellent location in Mandalay
The Bagan King hotel is nicely located near the former royal palace moat. It is in a fairly quiet area by Mandalay standards
and within walking distance of several attractions - palace, biggest book and Mandalay Hill. We had a room on the second
floor. There is an elevator. The room was comfortable but nothing special. There was a couch and table, two beds and a
very nice bathroom decorated Myanmar style. The beds were comfortable. We did have some issues with the air
conditioning not working and there were mosquitos in the room. The staff was helpful and arranged to spray our room - not
sure how healthu that was but they did it earlyin the morning well before our return. There was a very nice restaurant on
the6th floor for breakfast - all buffet but one could get an omlet but that was not obvious as the cooking was around the
corner and not visible or made known. We also ate dinners there and the food was good as was service. They also have a
free marionette show. BEWARE of the slippers in your room. Unlike other hotels my friend used the slippers and was
charged for them upon checkout. Rather sleazy as there was no indication at all they were chargeable items. They were
simply next to our beds.
"Nice hotel, not so good"
 Feb 5, 2017  Aricewang, Shanghai, China
The hotel is quite new, but it is very noisy along the street. The sound insulation of the room is not very good. The people
next door can hear the door clearly and clearly, which leads to embarrassment. Sleeping nervously against the door with a
stool at night. In addition, the breakfast was good, with free refreshments and cocktails in the afternoon, but didn't enjoy it.
It was a pity that we lived in a room with no view.
Glitz wall to wall
This is a place that you will either love or hate. The decor didn't do it for us, but what we found most annoying was the wet
room shower arrangement which essentially meant that the second person using the bathroom, and any subsequent visits by
the first user, involved a very wet floor so if you want to brush your teeth after breakfast you will have, to circumnavigate a
wet bathroom floor! The other downside is that it is very noisy ( traffic) and despite requesting a higher floor as per other
TA reviewers' advice we finished up on the third floor and didn't sleep well.The decor is pseudo ethnic with lots of gold,
but not a single drawer, or cupboard to put anything away so we lived out of our suitcases. We found the food at dinner
indifferent and quite expensive for rather small portions. If you like puppet shows and live music, then you may enjoy your
meal more than we did. The staff are very willing but either poorly trained or badly managed. Suffice it to say that we
didn't enjoy our stay and checked out after two nights forgoing the further two nights we were booked for.

2 feelings
supposed to be a charming hotel... true for the lobby, and that's it.
the room was small. the bed, a hard mattress on a wooden board.
the bathroom with an open shower on the toilet and the sink. not convenient at all. you have to wipe the entire bathroom
after shower if you want to use the toilet.
room and bathroom clean.
breakfast was not good... again. it is the same at every hotel in Myanmar so far.
the worse was the noise. the hotel is located at a crossing of one of the main street of Mandalay, heading to the Palace.
traffic is permanent. the sound isolation with the street is non-existent, so take your earplug, you will need them !
we didn't check the puppets show on evening.
"I want to say ... untitled ..."
 Jul 26, 2016  SandyLacroix, Pantin, France
Three nights occupied at the Bagan King Hotel in two nights then one night after spending a 5 day stay in Bagan. The first
time, no problem, very nice hotel, nice lobby, nice room, very nice decoration. Welcome drink, refreshing wipe. Nice
restaurant (which also has a breakfast room) on the top floor but don't expect a great view. Quite friendly and varied
breakfast buffet ... "Happy Hours" from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., free cocktails or rather a free cocktail .... After it pays ...
(communication to review) Briefly I was pretty excited about this hotel. Second passage for one night and there ... Change
of attitude ... Check-in which has been sent! No welcome drink, no wipe ... The room: the one next to the one we had the
first time but ... Smaller !!! We had a plane that left around 7:00 pm ... The friend with whom I was managing this and it
was a "problem" in the end ... I let you see his opinion I will not come back to this. The day of departure we went for a
walk, return around 4:00 pm just to take the cool and use the Wifi a bit before departure ... And strangely Wifi very quickly
was unavailable !!! Should I see a relation to it? I really want to say yes. So I will not return this hotel ... Average
procedures in case of problems ...
"Good clean and elegant hotel but with a few flaws."
 Feb 3, 2016  pinoc827, Bang Khonthi, Thailand
Good hotel with polite and kind staff. Clean but small rooms if you're around with bulky luggage. The bathroom has a
central shower with a shower head without any water protection so expect to stay in a bathroom with a constantly wet
floor. The Hotel is a little off-center but not far from the heart of the city. The main problem if you have the room on a low
floor is the noise coming from the street and also the walls are poorly soundproofed so even the simple chatter of the
neighbors can disturb the sleep of the most sensitive to noise. Excellent restaurant both in quality and quantity. Good
breakfast even if to reach full marks you should serve fresh and not fresh fruit juices (as in the case of orange juice) of
dubious industrial quality.
"Overall not bad"
 Jan 7, 2016  FEDETESS, MILANO
We spent three nights in a superior room. Clean hotel, with friendly staff, barely furnished rooms. Central location
although there is nothing nearby in the evening and no notable monument nearby. The size of the superior room is standard
on the small. The defects are that the room has no wardrobe and the bathroom has a shower without a shelter with
consequent regular flooding in the bathroom that has no window. Given the position on the road it is not possible to open a
window and therefore even those who do not like air conditioning must adapt to use it if they want to sleep.
Mixed feelings
There are some pros: nice and cozy decoration, nice rooftop restaurant, comfortable bed, friendly and helpful staff.
But there are also some cons: the location is on a crossroad and noisy. The Deluxe room we had booked was actually
noisier than the smaller Standard room, so we asked to change (no rate reduction of course). There are some weird design
flaws, like a structure pile in the middle of the room, a towel hanger in the bathroom which is fixed at 2 meters high,
shower coming only from the ceiling with no separation from the toilet and the sink, the sink being too shallow and placed
too high...
The food quality of the buffet breakfast is poor, while the A-la-carte Burmese dishes are better, without being exceptional.
Now, quality of accommodation in Burma is far below any other Asian country, and Bagan King is probably on the top 5
of what you can find in Mandalay. The fact is that you probably don't need to go to Mandalay, as the major sites (Sagaing,
Amarapura, Inwa...) are in our opinion not worth the trip. When travelling to Myanmar, better spend more time at Inle
Lake and Bagan
Decent hotel and room but bathroom is not very functional
We stayed at Bagan King for 2 nights in July 2015. The airport is located a bit out of town so the drive in took about 45
minutes and cost 12.000 Kyats. The building stands out a bit on the corner as it seems to be a pretty new building and with
6 floors it is higher than buildings around it.
Check in was fast and we got room 402. The small elevator worked just fine but it was also possible to take the staircase.
The room had dark wooden floor, light walls and dark furniture. The bed was a bit on the hard side but decent enough and I
was pleased to see that there was decent reading light for use in the bed. There was an open wardrobe with a few hangers
and a small safe, a small table with two chairs, some complimentary water and also a kettle for making tea or coffee. There
was a small fridge that had Coke, beer etc and 1 Coke was 1.5 USD and can of beer was 2 USD.The decoration in the room
was a bit “tacky” – the phone was made in an old school style and the lighting above the bed was shaped like the
watchtower in the palace – a bit much in my opinion. To get internet access we got a code on a small piece of paper that
could only be used on one device. It worked fine on my iPhone but when I went to get a code for my iPad it didn’t work.
After a lot of running back and forth (or up and down I should say), they said that there were some problems with iPads so
the receptionist had to put my iPad ID into the server and that gave me access directly. It should have been easier to get
access.The bathroom was a bit of a disaster to be honest. There were a few amenities which were great – I think there was
even shaving kit and tooth brush. The shampoo and shower gel was also good but came in bottle with a narrow opening so
it took forever to poor some liquid out of the bottle. The golden round basin was a mounted on a dark furniture. The
shower was the problem with the bathroom – it had a nice rainforest showerhead but no doors or curtains – so when taking
a shower there would be water everywhere (including the toilet that was right next to the shower. This was annoying as it
was difficult to use the bathroom for a while after taking a shower. An improvement would be to get some fold in shower
doors mounted.The breakfast is served in the restaurant on the 6th floor and it has a good view of the city – there was even
a telescope pointing right at Mandalay Hill. The breakfast was not epic in any way – a bit of bread, a bit of cereal and eggs
made according to your order.The staff was helpful when we asked them to organize a guide for us for the day.The hotel
location is in the middle of town – the moat of Mandalay palace is only a couple of hundred meters down the street. But
keep in mind that you can only enter the palace through the entrance on the east side these days. There are some restaurants
within walking distance of the hotel and there is also a small convenience store called g & g a short walk from the
hotel.Conclusion: a room that was fine but a bathroom that is not working very well as water splashes everywhere when
you take a shower. The wifi setup was not very good and the breakfast was not impressive. If I go to Mandalay I will
probably look at other hotel alternatives.
Dear Mr. Gardkarlsen,
Thank you for choosing Bagan King hotel on your last visit to Mandalay. We value our customers' opinion and would like
to thank you for the time you took to write the detailed review of the hotel.
First of all, please be assured that we respect your point of view regarding the decoration of
the room and that it will inform us in our design choices in the future.
As our original design concept of the guest rooms was to reflect the traditional and cultural aspects of the location, we
decided to use only authentic handcrafted items to decorate. Handcrafted in traditional methods, they may lack machine-
tooled precision finish (and as such some may be construed as "tacky"); but they are authentic and of locally-accepted high
quality. However, as evidenced by your observation, it's difficult to strike a perfect balance for everybody in themed
design.
We shouldn't have made you run back and forth to get your iPad connected to Wifi. We messed up in that respect and do
apologize for the inconvenience. The individual-password system is meant to maintain good internet speed for our guests
by minimizing unauthorized connections. Whenever there is a problem with a guest's device, we go so far as to allow the
particular device to connect directly to the router. That should have been done the first time you brought your connection
problem to our attention.
We are very sorry that the wet shower in the bathroom annoyed you so much but we do thank you for the ingenious
solution in the from of fold-in shower doors that you suggested. We are now exploring this solution with our suppliers.
Actually, we do have rooms with a bathtub and an in-tub shower and if you will be kind enough to give us another chance
on your next trip to
Mandalay, we will be very happy to upgrade you to a room with bigger bathroom and a bathtub.
Again thank you for your detailed comments and valuable feedback; we will definitely be taking
action on the points you brought up and hoping to welcome you again at Bagan King hotel.
The Management
Good hotel with a critical lack of customer service and safety know-how
My fiance and I stayed at this hotel for 2 nights in February 2015.
Pros:
--Most of the staff at the reception and especially in the restaurant are so nice, friendly, and attentive. The reception are
very helpful with booking transfers and trips to mingun, ubien bridge, etc.
--The rooftop restaurant was very cool with a nice view.
--The bathroom inside the room has a very nice bathtub which is good for soaking after a long day of exploring. Also the
decorations/atmosphere are very nice.
Very clean and comfortable bed!
--There is wifi but it doesnt really work very well.
--breakfast buffet is ok because of the view
Cons
--Location is advertised as central, but I would say it took us around 30-45 minutes to walk to the one entrance on the east
side of the Palace Gate, which is the closest landmark. I would only say it's central and quick if you are taking a taxi
everywhere.
--Our Personal Experience: We wanted to go around Mandalay (to be fair, this city doesn't have much to offer) and decided
to rent a motorbike for our following day. After a mix up of what we actually ordered the following morning resulting in a
1 hour delay of our trip due to language barriers, we set off for our mountain adventure which we were told was
completely fine for the bike. Bike is In terrible condition and breaks down two times in the middle of nowhere in the
mountains resulting in further delays and us paying to fix said bike. We had to wait in the cold and dark for help which
never came, and when it did, we had to drive down the mountain in the dark! At the hotel the Manager at first blamed us
for the problem, saying we shouldn't ride a.motorbike because its dangerous, and refused.to accept responsibility for
putting our lIves in danger because she didn't check the hotel's suppliers. Later she admitted she understood how we felt
and rectified it with a free dinner and transfer the next morning, which in my opinion is a small price to pay for such an
endangerment of our lives!
While the hotel is actually pretty nice in terms of decorations and amenities, I would not go back because of the customer
service, and how we could unknowingly put our lives in danger, which the Manager didn't seem to care too much about.
She was also very impolite at the beginning, which is really something I haven't experienced in other countries besides
Myanmar. Hopefully this new establishment will work out its kinks and learn their lesson from our unfortunate
experiences.
Nice hotel, some have a better location
We stayed one night after a two night cruise from Bagan to Mandalay and before travelling back to Bangkok on our way
back to the UK.
The Bagan King is a very new hotel and finished very nicely. We had a superior double, which was fairly small but
perfectly good. The bathrooms look nice, but they are designed for the look rather than pure functionality. Overall, the
room was nice.
The restaurant and bar is on the top floor, where you also have breakfast. It was ok for a drink, and had a great view of the
city, but was lacked atmosphere as there are no customers! Better to go to a beer station over the road.
In terms of location, there are a few places around but you have to walk a few blocks to get to the main shopping area and
the night market. Even though it's around the centre of town, it's quite and poorly lit late at night.
The staff were very pleasant and helpful, as is typical across Myanmar.
My only gripe was around our check in. I'd actually booked the wrong date by accident, entirely my mistake. So we had a
no show. We didn't realise until we tried to check in. Fair enough, but it was hard to get a rate approaching the Internet
rate, even though there was still availability on booking.com and Agoda. What made the negotiation more difficult was
that the manager was "too busy" to speak to me so everything was via the reception staff. I thought the "too busy" was a
translation problem, but on check out we were charged more for our drinks than on the bill (the bar bill is in USD and
Kyatt, but strangely they converted USD at reception using a worse rate). When we queried this the manager came out to
speak to reception and didn't even acknowledge us! Pretty rude.
In summary, a nice hotel, a just ok location, and a manager who doesn't like speaking to customers.
"Huge disappointment..."
 Feb 8, 2015  SJKD09, Paris, France
From the outside, this ocher hotel is delightful, especially given its fairly urban environment, so we logically expect refined
and fresh assorted rooms. Unfortunately not ... ours was mediocre, materials gone, everything was old-fashioned. The idea
is not to look for the detail because it is exposed to a certain frustration. The bathroom was in catastrophic use, the shower
was by no means surrounded by a curtain or a glass wall, so the water from the apple (on the wall) soaked the whole room
and the adjacent toilet was in the same condition. Flood limit ... therefore not very practical! Double glazing did not seem
necessary when it should: mandalay is a noisy city until 10 p.m. and its morning activity starts at dawn. Assessment: 2
sound nights If the dry had been more affordable why not but curl the 226 dollars for 2 nights, I do not validate. Only
positive point: the restaurant terrace on the top floor even if the food is tasteless the setting is still pretty, the urban view is
not breathtaking but has the merit of making you take a little height! I do not recommend because bad value for money.
Hotel Apex
Hotel Apex Mandalay We Promise Your Cozy Stay Our hotel is situated in Mandalay, the heart-throb city of Myanmar.
And built on 35 A road, one of the broadest roads in Mandalay. From the 10th floor restaurant, panoramic view of
Mandalay Palace and its surroundings can be enjoyed at breakfast time. To have full-relax, the 11th floor Sky Bar will be
the best for you. Collect the happiest moments from
"So much noise"
 Nov 24, 2019  papipo2015, Grez-sur-Loing, France
From the noise to the noise of the noise, here is the summary of this hotel overrated and flashy. Admittedly the rooms
could be nice if the bathroom did not become a swimming pool with each shower (and yes the crowded it is not at the high
point) if the windows were soundproof because the hotel is located at the edge of one of the streets main of Mandalay with
horn guaranteed from 5:00 to midnight at best. If the ski bar was not the local meeting place for young revelers, damage to
customers, tsunami. If the restaurant was not a snack. If my pool was not a fridge. However, the breakfast is very Korean
and the staff pleasant,
Okay, but some points of attention
All in all, the hotel is fine in our view.
Positively, the rooms are okay and clean, staff is very helpful and friendly, price to quality is overall fair.
We regretted the following point of attention: service in the rooftopbar is chaotic at best: it took ages and multiple
reminders before we finally got our order, and the food was of moderate quality.
More room for improvement
Had a chance to visit Mandalay last march and Hotel Apex was my choice of stay there. The staffs were impressively
warm and helpful all through out my stay. My rooms are quite spacious but have some problems with the bathroom, but I
didnt call them up as it's minor issue only. Breakfast food would be nicer if they are always warm. But overall, a good and
comfortable stay.
Not bad for a 3*
The service was good and the location of the hotel suited us well. The rooms were a good size with plenty of storage. We
stayed for 2 nights and had breakfast included, which had a fair choice of food. The sky bar on the roof was a nice spot to
spend the evening and did food as well as drinks. The pool is a good size, however there is only 4 loungers so it’s not easy
to get a spot, and there is no food or drink service down there, which makes sense, as the pool is on the 1st floor and the
restaurant on the 10th. There is currently a lot of building work on the 9th floor so there was dust on every floor it seemed,
and the noise could be heard everywhere. There is also a lot of work being done to the outside of the building, as we found
out from the men precariously positioned on a rope ladder outside our window. Our bedroom also wouldn’t shut so we
struggled to keep the heat and mosquitos out but I’m sure we could have switched rooms had we asked.
Generally good location in uncrowded part of town
Stayed at Apex 4 times in 2018 because:
1. Reasonable rates.
2. Accommodating hotel management.
3. Good location in safe, uncrowded part of Mandalay with direct access to highways leading upcountry.
4. Great views of Mandalay from rooftop bar.
However:
1. Hotel facilities maintenance poor. Hotel is relatively new but already stuff is breaking down. E.g. power supply sockets
not working.
2. Overpriced and poorly cooked food from hotel restaurant and rooftop bar which share a common kitchen. Find
somewhere else to eat from the many restaurants and BBQ places on the same main road.
3. Hotel pool on 2nd floor is tiny and good only for a tired traveler to soak in.
Pleasant stay
We had a pleasant stay at Hotel Apex. The rooms were large, clean and beds comfortable with air conditioning. The
bathroom was also large and nice but the entire bathroom floor got covered in water due to the way drainage system is
designed when having a the shower. This means that it’s difficult to make use of the bathroom until after it has been
serviced or needing to put towels down on the floor to prevent slipping. The hotel offers a gym but the equipment is not of
great quality and wobbly when used. The pool area is very nice but due to the position of the hotel and pool it only gets sun
in the late afternoon making the pool very cold.
The breakfast was good offering both western and Asian options and a lovely view from the 10th floor.
The best feature of the hotel is the Apex Sky Bar where you can have a drink, watch the sunset and listen to live music. It
was a comfortable stay, not fancy but clean and pleasant and the staff friendly.
OK property with good and bad
The hotel was located in a good area of town and staff was very professional, helpful and friendly. The rooftop bar was a
good place at end of day. Rooms were so-so. The bed sheets were rough on the skin, shower/bath took long to heat up and
the internet spotty. It was difficult to do any work or even get emails while in the hotel. In the midst of sending or
receiving, it would shut off. Plus the majority of tourist are from China which is loud. The breakfast is ok, but again there
are loud and rude guests.
Eastern Palace Hotel
Welcome to Eastern Palace Hotel, your Mandalay “home away from home.” Eastern Palace Hotel aims to make your visit
as relaxing and enjoyable as possible, which is why so many guests continue to come back year after year. Nearby
landmarks such as Skinny Buddha (1.3 mi) and Su Taung Pyi Pagoda (1.8 mi) make Eastern Palace Hotel a great place to
stay when visiting Mandalay. Eastern Palace Hotel offers guests an array of room amenities including air conditioning and
a minibar, and getting online is possible, as free wifi is available. The hotel offers room service, to make your visit even
more pleasant. The property also features a pool and free breakfast. Guests arriving by vehicle have access to free parking.
While staying in Mandalay, you can check out a popular steakhouse like The M Steakhouse, which is serving up some
great dishes. Should time allow, Golden Palace Monastery (Shwenandaw Kyaung), Kuthodaw Pagoda & the World's
Largest Book, and Sanda Muni Paya are some popular attractions that are within walking distance. Eastern Palace Hotel
puts the best of Mandalay at your fingertips, making your stay both relaxing and enjoyable.
"Total disaster"
 Oct 5, 2019  Ismenios, Granada, Spain
The only good thing the receptionist Breakfast poorly presented Room with carpet and smell of smoke and tobacco Bad
situation Common areas poorly maintained Swimming pool with green water and without towels ... A hotel to do without
Not impressed
This hotel is seriously dated. The shower and tub had moldy and stained grout. Our room on the third floor was noisy, you
could hear loud music and street noise into the night. Air conditioning didn't work in the bedroom. There was a tiny light
outside the door that said 'do not disturb' which no one pointed out to us when we checked in and we didn’t notice(I guess
you were supposed to change it to please clean room)so when we came in exhausted the first night the room hadn't been
cleaned. The food was terrible. The gym smelled musty and the pool area didn't look clean. Wouldn't stay here again.
A serious maintenance error
I was almost burnt by the hot water when taking a shower. No matter which side I turned the faucet handle, it was hot
water. So I was not able to adjust the temperature of the water. I had to scoop a little water at a time using my hand to wash
away the soap on my body. I believe it was a careless maintenance error, but it was a serious mistake as it could cause
injury.
The room was fine, but not the restaurant. There were few choices on the menu, and the food was not good.
To avoid"
 Mar 25, 2019  michelle m, Lyon, France
Disappointment when we arrived, room not very clean, did not correspond to the photos, terrace without fault overlooking
a pile of rubbish, breakfast especially for Asians, moderately friendly staff, very cold pool. We are happy to stay only two
days
Normal and expensive hotel for your service"
 Dec 12, 2018  Sehi82, Spain
It is a 3 star hotel, spacious and comfortable room, little cleaning. Poor breakfast and little cleaning in the dining room. The
hotel is full of mosquitoes and they do nothing to solve (it is exaggerated). It has a gym and pool. In my opinion expensive
for the service.
"in the days"
 Dec 20, 2017  MXchen, Germany
The hotel, which appears to be in a commercial area, is of a certain age and has already hosted many tourists. The room
was spacious, but the arrangement of the bed was unreasonable if you wanted to get in from the side. How the service staff
have to make the beds is a Herculean task; the room planner didn't waste any thought on that. You can see from the carpet
that it has either bleached out in places or has already made various furniture arrangements. The trash can should be
replaced; cleaning does not seem to bring a satisfactory result. The condition we found is by no means a figurehead for the
house. The breakfast room is pretty, but the size is not based on the number of guests; the inflowing guests triggered
'chaotic conditions' - looking for seats, waiting for the 2 coffee machines - and with too little space to push past the tables;
especially when wheelchair users are still being placed and understandably need a little more space. In the sky bar on the
roof you could enjoy the evening wonderfully; the view is great and the sunset is beautiful to look at. But the ambience is
spartanly sober; A construction site shelf seems to be placed around the corner. In all of this, the staff tries to leave a
pleasant and friendly impression; the existing shortcomings can in no way be compensated.
Short stay for luck"
 Dec 11, 2017  marcocode, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Hotel below expectations, nice and clean rooms. Pity x the food, breakfast below average and dinner embarrassing, with
old, overcooked and chewy meat curry. It's fine if you have to spend no more than a couple of nights
"Lots of room for improvement ..."
 Nov 7, 2017  drhorstl, Munich, Germany
You may accept that this hotel is not very central, but then the management and staff should try to offer a particularly good
service ... We stayed here in November 2017 as part of a tour group. To be called positive: - The rooms are very spacious
and pleasantly furnished. Clear potential for improvement: - In the restaurant you need a lot of patience; The dishes, which
usually have good taste, unfortunately take up to 1 hour to prepare. - The staff tries hard, but the language and especially
the service skills do not meet the demands of the hotel. Significantly more training for the staff would be sensible and
necessary! - The internet connection is extremely annoying: you have to log in again after each stay outside. Internet access
is not always immediately activated for the entire duration of the hotel stay; you have to order the new code unnecessarily
from reception. - The room service can be improved: after cleaning in the morning the towels were missing, but the
toothpaste traces were still found on the sink ... - on the roof in the sky bar you could enjoy the evening wonderfully; the
view is great and the sunset is beautiful to look at. But the ambience is extremely sober. In addition, unfortunately, again a
language and service staff completely overwhelmed.
The Hotel Nova
The Hotel Nova is located in Mandalay, 201 m from Mahar Thatkyarthiha Pagoda and half a kilometer from Ein Daw Yar
Pagoda. The hotel has a hot tub and guests can enjoy a meal at the restaurant or a drink at the bar. Free WiFi is provided
throughout the property and free private parking is available on site. The rooms are fitted with a flat-screen TV. Some units
include a sitting area for your convenience. You will find a kettle in the room. Every room comes with a private bathroom.
For your comfort, you will find bathrobes and slippers. You will find a 24-hour front desk at the property. The hotel also
provides car rental. Ma Soe Yein Kyaung Monastery is 1 km from The Hotel Nova, and Zaycho Market is 1 km from the
property. The nearest airport is Mandalay International Airport, 32.2 km from the property.
Poor"
 Dec 5, 2019  lydias165
3 day stay during our tour. Definitely not to do. Double room with extra bed for a third adult good for a child up to 10
years old. Toiletries absent for the 3rd person despite our notification the 1st day. Breakfast really bad for Europeans (only
sliced bread and slices of rye bread). We had to demand that they fill the buffet again because it was empty. The positive
points: staff really very smiling and friendly as well as the magnificent view on the roof of the hotel where we had dinner.
A chaotic hotel"
 Jul 18, 2019  A TripAdvisor China Member
The hotel is located in a very dark alley. The surrounding area is a bit messy. If you are traveling alone or girls do not
come, you should spend more money to live in a better area next time. There are 4 things in this hotel that are very
unpleasant: 1. Upon entering the door, the bathroom light was broken, and called for service, but it only took me half an
hour to come up. The younger sister who accompanied her could not help taking a bath, the efficiency in Southeast Asia
was low, and I could not bear it. . 2. The area is a bit messy. I would like to ask the hotel to call a taxi back and forth
because it is very late. I will be back at 10 o'clock. I was afraid that there would be no car. 3. Later, I went to the rooftop
bar to blow hair, ordered two drinks, and paid for it without thinking about it. When we left, we actually said that we didn't
pay the bill. This is not the most annoying, the most annoying is that they finally found the order single, their manager
came, and actually said that the bar let us go from work, it was 10 o'clock at that time, and later I knew that they were off at
12 o'clock. I don't know if it is anti-China or the management is chaotic or the service is too poor. This is the only hotel
that has ever angered me.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Greetings from The Hotel Nova,
We are really sorry to all the incidences that you have encountered during your stay in Mandalay. We are sorry for the light
bulb problem but we inserted a new light bulb and the problem solved. Some of the electrical appliances can breakdown at
any time and we are sorry that we did not check prior. And we are truly sorry for the payment problem which is solely our
mistake and we will train our staffs to be perfect and well-communicated with each others. We hope to see you again as
our very special guests
Where did these good reviews come from ?????
To start with the positive things -staff is very friendly (but most of the people are very friendly in Myanmar) and the food
at their restaurant is ok but everything else is a disaster.
We had the Deluxe room facing the main street, I think on booking.com they have a fancy name for it, dazzling city view
or something - well if you have one of these rooms be prepared not to sleep for the nights staying. Cars/tuck tucks and
bikes are honking 24/7 and what nobody tells you is that there is a small temple directly in front of the hotel (in one of the
streets) where they pray 24/7 via speakerphone when they have a festival - well now they have one, so even with earplugs
you can`t sleep.
And there is no city view at all - you will see a pinkish building with a rabbit on it - i am really upset about the room as I
directly inquired a quiet room via booking.com.
Rooms:
Bed linen clean - mattress quiet hard but for us ok
Smell: AWFUL, like a uncleaned used toilet, smell coming from the drainage in the bathroom spreading all over the room
No cupboard only a small place to hang stuff
No place to open one piece of luggage, very narrow
A/C does not work properly, and is full of dust
Bathroom:
AWFUL, every bathroom has its own boiler, you need to press a button outside the bathroom so the water will heat up, but
if its too hot the boiler will loose some water, there is no tub or shower receptor, so you just stand on the floor water
running across the entire bathroom, everything will be wet after you took a shower
They did not clean the bathroom the entire duration of our stay, I saw stains on the walls around the shower, I put some
water on them and they were gone so they absolutely made no effort to clean.
Hotel maintenance:
Please, Hotel Nova, if you want to call yourself hotel do not look like a used HOSTEL, the walls in the staircase are full of
stains and fatty hand prints, super dirty and disgusting, the floors are not cleaned, they claim that the elevator is Bug free
and Anti Virus handrails but if you see the thing you can not believe it
Breakfast (food and outlet).
On the 10th floor, sometimes they open A/C sometimes not, but even if they turn it on they open the windows, so whats the
meaning of that?
95 % of the food caters Asian/Chinese people, you can get an Omlett upon request, there is toast and coffee.
Regarding butter - they offer it but without putting it on ice, so it`s completely soft and looks disgusting. Tables are not
cleaned after the clients.
Staff: Friendly but sorry not the brightest people in the world, hardly one of them can speak some words in english and you
can ask 10 times for something and will get some other thing for sure because they did not understand.
Laundry: The destroyed one of my shirts by washing (or not washing, because stains were still on it), I was super annoyed
as it was a new one. The laundry we got back smelled like kitchen.
Other noises: The hotel was full of chinese tourists who behaved really disgusting by spitting around and smoking
everywhere, they usually got up at 7, slamming the doors and shouting outside. But also the room cleaners are not very
silent during their work, they simply do not care if some customers wish to sleep longer than 6 30.
The hotel is very far away from the main sights, on the first way we dare to walk a bit but at the end we gave up, it was too
hot, there are no proper sidewalks and if there are they are full of motorbikes, so you have to walk on the street between
cars.
Of course this is my subjective point of view, but as my nick name states I am really a Multi Travel Girl experienced which
different countries and hotels and if you check my other reviews I usually give all the points if I am really satisfied.
I do not recommend this hotel at all. Better see the rates at Mandalay City Hotel, suggested by our guide, would have been
a much better choice.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Greetings from The Hotel Nova,
We are truly sorry about all the problems you have occurred during your stay in Mandalay. We will definitely try to train
our staffs more for the cleaning task and since the construction on the rooftop make the staircase dirty, we will have to put
new paint on it as soon as possible.
But we have some other things to elaborate concerning with other comments.
For the room, you book a superior room and we gave you a superior room on the 5th floor. We simply do not know which
fancy name you were mentioning in the review but we have checked your reservation and we are certain that we gave you
the room which you booked. We also would like to know about the problem with the pinkish 4 storeyed building with a
rabbit. We would like to know the disturbance caused by that building because actually, that building is a non-
governmental rice donation organization to which the whole country donates rice and then they deliver to the slums,
disastrous area and offering help with the food. Even our international guests go there and donate. If the building is causing
a blockade to the city view, we moved you to the 9th floor which is the highest floor and we are quite sure the about the
city view from that floor regarding to the photos. There is a proper luggage storage area in the room and you can check it
in our room photos.
The room you booked just include a shower and we mentioned it online clearly and you complain about not having a tub is
something misunderstanding. If you would like to have a bathtub in it, you should book other room type which states there
is a bathtub in it.
For the A/C problem, if we know that the A/C is not working properly, we have a maintenance team and will take action
immediately. But you did not complain during your stay. But we are sorry about that.
For the breakfast, we have many different guests with different likes and dislikes. We open the A/C, but some guests want
fresh air on the top floor so, they open the windows and we have to allow that. Some guests like you want A/C, so we have
to open. Kindly understand our situation.
For the laundry, we just know that there was a stain in it which cannot be washed with normal washing and cleaning. And
we washed 2 times for that stain and even did not charge for the 2nd time washing. We try to remove the stain but it did
not go off so we suggest you should try chemical bleaching option for it. And I think there is a misunderstanding for the
word "destroyed" since we gave back your clothes without any damage.
Mandalay City Hotel is a very great resort-type hotel , but if you are comparing an elephant and a monkey for climbing a
tree, it would be meaningless and of course, funny as well.
However, we are really sorry that we did not have a chance to know all the problems during your stay and thank you for
mentioning the small details that we may be lacking and thank you tripadvisor for giving us a chance to elaborate our
hotel's point of view.
 Simon_Siam, Public Relations Manager at The Hotel Nova
Nice room but ... very smelly toilet smell"
 Oct 2, 2017  34kelvinl, Taipei, Taiwan
When I entered the room, the smell of the toilet was pungent. I had to open the window and there were a lot of mosquitoes.
There was no way to take a good shower or toilet in the bathroom. The pain of smoking second-hand smoke during
breakfast, the staff told me that ... there is no non-smoking area in the restaurant = smoking area, I was surprised that I
could not accept it.
Not up to a three star"
 Nov 23, 2019  DanB06
Cleaning of the rooms leaves something to be desired, breakfast not at all at the level of the other 3 stars on the circuit.
Staff poorly understanding English. For the good sides, a rooftop bar with a view of Mandalay and a restaurant staff who
do everything to serve the customer well with the little they have.
Everything to renovate"
 Mar 29, 2019  Pascale M, Sannois, France
Stop for 3 nights in this hotel during a group organized tour. If you have the possibility, choose another hotel because it
begins to date. Everything needs to be redone inside, the common areas like the bedrooms: dirty paintings, very damaged
floors, everything is very dated and limits clean. Quite small room, very limited comfort: no closet, cramped bathroom. No
safe in the room. Air conditioning ok, free Wi-Fi Ok. Only one elevator for a 10-story hotel so don't be in a hurry or use the
stairs. On arrival we also waited more than 30 minutes for our suitcases to be assembled. Very young staff, as everywhere,
of good will but without any experience. It was total panic when our group of 23 people wanted to drink an aperitif ....
Positive points: - Hotel located in Mandalay. As we were in a group and our evening meals were scheduled, we did not
really look at the location of the hotel, nor what was around. - terrace on the 10th floor, with 360 degree view of Mandalay.
Possibility to have breakfast there. If no renovation is done quickly, hotel to avoid or just for 1 night stay.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Greetings from The Hotel Nova,
We are truly honored to have you here as our guest and we take full responsibility for all the drawbacks that occurred
during your stay. We will train our staffs more carefully to focus on quick and flawless service delivery and make your
check in and check out ease and comfort. The renovation especially the painting works are already started and we agree
with your opinion.But all of our hotel room amenities are complete and perfect but only the walls are dirty and we have
already taken care of. Please do come next time and we will arrange the best room renewed room for you.
Worth the price paid .."
 Mar 1, 2018  Darietta85, Province of Como, Italy
That is to say little, but the view of Mandalay as a hotel is not the best, the fundamental problem here was the very strong
smell of cooking (garlic and the like) that penetrated into the room impregnating everything, sheets, towels, unbreathable
air .. the staff was more than polite but did not solve the problem except by spraying a little deodorant..the bathroom to a
minimum, room full of mosquitoes. Breakfast just acceptable. For the price paid we will fit for a couple of nights..but not
for longer stays! Staff, however, kind, as in the rest of this beautiful country!
Dear Darietta,
Greetings from The Hotel Nova,
We felt very sorry for your inconvenience and we will try to improve our service and we will make sure our staffs will
perform better with our training. We are embarrassed with all that happened with you during our stay. Please do come next
time and we will try our very best to deliver top class service to you.
New hotel
I honestly don’t understand the good ratings here. Our room wasn’t cleaned when we arrived, we didn’t have hot water for
2 days, the bathroom smelled like the kitchen above because it used the same ventilation system and no one knew about
tours we have booked up in front.
The so called sky bar (restaurant) is the weirdest restaurant I’ve ever seen. The curtains are always closed so you never see
the skyline and they always close it when you open it.. every night there is an annoyed puppet player who is doing his
show for 10min without any passion. Forget about the food, there are better places nearby.
The breakfast is basically all Asian food and is empty about 8am. There is rarely any fresh fruits and no fresh juices. Plates
are not refilled, coffee is awful.
Wifi is slow, but this is normal in Myanmar.
I would give 5 stars to the very helpful staff downstairs (especially the concierge “K”) and for the free bikes. Other than
that we stayed in much better hotels than this.
Dear guests,
First of all , we would like to apologize for all the incidences that you have encountered during the stay. We will try more
the next time you come and visit and we promise we will not disappoint you the next time. We felt very sorry for all our
mistakes. Thank you for writing us a review and pointing out what we should try to improve.
Good for a brief stay
The hotel is nice and clean. There is a small hall together with breakfast room (actually I am not sure that the all the guests
could have breakfast together). The breakfast isn't tasty for European average guests, but something good you can find...
The room is small, clean and nice. You can take drinkings or snacks from the "room bar" for cheap price.
The bathroom is clean but a little bit tight, the WC is very near to the shower and you make it very wet at every shower
use.
View from the top rooms is amazing, but DON'T GO to the rooftop, it's work in progress and very dangerous to fall.
All in all the rate is good compared to the Mandalay life style, but poor if compared to three stars Myanmar avarege.
Anyway the cleaning rate is high, which is the most important thing in Myanmar.
I am Italian and I stayed to the hotel for three nights in August 2018.
Dear Daniele,
Greetings from The Hotel Nova,
Thank you so much for taking some time and give us feedback about our hotel which we can use it to improve our service.
We thank you for out some of the details lacking in our service and we will definitely look into that matter. The rooftop is
renovating so it is definitely dangerous and we are planning to complete in one month period. Please do come again and we
hope to see you again.
Ok, but I wouldn't recommend this hotel
We stayed here for 3 nights in December 2017. I think this hotel is overpriced for what you get, compared to similar hotels
I've stayed at in southeast Asia. The hotel standard was a bit shabby and dated. Our first room was very noisy and the
bathroom smelled of sewage, but they did move us to a better room. Our new room was fine and quiet. We went to their
top floor bar/restaurant for dinner and it took over an hour to be served and they got the order wrong, even though they had
plenty of waiters working. The breakfast was pretty disappointing, very stodgy and not much selection. The evening
puppet show they perform was kind of fun. The staff were friendly but service was inconsistent. If it had been 10 USD
cheaper per night, I would have been less disappointed!
Dear Rebecca,
Greetings from The Hotel Nova! We are very sorry for all the bad incidences you have occurred during your stay and we
are working hard on both our service and our infrastructure. We are so delighted that you have pointed out our weakness
and we will definitely look into that matter. Please do come next time dear friend, and we will try our very best to make
you our very special guest.
Simon(Mr.)
Sales and Reservation.
Basic yet functional
We stayed here for a couple of nights during our stay in Mandalay, the staff were polite and helpful. The room was clean
and served our needs, with twin beds, a shower in the bathroom and television. Breakfast was included in the room rate and
was a traditional Asian style breakfast with toast also available. My only complaint from our stay is that we were charged
for make up on pillows which would have easily come out in the wash.
Dear Our Valuable Guest,
Warmest Greeting from The Hotel Nova,
We are very happy to hear that you were enjoyed staying with us. Thank you for having taken the time to post your review
on TripAdvisor. We would like to personally apologize that we charged for make up on pillows because we need to send
the outside laundry to wash to be clear that stain that you experienced during your stay with us. We continually try to do
our very best for all of our guests. We will look into each issue that you have noted, and submit that to that report for in an
attempt to correct and improve our hotel policies. Your feedback is very valuable to us as we work to be better each and
every day. We are pleased that you enjoyed much of our establishment, and we would be honored to have you return to our
hotel in the future for a better service.
Thanks and Best Regards,
Nyein Chan Zaw (Mr.)
Front Office Manager
The Hotel Nova
+95-2-66183,60215,31284
Nice view, new hotel, slow service
I selected this hotel for its new condition and possibly good view. I got exactly what I wish for, made me happy. I love the
hotel's efforts on preparing many items in the room for guests comfort. Fair price. However, an average score was given
for bad smells from the sewer pipes, very slow service, and mistakes made on my room's key card followed by slow
problem-solving. Staffs were generally kind and polite, but they should have been more efficient and quicker at their job. I
wish the hotel fix the smell problems very soon, I would go back there again.
Dear Our Valuable Guest,
Warmest Greeting From The Hotel Nova,
We are very happy to hear that you are satisfied in during your stay at our hotel. We will find the condition of bad smell
and submit that report to our top management and then to solve that problem right way and thank you very much for bring
that information.
We are very looking forwards to serving you in the nearest future.
Thanks and Best Regards
Nyein Chan Zaw (Mr.)
Front Office Manager
The Hotel Nova
+95-2-66183,60215,31284
[email protected]
New Hotel
The Hotel is quite new and staffs are very kind, attentive and helpful as well. But need to improve in some area like
housekeeping daily cleaning service should completed before noon of the following day and foods for breakfast should
ready before breakfast time. Other than that overall services were quite acceptable.
Dear Sayar U Tun Zaw Oo,
Warmest Greeting from the Hotel Nova,
We are very happy to read on your review and to hear that you enjoyed your staying with us. Thank you very much to take
your time for your suggesting review on our hotel and we will note that your suggesting then we will submit that to our
Management and we will do them right way as your suggesting because our hotel is new and hotel staff is in job training.
When you come to our hotel, they will be ready. We hope to serve you the best service again.
Best Regards,
Nyein Chan Zaw (Mr.)
Front Office Manager
Royal Yadanarbon Hotel
Our Royal Yadanarbon Hotel ” , here we are for you who - -are travelling by all local information, and -are looking for a
clean and fair hotel in Mandalay. * Our Royal Yadanarbon Hotel is one of the best small hotel in Mandalay ran by a team
of the super friendly and helpful young people. We are perfectly located in the heart of mandalay in an extremely
characteristic and living areas within start walk to “ Zay Cho Market , Flower Market , Bus station ” . You can say ‘ wow ’
by the extraordinary beauty of the rich traditional cultures and daily lifestyle of busy people. * We offer private
Double/Single and comfortable dormitories rooms atmosphere by our friends (staff) that will make you feel like being your
second home in Mandalay or beautiful paradise of a traveler. * Our staffs are happy to share their knowledge with you .
They will give you all information you need in order to have an active and interesting visit of Mandalay !
Horro hotel"
 Nov 4, 2019  Mgalobardes, Barcelona, Spain
We start! The hotel service is excellent but the hotel itself is one of the worst I've ever been. I have read comments that say
that the price is fine and the truth is not so. Breakfast is the worst, with a butter of doubtful flavor and all refried and cold.
The dining room smells like stagnant water like the entire hotel itself. The rooms are tiny and upon arrival we found that
the sheets were full of blood stains. The bathroom in the room is horrible. The shower water almost non-existent, the faucet
for washing your hands loses water and the bathroom is flooded. The bathroom shelves are dirty but the worst is the smell.
The hotel staff is very friendly and good but my room 403 and its breakfast was fatal. I cannot invite anyone to book at this
hotel because I would not be comfortable there. The area is very bad is far from everything. To go to dinner, you have to
take a taxi or grap to change neighborhood. Everything is super far and with the Mandalay kaos it is impossible to go on
foot. They say they have a bike but once you are there you see that it is impossible to ride a bike They really need to
remodel or clean better
No cleanses , No good customer Service , do not take responsibility
We do not want to stay here.
Receptionist staff are not educated, even though i booked extra bed they ague me for extra bed.
At that time i show third party website receipt voucher. After that , she told me it is not their false it's third party website
false. Wherever website false or their false she should not ague to customer as soon as urgent. She should check be
carefully. But she did not.
Room are also no cleanses, bed sheet and tower are too dirty.
We are sure , we do not stay here again never for never.
Are you kidding me?
I can't for the life of me figure out how this place is rated so highly. I checked in at 21:30, the last new guest of the day.
Maybe I got the short end of the stick.When I walked in to the room and placed my backpack down, I looked around.
Large bed, desk with water and coffee makings, electric water heater, and what appeared to be a working air conditioner.
After I released the bellboy, I looked in the bathroom. OMG! I am really seeing this? Corroded piping, a sink under the
shower head, and a toilet behind the door so you had to cram yourself into the corner under the sink and shower to shut the
door and get to business. The shower was an integral part of the whole bathroom. If you use it, the sink, shower, and toilet
will be wet, as well as the entire floor. But that wasn't a problem - there were no towels, so I wasn't going to get a shower
anyway.Disappointed and feeling dirty and gritty, I returned to the room to set up my laptop and plug in my CPAP
machine so I could sleep comfortably. Unfortunately, there were no electrical outlets anywhere near the desk. The only 2
working outlets were 4 feet off the floor on the other side of the room, behind the bed where you couldn't reach them. It is
a very funny joke they pull in their brochure, the room has coffee service. But there's no place to plug in the water
heater.Now I'm dirty, gritty, low on batteries, and I'm not going to get a hot cup of coffee in the morning before the
breakfast room opens. I guess, being the hearty soul I am, I could live with these things. It would be difficult to stay the
three days without being able to plug in and having to slosh around in the bathroom. But then the icing on the cake.I pulled
back the sheets to throw my dirty body in and there were blood stains. BLOOD STAINS on the sheets right where I would
be laying my head.Enough is enough! I dressed and went back to the lobby only to find there was nobody there. They must
have packed it in after I checked in.In a foul mood, I returned to my luxury suite and threw my dirty self on top of the
covers so I wouldn't be sleeping in the blood. With no CPAP, my sleep was crap.I checked out the next morning at
06:45.Yes the lobby is pretty, the staff is friendly, speaks English well, and wants to be helpful. But there is no way I
would let a friend book this place.
Bad! Won't come back ever again
We stayed there for 1 night. Staff was friendly in the beginning but we ended up feeling very angry leaving this hotel
becoz of the arrangement one staff made. Rooms are dark and we felt not comfortable staying long in the room. Toilets are
not clean. No hot water. Dirty slippers. Breakfast everything egg..veggie..soooo oily!!! Don't book the trip with them
drivers speak little English. The last day we had to leave at 9 pm to get the night bus to inle lake. We told the staff the night
before to book a taxi and we mentioned it again on that day morning. At around 8 something, the staff told us the taxi was
there already but its not even a tuk tuk! Its a truck with no seats. The driver took our luggage onto the truck and we refused
to go on! We felt a bit scared when the staff was bargaining with the driver and his gang-look alike people. Also we
worried we could not catch the bus coz the hotel staff was making excuse saying its hard to call a taxi at that time (around
9:20 when he tried to find a taxi) and its ok that we didn't like that truck. It's not even our fault. We told them twice about
the time and we want a taxi. Not a tuk-tuk. He should not arrange that for us and said it’s hard to find taxi because we don’t
like that truck!!!! Felt so bad!
Poor room standards- electrical sockets wobbly & don't work
A poor hotel from the minute of arrival.
We did not book (as unsure of our day of arrival) so were a "walk-in." I chose this place as the on-line price seemed
reasonable. I expected Reception staff to price-match the on-line price to which they refused to, saying I must still book via
website although we were standing right in front of them! Took a triple room for $22 per room.
Room terrible, ELECTRICAL SOCKETS THE WORST- only a few sockets to plug in phone chargers & boil a kettle. Out
of 3 only 1 socket worked (2 were wobbly & unsafe), so we could only charge 1 phone at a time. Tv was useless, we could
only get 1 channel which was of a Buddhist Monk speaking non-stop so hardly the light viewing after a long & tiring day.
No films or comedy to watch.Next, the sink tap water pressure (or no pressure virtually). Tap sprayed out half the water it
was supposed to do & is in desperate need of repair. (I can't remember our room number), it was a triple room located on
1st floor near end on left side. Pls note: shower does not have separate cubicle so water drains straight off floor tiles into
small drain. It did feel peculiar taking a shower and will not be to everybody's liking.I don’t think our room had windows
which could be opened, so effectively a window-less room which we were not informed or having agreed to. Drank large
bottles of water from fridge & unexpectedly charged 1,000 kyat per bottle so only the small waters are free.We went to
another more up-market hotel to eat in evening, as we needed some happiness from this disappointing hotel.Breakfast ok,
menu changes daily as one morning we ordered French fries but the next morning we could not.This is a really basic hotel.
There are many better value hotels in Mandalay which I would stay next time. I made a mistake in staying here. Never
again.
Never been worse, room on the 5th floor."
 Feb 18, 2017  d_alvesp, Paris, France
Arrived at the hotel formalities ect .., the draining of the sink is done on the ground, a smell of sewer, hot water can be, the
opaque windows, the floor not finished, in short we stayed 20 minutes
The rooms a disaster"
 Jan 9, 2017  FrequentFlier182387
I stayed two nights at this hotel. The first room assigned smelled like mildew and was windowless. Never have they said
that in all rooms the bathrooms are the same: impossible to use
"Very bad"
 Dec 9, 2016  epotente, Padova, Italia
I state that as a backpacker I complain little, but I do not understand how certain judgments are possible. My choice fell on
this arrangement because of the average opinions of my countrymen in particular. I don't know if we're talking about the
same place because 'what I found is indecent. Smelly room, dirty, walls with damp spots, non-existent windows, noises at
all hours, you can hear the flushing of the other rooms, doors that open or close ... Room no. 307, standard double single
beds.
Unfortunate room condition"
 Nov 30, 2016  LAURA M, Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain
When you arrive, you think that for the entrance of the hotel and for the attention of the staff you think: well, I have
succeeded! But once you enter the room you realize that the images do not resemble reality. The room was the smallest in
which I have been unable to ventilate. The worst is the musty smell! The floor of the sink is always wet and the drains do
not work well, which causes some dampness in the room that is sad. The walls are full of crap and disgusting. It is a shame,
because if all the effort they put into attention will be used to improve the condition of the room, I would not be forced to
say that it was the worst stay in Myanmar quality - price. Finally, to say that breakfast is correct but the staff is so attentive
that it overwhelms. You cannot take a step without noticing that it is behind you watching what you do. I would not repeat
for sure 
Worst experience in Myanmar
We booked this hotel based on other positive reviews but our experience was not good! We had booked two rooms for a
family of four. When we checked in, they first gave us one room with a bathroom that was, literally, still under
construction. We pointed this out and they moved my kids to another room, however, the shower in that room was cold and
the water smelled strongly of sulfur. At that point we were exhausted, so we gave up and had a cold shower.
The next morning, we went to breakfast at 8 am (breakfast was supposed to run until 9am) and they were basically out of
all food except fried rice and toast.
In addition, the hotel was dusty and a bit grimy and seemed to have odd building projects going on in random places.
After this experience we decided to leave after one night having originally booked for two. The manager understood and
apologized and told us to contact Asia Travel for reimbursement. Subsequently, the hotel has not responded to a request for
a refund from Asia Travel nor has the hotel replied to two emails from us.
We had much better (similarly priced) hotels everywhere else in Myanmar. We have traveled extensively in SE Asia and
don't expect everything to be perfect, by any means, but this hotel was BAD!
Very bad booking management
I guess all these good comments are not true for a local guest. Me and my friend had a terrible experience with the hotel's
booking management system. I booked a single room for my friend, not online but by phone as my friend is a local guest.
First, the receptionist denied that there is no single room available for the desired date. I insisted on getting this because
online booking system showed one single room was available. Receptionist said this room is only for online booking and
not for phone booking (1st point here, the hotel should have a flexible system for receiving booking indiscriminate to either
local or non-local guests)
Finally, I managed to get the booking confirmation from the receptionist for 1 single room for desired date.
I also called the hotel reception on the check in date to make sure that the room is reserved.
However, disappointingly, when my friend went to the hotel that night, there was no room available. There was a record in
their notebook about my hotel booking, but they didn't reserve any room in spite of confirmation by repeated phone call. It
was a peak season and almost all the hotels are fully occupied. That negligence and poor management system is awful and
made my friend wandered around the town to look for a place to stay. I wouldn't recommend any of my friends to stay at
this hotel, ever.
Awful rooms, great staff
Positive: Staff is very friendly, pro-active and helpful, even for Myanmar standards. Breakfast is pretty good with the usual
rice, noodles, fried vegetables, soup, rubber bread, eggs, bananas. Rooms have mosquito meshing.
Negative: The rooms are awful and very noisy. They are dated and in desperate need for a make-over (when did they last
paint?!) just like the entire hotel, especially the bath rooms. Cleaning is very superficial. I was careful what to touch and
pretty engrossed. Rooms are so small, I can't see how 2 people would fit into the double room. Location is far away from
bus terminal (ab 30 min taxi) but close to jetty. The hotel is on the dodgy end of town. Lots of beer restaurants (full of men
and rather disgusting), street food options are unpleasant and nowhere near the (cleanliness and taste) standard of the rest
of the country.
Disappointing
Good:
- The staff was responsive/kind and friendly and provided local recommendations, etc. They were very helpful and
passionate with guests about how to spend their time sightseeing and had a lot of resources.
- Staff kindly printed documents out I needed.
- Staff welcomed with little chocolate gifts for holidays - nice touch.
- Free Bike Rental (Although hard/un-safe to bike around with traffic, quite scary at times but I did it daily). Otherwise I
suggest using grab bike option to get around as its about a 30 minute walk to moat/palace area.
- Spacious room to spread out with desk/wardrobe and bathrobe! BATHROBE!!! Loved this.
- Great sunsets from the 5th floor. (See photo)
- Kind/responsive housekeeping when needed new bedding (see last point under "poor) as well as when I needed new
water.

Poor:
- Room: I paid for a Superior double room. The room seemed outdated, with stains on the walls, and holes in the walls,
sheet, and sheetrock along the floor. It was very strange and NOT "nice". Now, I know I am in a big city in SE Asia and
felt grateful just go be there, and have perspective I am a "westerner" but also DID have expectations of the space due to
reading great reviews and the pricepoint ($25 USD/night). This was the worst room I have stayed in at this pricepoint in 4+
months of traveling in SE Asia. I was very surprised after reading great reviews (so maybe it was just my room).
- Door - the doorknob was loose to the door so with some wiggling, would have been easy to open. There should be a
deadbolt or ad additional lock (like most hotels) since there is no security and anyone can come up to any floor. There was
was no safety deposit box to lock valuables.
- Cleanliness - the room appeared clean at first glance (bedding was clean and housekeeping DOES a great job). But due to
the issues in the walls/floor it made the room dirty with dust/etc. Also, there was a strange dirty headboard on the bed - that
was made of cloth so not sure how it can be cleaned. The bedding and pillow rub up against this headboard, so even if
changed frequently there are germs/bacteria that could spread/move to the bed from this headboard. I got head lice on day
4 of my stay (I am not saying it definitively came from THIS bed....); but I was concerned about the cleanliness of the
headboard so personally removed it and it was quite dirty behind with more holes.
- Empathy - when the above mentioned "head lice" situation happened, I was underwhelmed by the response/help from the
hotel. Now, I've been traveling for a while now, and know that "things happen" when we do. Head lice was NOT a big
deal. What was a problem was that for the first time in my travels (and my 4 weeks in Myanmar where I dealt with many
other small health/travels issues very well like dog bite, fevers, Burma belly, etc), I felt lost trying to navigate through a
simple situation on my own and feel they could have been more supportive & helpful (esp with language barriers at clinic).
I lost an entire day trying to sort this out when it was a simple solve if I had some help. I felt lost on on my own. Also I had
to have EVERYTHING that had touched my head cleaned prior to leaving and received a bill for that (which I didn't mind
paying for, but it would have been a nice gesture due to the situation to offer to waive the fee; I would have paid anyway).
I waned to discuss with a manager directly, but none was available. I know they are doing the best they can and
appreciated what they did do; but the entire experience was disappointing. They did not go above and beyond, which other
hotels I have experienced would have.
Dear Guest,
We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with such detailed feedback about your stay. I am very pleased to hear that
our staff made your feel at home. I would be sure to let our staff know how much of an impact they made on your
experience. We are really appreciated for your precious time to review our property. I am so sorry for that also that you
faced with these kinds of problem. Also I have already talked with my management team and we would try to fix it as
possible as quickly as we can.There is no word to say you thank for your precious time to review about us. I apologize for
the inconveniences that you experienced during your stay and don't hesitate to call us to share more information and I will
try my best to rectify the situation. As always, don't hesitate to let us know if your are visiting again to our golden land. We
are looking forward to welcoming you back soon in near future.Thanks again.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely,
F.O Team
Royal Yadanarbon Hotel
Possibly the worst hotel I have stayed in.
Fortunately I only booked this hotel for one night. I must say that the staff are very nice, so that's how the hotel gets the
extra star rating from me.
The room is small, no real wardrobe, just a hanging space with only one coat hanger, no chair, two power points but only
one works, and it's located under a table so that I need to put the kettle under there to reach it.
Bathroom has no hot water in the sink, and I wouldn't know about the shower as I decided to forgo having one here as
there is no separate stall so the floor would fill up with water, which is what is starting to happen anyway. I can't see where
the water is coming from.
The area is just so run-down and depressing with only one restaurant and no real shops.
Went to breakfast at 9.45 only to find that it finishes at 9am, unlike most hotels which go 'til 10am.
I guess the real clincher is: SOME TOILET PAPER IN THE BATHROOM WOULD HAVE BEEN A NICE TOUCH.
"Very average"
 Nov 30, 2017  P9852NQpierreb, Lille, France
Our Mandalay - Thandwe flight having been canceled, return to Mandalay by shared taxi with 1 other tourist who had
booked at the Royal Yadanarbon. Room at 21 US $ cheap, as we left early to the airport the next day, it seemed ok for 1
night. But bof: tiny and noisy room, bathroom not top at all and dated bedding, no window. To forget !
Mould on the Walls, breakfast not Really good, Staff tries hard but is a bit confused
On the first sight the Room Looks nice but then we noticed the mould on the walls and on the flipflops for the bathroom.
Gross! Also there was a smell coming from the toillet during the Night. The tours they provide are only with a driver that
does not speak English and therefore cant explain anything about the sights. Don’t go on a Tour with them. They promised
us breakfast for take away as we Hand to catch the ferry very early. They forgot about that and then quickly prepared
something: to slices of Bread (not Even Toasted) with butter.... Very disappointing!
Medium and below ‫ מגע‬Disgusting attitude when you are dissatisfied with something."
 Dec 31, 2016  fafifaf, Bangkok, Thailand
We booked a distant hotel from the city with no choice, it turned out when the hotel was adjacent to a construction site -
unpleasant, and indeed stuck in the middle of nowhere and all the cabins require a low-cost taxi. The room is a tiny
standard on a stressful level, ceramics falling apart in the shower so that all the interior pipe in the wall is exposed. For our
friends, the tap went out of control and spun in unwanted directions. The conversion rate that the hotel requires is very
high, and does not pay for local money, on the other hand, disagreeing (and arriving at unpleasant tones and situations) to
receive dollars that are not new to the nylon. We tried to pay with $ 20 we received at another hotel with a very reasonable
bill, and they did not receive it. We had no other means of payment, given that the ATM outside the hotel was not working
and the banks were closed from Friday to Sunday, and really pushed us into the corner with an unpleasant feeling.
Disappointed
I chose this hotel because of it's good reviews. I was very disappointed. Maybe it was just bad luck and we got the last
room available, but to be honest, this room should not be given at all! The window was closed because of construction on
that side of the hotel, so basically no fresh air, we had to keep the room door open to get some of the awful smell out. Only
two plugs in the room, only one worked. The bathroom wall tiles weren’t cleaned in a long time and the sink was clogged.
Not to mention the shower basically just sticks out of the wall and you can literally take a shower on the toilet. The room
was small too. The staff was really nice and helpful, but instead of having two people standing by the door all day and
opening them for guests, they should rather get more cleaning/ maintenance done. Breakfast was ok, Asian and western,
but nothing special. To sum up - it's food for the budget and maybe one night, but if I ever come back to Mandalay I will
definitely choose another place to stay.
Worst Hotel in 4 weeks Myanmar
First of all: this hotel does not get the worst rating because of the staff being friendly, you're offered a map of Mandalay,
the location is okay and the breakfast is Myanmar standard (had better ones in Myanmar, but also worse). Otherwise,
everything about this hotel is as bad as it can get - see the pictures.You definitely get used to a lot while traveling through
Myanmar (cold showers, ugly tiles, small rooms, no toilet paper, only toast for breakfast,...) but THIS is NOT
TOLERABLE and was definitely the worst experience in 8 weeks South East Asia (we have definitely stayed in
hotels/guesthouses that were much cheaper).We booked a room for 3 nights (~30 $ for one night). The room was said to
have a window but since a new building has been built right next to the hotel, all rooms on the right side don't have
windows anymore. Besides, the room smelled like mould and the wall was dirty overall, not to mention how small it was
(around 10 square meters). The bathroom looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a year (see the photos).We asked for another
room and got one with a window, just as small as the first. But this one was even worse: it smelled like someone had
smoked in it and the stench of mould was still there. Again, the wall was covered in dirt and you could clearly see the
mould on the wall next to the bathroom (again, not clean).We refused to stay in that room and were shown a third (again
only 10 square meters, which is not enough for two people with large backpacks). Once more: mould and dirt. By this time
we realised that the hotel obviously has a problem with humidity even though the ac is working pretty fine.
Although I am allergic to mould we agreed to stay one night in that room and the staff promised to find a new room the
next day since no other rooms were free at that time (at least that's what we were told). Unfortunately, a new room never
happened. We were tired of complaining and no one of the staff asked if we were able to stay in the room due to my
allergy (I think they didn't really get my explanation). So we put up with the situation, not understanding how this hotel
could get such good ratings on tripadvisor and agoda. If we hadn't been on a budget, we would have moved to another
hotel for sure.
room too small"
 Oct 31, 2016  CKausLI, Lindau, Germany
Double room is much too small if you have luggage (backpacker with normal backpacks) - no storage space and hooks!
Bathroom is mini and very dark (it takes some getting used to covering the ceiling like artificial stone). Location is ok.
Price fits, but could imagine finding something for this price where you can move around in the room including luggage.
Friendly staff
You can get better room at the same price from other hotels there.
Fair price but only one electric socket worked, why having many that did not work in the room. Water spraying out of the
bathroom wall when turning on the tab! This was quite dangerous if it contacted any electrical wires (we did not know
where the water went inside the wall) and damaged the building in the long run. Poor WIFI speed.
Great English speaking receptionist and staff, very close to a bus terminal.
"Friendly staff, dirty rooms"
 Feb 17, 2016  Renate P, Amberg, Germany
Basically well located hotel, very nice restaurant just around the corner (Target 22) but unfortunately the hotel is totally
dirty. In our 1st room the hair bundles of the predecessors were still in the bathroom. Maybe it's just the renovation work.
The staff is very nice.
OK place, basic but clean
Overpowering smell of urine in bathroom, noise from constantly running water and slippery wet floor. The bathroom door
didn't close. Breakfast buffet that was not replenished if you weren't there early enough and which left me hungry and
thirsty on two occasions. Over pushy staff who tried to sell day trips by taxi at inflated prices. Rooms at the front of Hotel
noisy as opposite main bus garage.
Not so royal
We stayed 2 nights in a double room which was small and had a blind window.
The bathroom is...interesting with a very special decoration. We had a kettle and ac in the room. The bed was comfortable
and looked clean despite the rest of the room looked dirty.
We have been warmly welcomed and straff was nice. Breakfast was overall good.
The hotel is located in a very noisy area (bus station nearby )so get prepared to wake up at 5.30am. You can find a few
restaurants around.
The reception of rhe hotel look appealing but we found it dirty. You see that the ground has not been cleaned for a while.
Finally, when we pay in kyats they apply a very bad exchange rate 1$=1350k instead of 1300 which is really not fair.
I would not recommend this hotel and for 25$ you can find better options
Not a great start ..... but it did get better
The hotel had overbooked and put us in a room without hot water. After 13 hours on the boat from Bagan - all we wanted
was a shower. The staff did let us take a shower in another uncleaned room - which was .... blah! Once they sorted out the
rooms the following day, things got a little better. However, the rooms were cramped and noisy. the bathrooms are very
small, airless and very smelly. Breakfasts were very ordinary - and often food would run out early and little more was
brought out. Staff were friendly.
Not recommended
The room was small and very dirty. The water was continuously leaking on the bathroom floor which was shower and
toilet type. Services were less than mediocre despite the good intentions. Breakfast was more Asian oriented.
Trying to be something it's not in a horrible area
There's not really anything wrong with this hotel, nice room, TV, fridge, hairdryer etc (no hot water in the shower though
which I had considering they act like a posh hotel) but there was just something I did not like about it.I hate fake niceness
and that's what I felt I was getting from the staff here, I am perfectly capable of opening a door and walking across a room
without being assisted and I found it quite embarrassing that I would see the staff literally running to the door when they
saw me coming. And feeling the need to keep telling me that if I needed anything to call them. He been staying in hostels
for 5 weeks and actually the staff who simply stayed behind the desk, smiled and had friendly chats with me about my day
felt a lot more genuine.The area around this hotel is just awful, I have been travelling solo (female) around Myanmar for 3
weeks and this is the first time I've felt uncomfortable, the staring is ridiculous (it's not just the curious excited staring that
you get in Bagan or Inle Lake, it's sneering and smirking). Being harassed by taxi drivers everywhere you go aswell, in this
was the first place in Myanmar that I was completely conned by a taxi driver. The only restaurant close by is called 22
target and although the foods as nice it was again a very uncomfortable experience for me with the whole restaurant (of
men) staring at me and at one point there was even 5 of them just crowded around my table looking at me and chatting and
smirking!Wouldn't visit Mandalay again and if I did I'd stay somewhere where I felt comfortable and that the staff were
genuine.
"Non-contractual photo !!!"
 Nov 19, 2019  Chefyann77, Versailles, France
We spent 2 nights at this hotel but were a bit disappointed. Indeed looking at the photos of trip advisor we said that the
hotel looked clean and charming, the reality is quite different! The staff is certainly very cheerful and available, however
the state of the room is at the limit of adequate ... some would say that in Burma it is like that but in a month spent in the
country with different hotels even at lower rates, we didn't have a room like that. Stained bedding, decrepit bedroom walls
and mold. Bathroom similar toilet. In addition the hotel is still quite far from the beautiful elements of the city like
Mandalay Hill, monastery, royal palace. The breakfast is local which is not unpleasant but the quantities are minimal, they
are even going to buy bread next to lack of stock ... In either what bothers me most is that the only photos rooms that
appear are of high standing when in reality is found a little in a dump, it borders on false advertising. We are not difficult
we slept on the ground in bagan, in monasteries etc. .. but this is a bit abused .. Finally to finish on a good note, they offer
bikes for free and we can rent Scooters in front of the hotel which is in my opinion with the friendliness of the staff the
only positive. What would doubt my sincerity I let you judge with the real photos of the rooms this time.
Decent for budget trip
We went there as we were in budget. In our room, there was no towel and only robes. So we had to ask for that at night.
And shower room was a bit small and may be as their original intention was really to save water, water from shower head
was too little. I got so impatient and started to use water from faucet instead.
Receptionists were nice and friendly. Simple breakfast. Room was clean enough.
So, overall it was okay.
Hotels in Mandalay
I stayed for a night before mt flight back to Bangkok Thailand at Royal Yadanarbon Hotel... I took a single bed room and
the bed was comfortable. Breakfast is okay:-)
They had bananas, Coffe, Tea, eggs, bread, porridge, beans, dried rice, fried noodles, and some local breakfast food.
The shower room wasn't really nice and I saw an earthworm creeping on my faucet...
If you're on a budget while traveling, this one you might want to consider
"It's correct !"
 Feb 23, 2019  Claire_MalDub, Lyon, France
The room is not very large. The wifi works well. The bedding is excellent. The staff are very friendly. The hotel still needs
a refresher especially the bathroom. No shower curtain so we sprinkle everywhere!
Dear Guest,
Thanks you for your positive comments.I am so glade to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us! I am very sorry to hear
that our bathroom service didn't meet your expectations.Thanks you so much for this critical feedback also I would tell to
my housekeeper collages to make a deep cleaning for that.I hope your next stay is just around the corner.Please call us if
there is anything we could help you with.Thanks again.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely,
F.O Team
Royal Yadanarbon Hotel
we got everything we paid for
Check-in was quick and easy; copied our passports and gave them straight back. They had a welcome drink – juice/cordial
mix.
The room was small, meaning the bed took up most of the space. The room had a window, but the building next door was
almost touching, so no natural light. The pigeon that lived next to our window had all of his family visiting for the
holidays. Typical Asian shower (shower head over the toilet so the whole bathroom got wet). The back of the shower door
was mouldy. There was plenty of HOT water.
The hotel is in a quiet part of the city, a few kilometres from attractions. Staff were helpful with organising boat tickets and
taxis and they had free bicycles for guests. The breakfast was simple. Well worth $12.00US per night.
Exceptional staff
Royal Yadanarbon was an interesting experience. The room was old and in dire need of a bathroom reno. The wierd decore
in the WC ensured that it would never be properly sanitized with the infinite amounts of nooks and crannies in the "tree
trunk sink pedestal", or the Egyptian hieroglyphics around the ceiling. Also the wall was rotting into the bedroom. And still
no bugs or critters so not that awful.
But that's the bad part. The good part was the staff. They were so kind and helpful, they made me feel like i was a celebrity
in a five star resort. They also had free bikes to use, so we used them to get around the town. Plus every morning they had
free breakfast.
In summary, for budget accommodation it's good. But if you are fussy about accommodation, this place isn't for you (and
probably nowhere is this country is).
We would stay here again.
"Fine hotel with some work."
 Dec 5, 2017  brunovds82, Antwerp, Belgium
We stayed here for a few days. Arrival perfect, quick checkin and even the dates that we stayed can rebook. Nr the room
and this was clean even though we smoke a damp air. The bathroom is another pair of sleeves. This is where the smell
comes from and it is not really clean. Replacement is urgent. Showering was with cold water because hot did not work for
us. The last day we also couldn't open the door to the bathroom anymore. Fortunately we had already taken everything out.
Bicycles are available for free and the breakfast is good. There are a number of terraces where you can sit down for a
drink. Certainly not a bad size with work points.
Naja.. weder mandalay noch dieses hotel
What should i say here..? So if you know the city, or just heard about the city, it is absolutely enough and a wonderful
place to stay. But if you don‘t know the city, and just expect a city where you can go out and around the corner for dinner
or lunch or just to get a cofe, you get disappointed. The city is just dark, no real side walk, no real restaurant (just a
handfull), at the evening not real pubs or streets where something going on.. and exactly this is this hotel.. we had a room
at the 5 floor. You get out the elevator and no light. You just stand outside on a kind roof top. Dirty, when wet just
extremly slippery.. we had to walk a long corridor to the last room.. every second lamp is burning. A old mattress on the
side. Also some tool (for sure not used 1 year) lying around.. the room, small, but easy.. i think they spend all the money
into the lobby and had not enough for the rooms... if i had to go once again to mandalay (against my will) i would take the
same hotel, but just because it is not bad located.. thats it.. sorry mandalay...
"Decent hotel"
 Feb 2, 2017  Al-Granadino, Bretagne
Room without window opening to the outside, therefore a little dark, and a little noisy, therefore average quality for the
price paid ($ 26 per night). Very good customer service which helps out well, the hotel offers motorbikes for hire, bicycles,
and is quite well located in Mandalay. To adopt if you are not too careful about the accommodation.
Good for a budget trip
I got the genius discount from booking.com, and stayed in a tiny room here for a night. The facilities were pretty good,
although the room we got had a really tiny bathroom (with strange decor of Egyptian motif). There was no way you could
shower without getting the whole floor wet. The hot water was decent though. The worst thing about this bathroom was
that there was bad ventilation and water drainage system. Because it was a short stay, and we only needed a shelter, it was
worth the money. The best experience of the hotel was the staff, as other comments seem to agree, which was super helpful
and friendly.
Friendly Hotel
This Hotel was OK. The lady on reception was welcoming, friendly and helpful. I would say the main problem is its a bit
away from the centre about 10 mins walk and the location near the bus station is a bit noisy and grubby. Bathroom was
interesting. The room was ok, reasonable value but next time I stayed in more central guesthouse. There is a good
bar/restaurant around the corner. The breakfast was fairly poor with the asian food only scraps left and no sign of being
replenished. Handy if getting a bus to Monywa/Shwebo.
Not that good
The staff were very friendly and helpful. Alough over the top when arriving at the hotel with a barrage of information for
suggesting and arranging our itineraries for our stay.
They did arrange our first outing at $10 dollars more than our taxi driver asked for for our next two days outings. They also
took a percentage of the cost of our ferry trip to Bagan.
My bathroom was constantly wet with dripping plumbing that made for a very slippery floor and was noisy with a constant
water flow. The bathroom also had an overpowering smell of urine at all times and the bathroom door did not close.
The rooms at the front of the hotel are very noisy as they are opposite the bus garage with four am arrivals.
Breakfast was good if you were up early enough but food and drinks were not replenished when they had run out and I was
deprived of breakfast on two out of three occasions.
There is a ATM outside.
Interesting take on plumbing!
Burma/Myanmar redeems itself from the issue that some of the hotels are at best odd, and at worst health risks, by the
simple fact that the staff are so very, very helpful, kind and willing to go the extra mile. This hotel did rather push the
boundaries for me as the staff seemed not to have a very good grasp on English but, managed to give the impression that
they had, in fact understood every word you said. Only when we appeared at 6am on the morning of our departure did it
become clear that no-one was expecting us to go, nor that we had twice requested a taxi to the ferry dock. When they
managed finally to organise this, the hotel driver dropped us at entirely the wrong dock, for the wrong ferry and roared off
into the distance, leaving us stranded. (happily a local guy kindly picked us up and dropped us the correct place.
My other slight concern with the hotel was the plumbing. The shower rooms in each room were obviously connected to
each other so, when someone in an adjoining room had a shower, their water backed up into your room, flooding the
shower room with water they had showered in.
Sorry folks, but this just didn't really work for me
small but central
I arrived at 6am and had to wait for an hour to check in. I was only staying one night and had to leave really early the next
morning before breakfast so I asked if I could have breakfast after I had checked in instead of the next day. The
receptionists said that was not possible, though in all fairness, they may not have understood me. Apart from one woman,
the level of English spoken was elementary. The room was tiny, but there was a comfortable bed and both aircon and wifi
worked. For one night it was fine.
"If you pay little you don't have to expect much."
 Jan 26, 2016  Davidino99, Blanes, Spain
Starting from the fact that for one night I paid 22 euros for a double room with breakfast, the hotel satisfied me. The rooms
are modest, the bathroom is small and unattractive ... During our residence they were building the elevator. Breakfast, just
the essentials. The very kind staff with the reception guy who helped us a lot and recommended a bar where you can watch
the sunset on the banks of the river ... exceptional. The staff, I repeat, of a kindness and unique sympathy make you forget
the small problems of comfort that this hotel that I think with the future will improve because it seemed to me working in
progress. The hotel deserves 3 points, but the staff 5. For this I give it a 4.
Interesting bathroom decor
Pros:
- near to major tourist attractions such as the mandalay fort, mandalay hill, teak monastery and the ferry boat for Mingun
- customer service was excellent
Cons:
- noisy bus terminal can be a turn off to some guests
- weird drainage layout (water drained from the faucet appears beside the toilet bowl so the toilet area is always wet)
Others:
- bathroom decoration can take time in getting used to
- limited breakfast option
Ok if you're not fussy
We booked this hotel after getting it mixed up with another hotel with a similar name in Mandalay. It turned out to be in a
particularly unappealing part of town though it is in reasonable proximity to the tourist wharf (1000 kyat per person moped
ride or ~20min walk to the west). Our rooms were uninspiring with a mish-mash of decor including bizarre fake wood
moldings around the bathroom that looked like they belonged in a B grade sci-Fi movie (These touches were dotted
elsewhere around the hotel to varying effect). The toilet seat and shower fitting were broken and the water pressure was
just adequate. At least the bed was reasonably comfortable.
The hotel seemed to be in a state of renovation with building material strewn around and empty rooms full and rubble and
on upper floors, and unfinished building works everywhere. Cleanliness was not a high point; the terrace outside our room
was littered with empty beer cans and butts.
About the nicest things we can say about this establishment are that the staff were extremely friendly and the included
breakfast was decent . At least it wasn't over priced
Depends on the room you get (1st stay was great, second stay was poor)
This is a new property in a good central location but also quiet for sleeping. The staff were friendly and tried to be helpful
but more in your face helpful and superficial , rather than actually getting productive results... I found it more of the cringe
factor which I am sure many tourists like, but not everyone! they also rip you off on any transportation compared with if
you arrange it yourself , because I got quotes from other places so just be aware this fake friendliness comes at a price. The
internet they offer , including free use of their PC was pretty slow and unreliable - Royal Naung Yoe hotel however
provided more genuine helpful service and also very good fast reliable internet so check this hotel out aswell, but
unfortunately it isnt as central as Royal Yadanarbon hotel - which has a good spot.
The first time i stayed here i was impressed with a modern clean room with hot water , fridge, and flat screen tv and yes the
room was tiny like a square box but it did the job so for the money I was happy. The breakfasts are buffet , the problem is
they dont replenish the food much and unless you want rice or pasta, bread, jam or some salad there wasnt anything on the
buffet spread. Much of the time they didnt even have any fruit or cereal and a waiter normally came up to ask if you want
one fried egg or an omelette - the only place I experienced in Myanmar that serves one egg!!
one morning they had spring rolls which were nice.
On the second stay the room I got was mouldy in the bathroom, with dirty sheets, no working hot water and a leaking toilet
, so if you get a single room for about $15 a night bb with discount code then this was quite OK if you are out all day but it
snt worth much more. Definitely not as good as the reviews on tripadvisor seem to suggest so just be aware. As they have a
number of different condition rooms for the same price. Another thing that leaves a bad taste is the sign at reception saying
$20 a night for foreigners or 15000 kyats for burmese- which was about $13 a night.
I far preferred Royal Nuang Yoe hotel overall.
Budget hotel with scary bathroom
We stayed her fo one night, renting 2 rooms and arriving from Inle at 4 am. Staff were friendly and helpful and checked us
in without any hassle. Rooms were ok considering the price but the bathrooms were badly designed, grubby and weirdly
decorated. Felt like I was in a hobbit house but not in a good way. Breakfast was mediocre, very little left when we went
down at 9. Choice of eggs on offer but we didn't bother in the end. Noisy outside in the morning due to the hotel's location
(next to the local bus station) but handy for restaurants and the sites. Good budget option but not great for comfort or
cleanliness.
Hotel A1
When visiting Mandalay, you'll feel right at home at Hotel A1, which offers quality accommodation and great service. The
hotel lies 0.5 Km from the city center and provides accessibility to important town facilities. With its convenient location,
the hotel offers easy access to the city's must-see destinations. Offering hotel guests superior services and a broad range of
amenities, Hotel A1 is committed to ensuring that your stay is as comfortable as possible. Business center, 24-hour front
desk, lockers, laundry service, car park are just a few of the facilities that set Hotel A1 apart from other hotels in the city.
Guests can choose from 26 rooms, all of which exude an atmosphere of total peace and harmony. Besides, the hotel's host
of recreational offerings ensures you have plenty to do during your stay. When you are looking for comfortable and
convenient accommodations in Mandalay, make Hotel A1 your home away from home.
Employees stole my personal belongings from my room!
After one month in Northern Thailand A1 was my first hotel in Myanmar. My last day BULGARI chain/pendant was
stolen by the hotel employees. I left it and earrings on the table in the evening I found only earrings! I was told that the
hotel GM was on leave this day. The receptionist, the tallest guy, said he was his replacement. I asked him to check
the CCTV recording and he said that no one except the cleaning people entered my room. He said that cleaning team
manager personally cleaned my room. I concluded that she stole my chain. I travel a lot and I I’ve never experienced
the disappearance of my belongings. I less expected that it can happen in a Buddhist country such as Myanmar! In A1 you
see TripAdvisor, Hotels.com certificates everywhere including the lift and your room! Very strange to see them in the
room from where guests’ belongings disappear! A1 management is giving a full support to its employees in stealing guests
belongings! A1 is very bad in all! Their fruits bucket on the reception desk is only for the long staying guests! If you are
not don’t put your finger in it! Twice I found a big size DEAD COCKROACHES near my bed! SHAMPOO and BODY
WASH are NEVER given! WIFI, often need a new password! This review is posting after I completed 3 other hotels in
Myanmar and I never experienced this horrible treatment and absence of hospitality as in A1
Bad Service
I stay there just one night with my friend on September 2019.Even though the Hotel is acceptable, service is poor. No
respect and insulting to customer. The worst service from hotel that i experienced ever!
Dear 760waiw,
Firstly, I want to offer you my apology and sympathy on your disappointment of staying in our hotel. I am sorry to hear
that you didn't meet your satisfaction. But we want you to know that to make all the guests comfortable and happy while
they are in our hotel has always been our aim. Anyhow, we are glad to have a chance of having you in our hotel for one
day and your comments encourage and remind us to work harder so that we can give best services to all our respectable
guests. Thank you for staying in our hotel and hope you will see big differences and experience of staying in our hotel
when we have you in our hotel in the near future.
Hotel A1 Management Team
Horrible
This hotel had the foulest, most pungent mothball smell I have every encountered. Even burning incense in the room did
little to help the situation. The room was grimy and gross and the artwork on the wall looked to be done by a child and was
woeful to look at. The staff were fine enough but left me wondering "Where are the grown-ups?" because they were all
young and tended to laugh and chat at the front in groups so approaching them was a bit intimidating as all 7 or 8 of them
stared at you as you tried to ask a question. It didn't help that their grasp of the English language wasn't that good.
Pigeons kept us awake as they roosted on our window sill and the traffic noises were also loud enough to be hard to sleep.
The elevator didn't work a few times and I got so fed up at being stuck inside, I elected to take the stairs every time
afterwards. I would never stay here again or recommend it unless you are okay with all of this and want to save money.
On our last day, we checked out and kept our luggage there to site-see. When we returned we left enough time to clean up
before our flight. However, there were no facilities for tourists to have a hot shower and tidy up. They sent me to what I
believe is the staff bathroom where the shower head only had cold water. Also, I had to ask for the use of a towel. They
should at least have a place people can wash comfortably before continuing their journey.
Dear Rachel and Callum,
We are sorry to hear that you didn't meet your expectation and satisfaction during your stay at our hotel. We will surely
check the room condition as you mentioned. We don't know when the electricity will cut off. That's the reason why you
had to wait for a while in the elevator as we started our own generator right away. Every hotel at our level in Mandalay
doesn't even have a bathroom with facilities that guests can take a shower after they have already checked out. We are
sorry that our guest toilet doesn't have hot water as we have difficulty to have one depending on the construction system.
As all of our staff are young and willing to do what they can do to the guests, there might be immature behavior acted to
the guests. But we admit that our staff still need to learn a lot and we really appreciate everything you mentioned as they all
remind us to work harder. Hope you are having a great time!
Hotel A1 Management Team
Mandalay
Worst hotel in Myanmar don’t go there
We went there according to the reviews and everything was just terrible
We can’t understand all the good reviews
The room is small old and creepy the green paint on the walls and green curtains seem so dirty and old fashioned
Everything seems dirty and so used
The air conditioning is nearly not working and when it works it’s very noisy not as much as the rumors from the street that
don’t stop
Terrible feeling in this room
Cold water only during 2 days
When we asked the manager a reduction on the price of the taxi to compensate the disappointment of the room he refused
because we were upgraded
OMG how was the first room in that case ?
DO NOT GO THERE
Dear Guest,
Firstly, I want to offer you my apology and sympathy on your disappointment of staying in our hotel. I am sorry to hear
that you didn't meet your satisfaction. But we want you to know that to make all the guests comfortable and happy while
they are in our hotel has always been our aim. Anyhow, we are glad to have a chance of having you in our hotel for two
days and your comments encourage and remind us to work harder so that we can give best services to all our respectable
guests. Thank you for staying in our hotel and hope you will see big differences and experience of staying in our hotel
when we have you in our hotel in the near future.
Hotel A1 Management Team
Naftalina Hotel"
 Aug 2, 2017  Araceli N, Toledo, Spain
Of the 15 days that I was touring Myanmar, this hotel was a disappointment and the worst experience, it is not a hotel that
resembles the photos they advertise or the criticisms it has and much less the rating it has on TripAdvisor that was what
made me decide for him, or maybe, that they gave me the worst room in the hotel. The hotel is economical, but worse than
a pension, it smells like mothballs everywhere, my room faced the street and it was very noisy, it was so small that there
was only room for a bedside table, the bathroom had no shower and no Hot water came out, the towels were yellow and
stained. Breakfast was very scarce and little varied and to top it off the waitress took home the cao cola boat that my
children left the first day, they served it on the terrace, which when it rained it was flooded. It is well located and has a
safe. But I would never go back or recommend it to anyone since the hotel offer in Myanmar has improved a lot in recent
years.
"From disappointments to disappointments ..."
 Jan 8, 2017  Antoine M
Apart from the friendliness of the staff, not much to remember. We went from disappointments to disappointments: - Small
room - Bad bedding - A bathroom full of flying insects - We rented scooters offered by the hotel and broke down two days
in a row - We booked a bus through the hotel which took us to our next destination in 12h (7h scheduled at departure) in
terrible conditions, really.
Horrible beds!
The room was so dirty (especially the bathroom which was only one room where shower and toilet were not separate able)
and the beds were extremely hard. In fact we only stayed for an hour to immediately book another hotel nearby.
However, the staff wanted to offer us another room (unfortunately all beds were the same) and tried to help us as good as
possible. They were really helpful and understanding that we cancelled the room, which is definitely a plus!
BEWARE OF THE OK EXPRESS BUS
The hotel was not good not bad but for the price I’d say it’s okay.The breakfast is FAR from continental or anything you
would imagine, not to mention if you’re vegetarian or even worse vegan there won’t be even a fruit for you (except for the
smallest banana in the world).
All that aside, DO NOT i repeat DO NOT BOOK A BUS TO BAGAN THROUGH THIS HOTEL. The bus is a local one,
there is no space for a person who is taller than 170cm. it stops a 100 times, the driver is awful and if that weren’t enough
the bus suddenly in stopped in the middle of nowhere and told us to get on an open truck(it was night time so we could’t
even see where they were taking us) and the truck took us to a different location than was promised at the front desk in the
hotel.AWFUL EXPERIENCE DO NOT GO WITH THEM
Not Good
I stayed here twice on my trip on the way into Myanmar and on the way out. Both for 1 night only. The first visit was ok,
functional. However the Aircon was noisy enough to keep me awake and the unit was dirty and inefficient. The breakfast
room was dirty and the food was poor. On my second visit I couldn’t face breakfast at the Hotel.
On the second visit we hired 2 scooters to visit U Bien bridge. Both scooters were in a Dangerous condition. The first
scooter the throttle kept sticking open and cutting out intermittently. The second scooter the speedo and horn didn’t work
and there was damage to the rear tyre that resulted in a flat tyre at about 30 mins into our journey
I raised this with the hotel manager who offered some excuses and a token refund that was less than satisfactory
I have spent 5 weeks travelling Asia and this was by far the worst accommodation I stayed in
Dear Neil,
I am sorry that you had some problems during your stay at our hotel. We just want to give our best services to all of our
guests as it has always been our first priority. I want to explain how things went wrong for I don't want you to
misunderstand the services we provided you. What we want all the guests to do is just to let us know if there is any
inconveniences in the room so that you we can do our best to make all the guests satisfied with what we offer. We check
the room condition before we let guests enter rooms. After the guests have entered the room, only HK staff have the right
to enter the room. So we can't know how the facilities provided in rooms work in details without being informed. I think
that the problem you had with motorbikes was just a coincidence because we can't know when the tyre will be broken and
normally we ask for additional fee if there is any damage to motorbikes while using the motorbikes. But we didn't ask you
for any additional fees. This is the procedure used in all the hotels in Mandalay. Anyhow, let me say thank you for staying
with us twice and we hope that we will find better services when you are in our hotel the next time.
Hotel A1 Management Team
This place is a dump
It has just as many pluses as minuses. The pluses are all outside of the hotel. I was ushered into a room after a long
journey. Only to wake sweating as clanking AC went off. In the daylight I saw mold all over the AC & air vents and
several places of serious unhealthy water damage near the windows. They changed my room. However, with spotty hot
water, linens all stained, floors never deep cleaned, I never felt clean. It desperately needs a thorough cleaning and an
inside paint job. Pluses: the staff try awfully hard. There are free bikes I used to shop & go to the Post Office. It is very
close to the Shan Ma Ma restaurant - an institution, family run, never a bad meal. Too bad they can't get their act together
How ever Traveller's Choice"
 Nov 20, 2017  Fulminassi, Foligno, Italy
The room after the delivery of the Keys had not yet been redone. The air conditioning is very noisy with considerable
difficulty in regulation. In bathroom V 'an open drain that collects water from other rooms. Maybe to be in Mandalay you
can be satisfied but such positive reviews can't have them.
Moldy
This hotel was very moldy and the ac was very loud. The bathroom was gross and it does not look like the pictures at all.
They didn't even put us in the room we booked, so we had two twin beds instead of a double. The mattresses are also
extremely hard, I could've slept as well on concrete.
"Poor organization"
 Feb 19, 2017  sylvainc525, Asnieres-sur-Seine, France
2 nights. Room which did not correspond to the reservation and which was not pleasant: ground floor with window which
overlooked a building site. Other people have changed rooms. The rates communicated by the hotel for our taxi trips were
higher than the rates found. Good breakfast.
Yes it's cheap but there are basic expectations.
Although staff were nice the hotel is definitely only a 2 star. No hot water for 10 minutes which I complained about but
apparently this is 'normal', very loud noise from the roads outside and also staff in the corridors/phone ringing all hours,
windows rattle anytime a truck goes past, air con settings are too strong on lowest setting but when off its like a sauna (had
to wear a hoody to bed), breakfast is as basic as it comes and you're lucky if you time it right to get any fruit. Oh and wifi is
poor. Also just for reference, if you come here after Bagan you'll be very disappointed as there is nothing much to do, I
would avoid it
Dear Valued Guests,
Thank you for taking the time to review our property/business. We truly value your opinions and we apologize that we did
not meet your expectations.
Anyhow,please allow me to give some pieces of reasons why most of the things went wrong during your staying ,which
impacted your expectations. Truly, the site of our hotel is not that noisy at nights. So it is very hard for us to predict when
that noise or the sound will arise. I wish you have called the reception when something in the room seemed went wrong so
that we(our mechanics) could have shown and told you how to do them. It is normal that the wifi connection is poor when
the weather is not fine. If you stay in Mandalay for some days, you will notice that. Compared to the hotels in Bagan which
are three or four stars and are much more expensive , our hotel would be less perfect honestly. I do want you to know that
providing our guests with the best possible hospitality and service has always been our mission. We are always trying our
best for our level and for the higher level which is our aim.
To be honest,I do not want your last memory of Hotel A1 to be a negative one.
Warm Regards,
Peter
Guest Relations Officer
Unfortunately not recommended due to deficiencies in billing and organization"
 Apr 17, 2016  schuesseler, Wuppertal, Deutschland
We booked two deluxe rooms for two nights in this hotel on booking.com during the Thingyan festival in April 2016.
When we arrived, we found that the hotel on site offered significantly cheaper prices than on booking.com. The manager
claimed to have communicated this to booking.com and suspected an "early" booking on our part. However, this was
demonstrably not the case. In addition, the hotel offered even cheaper prices for locals (my fellow travelers were
Myanmar) who were not communicated on booking.com. Faced with this, the manager got caught up in contradictions and
made excuses for Larifari. He was unwilling to give us the tariffs applicable on the day of check-in. It was hard work to get
him to at least get a discount of € 15. After all, one of our booked rooms was already available for early check-in.
However, the room (4th floor, No. 401) was very narrow and did not have a seating area, but instead a reinforced concrete
column in the middle of the room. The second room No. 103 made available to us later was not next to it, but on the first
floor. It was larger and its furnishings corresponded to the description except for the missing desk, but it had practically no
window. The existing window panes were painted with paint, because a view was not possible because of the wall of the
neighboring building 50 cm in front of it! The impression of the room was therefore like in a basement. In response to my
complaint, management seriously offered us a second "basement room" next to No. 103, even though the house was not
fully booked. We gave up in frustration and kept No. 401, which nevertheless offered a good outlook. The furniture makes
a cheap impression and shows clear signs of wear, even though the house is only a few years old. Information from the
staff about excursions in the area was also not very helpful. Because of the taxi prices mentioned by an employee, we
decided against the actually planned trip to Pyin Oo Lwin. A taxi driver interviewed later said that he drove us there and
back for less than half the amount mentioned by Hotel A1. As in many Asian hotels, the beds were uncomfortably hard and
the air conditioning was very loud. There was "W-Lahm" in the rooms - this is now much better elsewhere in Myanmar!
The hotel as such is clean and well kept. The breakfast room on the 5th floor offers a good view. Breakfast is varied,
although not of consistently good quality. The situation in the city center is relativized, since the city center of Mandalay
has only a few tourist interesting destinations. I refer to my poor assessment in particular on the poor handling of billing
and room allocation. I want to spare other travelers this unpleasant experience!
Liked Mandalay, but didn't enjoy this hotel
We stayed in Mandalay for three nights and were based at the Hotel A1. A typical narrow tall building the hotel is
conveniently located in the downtown area of Mandalay and most areas south and west of the palace complex are within
walking distance within reason. The hotel staff we're very welcoming and tried their best to assist with queries and
requests, and compared to other establishments were going the extra mile to try and make their guests stay enjoyable.
Other positive things were the breakfast - which was reasonable but nothing exceptional, and a nice view from the top floor
restaurant. And in the room the bedroom had power sockets next to the beds which is always nice for charging up your
phone overnight.
On the evening we arrived, I'm not sure what had been going in in the hotel, but there was a strong chemical smell in the
hotel, that smelt a little bit like moth balls (naphthalene or similar). The smell was permeating most of the hotel and my
partner has a fairly bad reaction to it. Whilst the hotel staff either refused to or could not explain the smell, we were given a
room on the top floor to get us as far away from the smell as possible. Whatever it was, the smell subsided overnight and it
wasn't too bad the next day. The only thing I can think of is that they might have been doing some fumigation or pest
control that caused it.
The room itself is fairly typical of midrange hotels in Myanmar. Bedroom with a desk including a fridge, chair, bed and a
wet bathroom. It was all clean and tidy. The bed was very firm, even by asian standards. I enjoy a firm bed, but this was
even a little too firm for me, and it's gets a 10 out of 10 firmness rating. The aircon seemed to be a little odd, and didn't
really seem to cool to the room, irrespective of the temperature you set on the controller.

Having been put on the top floor to avoid the chemical smell, we didn't anticipate that the kitchen staff (for the kitchen and
restaurant is on the top floor) would proceed to drop their gas cylinder on the floor directly above our room at 5.30am, and
then shortly after turning on the kitchen extract fans which were clearly audible from our room to prevent us from getting
back to sleep. A visit to reception resulted in the extract fans being turned off as soon as possible but we were not going to
get back to sleep that morning. I guess the gas bottle was a mistake but the extract fans were annoying. Having found that
the smell was better in the morning we requested to move room to escape the peril of the kitchen extractor for the next two
mornings.
Relocated to the 2nd floor later that day, the room was fairly similar to the previous one in terms of size. But late into the
evening we now discovered there was some kind of waste water outflow from other rooms that emptied into the floor gully
in our bathroom. Although the water was not visible, it was clearly audible, even with the bathroom door shut it was
competing with the TV. This time the hotel staff were snookered with options to help us as they claimed that the hotel was
full and there was not another room we could move to. Fortunately, the waterfall feature stopped after about 30 minutes
(do people really shower for that long?) but we did encounter it on and off over the next two days. Although it was
annoying, it was already annoying we had moved room once, and we didn't want to try a 3rd room for the 3rd night.
And then there were the random TV channels - just before the waterfall started my partner was enjoying a program on
CCTV4 (the chinese channel) when it was returned to some European football match. After protesting at reception and a
half hour delay one of the other channels was returned to the chinese channel but it seemed that the staff's desire to watch
football was quite important.
Another note - although not directly in the control of the hotel - was the howling dogs. They started just as the city bedded
down for the night and would continue for a random amount of time. They were clearly audible from both rooms, on the
4th and 2nd floors.
The Wifi was another annoyance at Hotel A1. Apart from being connected to a slow broadband service as is the case most
places in Myanmar, the Wifi signal kept on flipping out of service for about 5-10secs every minute or so. It was the same
throughout the hotel, and it affected all our devices. Whilst our devices reconnected ok, it was highly annoying if trying to
do an ongoing transaction to find that the signal was dropping in and out all the time. The staff seemed to be aware of the
problem but were powerless to sort it out. We just ended up using our SIM card for connectivity most of the time.
I think on balance we were unlucky with our experience at Hotel A1. But I cannot rate this higher than a two due to the
sheer number of blunders or bad luck we experienced.
Hi Plunet,
Thank you so much for your review. That helps us to improve the impression of the hotel. First of all , I would to apologize
for your bad experience while you were staying at our hotel. It is too bad that we did change you rooms 2 for 3 nights.
Now I am trying to fix the problems that you mentioned us in reviews. Some problems are linked to infrastructure and
design that we can not fix easily. Anyway we have to fix them at low season. Finally, Thank for your co-operative work. If
anything you want to suggest us, We hope to read it. Here is our mail address.- [email protected].
Finally, I would to thank again for your long and informative review.
Best regards
AKo@ Aung Ko Ko
Spend a few bucks more elsewhere
To start with the positive: it's dirt-cheap, the breakfast had fresh fruits (pineapple, papaya and water melon), and the
employees all have a smile on their face.
Unfortunately, the low price can't make up for (I'll sum it up)
- a loud airco (varies from a stormy breeze to hurricane)
- the shower only gets a few degrees warmer than ice-cold (tested this in the evening and in the morning)
- no fencing to keep off pigeons ticking against the windows
- some mosquitos in the room (cracks where they can enter everywhere)
- a shower that floods the whole bedroom (they add slippers, so that's a nice gesture, but still..)
- most employees have a really hard time speaking English (not a big problem, but don't send those employees to
accompany you to your room and explain stuff)
Imho: spend a few bucks more at the M3 hotel a few blocks up north.. We stayed here for a night and we were glad we
didn't book more nights
Terrible street noise!!
This would have been a pleasant stay if the noise from the street was
not so obtrusive. The unit was clean and comfortable. Situated in the
front on a busy street. It was noisy from lunch time -when I arrived
until 4.00am!! I got little sleep. Would not stay here again
Poor WI-FI
I stayed here for only 1 night, the reason for the stay is because it is close to Gaw Wein Jetty which we will need to go for
in the early morning. The staffs are very friendly. The room was very clean. However the toilet was small and has no
separation between the shower area and the rest, so you will end up wetting the whole toilet when take the shower. The
WI-FI signal in my room is extremely poor. First I thought it was just my room location, so I went down to the lobby to try
again but still the WI-FI is very poor. So if you really need to depend on WI-FI please consider other options.
pros & cons
mandalay seems more backward than yangon and bagan, so expect lower standards in hotel and environment.
pros of hotel- rooms are clean, size is average, comes with hot water, toiletries, snacks, etc. rooms are actually ok and
equipped. hotel takes care of putting up signs such as quiet please. breakfast is good in mandalay standards.
cons of hotel- we had 2 rooms. upon arrival, 1 of them was not cleaned up. the other- the door couldn't be locked. so this
upset us. when we were at a restaurant - btw try super 81 (it serves really good bbq & portions are huge; look it up on
tripadvisor- top restaurant in mandalay). anyway, after our meal, we wanted our private group tour driver to pick us up
from the hotel. but the hotel reception went into cahoots with a taxi driver and came to pick us up instead of asking our
driver. dishonest staff wants to get some $ out of the transaction. also, room has slow wifi.
not many of the locals can speak english, so communication can be a problem. also, there is nothing nearby that you can
walk to for example, a place to eat or a mart. all of these places- you need a cab. but as these places are only a few streets
away, my advice is never agree with a cab fare of more than US$3
Service friendly but utterly clueless
Rooms I'm this hotel are decent to ok, location is good, breakfast is all right (but surely not the best we've had in
Myanmar). My problem with this hotel concerns the staff.
We arrived in the evening, having booked our room the night before online. We had booked a "deluxe" room (for no
particular reason) for one night. The room we got, however, was very small and had a carpet, leading us to wonder whether
it wasn't only "superior" after all. So we asked the guy at the reception. Answer, no, this is of course a deluxe room.
Unfortunately he had the list of all rooms lying in front of him: our room number, 406, clearly said "superior" next to it. I
pointed that out to the receptionist, upon which he insisted that no, we had indeed a deluxe room.
Next morning someone else was at the reception, I went and asked again. Now suddenly the room was "superior" after all,
but we we're welcome to change to the deluxe later that day. Fair enough, thought we, and changed: they gave us room
206, which is exactly identical to the previous 406 room, but on a lower floor. Great deal! When I went *again* to ask
about the room, we finally got 103, a deluxe twin room. Hooray.
Don't get me wrong: over booking can happen, there's absolutely no problem if the booked room is not available. But staff
at this hotel handled the situation so foolishly that we felt cheated after some time. I am convinced that it was completely
innocent on their side, but the overall impression was very unprofessional...
A basic budget hotel without any thrill
Well located hotel but very noisy , poor architecture design ,rooms with dirty windows obstructed with metal bars , feels
like jail
Ok breakfast , just a cheap budget hotel but with a great & helpful staff
Not a place to stay for a long period
It Was Ok
We wanted to find a budget hotel in Mandalay, so we could splurge on 5 star hotel in Ngapali. We this was certainly very
affordable at around $50 per night for a family room. However, our room smelled of smoke, which I believe was due to the
people next door smoking. It came through the aircond vents. Even though the hotel had no smoking signs everywhere,
they obviously did't enforce it. There was even ashtrays (with ash from cigarettes) in the hallways, and then no smoking
signs on the walls. Go figure.
The breakfast was average. The room was average. However, the front desk staff were very friendly.
The location was ok. Would I stay again? Probably not. I think I would look for another budget hotel.
Okay, but ..."
 Apr 19, 2018  puck35, Rennes, France
The hotel is at a corner of streets. The rooms facing the street are a bit noisy (Horn in the morning from 6 am), so earplugs
are not a luxury. Old hotel, air conditioning a bit noisy in the room (room 204) Decoration to refresh. Large screen TV but
broadcasting only local channels (6 of which 2 have been set incorrectly), small fridge, safe. Young and friendly staff. We
were on the 2nd floor, large room with window overlooking a wooden wall 50 cm away! Quite dirty windows (but as there
is nothing to see!). Good bed. Bathroom with a loose sink tap, the walls and the floor deserve a good cleaning. Breakfast
served on the 5th floor. Limited choice. Very average coffee. Nearby: Not too many restaurants in the neighboring streets,
opposite the hotel (a little on the right), a restaurant "Buffet steak Thaï" without interest and quite expensive.
Well put"
 Jan 14, 2018  Daniel H, La Digue Island, Seychelles
Located in the city center, there are shops, restaurants nearby. The welcome is warm by 1 young man and 1 young woman
with basic English. Luggage is brought to the rooms. The rooms are serviced by a lift. You have a view (nothing
wonderful) of the city on the upper floors. The air-conditioned room with wifi and small fridge, no cigarette smell, is
medium in size, comfortable but the quality of the TV is very poor, and practically only Burmese programs, nothing in
French. The breakfast is of Burmese international type, it is without saying buffet with the essential in drink, in hot dishes,
biscuit or fruit. Washing clothes is priced above the national average. Decent hotel
"Disastrous motorcycle rental"
 Aug 23, 2017  Sr_Alvaro, Orihuela, Spain
The hotel itself is not bad for the price it has. The rooms are clean although they are a bit small. It is more or less well
located and breakfast is fine. The hotel lends bicycles for free, but they are in poor condition. You must be very CAREFUL
with the rental of motorcycles they offer. The motorcycle was in a very bad state, which prevented us from climbing to see
the sunset at Mandalay hill. Besides that the rental price is not cheap at all.
The room is quite big. There was something to eat. There is a supermarket. Quite convenient"
 Aug 9, 2017  tle_thiti, Bangkok, Thailand
The hotel is located on the corner of 83rd Street. Book 3 rooms. Not all rooms of any size. But the room is quite big If
getting to the side of the road May hear the car If getting to the other side, there will be no window. All room amenities are
provided. The bathroom is quite smelling and has to keep the door closed. Unstable Wifi. Can say that it can play. And if
staying during the rainy season, must cause frequent power falls and the air conditioner cut off very often Cut like the air
goes off The breakfast line is quite small, with rice, fried eggs, sausages, french fries, breads and fruits. On the opposite
side, there are Chinese restaurants that are inexpensive, tasty, tasty. There are a short walk around 2 blocks, there are
supermarkets Orange Aeon, Lotteria, Coco like Family Mart and Marry Brown for anyone eating Burmese food. Can't or
want to shop
Could be better
Three stars. I'm not usually so generous with a hotel that causes me a lot of inconvenience, I think I must have tried 5-6
rooms here due mostly to ac problems, but on the other hand staff are very friendly and professional, especially the main
girl at the front desk, always smiling and ready to help. Even the guards and bell boys do their part to help out guests with
any requests they might need.My first room did not have an AC that cooled. Instead of giving me a similar room with a
double bed, the guy tried to move me to a smaller room with twin beds claiming it was the same size and therefore the
same price. It was only under protest that they "found" me another room of the same size. During my second stay a week
later, I had to move rooms again because of the AC, it was a massive waste of time but at least staff were professional and
willing to accommodate my request.Rooms are good and clean, nice beds and well presented. The only thing is that there is
a strong car exhaust smell in all the rooms due to it being on a corner of a busy street. Windows to the rooms are also not
properly sealed which allows air from the outside to get. I also noticed some room doors would not shut properly because
the latch would get stuck in place. This happened in three different rooms, I don't know why they can't just oil up the latch
so it slides open more freely, it's an easy fix.They seriously need to sort out their air conditioners, I almost missed sunset at
Mandalay hill on my first day because I was trying to secure a room with a working AC. Some of the showers don't run hot
and they are labeled with pieces of blue and red tape. For a hotel this size I would think they could do better than that.They
also have a good full day restaurant (up to 9pm) which is nice because hotels in this price range usually only have their
restaurants open for breakfast. I really liked their fried rice and spring rolls for around 5 dollars. I ended up eating there
more than trying to find local restaurants to try out local food
Cheap, but noisy.
Stayed for 2 nights in Mandalay on a short trip, booked this hotel due to the very cheap price advertised on Expedia.The
hotel room was larger than expected with a decent sized bathroom with lots of complimentary amenities supplied.The Wifi
was very poor, with no connection most of the time, and when the Wifi did work, it was extremely slow.There was a lot of
noise starting early from construction happening to the hotel. This began early in the morning. There was also lots of noise
from within the hotel as the walls are very thin.The breakfast was nice and the staff reasonably friendly
A decent hotel"
 Apr 12, 2017  Mégane D, Grenoble, France
The rooms are very clean, cleaning is done every day. Breakfast is ok (it's a buffet). The hotel is located not far from the
Royal Palace, but since the city is very large, the rest must be done by bicycle or taxi. However, it remains expensive for
the region. The staff do not speak English very well, which caused us many misunderstandings (in particular we were
guaranteed that the laundry was free, in the end we paid $ 20, a salty note). In short, a correct place but you can find better!
Good hotel, bad city
Pros - nice hotel, very clean rooms, quiet inside, very helpful staff and reasonably central location.
Cons - bathroom is basically a wet room which causes some issues with trailing water around the rest of the room, but not
the end of the world. The only other thing wrong was it's location, being in Mandalay.
We didn't take to the city and were happy to leave but the hotel and staff were good enough. I'd read comments that
Mandalay is quiet. Remember that when you get woken up at 3am by car horns going constantly, and this hotel is in the
middle of it.
Please remember though, the staff were brilliant and the hotel is nice enough
good value for money but a lot to review"
 Mar 8, 2017  Yannickdu14e, Paris
at the corner of 2 streets so noisy, not many rooms with double bed, 2 rooms on the ground floor behind the reception so
noisy reservation problem: room level not respected, very disappointed with that given instead person of the efficient
reception to hire taxis to visit the city and the royal cities, speak english well enough restaurant room on the top floor with
view on the city but not terrible: view and restoration (we ate there only once and it was enough!); dirty tables and
especially the service manager wipes the tables and dishes with the same cloth: disgusting! very small bathrooms, we
almost shower on the toilet so we flood everything hence the presence of flip flops for the bathroom
Hotel 82
bad of reception service
Reception service is bad because I already check out and they forget to pay back Identification card to me(customer).That
is very bad service . Hotel 82 must to be changed the reception service.That is my comment and strongly criticized this
service.
Awful
Just do not stay there,( The Home Hotel is the best.) We had 2 rooms , we had problems checking out. bad showers, I did
not even eat their breakfast. worst hotel I may have ever stayed. we asked to see the manager, we were told they were in
another city. so there is no management here
Pay a bit more a find somewhere better !”
Grubby, badly serviced and badly run hotel and room, so many things didn't work well or at all, intermittent hot water,
terrible breakfast, very noisy AC and fridge, lift kept refusing to work, bathroom badly cleaned, no English TV, my door
key constantly stopped working, I kept mentioning issues to the staff but they just didn't seemed bothered. The English of
most of the staff is very poor and different members of staff would give you different answers to the same question,
nothing ever got fixed as most of the staff where busy watching football, gossiping or where glued to their smart phones
Reservation not honored"
 Aug 15, 2016  Jean D
We reserved a room for 2 nights on booking.com. I warned by email that we would arrive late (1:30 am) at night. Result,
when we arrived at 1:30 am, the receptionist told us that the hotel was full and that we had to wait 10am to get a room ...
So we looked for another hotel and ended up finding it but at 4am. ..sale night
Cold showers.
The hotel advertised hot water showers, this is only true in the evening. If you want a morning shower be prepared for it to
be cold. This seems to be irrespective of how vold it us outside. Breakfast is ok.
Avoid if you can
Location and people were great. Rooms were acceptable given the very good price. Water pressure was a bit suspect but
not a deal breaker.However, when we stayed there, there was a temple about 50m down the street that played some
prayers/chants on loudspeaker 24 hours a day. This went on for 3 days straight. I am not sure if it is a seasonal thing, but be
aware that if this happens when you are there, you WILL NOT be able to sleep properly
Inadequate"
 Nov 15, 2017  Eximinator5, Zurich, Switzerland
We stayed there for 3 nights in November. We booked a room with a double bed and we got 2 single beds. Which would
not have been a problem if they hadn't promised to get a double bed the next day, which didn't work ... The rooms are ok,
unfortunately you can only lock the bathroom door from the outside. (Rubric: You had one job): D The staff tried very
hard but unfortunately spoke almost no English, which made everything a bit difficult. Breakfast was ok but not anymore.
In the hotel they rented a motorcycle for a day trip, which unfortunately had various defects. (No speedometer, no petrol
display, no mirrors and a flat tire after 30 km) Unfortunately, they did not want to pay for the repair. After some back and
forth it worked out. So all in all a tedious stay at Hotel 82. I would book somewhere else next time.
If you can afford a bit more, find something else.
This is not like other parts of SE Asia where $20 gets you a solid place. You get what you pay for here.

Pros: staff was friendly; rate is quite cheap; ac in room is good.

Cons: So many things.
-our room smelled like sewage;
-no natural light in the room as the window was 6 inches from the next building (also made me a tad nervous in case of
fire)(
-most of the time there was no hot water;
-the soap dispenser was constantly leaking its green goo all over the counter, impossible for housekeeping not to notice;
-on the last day we showed up to breakfast 35mins before finishing time, and they were out of food, although the woman
working there did offer us an egg and some fruit from the kitchen.
The location is in the grittier side of Mandalay, although even after wandering around a couple days, we're still not quite
sure what area would be best... likely east of the train station.
Good place to stay, but I was expecting more
I stayed with my partner for 2 nights at this hotel, everything went fine but there is space for improvement. My highlights
are:
Pros: we arrived at the hotel around 11am, they had a room available and we went straight in to our room; friendly staff;
good wi-fi speed and coverage.
Cons: cleanliness is just ok, there’s space for improvement (check my photo showing the mould around the bathroom
sink); air conditioner was hard to adjust, throughout our stay we set the temperature to 16 degrees, this was the only way I
found out to keep the temperature pleasant in the room; the hotel is not located within walking distance to the main
touristic attractions such as the Mandalay Hills and the Royal Palace, you will need to catch a taxi;
To sum up, the hotel is simple and basic and I was expecting a little bit more, I paid around AUD 42 per night, which was
exactly the same amount I paid for a much better hotel in Yangon.
Good location to explore Mandlay and around
Good hotel, with comfy rooms, bathroom clean and simple...and in the room we had (205) a window with a wall at 30cm
from us.
Service is quite good and all the people working at the hotel were nice and always trying to help you.
Breakfast at the top floor was good (not awesome but quite correct)
A couple of blocks away from the hotel there is a nice motorbike renting (between 80-79th st and on 32nd)
Royal Pearl Hotel
Looking for a place to stay in Mandalay? Then look no further than Royal Pearl Hotel, a small hotel that brings the best of
Mandalay to your doorstep. Rooms at Royal Pearl Hotel offer air conditioning, a minibar, and a refrigerator providing
exceptional comfort and convenience, and guests can go online with free wifi. A 24 hour front desk, a concierge, and room
service are some of the conveniences offered at this small hotel. Free breakfast will also help to make your stay even more
special. If you are driving to Royal Pearl Hotel, free parking is available. For those interested in checking out popular
landmarks while visiting Mandalay, Royal Pearl Hotel is located a short distance from Mandalay Palace (1.3 mi) and Shwe
In Bin Kyaung (1.4 mi). If you’re looking for an Asian restaurant, consider a visit to Shan Ma Ma, Indian Tadka Mandalay,
or The Golden Duck, which are all conveniently located a short distance from Royal Pearl Hotel. Plus, during your trip,
don’t forget to check out some of the popular architectural buildings, such as Golden Palace Monastery (Shwenandaw
Kyaung), Kuthodaw Pagoda & the World's Largest Book, and Kyauk Taw Gyi Pagoda. We’re sure you’ll enjoy your stay
at Royal Pearl Hotel as you experience everything Mandalay has to offer.
taxi booking service
The taxi booking service must be avoid: expensive and misshandled, the following explain what we have experienced: "I
would like to draw your attention on the inacceptable behavior of your hotel tour manager who interrupt our taxi tour with
Mr Win San Tourguide half an hour after leaving the hotel. We had defined the tour with Mr Win San according our point
of interest , the communication was very easy with him as he speaks fluent English and French.
Back to the hotel, after losing half an hour, your tour manager ask us to take an other taxi, less confortable compared with
Mr Win San car. The new driver refuses to customize his tour to show us the hill temple as it was agreed with Mr Win San.
The last but not the least is that the communication was very difficult in english with this new driver so we got very few
interesting comments compared with Mr Win San ones and we prefered to keep mute than to struggle for understanding.It
is very difficult to understand why this swap occurs as the price for the day tour was exactly the same for the 2 drivers.My
day was spoiled by the downgraded tour standard imposed by your taxi manager to favorize other customers, in
consequence I request a refunding of the tour as commercial gesture." Several request have been made to this hotel
management but they don't bother about customer satisfaction and they have not the courtesy to answer our claim,
Average accommodation with dodgy reception staff
Rooms were adequate and mosquito free. Breakfast was ok. Location good. Staff, however, are straight up dishonest and
try to load up prices to the extreme for bike hire and any other add ons you may get them to organise. The staff do not
speak English so good luck with anything out of the ordinary. Has an underground park for scooters but expect to find
someone has moved yours and you will have to shift several others to get it out again
The worst experience in Myanmar"
 Nov 6, 2017  icastrogonzalez, Madrid, Spain
We booked this hotel for the good opinions we had read and we were very disappointed. Hotel is very dirty in general:
dirty sheets (we asked to change it and new dirty ones too) old and stained towels, bedding thrown down the hall,
employees sleeping on the landing, horrible breakfast .... not to repeat. Of course, the friendly staff, how in all Myanmar.
Many problems
We spent 2 nights at this hotel and although the rooms were nice we experienced many problems.
1. When we got there our room was not available so they gave us another room and made as move the second night to
other room.
2. We went to have dinner at the restaurant and 30 min after we order the food a waiter came and said they didn't have
what we order so I order just a sandwich .. With which i got poisoned
Mixed bag
We stayed here for 4 nights in a deluxe room.
The room was spacious, well equipped and clean.
The bathroom was large and had a bathtub with a shower over / in it.
As the tub was deep we found climbing in and out to take a shower a bit difficult.
We never had hot water in the morning but in the evening it was very good.
There was also a leak coming up from under the floor leaving a puddle in the middle of the bathroom at all times.
The staff fixed this by placing our bath mat over it every day despite us explaining what was happening.
Every evening when we returned to the hotel we had to request our wet soggy mat to be replaced with a dry one.
It left a very damp mouldy smell in the bathroom.
We used the stairs instead of the lift and was surprised to see many staff appear to live in the stairwell with bedding,
clothing and personal items in every nook and cranny.
They also had tables and chairs in the hallway outside our room ( same on each floor) where they congregated for their
early breakfast and seemed to socialise there all day also.
It was rather odd and quite noisy !
Breakfast was poor.
The position of the hotel is good and the staff very friendly but I wouldn't stay there again
2 nights stay review
I stayed there for 2 nights started from October 19 evening and checked out on October 21morning. Their location was
great,easy to go everywhere due to Mandalay's downtown and China town area. Most hotel staff from reception,bell
boys,security,house keeping were friendly but waiters from dinning room forgot attention and respect to me and many
foreigners guest while having breakfast time. They were lack of smile,likely mafia with tattoo on the hand and interested
only their mobile phones. My room 604 was double bed superior room and enough space for staying. But their mattress
was stained with blood and blanket cover white bed sheet also stained with previous guest couple's liquid. So I requested to
house keeping staff for changing and cleaning new one as well. Their bathroom water quality was too soapy and wasting
time for shower. Bathroom towels colour turned to old rag brown and need to use bleaching powder for more white.
Breakfast spread quality was very basic and less varieties. Their Asian foods such as fried noodle,fried rice,fried vegetable
curry were without salt and tasteless cooking by unwell trained apprentice chef. I'm not sure for next visit there because a
lot of hotels in Mandalay.
Good but not enough to go back
1. Please check carefully if you rent the motorbike from this hotel or arranged by this hotel. Once the motorbike is handed
to us, the lights does not work, the horn does not work and they did not even check or make sure guests will be safe. You
should really check.
2. There is a big gab under the room door, so you can hear people from outside the room walking and talking, noisy one.
3. The ventilation fan inside the bathroom is really noisy and it sucks the smoke smell from other room to our room when
we do not even smoke.
4. Good location, easy to get around. Have a morning noodles shop just opposite the hotel and Orange supermarket not far
from the hotel
Room with dampness smell
The room is old with dampness smell even try to open the window but the smell is still there. Breakfast choice are less as
well. The air-con is need sometime to getting cool. The curtain is dusty as well. Good thing is located in great location and
wifi speed is consider good with affordable price
Comfortable but ..."
 Feb 28, 2016  madalenaa_13, Paris, France
Overall we had a good stay. The room was large and comfortable. The breakfast buffet was quite varied. Very good
pancakes and samosas. However, we went through them to book a taxi. 1st day no surprise, the price per day was quite
correct. However the next day we were asked the same price for 2 hours in Mandalay (35,000 kyat). We negotiated for a
while to bring the price down. We still discovered that the night staff had taken 1/3 of the margin by talking with the taxi
driver. A small margin we suspected but 1/3 at our expense is making fun of the world. We could have saved a lot by not
going through them. Don't make the same mistake
Good city hotel for 3 days stay"
 Nov 12, 2015  Flyer541933
We stayed at the hotel for three nights and paid $ 135 including breakfast. Room: First we had a very nice corner room
with a panoramic window on the street side on the 8th floor. From around 10 p.m. it is very quiet on the street, so no
concerns. However, you can hear the whir of the elevator in all the corner rooms facing the street, and accordingly people
entering and exiting. Especially on the 8th floor you can hear the construction work in the restaurant on the 9th floor early
in the morning and in the evening. Since these start very early, we found this very annoying and therefore changed the
room to the 7th floor. This room corresponded to the first one, but without a panoramic view. Breakfast / Food: Simple
continental breakfast with an Asian component, we were not particularly impressed. Dinner ok, but nothing special. The
view of Mandalay is very nice. Right around the corner there are two good restaurants 5 minutes away as an alternative.
Service: Our complaint about the room was dealt with immediately by the very friendly owner, so no complaint. We
booked an English-speaking taxi driver through the hotel for a day that took us to the three surrounding old royal sites
(35,000 MMK, he adheres strictly to the specified tourist route, also the short pony ride in Inwa (10,000 MMK) in one of
the cities processed strictly according to specifications, any deviation requires discussion and an additional charge).
Otherwise, she immediately helped us with everything. Location / surroundings: To explore the immediate area, we hired a
local cyclist rickshaw driver from the street. Be sure to take the hotel business card with you to get back to the hotel as they
don't speak English. Mandalay Hill is quite sporty in the heat, you can also drive one or both ways by taxi or with a small
truck on the loading area for 2000 MMK. To get to the train station from Mandalay, to the bus station you need a taxi.
Otherwise, everything is spread out over the city.
Nothing special"
 Aug 28, 2015  Andreottico, Milan, Italy
Seen where we were and the cost we found ourselves quite well, the only thing we didn't like is to see that three young
waiters slept every night on the ground in the room on the top floor where breakfast was served. If you are passing through,
we can offer acceptable quality.
Great attention, you need to improve services"
 Feb 12, 2015  arisetton, Buenos Aires, Argentina
I must say that the hotel reception service was extremely valuable, as they allowed us to store luggage for a few days, and
helped us get transfers to Bagan with great care. But, once hosted, the hotel services were quite poor. For example, we
were without internet during our entire stay. The breakfast is really poor, varied but with low quality products. In our
apartment (fourth floor) there were hotel employees at all times in the lobby but doing "housework". For example, they had
their clothes hanging on the rail and windows. Very strange. This hotel could improve with very few changes
Diamonds Inn
Welcome to Diamonds Inn, your Mandalay “home away from home.” Diamonds Inn aims to make your visit as relaxing
and enjoyable as possible, which is why so many guests continue to come back year after year. Nearby landmarks such as
Shwe In Bin Kyaung (1.5 mi) and Skinny Buddha (1.7 mi) make Diamonds Inn a great place to stay when visiting
Mandalay. Free wifi is offered to guests, and rooms at Diamonds Inn offer air conditioning, a minibar, and a desk. During
your stay, take advantage of some of the amenities offered, including a 24 hour front desk, 24 hour check-in, and baggage
storage. Guests of Diamonds Inn are also welcome to enjoy free breakfast, located on site. For travelers arriving by car,
free parking is available. While in Mandalay be sure to experience local ribs favorites at Super 81. If you’re looking for
things to do, you can check out Mandalay Palace (1.2 mi), which is a popular attraction amongst tourists, and it is within
walking distance. Diamonds Inn puts the best of Mandalay at your fingertips, making your stay both relaxing and
enjoyable.
Canceled booking with over 48hours notice and still got charged
Booked through trip advisor and when my travel plans changed due to unforeseen circumstances I canceled my booking
with over 48hours notice and still got charged so in my opinion avoid this place or at least avoid pre booking ther
It could be better..."
 Sep 25, 2019  lasu1984, Como, Italy
I chose this structure because it ranked first in the Mandalay ranking but I was very disappointed! Very small room,
without window and with cleaning that left much to be desired, same for the bathroom. Breakfast a little small, with little
choice. On the position I do not express myself because the city does not have a real center and in any case with a few
dollars the tuk tuk leads everywhere. Note on the other hand for the staff always available and smiling!
Good but a bit overrated hotel
The hotel is located opposite of the Mandalay Railway station.
The staff and the service of the hotel is excellent!! They are very helpful and super friendly. They even brought us and our
lugagge in the middle of the night 3:30 am to the platform at the Railway station. They also have a few bikes which you
can use for free. All of this is a five star service!!!
The rooms however are small, no view, noisy and hot. There is no elevator and the choice for breakfast is very/ too limited.
For a few nights it’s ok but not worth the 9,2 on Booking.com. To our opinion the hotel should be rated on 6,5 and the
service a 10!
To a hotel comes to sleep."
 Aug 13, 2017  serchVLC, Valencia, Spain
We did not stay at the hotel in room 3333, which I think I remembered was "De Luxe" for three nights, from August 9 to
11. The perfect staff, polite attentive and very very friendly. The room very good and comfortable and its cleaning very
good. The value for money very good but they forgot something and is that a hotel is going to sleep and with four air
conditioners attached to the wall of the bed is impossible. Of the three nights I could sleep the first half, the second nothing
and the third well but because I put the mattress on the floor and put it against the door. And all this with earplugs that
luckily I took for the plane ride! When we made the Check Out and reported everything there were some Spaniards
complaining that in their room the pipes were heard and they could not sleep what a coincidence! Just like us. In short, this
hotel needs an urgent reform putting double window and insulation because they have forgotten the main function of their
business: sleep.
Didn't really enjoy our stay here
Firstly I just want to say the people who work there are absolutely lovely, but there were a few things with our stay that
didn't make it a good one.
From the start we were told inexplicably that our double room wasn't available, so we ended up in a twin. This room had a
very noisy and annoying water pump that could be heard until late at night and early in the morning. I requested they turn it
off, which they did to allow us to go to bed. But the thing kicked back in at 6 in the morning so no chance of a lie in.
Next day we had them move us to the double room. This room stank of smoke even though it was apparently a no smoking
room. Neither room had a window so no chance of any fresh air. Our clothes were stinking of cigarette smoke the next day.
Also one of the nights the hot water wasn't working. Bathroom is a nice fit out though.
Unfortunately for all the above we did not enjoy our stay there
"Casual direction"
 Apr 12, 2017  nehari93, Bondy, France
We had booked 7 nights from Paris. The first night impossible to sleep, the room overlooks a very noisy street because it is
used 24 hours a day by vehicles (motorcycles, trucks, taxis, coaches ...). The next day change of room if not we left
elsewhere. The day before our departure, we reserve cash for one night + the airport / hotel taxi for our return which will
take place 20 days later because we had an appointment with friends in the area, otherwise we would have booked this
night elsewhere. As incredible as it may seem, the taxi who came to take us to the hotel to spend that famous night tells us
that the Diamonds Inn is full and that he has orders to take us to another hotel. At first we thought it was a joke, but when
the taxi dropped us off at another hotel, we were overwhelmed. This is a real casualness and a lack of respect for us on the
part of the Diamonds Inn. It was late at night so it was impossible to do anything but suffer, especially since the next day
we had to be at the airport early in the morning for our return to Paris. Other disappointments: the bedroom is on the 6th
floor, it is so cramped that it is impossible to go around the bed, there is no wardrobe and the wall covering is dirty and
peeled off in places. This room is never worth the price of the one we reserved and paid for at the Diamonds Inn (2 beds
and spacious). In summary, we do not recommend the Diamond Inn. The hotel does not have a restaurant and there is none
in its surroundings, we had to take a taxi every night to go to dinner. The Diamonds Inn does not have a breakfast room,
you take it in a corner between 2 floors, under the staircase which leads to the rooms. The only positive thing would be the
friendliness of the staff (like everywhere in hotels in Myanmar)
Disappointed
"standard no view ( no window) $30
superior with city view $35"
This is mentioned in agoda.
I hate windowless room so I booked superior for 2 nights one week before arrival time through agoda.
I leave my bag 9 am. on check in day ( the room is not ready) ,go sightseeing and come back at 9 pm.
The staff show me the windowless room and I said there will be misunderstanding because this is not what I paid for.
He apologize and tell me this is their last room!
Tomorrow he will move me to other room with window.
He keep telling the price is the same which is not.
I am very angry at this point.
I feel cheated.
I guess the hotel sell superior room to walk in customer because the hotel is opposite railway station and get many walk in
customers.
The staff ask the manager and offer to pay me back $5 for first night in windowless room and guarantee to move me to
room with window on second night. I have no choice!
Not a good start.
The hotel is new.
Shophouse turned hotel , and put as much room as possible to each floor.
Standard room is very small, not enough space to move around.
Superior is bigger.
The room facing street is very noisy.
I stayed on The Link78 on same location and same room facing street. And it is much more quiet there.
Average breakfast.
If the hotel is full and guests having breakfast at the same time, there will not be enough space in breakfast area.
The feeling is more hostel than hotel.
You feel cramped here.
Wifi is strong, staff is nice.
On my check out time, the manager and staff ignore paying me $5 back as offered and I have to ask for it.
Not a good farewell either.
On this trip to Mandalay, I stayed at three hotels and I recommend you choose hotels in 80 or 81 street to stay, price is the
same as diamond inn but you will get much bigger room, better breakfast and professional service
Meh"
 Oct 21, 2019  Marialld, Madrid
I don't know why I had high expectations with this hotel. My room was on the fourth floor (no elevator) and had no
window, which makes the air a little charged. The correct bathroom although the hot water took a long time to leave.
Friendly staff but all the excursions they propose are very expensive. The room was also quite small. Breakfast well, just
enough to have a drink before leaving. The location: right in front of the train station, you can walk to many places, but
nothing special. If I returned to Mandalay I would look for other accommodation.
Just so so
Pros: Staff were very friendly and actually walked out to help us find somewhere to exchange our money; the hotel is close
to the train station if you use the train. The staff were really what made the hotel.
Cons: The hotel looked like I was in China, I am in Myanmar , give me a place that looks like Myanmar, not audacious
Chinese hotel looks; the wifi worked well in only specific areas of the room; they said they upgraded our room, but we've
stayed in bigger rooms for less money so I'm not sure what superior means; the air con did not work that well. Breakfast
was rather small, but it was enough to eat, we ended up walking near our first hotel for dinner cause the market around
Yuan Sheng hotel is great for deciding what food to eat
Dissapointed
New Hotel, But Average. No Window. Breakfast area was small and would be hard to fit a lot of guests in the same sitting.
We booked 2 months ahead, but when we arrived they asked if we could use the one room on the 2nd night with 2 single
beds. Disappointed, No lift with big bags is awkward. The staff however were nice and friendly

Royal City Hotel

Royal City Hotel is an excellent choice for travelers visiting Mandalay, offering a budget friendly
environment alongside many helpful amenities designed to enhance your stay. While staying at Royal
City Hotel, visitors can check out Shwe In Bin Kyaung (1.8 mi) and Sanda Muni Paya (2.0 mi), some
of Mandalay's top attractions. Rooms at Royal City Hotel offer a flat screen TV, a refrigerator, and a
minibar providing exceptional comfort and convenience, and guests can go online with free wifi. A 24
hour front desk, a rooftop terrace, and room service are some of the conveniences offered at this
hotel. Breakfast will also help to make your stay even more special. If you are driving to Royal City
Hotel, parking is available. While staying in Mandalay, you can check out a popular seafood
restaurant like One & Only Fine Dining, which is serving up some great dishes. Mandalay is also
known for some great monuments and statues, including Mahamuni Pagoda and Skinny Buddha,
which are not too far from Royal City Hotel. Enjoy your stay in Mandalay!
Absolutely unacceptable!"
 Jan 23, 2013  Tutchen
Had booked a family room, arrive after 8pm after a 14 hour boat trip and find
out: Oh, so late? We have already taken the room. And there we are with two
small children in the crowded Mandalay and, to make matters worse, we have
to let the extremely unfriendly receptionist shout at us. Absolutely unacceptable
behavior!
slow, slow internet
the hotel itself is clean and the staff are friendly. however, if you are expecting to use the wifi they promote
as being available, be prepared for many frustrations with drop outs and even basic mail boxes taking
many minutes to load. I asked them what the problem with the wifi was but got four blank faces. I had
stayed here in 2010 and again in 2012 but now most of the newer hotels have far better internet and at
$30 per night for a very modest room, the Royal City has priced itself out of the market. I stayed at Hotel
Rich Queen 3 nights ago and had a very decent internet connection.
Pretty average place -better options nearby
Be careful. Not sure, but I think they may have bed bugs here. I got about 50 bites all over my body with
the classic "bites in a row" that bed bugs give (I only experienced this 1 time before and that time I actually
woke up and saw them all over my body). IMO, better hotels for comparable prices around the corner.
Rooms look dated. There's a notice about maximum electricity usage per room which I have never seen
before either (odd). Near the royal palace and market so those are pluses. Wifi only in restaurant
downstairs and not in room.
It's not the best"
 Mar 8, 2013  stebianc, Ravenna, Italy
The hotel, seen from the outside, is ugly; the interior does not improve much
but manages to fall within the limits of decency, at least for our parameters. We
replaced the sheets with ours: they were probably clean but they looked old and
discolored. The room reserved for us was quite large, the bathroom with the
shower had no collection plate and the water stagnated in the floor. Breakfast is
ordinary: scrambled eggs, slices of bread, a minidose of strawberry jam and a
super-concentrated pot of tea to be divided into two.
Disappointment"
 Feb 1, 2013  joelle_maloubier, Bordeaux, France
In a rather sinister neighborhood, nothing to do in the evening nearby, we were
disappointed as well by the welcome as by the cleanliness ... questionable,
fortunately we only had 2 nights! Extremely noisy because of the generator
which started again at irregular intervals!
Not a nice hotel, below average"
 Nov 22, 2012  matrixFrankfurt, Frankurt
The hotel is in the center, but that's all. A faceless standard hotel under
Chinese management and Chinese ambience. The rooms small, the beds soft
but clean. The street noise extremely high. You should sleep high up, the
elevator always works. As we thought, a bottle of wine was on the table to greet
us, but it ended up costing US $ 20. The bathroom is acceptable, but without a
shower. The food in the restaurant was quite good, Chinese, the breakfast
loveless. If you can't find anything else, you can sleep there, but you can't
recommend it.
Shabby and better value to be found elsewhere in Mandalay
I stayed here in April for a couple of nights, but moved to the hotel on the river as the room was the same
price (US$40) but miles better standard. This place is more central, but taxis are cheap. The rooms are
essentially fine, just could do with sprucing up - it's definitely got more of a hostel feel to the rooms rather
than a budget hotel. The rooftop 'garden' as touted by the Lonely Planet doesn't exactly meet expectations
either. Breakfast is very basic toast, jam, a piece of fruit and an egg cooked to your choice. Nothing to
write home about - maybe stay there if you just want a cheap room - the ones without en-suite are only
US16, but are essentially the same as the more expensive rooms... you have your own bathroom, just it's
not en-suite
Hopefully the last time I'll ever sleep with transparent mildew
Perhaps I got a bad room, perhaps I just got unlucky, perhaps I should've just asked for another room, but
in any case this was the first terrible night of sleep I've had in my past year in Myanmar.
The reception's warm enough, the front desk people are good at what they do and they know how to
receive foreigners quickly and get you to your room fast. But the rooms are victims of the clammy climate,
patchwork TLC, and evident lack of any refurbishments since the hotel was opened.
The pillow, the sheets, the comforter, and even the carpet.... all smelt of poignant mildew. I took a shower
in the middle of the night, went back to bed, and then woke up to rush to our car outside (showerless).
Low and behold, when I arrived to Yangon 5 hours later, my wife smelt the mildew on my skin and in my
hair before I had a chance to hark back at the night of fungal fury.
If they burn the sheets, bomb the pillows, rip up the carpets and bleach the bathrooms for good fun, then
I'd likely come back because: the roof top eating area was a nice touch, the staff were on their game, and
the location's prime. Until then though, I can't be a fan of this fury.
Unfriendly staff - hotel tired and tattered
When we arrived at this hotel, the staff were so unfriendly that our Burmese guide was shocked.
Apparently, there was a misunderstanding concerning a hotel voucher. The matter was clarified
immediately, but there was no need for such a belligerent reaction. The hotel is definitely tired and tatty. At
breakfast on the first morning, there was an ancient plastic mat on our table covered in cigarette burns. I
took it to reception and asked how they could possibly leave it on a breakfast table, as it was a disgrace.
The receptionist wondered what all the fuss was about! The breakfast wasn´t great either - just eggs and
pale toast. The room and bathroom were backpacker standard. We were due to stay here again after
visiting Pyin Oo Lwin, but we cancelled and stayed at Hotel Queen instead, which put the "Royal" City
Hotel to shame.
It can be improved"
 Oct 25, 2019  bettyraed, Udine, Italy
Clean environment, close to the royal palace. The wi fi was fine. Rooms a bit
small and dated. The small bathroom with the bathtub a little dangerous. The
climate is present. The hair dryer also (in many hotels there is not) the friendly
and helpful staff. The breakfast is true it has a bit of everything sweet and
savory, the choice is limited to 2 choices x type, idem fruit juices 2 x type. The
salty idem. Honestly you can eat something but I think you can do better. It
would be necessary to ventilate the rooms a bit, as soon as you enter they are
a little x the heat a little and they don't open the windows, they smell of closed.
The beds for me very uncomfortable and hard. Of course for the price we can
say well, but I think we can work on it. In other equal star hotels we found
ourselves better especially the food. The rest of it can also fly over. Ask for
toilet paper. The rolls are mignon
Acceptable budget hotel
The air-conditioner in my room did not work well. Hotel staff changed to another room, it worked but just it
was just acceptable.

Hotel did not has any tour information in brochures. They also did not have bicycles/motorbikes for rent.

Morning staff was good at English while evening staff was not. In general, they were helpful. They let me
have shower in the bath room upstairs after check out.
Two-Star Hotel just south of the Palace Wall
• Pros:
o Inexpensive
o Fast check-in
o Friendly staff who speak English
o Good, free breakfast on the hotel’s top floor that has beautiful view of Mandalay
• Cons:
o Annoying loud music outside of hotel from a nearby Buddhist temple in the middle of the night that woke
me up in the middle of the night...and KEPT me awake – ugh!o
o Very few English TV channels
o Slow internet
No sleep in Mandalay...
Firstly the positives - lovely, warm, friendly staff who bend over backwards to help with any questions and
arrange taxis/tours. Large, exceptionally clean room. Decent breakfast served on the rooftop. Within
walking distance of several decent restaurants.However, this is where the positives end! My husband got
an electric shock from a live wire hanging out of the wall near the plug socket, our room overlooked the
local tip and every night we had to contend with the sound of dogs barking & traffic. Perhaps we were
unlucky with our room but we literally had no sleep for the 4 nights we stayed there.We had pretty low
expectations before staying due to the cheap price of the room but still didn't expect us to get no sleep!!
There may be other, quieter rooms available as another couple we chatted to didn't have the same issue -
recommend you double check before booking though otherwise you'll have a sleep deprived stay in
Mandalay.
Smiling Staff But Not Real Thought about What Guest Wants
Really nice people and that is first in my book! One questionable housekeeper but overall good hospitality
people.
However, Internet is really bad and does not seem as if it is all the fault of Myanmar!
Only five television stations but thankful for those as some good movies.
Rooms older but well-maintained. Lots of electric plugs and some nice things like personal bags of tea
leaves and hot water bottle refilled.
SAME breakfast four days in a row!
Mandalay reallly has no place to go at night so get used to staying in with 5 stations and iffy internet.
Also, no room service (no pizzas, no noodle cups available) only "bread and bananas."
This place could really be a great geat hotel if they will just ask their guests more questions about what
they want. It does not cost anything to do what they need to do. BTW, they could do something with the
upper part of the roof above the breakfdast place. A place to dry laundry for guests to hang the clothes
they wash in the room. Signed< Jeffrey Marc Wachtel, Ph. D
Very old and poor service"
 Jun 29, 2014  Gisamar, Sao Paulo, SP
Contrary to good service almost everywhere in Myanmar, this hotel was not the
best. Very old facilities, dark room and service very focused only on money. In
all the hotels we passed, being low season, we were allowed to leave or come
in a little early, but this did not happen here. The location is good.
Good location"
 Oct 6, 2013  MonaAmarth, Stuttgart, Germany
Spent two nights on the top floor, so the two earthquakes were felt (the room
shook, the windows opened by themselves). The mattress was very soft
(saggy). The bathroom was small and out of date, but there was warm water.
Breakfast was nothing special (toast, banana, egg, Lipton tea). Internet use was
free of charge.
Good location - the rest only average. Bed bugs in one bed.
We arrived early from a night bus at 4 am and were very happy that we got a room free of charge for a few
hours sleep until the room we booked was free.Unfortunately one of the beds in this room had bed bugs
so we had a few unpleasant hours. In the morning we switched to our superior double room (42 usd).
The room was ok and spacy but not especially clean (bed sheets etc.) So the main advantage of the hotel
is the central location which is very good for exploring the city. Front desk staff was helpful in arranging
tours and onward transport.
Basic,ugly but clean.
Rooms are clean, but the hotel is ugly from outside and the rooms are ugly inside. Very slow service, not
very helpful, probably because their English is bad; on the other side, they always smiled. OK if you are on
a tight budget
"aging establishment"
 Feb 15, 2013  siscoo01, courtenay
We spent two nights at this establishment. The furniture and decoration are
aging. The deer room also aging Staff is not up to the satisfaction of customers.
For breakfast, the service is below everything, you have to ask several times
and no effort to be friendly. Nevertheless hotel well located in relation to the
station and tours, but beware the mosque is right next door and the morning
call will seem very close ...
tired fittings but friendly staff
acceptable mid to lower priced accommodation seems difficult to find in Mandalay. My room had been
flooded somehow from a previous occupant or a plumbing accident. I was arriving late on the boat which
was stuck in the river on a sandbank and I suspect they thought I was a no show and only put a sheet of
vinyl over the wet carpet with windows open fans and aircon on to try and make it acceptable for me. usual
wet bathroom and is an older building. ft if the power is on.. not sure how you get out when the power in
Mandalay seems to be lost multiple times a day. the hotel has a generator they kick on when the power
doesn't come back on soon.usual brekky.. fried, scrambled or omelet, coffee , toast and fruit. good
position close in town. same owners run royal guesthouse which confuses taxi drivers. room has fridge,
aircon.. i think tv but i didnt try it lots of power points and wifi only in lobby
Pleasant hotel but could be even better
The situation of this hotel is very good, close to the fort. The rooms are fine and have an attractive outlook
(though there was a lot of noise in the neighbourhood). However it would be better if breakfast had not
been such a trial! Having stayed in the hotel before I knew about the roof terrace, which is lovely, but the
staff did not seem to be geared up to serve breakfast there. It took a long time for the (not very exciting)
food and drink to arrive, and service was not all that willing. However the people on the front desk were
charming and helpful.
good service but to pricy
very frendly staff , helpfull etc,whats compensating the price, even breakfast was terrible,
knowing its very easy to have fresh fruits in myanmar,rooms were soso, ac not working very good with
powercuts,,,The staff let us change to a bigger room and were very helpfull,
price quality to expensive, maybe to much demand in myanmar at this moment
a little expensive"
 Sep 10, 2012  petitecherie8, Guadeloupe
This hotel is clean and located near nice restaurants like the Marie Min.
However, the spacious rooms lack character and views. We expected, given
the description of the lonely to a beautiful garden terrace. Some potted plants
don't deserve such glowing reviews! Breakfast can be served there, provided
you have lots and lots of time in front of you. We found the prices excessive.
The reception is correct but the link is not good between the team of the day
and the night
Much too pricy
The price that was charged 18 month ago was about 18-25 Dollar per room / night. In high season. Today
it is 30-40 Dollar in shoulder season. The hotel is not good enough to justify this price. Service could be
friendlier, flexibility could be higher. Smoking rooms smell terribly and are given to non-smoking customers
as non-smoking rooms - yet a dirty ashtray is on the table.Cleanliness is acceptable. There is often no hot
water left in the evening.It is still a nice place to stay in Mandalay on small budget. But it is definitely not
worth the charged price. If you are flexible regarding your location in Mandalay choose another place.
decent location but spotty service
pros: decent rooms, decent breakfast, good location
cons: a bit overpriced ($30 for a standard double, $40 for a superior double). service was spotty. we
booked a bus ticket through them, and they told us they would organize transportation to the bus
company's office at 5:15 am, where we needed to pick up the bus company's shuttle to the bus station.
well, at 5:00 am we come down to the lobby and the staff awake tells us that there was no taxi organized
and that we should have organized it the night before! so there was obviously a miscommunication. there
are no taxis to be found at that time, so she woke up some other staff members who drove us there for
1000 kyat each. fine. then we get to the bus company and they tell us "the bus you have tickets for isn't
going anymore today-- we called to tell the hotel that last night-- but we booked you on another bus." well,
the other bus was a non-AC local bus that ended up taking 4 hours more than the AC express bus that we
paid for would have taken us. when we got back to mandalay a few days later, we went back to the royal
city hotel and told them about what had happened, and asked for some money back since the bus ticket
we had booked through them was for a more expensive bus than the one the company put us on (with the
hotel's knowledge). they basically said "sorry, it's already done and we can't give you a refund."
long story, but the point is that i wouldn't book any bus tickets through them, you'll end up paying a higher
price and you may run miscommunications about transfers, etc. save the hassle.
so so hotel
I called to book this hotel from bagan. There is no other way to book it other than calling the hotel directly.
On the phone, i booked 2 nights at 30 usd/night and the receptionist confirmed it a few times. When we
arrived, they said there is no more room at 30 usd and they wrote down we booked a 40 usd room and
only 40 usd room is available. I told them this is a mistake and they are sorry that the girl in charge of my
booking is day off today!!! We did not want to stay and trying to call other hotel near by. Then they started
saying they have 16 usd room for tomorrow and 40 usd for today. So we took this option.
To be frank, there is not much different between 40 usd and 16 usd room. The only thing is you have
bathroom inside your room. But the share bathroom is also clean just few step from the room.
For breakfast you can either have egg+toas or myanmar style breakfast. I ordered myanmar pancake but
did not know that they will go guy it on the street for u. It's not made in the hotel kitchen.
We went to Anamapura the same day. Local blue taxi tried to charge us 15 000 kyat to go there which we
found quite expensive. So we decide to try the local bus. We walked to 29th cut 82 or 81 street...by the
clock tower to take local bus. We found it quite easy and interestiing local experience. We paid 400 kyat
each to get to anamapura ( local people pay 200 kyat). The trip took nearly one hour coz the bus stop a lot
to pick up passengers. But it really worth the experience and the money.
The second morning we went to the jetty to Mingun. Blue taxi in fron of the hotel tried to charge us 4000
kyat, he does not negociate! So we walked away to the main street and found another blue taxi for 2500
kyat to the jetty. This price is fair for 15 minutes rite. One couple that we met on the boat said they had to
pay 10 000 kyat to get to the jetty coz they had no choice in the early morning!!! The ferry ticket is 5000
kyat for about 1h boat. Leave mandalay at 9am and 1pm at mingun to come back to mandalay. To be
honest, i would not recommend any of my friend to trouble to go to Mingun coz there is not much there to
see and expensive transportation. We prefer Anamapura bridge and the cheap transportation option to get
there.
To go from/to the airport, you can get a share taxi for 3500 or 4000 per person. If you get one taxi for your
self, it's 12000 kyat.
I would not come back to this hotel and mandalay
The Home Hotel
Like sleeping on a building site
Do not stay here!!! Hopefully you read his before making your booking, if not try and ring the hotel and
cancel it now. This would be a decent place, but they are currently rebuilding half the hotel. Despite being
told the work would start at 9am, it began at 7.30 and gradually got louder. After booking two nights, we
left at ten last nine, unable to hear ourselves think. The staff then made us pay a ridiculous amount for a
taxi that should have been free under the circumstances. Not ok!
No rooms
Although we prepaid our room months ago and the does not offer any refunds within 14 days, there were
no rooms available when we arrived. The minimum a hotel should do is offer the customer a choice
between what he or she believes is an equal or better accommodation and transportation to it at no
additional charge or a full refund. Instead the hotel tried to force us to accept a much less expensive room
at another hotel and didn't offer transportation to it an no refund for the price difference.We had a guide
who was with us that found us a nicer hotel for about 40% more than we paid for this hotel. When you
asked for a refund the hotel insisted that we need to ask the hotel he had picked for a refund. We were
finally able to get a refund after stating that we would request a chargeback.Things go wrong and how a
hotel handles problems of their creation is a true reflection of the businesses attitude towards its
customers. I would have Ben fine if I had been notified in advance or offered something of similar value
elsewhere. Trying to make money off a customer that a hotel failed to honor a contractual arrangement is
unsuccessful. Since I chose this hotel solely on TripAdviser's recommendation, I wanted others here to
know how the hotel handles overbooking since arriving in a foreign hotel and finding no room can severely
negatively impact one's trip.
There is no elevator!"
 Jul 29, 2016  Cristina M, Barcelona, Spain
There is no elevator and we found a cockroach in our room. I asked for a taxi at
7.00 to arrive on time at the airport, and I did not arrive on time and they made
us wait a lot. The air takes 10 minutes to turn on and there are continuous
power outages
Overpriced hotel with unhelpful staff.
Starting with the good: the room was clean and spacious.The bad: despite the above average price, we
had two power cuts during our stay (and cold showers), not something we experienced anywhere else in
Burma. Perhaps this is related to the construction work for the hotel extension which is going on outside
and obscures the hotel and is quite noisy.Staff do a lot of over the top bowing but not much else. The
Spoken English of front desk staff is worse than we found everywhere else in Burma including hostels half
the price.The hotel also adds huge commissions onto tours, taxis and almost anything else you can think
of. Not in itself terrible but annoying given they try to sell these from the moment you enter the hotel
"This hotel is supposed to be fabulous? I'm lost for words"
 Dec 24, 2015  Rolf345, Minden, Germany
Fortunately, I canceled the hotel in time, but that didn't stop me from inspecting
this hotel in Mandalay. If I consider that this hotel has been given a fabulous
rating (the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore has no better rating), I can't get out
of amazement. The hotel was rather an unreasonable construction site in
November 2015, as a second complex is still being built in an already narrow
space. Why is this hotel fabulous? Because it has neither a pool, an elevator, a
dining room like in GDR times, no nice balcony, no bar, no nice garden, so zero
comfort? I have received reliable information about hotels from Tripadvisor, but
the reviews of this hotel are only ridiculous. Fabulous because there were
croissants for breakfast? I'm just speechless. I don't want to question the
friendliness of the staff, the people in Myanmar are very friendly, but that's why
this hotel is not fabulous either in terms of the location or the furnishings.
There is no room to apply for!"
 Nov 10, 2018  kino0805, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar
I live in Yangon, so I want to relax in the bathtub room with a shower. This time
I booked a room with a bathtub on a business trip to Mandalay. The standard
room is a shower, but the deluxe room has a bathtub and a picture of the
bathtub. It is also a mistake of Agota. I don't think so. There is no bathtub when
entering the room. When asked at the front desk, there is only a room with
shower. When I return to the room and show the reservation details, it is said
that there are two rooms but they are already in use. Obviously lied. This time,
it's no good because it's not written in a special request. The bathtub should be
irrelevant because it is standard equipment. I wanted to get into the bathtub, so
I summed up an expensive room on my own but only lost money. You can
change it to a cheaper room, cash back, or do some service. Even if you know
that you want to put a claim on Agota, you are just laughing. Do not book rooms
with bathtubs at this hotel.
Very disappointing"
 Feb 17, 2018  562pierrei, Cannes, France
Large impersonal hotel, average cleanliness, friendly staff but difficulties of
understanding, catastrophic breakfast for a westerner, for the Chinese I don't
know. Very interested in selling excursions, central location. Poor value for
money. To avoid
No way #2 hotel in Mandalay...
I absolutely have zero clue how this place could be rated the #2 hotel in Mandalay. This is not saying a lot
about the other places in town which must be just horrid dumps. I'm not even sure where to begin on this
one but I will try. First off, half the hotel is under construction, apparently they are building a new wing.
When we pulled up at 9pm at night, we literally walked through a dark construction zone with wires
hanging and pipes scattered on the floor. I wondered if I was even in the right spot. The rooms are nothing
special with AC that barely worked. Would have been better off with a fan. The power went out several
times a day, which happens in Myanmar but this was unusually frequent, especially after spending 6
weeks in this country. Every time the power went out, I would have to stand on a stool and hit a switch on
top of a junction box above the door. This was in order to get any power back on in the room. So when it
would go out in the middle of the night, we would wake up to a very hot room because the barely working
AC wouldn't kick back on. Since the AC didn't work very well anyway, it was very hard to get back to sleep
in a stale and stagnant room. The TV channels never worked and would constantly studder making
watching anything impossible. This really sucked as few places in Myanmar have CNN and I really wanted
to catch up in news as I have been gone so long. They had CNN but unwatchable. The breakfast was
average at best with stale fruit. When asked if you wanted eggs, they would cook them in the kitchen and
then bring them from the outside, through the construction zone uncovered. Really? The only positive that
I could possibly muster up is that the shower had good water pressure and hot water. Honestly, I'm
beginning to question TripAdvisor if this is rated the #2 hotel in Mandalay and a Travelers Choice for 2017.
Clearly, these people don't travel much. Stay somewhere else is my only recommendation. I honestly
didn't see any charm in Mandalay at all. I stayed mostly off the beaten path in Myanmar and besides
Bagan, which has basically been destroyed by the 2016 earthquake, stay out of the "tourist triangle" of you
really want the see Myanmar
Well... its just ok
It a small hotel
One good thing is there is wifi in the room
So far, I don’t find this available is every hotel.
There was a small mistake by the staff that it took them 24hrs to get me a replacement of the air con.
Breakfast is ok...
Anyway, you get what u paid.
Ugh, try to stay somewhere else.
I really wish we had stayed somewhere else. First of all, we had arranged for the hotel to pick us up from
the airport - they never showed. After traveling from SFO to Mandalay, we really didn't want to figure out
transportation. The hotel argued that we never confirmed pickup, but when we showed them the printed
confirmation letter they had emailed us, they apologized (but not very sincerely).
Night one, the air conditioner malfunctioned and drenched our luggage in water (it was a wall unit).
Morning two we ran out of toilet paper because they don't restock our room very well.
Finally, as others have noted, this hotel is a construction zone and it's not quiet!!!!
Average compared to other Hotels in Myanmar
Hardly a “home”, hotel is more suited to tourists on bus tours. Communication at the front desk needs
improvement, very rushed and not very coherent. This was our last night in Myanmar after a 8 day holiday
so we were in a position to compare. All of the other hotels we stayed in were much better. On the positive
side, the hotel is clean and efficient. As I described earlier, a tour bus hotel.
Ok hotel but still needs improvement
Having read the reviews and given this hotel benefit of coming out well on top, we gave it a go. At a price
of over $65 a night in Asia you hope it would be spotless. First room we were offered was street side very
noisy and did not smell good, but they kindly changed us to an alternative very quickly. Second room was
ok but floors and glass on windows really dirty, also work surfaces not very clean, everything had what I
call street dirt on it which is such a shame., housekeeping came to clean up but floors still black when you
wiped up a small amount of spilled water...:( such a shame…..Bedding and towels were clean and brand
new, but bathroom was not, and the shower did not work well, needed hand sprayer to wash hair. Sadly
lots of noise from outside as no sound proofing on windows, and also internally as no sound proofing full
stop, but if you run aircon it drowns this out a little, but not drunk businessmen in neighboring rooms.
Cannot fault staff who have the lovely Myanmar friendliness, and kindness, go out of their way to do
whatever is in their power to change or improve.It’s a shame that basic upkeep is rather slack, for the price
we paid we were disappointed, had it been cheaper I think we would have said ok and put up with some of
the small details, but cleanliness is a basic requirement.If a one night stay it’s really ok, but we had three
nights, not a dream to come back to after a long day.Sorry to have to be so negative had high hopes,
based on the reviews, but it really is a hotel focused towards its Chinese customers and not western basic
tourists.Also a small point, the hotel has undergone an extension and from the daytime noise it is still
underway and only one lift is working.Breakfast is ok and basic.Definitely not yet the best hotel in
Mandalay.
Disappointed with the location and breakfast and rooms.
We booked this hotel after reading other reviews but we were disappointed.
* We booked a triple room (for 1 adult and 2 children aged 15 and 12) which was spacious but in the old
part of the hotel (seems to be 2 buildings joined together with a ramp)
* On arrival we found the bathroom floor to be wet from a leaking toilet (eww) so we changed to a double
room with an extra bed. This room was in the modern part of the hotel but was very cramped with the
extra bed.
* Breakfast was disappointing - fruit was stale and going off, not much variety in other options
* Wifi was good.
* Staff were friendly (but this seems to be the norm in Myanmar hotels).
* Location didn't work for us. No restaurant in the hotel for dinner and only BBQ restaurants and 1
expensive European place (Bistro 82) for dinner.
* We found it really difficult to find a restaurant that had a variety of food (Thai, Asian and western in 1
restaurant) for a family with different tastes.
* We wouldn't stay here again.
Need to Improve
Stayed a night at room 304 on 30/11/2017.
The Wifi and password can be connect but higher floor signal weak.
Last night the Wifi was down around 10:45pm, so trying to contact receptions
Near the phone have no instructions which number to call to whom.
So search website get hotel number to call, but no one replied.
So call by room phone, press “0” no one pick up, press “9” also no one pick up.
Only have a card shown that, if any comments write to TripAdvisor.
At Breakfast table, may be the weather cool, so the coffee not hot enough. Should adjust higher
temperatures when enter cool Seasons.
At 9:00am fried rice finished and no refill, may be 9:30 end of breakfast time.
Wish the fruits to add fresh banana.
And do put a sign to mentioned, eggs order here as your choice. Because walking up and down didn’t find
eggs in any style.
However, in this Seasons sitting outside feeling more fresh air.
The breakfast dinning room door is better to open for natural fresh air.
One most surprised to us was, when we go from from 3rd floor always stopped at 1st floor and walking
down to lobby by stairs.
Last night went to ask Reception why we can go from lobby to 3rd floor and when we come down always
reaches only at 1st floor..
The staff shown us we do have a button to press to go G floor button was installed on the TOP of all floors
Be ware if you stay that hotel.
You all will surprised the G floor button located above all floors switch.
May be owner do in the way that 9&10 floors on the TOP and G above 9&10.
The floor for GOD hahaha!!!
Yesterday when we arrived no one stand in front of the entrance gate to help us and the steps only, we
can pull the bag up only have to carry up by steps...got to improve.
Had stayed here before at old Wing and the room was bigger and for comfort than New lobby.
We think Agoda after added up over SGD$80/- too high.
I rated as 2 stars not 3 Stars
Clean and modern,but lacks personality
Having travelled around Myanmar for several years, I think one of the greatest things with Myanmar
culture is the hospitality. Yes, "the home" is certainly clean and comfortable with professional personnel,
but i still think the place lacks a distinct personality. If you stay smaller places you are met with great
smiles and interesting conversations, or even get a glimps of burmese culture, while this hotel is just like
any other international strand. If you just want comfort, this is a good choice. If you want to see what
Burmese culture is all about- there are plenty of other options in Mandalay
Definitely overrated
I've been doing reviews for TripAdvisor for a while now and I usually trust what other travelers write, but
for them to rate the home hotel as the number 1 hotel in Mandalay is misleading and disappointing. First of
all, they are undergoing massive renovations at the moment which they should have warned customers
about. Half the place is closed and it is quite loud with power tools.
The rooms are nice and large and clean and the staff are lovely and can't do enough for you. The shower
in the room is above a bath, which is ok, but if you are a bit older, the step in and the step out is quite
large.
The breakfast was really disappointing as it appeared to be a vegetarian delight. Toast, orange juice,
vegetarian fried rice and vegetarian noodles, baked tomatoes, potatoes and some Burmese soup. (Vego)
As they say... not a sausage, no bacon, no cold meat. For a number one ranked hotel, this is ridiculous.
Also be aware that the have no elevators (at the moment at least) so it's all walk up. Remember that it is
36-38 degrees and very humid, so it's like walking up stairs in a sauna. Really not good enough to claim
number 1 and not post out that renovation is on going.
Reasonably good location and they offer all ticketing services as well as motorbikes for hire. Laundry costs
are way too high and in US dollars
Disappointing.
During my 10 day stay in October 2016, there was heavy and loud construction work in the new part of the
hotel while they were connecting the new and old part with a steel construction. But nobody of staff and
management seemed to bother or made an excuse at all. Average breakfast, Friendly staff.
Friendly staff, very average hotel
First, the good. The staff is very nice (as most people are in Myanmar). They are always trying to help
even though the information may be incorrect (such as when I asked “where can I go tomorrow to
exchange dollars” and being given the location of a bank but failing to tell me that banks are closed on that
day - Sunday).
The room has a safe and they supply basic toiletries. When you enter the room, it takes 5 minutes for the
AC to come on. Laundry is pretty cheap.
This hotel is under construction. Another tower is being built right in front of it. Not sure if this addition is
part of the hotel. This is why curtains remain closed all day long at the reception and in our room as you’d
be looking at the other tower which is very close. It also means that the reception is not on the street.
There are no elevators. We were on the first floor so it wasn’t too bad for us. But at every breakfast we
would hear guests requesting to be moved to the first floor. Some planned their day so that after breakfast
they go right out and do not need to go back up to their room.
The room is small. It is also dark as there is no point opening the curtains.
Breakfast offers a limited choice. It isn’t bad the first morning but by the fourth day, we had enough. No
change in the menu from one day to the other. It is not obvious that they can also cook eggs for you. We
were not offered this most of the days.
The breakfast area is small. On our last morning we came down and the place was full and others were
already waiting. We were offered to use the coffee table at the reception. We had a flight to catch so we
weren’t very happy to have to wait. We went back up and finished packing and when we took our luggage
down, there was a free table.
They have some bellboys working during the day. But there is nobody when you go out for dinner and you
are trying to get a taxi. Getting a taxi proved impossible on the night that we had hoped to eat out a little
further away.
After our problem in getting a taxi, we asked the reception to book a taxi to take us to the airport for a
certain time. The car arrived 10 minutes late and it was not a taxi. The car was actually rather dirty as well.
Too bad as, when we got into the car, we noticed nice clean taxis waiting in front of the hotel.
Internet speed was not fast but bearable. The problem is that often disconnected making it very hard to
upload files.
We borrowed bicycles from the hotel. These are free. However, when returning from the Mandalay Hill,
one bike had a flat tire. We had to hire a truck to take us back at a cost of 8,000ks.
Staff fantastic, hotel over rated.....
I would have loved to rated this place higher because some of the staff are phenomenal but a couple of
things I couldn't over look. First off, no elevator. We were on the 5th floor which is actually the 6th floor
and needed a Sherpa to ascend to the peak! You arrive in your room and now need to wait 5 minutes
before you can turn on the air! Breakfast was excellent! At checkout I went to pay by credit card and the
guy wanted me to pay 3.5% more to use my card! Ridiculous! We gave him cash instead in US$ and he
had the nerve to give back 2 of our twentys and ask for crisper ones! This place isn't that cheap either!
Another thing that irks me, he asks if we took anything from the mini bar, we did, one can of Sprite, and I
told him that yet he still called housekeeping in front of me to check the mini bar! If you aren't going to
believe me why ask in the first place?? Heaven forbid I sneak out of paying $1 for a can of pop when I just
paid you over $180 for 3 nights stay! Checkout experience was totally unprofessional! This place can
thank their lucky stars they have an employee like Te Te Lai (unsure of spelling). She is a gem! So is the
driver they use, Mr Zin! Disappointed!
Fit for its price admittedly
I am not registering a complaint, but I would try other places before coming back here, if I did come back.
It's cheap no doubt, but less than pleasant experiences were;
1) a tick in the bed, and
2) part of the plaster came off,
Again it's fit for its price c. USD25 and fulfils it purpose largely.
The other comments of intermittent power trips and limited hot water are true but again, it's USD25
Nice rooms and friendly staff
Positive:
- Nice room with descent bath room
- Friendly, english speaking staff
- Breakfast was one of the better i've had in hotels in myanmar
- Tours booked in the hotel are reasonably priced

Negative:
- WIFI was very slow at times
- A/C will only turn on 5 minutes after you put the room's key card in the slot, this becomes especially
annoying when there are power outages as each will disable the A/C for another 5 minutes.
- Daily Power outages
- I requested a quiet room with a good view. What i got was a room on the first floor near the staircase,
which wasn't exactly quiet.
- Scooter rental is available but way overpriced at 6$ for a half and 12$ for a whole day
- Location isn't really attracting
- Huge construction site next to the hotel, which of course isn't their fault, but should be mentioned for
people that consider to book this hotel
Not what we expected (and not in a good way)
We chose this hotel on the basis of its #1 rating on TripAdvisor. I wouldn't say that it was a
disappointment, more of a surprise given other's glowing reviews. Major construction to the front of the
hotel which makes it hard to find. Very busy section of Mandalay but then again, all of Mandalay is busy.
No elevator, which you don't think you're going to mind but feels reallllly long at the end of a busy day.
Breakfast is served in a small room adjacent to the lobby with everybody coming and going. Certainly no
one wants to linger over a cup of coffee. Just ok buffet although they will cook eggs.Getting the air-
conditioning to work was a challenge. Although it was OK for a budget choice I would certainly not rate it
as highly as some of the other reviewers and would find a different hotel upon returning to Mandalay.
No way near matching the hype
After having stayed at the Home, I find it bizarre that it is currently rated number 1 on tripadvisor. It's not a
bad place, just a very average one. The niceties of the staff cannot quite compensate for the other
deficiencies, and I feel that some reviewers may have a low benchmark on which to judge this place.
The good points first- Yes the staff is nice and helpful. The breakfast is okay (they can do eggs for you,
and have a basic spread besides, but still limited). My partner totally did not like the looks of the breakfast
and wanted to try a local dish from just outside the hotel (street food), and one of the staff members took
her there and helped her get what she wanted. The wifi was fine. Room was ok, clean. Taxis are
conveniently arranged by the hotel. There is a beer station outside the hotel (didn't get to try it).
Now the negatives- The hotel has no lift. We were given a room on 5th floor (and we hadn't even chosen
the cheapest room!). Very hard to recover from that, as it's terrible when you don't even want to go to your
room to rest for a while. The aircon in the room was terrible as it took about half an hour to cool the room.
As a result, we had to leave the key in the room so the AC would keep working while we were away. The
shower was pathetic (zero pressure, the nozzle had like 3 or 4 holes total) though water was reasonably
hot. No body lotion in the room.
And the taxis.... Seems that people like the convenience, but I must say, I almost felt pushed by the staff
regarding taxis. When they welcomed us with the map of the town, they spent all their time telling us about
taxi tours and the price even though we did not ask. And at every instance of us asking them about any
place for sightseeing, they would tell us the taxi price even without asking. I mean I am sure the hotel gets
some kickback from the taxis (which would not be surprising or wrong in itself), but they should try and not
push it so hard. They said all taxi guys speak English- out of 3 we took, only one spoke ok English.
Overall, a decent place to stay (please check your room floor!), but it's laughable that it's rated as number
1! I would have rated it 2 stars but for the help of the staff to get us some local breakfast from outside. An
average hotel with good, friendly staff, ok choice for a day or two on budget

Triumph Hotel Mandalay

The hotel is nice but stay away from the restaurant!"
 Mar 8, 2018  Jo T
The people are nice, the hotel is nice, however the restaurant food is bad
(including some inedible dishes, yes!) And the dishes arrive very slowly and
one after the other, so even very tired, take the trouble to eat elsewhere, you
will thank me later.
Expensive and a bit far from the city"
 Feb 10, 2017  612_yvindp, Lillestrom, Norway
Totally Ok hotel, but a little far from the city and far to other restaurants and
they know it, for the prices at the bar and restaurant are 250% above restaurant
price. Drink is 800% above retail price. It is being built around the hotel, so it
feels like staying at a construction site, had definitely waited a couple of years
before trying on this hotel so the construction work was completed. Good
breakfast, nice with pool although this is minimally used by guests
Very average to avoid"
 Jan 10, 2016  fran_oisev27, Annecy, France
Spent two nights in this charming hotel. The room is very large but impersonal
and cold. The bathroom is spacious with shower and bathtub. But beware hot
and cold water are reversed and when you shower you have water in the whole
bathroom. The restoration is very average. Avoid the Thai Phad which is not
good. Without taste. Breakfast is also very average. The restaurant is outside
so you have to cover yourself up because in the evening and in the morning it is
cold. And eating cold is not great. So Hotel to avoid. The staff is however very
good. We didn't like the meal they went out of their way to make us something. I
dare to be good.
"Very overrated"
 Dec 31, 2014  Paolo0506, Milan, Italy
It was not easy to choose a hotel in Mandalay, but in the end we chose the
Triumph, based on positive reviews, photos and above all because of recent
construction. Our judgment of our stay follows (2 Villa Junior Suites n. 1135 and
1136): POSITIVE FACTORS: Silence (the position of the rooms away from the
road allows a good sleep) Efficiency and kindness of the reception staff. Air
conditioning in the rooms provided by two splits: one in the entrance area and
one in the bedroom area; during the night it was sufficient to keep only the input
on. Both silent. Wifi in perfect working order Proper cleaning NEGATIVE
FACTORS: Breakfast 1) poor and almost all on request only. The slowness of
the service is really unacceptable, even in the presence of few guests: I point
out that the "coordinator" of the waiters appeared listless and almost put there
by chance, regardless of the very long waiting times: 30 minutes to get 2 fried
eggs, while for the fruit juice both me and my daughter were forced to take a
can from the fridge near the bar, 30 minutes after ordering. 2) breakfast area
located outside, in front of the pool, with consequent heat already in the
morning around 8.30 (over 30 ° C) and infested with flies and mosquitoes.
Restaurant: air-conditioned room with tables set for breakfast and / or dinner
but unused. We were always directed to the pool area. Spacious but dark
rooms (only one lamp for two twin beds positioned only on the left side and too
high), all dark, heavy “unpaired” furniture, all lined up along one wall, lack of
cabinets, presence of a tubular view where to hang clothes. Lack of attention in
room management: for example there was a coffee kettle but the connection
plate was missing ... Large but not very functional bathroom due to lack of
shelves and above all due to lack of shower tray and shower curtain, so it
flooded well beyond the water! 3 nights from 1 to 4 November 2014
A dull 4th star"
 Mar 4, 2019  voy02_4223
We spent 3 nights at this hotel. The establishment is located in a district, far
from the city center, undergoing rehabilitation. He suffers from a major
handicap for a hotel of this standing: the absence of soundproofing. Exterior
noise enters the rooms through all the pores of the walls. The thoughtfulness,
the eagerness, the smile of the staff happily enhances the overall service.
There is still room for improvement"
 Feb 25, 2019  rachi59, Weissenburg in Bayern, Germany
Why this hotel is rated so well is not clear to me. There are no cushions for the
loungers at the pool. The bird droppings on the loungers were still not removed
on the third day, as was the foliage. Skyscrapers are built to the left and right of
the hotel, which affects the overall impression. There was no construction
noise, but it lacks flair. The room very spacious, equipped with everything. In
the bathroom the stains on the tiles should be removed with vinegar, so that a
clean impression would appear. We made loose tea, the housekeeping didn't
take it away all day. In general, service would have to learn a lot here. The
breakfast buffet is more than clear, definitely not 100% worthy
"Large construction site !!"
 Mar 15, 2018  Mike K, Balearic Islands, Spain
I guess I'm like everyone else. We are carefully looking for a hotel that meets
our expectations and budget. If you book something then of course you have
the hope - after all the comparisons - that you have made a good decision and
that the selected hotel meets your expectations. It is all the more disappointing -
and this happens to me recently with almost every third booking - when a large,
secretive construction site in the immediate vicinity dominates the entire visual
and acoustic events in the hotel. So unfortunately at the Triumph Hotel in
Mandalay and you are really sad to have been deceived again. There is no
indication of construction sites either from the booking platform or from the
hotel. TOO BAD !!! In order not to let my tension get out of hand I simply keep
my impressions in a PLUS / MINUS list! PLUS very nice, friendly and helpful
staff it is clean reliable taxi service from the bus station friendly check in
unquestioned upgrade large, clean bungalow with painted wooden floors bed
linen and bed ok equipment fairly complete for a 4 star hotel (who, however, the
old, used and with black Schmandbelten flip-flops for you and him there is a
mystery to me) Cocktail happy hour breakfast buffet ok with egg station MINUS
large construction site directly at the hotel and therefore noisy and destroys
every atmosphere is not very central The whole area is somehow dusty, but this
is generally in here Mandalay seems to be that way If you take a closer look at
every corner there is always something turned off or it looks crumpled. Pool is
nice and big but somehow almost always has a sick, slightly milky color. The
walls in the room are scarred. Internet is bad. I had great difficulty in booking a
flight. The advertised fitness room was a storage room where the equipment
tower was set up on the 3rd floor of an annex. I just can not imagine that
anyone wants to train there. There wasn't much going on. Only a few
westerners and some Asian guests Conclusion I know Mandalay is not
Bangkok and about 42 euros for a 4 star hotel are not very much. (Perhaps ok
for Mandalay!) But ... besides the disappointing thing with the large construction
site, I have the feeling that the management or the owners are not really right
here. The friendly staff pulls out a lot, but to be honest I don't want to come
back to the Triumph Hotel. With the booking platforms, I would like to suggest
that the immediate construction sites next to the hotel must be displayed. That
would be fair !! So you feel like cattle!
Disappointing Hotel in Mandalay
We stayed at this hotel for two nights. Based on the quality of the other hotels that we stayed at on our
Myanmar tour, this was a letdown. The suite was large, but just seemed to be randomly filled with
furniture. Lighting was very poor. The glass shower was not sealed at the bottom and leaked water over
the floor when used.
I wanted to like it but oooh the booking policy
I booked well in advance and got a good rate for a nice room, but when i turned up what a shock....I was
stuck in an annex in a room the size of a broom cupboard, no outside space, no bedside lamp and a view
of a brick wall. When I complained I was told that other people had booked after me and they's paid more
so they'd given my original room to them. Will someone explain to then that'ts not how it works. Other than
that nice staff, food and very clean.
They really care - but not central and room and food mediocre
Paid $10 (MMK 12.000) for the 25 mile/40 km taxi ride from the airport (no need to pay more, bargain if
necessary).
Hotel motto is "make difference, be different" - not quite sure what it means but they really try hard. From
the moment of arrival the friendliest staff anywhere (and 4 of them at the same time) arrange for a quick
check-in, welcome drink, any info you want about Mandalay. Nothing seems too much trouble. Even
though the restaurant staff is not experienced, they try. Hotel even saw that it was my wife's birthday and
made and brought her a surprise huge chocolate cake after dinner. There was also an ok local dance
show during each dinner. Many anti-mosquito measures are taken, repellents on each table, they fumigate
the whole hotel every day, mosquito lights/traps, anything really except bed nets.
The family room, although dated, was clean and huge, and beds (wood with hard mattress) amazing for
our backs. Bathroom was spacious but smelled really funky and was damp; also some loose fittings. Free
waters, good fridge, safe, LCD TV, decent free wifi. Some issues (besides the bathroom): cold pool
(seems bigger on photo), limited so-so breakfast (dinner was better, but stick to the Asian dishes!), hotel is
not centrally located and nothing is around. Finally, construction underway on both sides of the hotel,
noise during day time.
All in all, decent choice if you like a smaller quaint hotel in a quiet area, with great staff, but at the higher
price there are more central options as well
Disappointing and overrated
We booked this hotel for about 100 euro per night based on TA reviews. We were disappointed. The hotel
is totally overrated and the price far too expensive. It's quite a way out of town and the hotel itself is
building a second large new hotel right next door so it's loud everywhere and very dusty around the pool
and garden area.
Yes, the staff at reception was charming, but when we refused to accept a room next to the building site,
they had a bit of a problem shifting us to a different room. The room we were given was large but
characterless. The bathroom was also large but the overhead shower flooded the entire bathroom and
when I used the white bath mat to wipe up the water, I was able to see just how dirty the floor was. The
mat was black. The bed linen and towels were also stained.
Breakfast was just ok, service very lacklustre. Food was cold, birds were feeding on the bread, because
the net had not been arranged properly. The yoghurt looked as if they had been bathing in it. The pool
was so milky you could not see the bottom. We tried to get a club sandwich at the pool bar for lunch on
our last day. We waited for one hour and then it was time to leave (without the sandwich, probably just as
well!!)
We had Win as our driver for one day. He was very good. We knew where we wanted to go, since it was
not our first stay in Mandalay. We agreed to meet the next day for a two-to three-hour trip to the Royal
Palace and Mandalay Hill in the morning, but Win obviously got a better paid trip and simply sent us a
young driver who spoke very little English. He did not even appear himself to apologise. We found this
rather strange!! However, the new chap was friendly and drove carefully. However, we did not enjoy being
"dumped" after paying Win 45$ the previous day!
We will be back in Mandalay in October, but are currently looking for a different hotel. Our visit here was
definitely not a "triumph".
Nice but not quaint...
The staff were genuinely helpful and kind and the rooms nice but overall the hotel tried to be too much for
our liking. Somewhere between a small, quaint hotel and a big hotel and kind of missed the boat on both
ends for us. Breakfast was good and the staff lovely.

I also wiped out twice in the ridiculously slippery bathroom - I fortunately am a fit woman with training from
martial arts on how to fall! If I was an older person with brittle bones, I have no doubt I would have broken
a hip. I suggested more bath mats in the shower area as they have used very slippery tiles (at least in the
room we were in) and am hoping they have added those in.

It was also a bit out of town, but given their plethora of drivers, easy to get into the city centre.

We also weren't huge fans of Mandalay as a destination in Myanmar. We have been in Asia for 10 weeks
now and Mandalay is at the bottom of our list. Compared to the other destinations on the typical circuit this
is the one I'd skip if trying to figure out how to fit it all in. So this may factor into the 3 star vs. 4 star rating.
Overall the whole 4 days just kind of fell flat and part of this was the lack of character at this hotel
compared to other places we have stayed.
Rooms are dim and depressing
I'm lying here in bed of this fairly modern hotel. The rooms are clean, and the bed is comfy enough. The
staff is very pleasant. That said, there are so many little things wrong with this place that it makes my
blood boil.

First, the lighting is so dim in the rooms that I can't even read a bookmark and lightbulbs are the harshest
compact fluorescents available. This is a pet peeve of mine and seriously detracts from my stay. There is
also a compact fluorescent outside my window, glaring into my eye.

Secondly, glazed tiles were installed in the bathroom and shower floor, making the room very slippery.
Third, there is a construction project going on outside of my window, creating an unpleasant scene, along
with the noise and dust. And so on.... there are many small, irritating things about this place that makes
me think that the manager has never actually slept in a room. Too bad, because this could be an OK place
This hotel is not worth the requested rate"
 Feb 4, 2017  latourduroi, soumagne
Quite mundane hotel far from the center with ultimately unfriendly staff. We
were asked for $ 2 for a simple broken glass. When you are asked $ 100 a
night you should never ask for $ 2 for a broken glass beast.
Nice staff, poor location
The staff is so nice here that it is hard to write a negative review; however, if you are visiting Mandalay
consider a hotel closer to the center. This hotel is out of the way and you will need to take cabs to all of
your destinations. There is a large construction area next to the pool and the breakfast is of poor quality.
Suggestion: the staff is friendly and kind, but needs more training.
"mixed"
 Jan 3, 2017  marypierce, NY, NY
I am mixed about this hotel and I find it hard to understand the reasons for the
satisfaction ... The economy single rooms are tiny, the room rates between $ 50
and $ 135 are clearly far too high given the low level of luxury compared to
other hotels in the area. Breakfast is large but of average quality. The pool is
milky. Not convinced!
Can do better"
 Nov 19, 2016  Sp00kette, Toulouse, France
This hotel has good potential. The rooms are nice, clean and the decoration is
neat. The place is nice and the pool is nice. Breakfast is a varied buffet offering
salty and sweet. However, for dinner go elsewhere. Food is expensive and far
below acceptable quality. The music and puppet show, although free, is quite
poor and does not deserve attention. The reception by reception staff is quite
cold, which is unusual in Burma. He seems reluctant to give information or book
a plane ticket for you, they end up doing it but without smiling and dragging his
feet. The hotel is a bit out of town so you will need to take taxis to get there.
Not a triumph"
 Nov 8, 2016  Susemiel, Wiesbaden, Germany
We didn't feel comfortable here. Our room was large, but without warmth / style.
The bathroom smelled unpleasant from the drain and was in need of
renovation. Breakfast was not served by the pool but in a large, impersonal,
cold room. The photos from the Internet promise more than reality. The best
thing about this hotel is its attentive and friendly staff.
Okay, but Nothing Special
There is really nothing wrong with the Triumph Hotel, and I wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from
staying there. It’s just that, after staying at some beautiful properties with a lot of local character in other
cities, the Triumph felt very bland by comparison. As my friend observed, it feels more like a motel than a
high-grade hotel. The room is large, but not particularly attractive. We did appreciate the bowl of fruit
waiting in the room as a welcome gift. The air conditioning was plenty strong, as was the shower. The in-
room WiFi, however, was weak; no posting photos to Facebook! The buffet breakfast was fine; pretty
much the same choices we encountered elsewhere. The neighborhood is relatively quiet, so there aren’t
any restaurants immediately by the hotel. If you are willing to walk or drive a certain distance, there are
restaurants not too far away.
Quiet and wide but questionable"
 Oct 1, 2016  성준 전, Myanmar
The quiet location is a little outside of Mandalay. Unlike other hotels, it is
bungalow-shaped but doesn't look like a big deal. It is an old facility offering
several different services. Cocktail service and Myanmar traditional
performance are available but it is not easy for tourists or business users. Quiet
hotel, swimming pool and quiet staff. Un-active and unserviceable employees
undermine the value of the hotel. Bad service and facilities at an expensive
price.
3 stars for specific reasons
First, let me tell the facts then my feedback later.
The rooms are very huge. And as many have mentioned here, I was upgraded from a deluxe villa to a
junior suite. It has 1 queen bed and 1 double bed, bath tub, a 4-seater sala set, 2 split aircons, flat tv,
hairdryer, large bath tub, the works. Comes complete with all the amenities - slippers, toiletries, even the
grinding tablet for the thanaka. HUGE room.
They are villas, stand alone units that feels like a house, even has its little sitting area outside the door.
Surrounded by trees all around.
Breakfast is by the pool. Decent pool, with lots of lounging chairs and big umbrellas.
Breakfast serving includes eggs, cereals, breads, bacon, sausages, French toast, fruits.
Free cocktails from 530-630pm and with some show at night. You can rent a bicycle for $5 to go around
town. Free internet.
My feedback: this is good for big groups, or maybe a family. As I was travelling alone, the huge room was
unnecessary for me. Would have been better if they had smaller rooms, with cheaper rates. They do have
the economy option but that seems very small at just 1/3 less of the price I got my villa deluxe for.
Because the room is huge, the aircon cannot make the room cool enough. Ok with me because I don't like
very cold rooms anyway. For others who prefer to have a cold room, well...
Too many flies flying on the breakfast area. At some point I saw a bread tray filled with flies and called the
attention of the server. She came back with a bread tray covered with cling wrap. If you're squeamish
about these things, you may not like this. I think because the setup is done outdoors.
Meals are a bit expensive. I stayed in Sedona before and think the food there is more reasonably-priced.
Internet is intermittent at best, but that is the same with other hotels. The tub was rather large so it was
difficult for a short person like me. But I enjoyed it just the same.
The best part of this hotel is the staff. So very helpful and thoughtful. When it rains, you will see someone
going around placing umbrellas by the doors for those who need it. The housekeeping closes the curtains
at dusk time (because there are 3 windows in my room). It has a very resort feel to it. I loved the waterfall
feature when you arrive. It's not much but the sound it makes is so relaxing, as if you are stepping into
some resort. I was looking for the beach! :)
TIP: book thru agoda. I got my villa deluxe for only $51, my colleague who booked thru an agent had the
economy room for almost the same price. I was upgraded to a junior suite, he was upgraded to a villa
deluxe
Hotel was Nothing Exceptional, Good Staff
The hotel is located on the outskirts of Mandalay about 15 minutes to the centre of Mandalay. There is not
a huge amount around the hotel. The hotel consists of a group of low-rise villas which resembles a small
housing complex. The outside spaces are minimal and there is only minimal greenery. The villas are huge
– we had two large double beds in our room, a small lounge area and a large bathroom. The downside is
that the lighting in the rooms is very dark. This needs to be improved as not a lot of light gets into the
rooms. The complex has a small pool and restaurant area. The pool water was quite cloudy when we
visited. The restaurant food was okay and the staff (on their own initiative) organized a great birthday cake
for our daughter. There is a small scale nightly cultural show at the pool but the stage is so far away, it is
difficult to see. The staff were good at organizing drivers and advising on day trips to the local sights and
were overall extremely helpful. Free cocktails for an hour in the evening (gin or rum). Overall, an average
experience saved by the helpful and attentive staff.
Disappointing
Poor location on a dusty side street, reception room without personality, very plain poorly functional
uncomfortable rooms, a bit smelly bathroom;
The only saving grace is the good service staff, always pleasant even though a bit hurried. Food was
simple, OK in taste
Expensive
The hotel was nice clean and tranquil. The staff was pleasant and always willing to help. However with the
cost of the room being so high, I wondered what wonders would be served for breakfast. It wasn't anything
but. The breakfast was good but wasn't great, the choice was limited and the bacon was very-very salty.
The food if your order dinner and such was really expensive – I would t suggest ordering in unless you
really have no choice or if you are sick.

The place is infested with mosquitos at certain times of the day, but the staff is kind enough to come by
and spray-them-dead.

The pool was small but just be careful not to step on the drain cover – it can give way
Decent 3-4 Star Hotel
There is nothing overly positive or negative to say about the Triumph Hotel. It is good enough to provide a
base for exploring Mandalay if the price is not unreasonable. The room is fine, good sized, modern and
clean. There is a slight issue with flooding in the bathroom due to it being a wet room. This was a little
frustrating. The restaurant is very expensive for what you get. However it is better to eat out. The location
is a little away from the town centre but can be reached easily by taxi or scooter
Well and truly average
For the amount you pay to stay here, I guess it will do. A few things need to be sorted out though, the lack
of shower gel and shampoo they provide is quite annoying, as are the bad quality towels and bedding. If
you're just after a place to rest your head, have a quick and basic breakfast before you start your day, and
want a hot shower, then this is a cost effective option.
Functional
Bemused by the 5 star reviews....

Plus side - whilst not in central Mandalay (if this sprawling town has a centre?) it is located within a bike
ride away from several sights like the monastery. The hotel rents bikes for $3 for a half day so that was a
very satisfying morning.

Staff are numerous and all well intentioned.

Accommodation consists of ground floor rooms separated from their neighbours by short gaps so not
much privacy.

Our room was pretty dark, in ok condition, with rather thin towels, good air con and hot water.

Noisy at night I think due to neighbouring village. 3am to 5am seemed to be time for pop music.

Food hygiene not top notch - insect found in omelette which produced profuse apologies from staff.

A bit like Mandalay - functional but not a place to return to. Staff do try their best though
Still learning how to provide service to guests
Stayed for two nights. Location is not inner-city. To get anywhere you need a taxi. The accommodation is
in separate bungelows, two separate hotel rooms for each bungelow. The bedroom/living area is excellent
even though the hanging space is designed for shirts and not for dresses. The bathroom is quaint. The
shower is over the bath but the water runs backwards and sideways down over the edges so the floor is
constantly wet even around the small vanity. There is rubber-holed matting alongside the bath and before
the toilet which counters the wet floor but, unusually, there is another shower on the wall above the
matting. Thongs are provided inside the bathroom and the shower mat is actually in the bedroom outside
the door to the bathroom. Apart from this curiosity the room was spotless. Staff were incredibly pleasant
and helpful with exceptions as below.
Our safe did not unlock twice and after two service calls we asked if the batteries could be replaced. That
did the trick!
The restaurant/swimming pool area was nice enough. They allowed smoking inside the restaurant next to
the food - why? Perhaps the chairs were hosed down every morning because every breakfast-time we had
wet chairs and had to ask for them to be wiped (surely they should not have to be asked constantly!).
We went down for "happy hour" one night and there was a workman walking around with a hand-held
fogger for mosquitoes. It sounded like a tractor and fogged up the air for about ten minutes. Yes,
mosquitoes come out morning and evening but surely they can do this not at the start of "happy hour". The
other quirky event we encountered was two workmen soldering the swimming pool ladder - not in the side
lane or walkway but directly next to the pool so none of the guests could access the lounges. We had to
ask for them to let us through. They continued working in the same place even after guests had pointed
out their positioning.
This hotel still does not quite understand that paying guests pay wages and that guests are actually why
they are there.
Good hotel, but eat somewhere else!
This hotel has lots going for it - the pool is fantastic, the reception and porterage staff were efficient and
friendly, and our room was comfortable and a good size. However it's really let down by the restaurant.
The 'entertainment' was truly horrendous. It's the same thing every night and their repertoire is tiny. The
music has no key or rhythm. Each night they would play Frère Jacques at least three times (and Jingle
Bells - in November!). The food is mostly variations on fried rice and comes in small portions. After
ordering rice with 'fried chicken' I was given pan-fried chicken sausages and (inexplicably) a piece of pork.
When I complained, they brought the entire kitchen staff to my table who insisted it wasn't pork. How
embarrassing!
The road to Mandalay!
This hotel was adequate and rooms large. There is a huge pool. The friendliness of staff was somewhat
variable as was the level of English from very poor to very good. There is an ample breakfast served next
to the pool. Our room only had a shower over the bath. In short it was fine, but not really special
Needs proper management
This hotel looks fairly new, and the rooms are big and comfortable, with decent bathrooms.

There is however a lack of good management. Despite huge numbers of staff, service is poor as the staff
just spent their time chatting amongst themselves.

Food hygiene is also an issue. I'm well used to travelling in Asia, and understand the challenges, but when
the chef at the egg station ignores flies crawling all over his ingredients, in full view of his customers, you
become nervous about what is ( or is not ) happening behind the scenes.

The hotel has the look of being owned and run by people with no experience of the hospitality industry.
Some good, experienced management would probably solve the issues, and then this should be an
excellent hotel, but at present it is I the "needs to do better" category
Great Staff, few other positives and few negatives
Stayed at this hotel for a couple of nights on my visit to Mandalay. It gets an average rating. Here are
pluses and minuses.

For what you pay vs. what you get hotel comes on a pricier side. Had they not upgraded us to a larger
suite it would be have even more so. At $130 a night I expected an excellent hotel.

To start off with positives

- Staff are very helpful, polite and courteous.
- They upgraded me to a suite which was a nice gesture. Suite was very nice and huge.
- They have unlimited free cocktail at 6-7 and also have a puppet and dance show by the pool side. Nice!!!

And here are the negatives – most are unintentional but need highlighting.
- While they have a big and bright hotel sign in front in Burmese language the sign in English is not easily
visible at night. Not sure what the Burmese sign says but the taxi driver could not connect the sign to
“Triumph Hotel” when I mentioned. He drove past few times and finally went in and asked to make sure
once I insisted that I was in the vicinity per our GPS.
- They had to fume and fog up the whole place at 7 in the evening for mosquito control. It was very noisy
and very uncomfortable to breathe - as I was sitting by the pool side. Granted they came and informed me
as they were doing it and apologized for any inconvenience adding that it is done only once a week. Well it
happened to be my lucky evening to endure that. It indeed was an “inconvenience” and a major one -
forcing me to leave the pool area coughing heavily. I am sure it needs to be done at one point but may be
at very late at night when most likely everybody is sleeping already. And preferably with a device that
doesn’t sound like a loud lawn mower.
- In the swimming pool on one of the corner they had very sharp and rusty metal pieces sticking out where
I scraped my shoulder and had a minor gash. Seems like there used to be a pool access ladder and they
yanked it out at some point but leaving sharp nails. Since it was heavily rusted I am guessing it has been
there for a while and I am surprised that management hasn’t noticed it and taken care of it already. Pain
was not that bad but the tetanus infection is what I was scared about. And since they started fuming the
place up right afterwards (per above) I didn’t have chance to bring this up to management so that they can
take care of it to prevent from other guests from being hurt.
- There wooden floor in the suit was super slippery like a skating rink. I know this is purely unintentional
but once I fell on the floor hard when I was walking with my socks on. Not sure what the solution is – but
they need to treat the surface to make it more walkable
Nice clean and large villa type rooms. However!
This hotel is a little way out of the center of town, if there is a center in Mandalay. The villas are very
spacious and clean with everything that an international hotel room should include. There are 20 Satellite
TV Chanel's although not many are worth watching. Maybe they could have a look at more movie
channels. The staff are excellent and very polite with all services from the front desk to cleaning and wait
staff. Excellent. When we stayed there was some construction work going on next door. Not sure if this
was part of the hotel or not. It would be wise to ask for a room well away from any construction if staying
here.
While the rooms and service is very good and in my opinion they could ask more for rooms if other parts of
the hotel were brought up to speed. The pool area and bar is shabby and run down with very little cool
shady spots to relax. The food menu is a bit of a disaster. There are no descriptions of the food item you
select or any pictures that would be helpful. The bad part is that the prices are in US$ which should no
longer happen anywhere in Mayanmar. The government is trying hard to change this and in the vast
majority of places prices are in the local currency. The food is very expensive, also the drinks. The food is
also very poor quality for a self rated four star hotel. Breakfast was included and if I had to give it a rating it
would be 4/10. A lot of work need I this area. Get a new chef with quality food and menu and half the price
and you would be going a long way to getting four stars. However at the moment you are only a three star.
I would star again if you fixed up the areas mentioned. As a marker of quality food please visit Gossip
Restaurant, in town, and strive for that level of excellence
Surprisingly ordinary
This is a new budget hotel without the budget price tag. Rooms are surprisingly ordinary for the rating,
much like a drive in motel type of room, painted a tired grey, plain and uninteresting from the outside, and
virtually no Myanmar interior decor or style at all on the inside.
The access is along a laneway from the reservations lobby at the front of the property. A large function hall
is opposite the lobby and a loud trade show was happening the morning after I checked in.

Rooms are large with standard wooden furniture and finishings, and a huge bathroom one could hold a
cricket match in. The single twin beds are firm but they could have used two queen-size beds for the
space available. Hot water and air-con worked fine. One is given two coupons for free-wifi one for each
device you might be using (smartphone, laptop etc). It worked fine too. The front door really needs a
flyscreen to keep out mosquitoes at night and early morning.

The "restaurant" is a semi-covered area with a few tables and bar, and a few more tables under umbrellas,
all overlooking a very large pool that looks to be completely unused at this time of the year. The buffet
breakfast is just ok, with an egg station and a small range of mostly Western dishes, rice congee but
Myanmar traditional fare (mohinga would have been nice). I did not eat lunch or dinner here, and you'l
need a car to get to the nearest foreigner friendly restaurant.

The redeeming factor is the service, and staff are courteous and helpful, and you will need help to move
bags from the lobby down the laneway to your room. Overall, nothing to write home about.
Great staff - shame about the room
We chose this hotel in part due to the reviews on Trip Advisor. I can truthfully say that having stayed for
three nights we left feeling a little misled. We paid extra for what is described as a Junior Suite. The room
was large but a bit of a concrete box. The room was dusty from day one and was not cleaned at all on the
second day. The tea bags were not replaced unless requested. We ate some of the complimentary fruit on
day one and the dirty plate was left for the rest of the stay. The bathroom was huge but badly planned
(see TeoTravels review). The room lighting was really poor and there were various odd boxes on the wall
giving a blue glow all night. The wifi was very fitful and really irritating.
On the plus side, the bed was very comfortable, the pool was great and the staff were HELPFUL and very
ATTENTIVE.
This is not a bad hotel and with some changes to the room could live up to the rave reviews it appears to
have had.
Good and new - but definitely not an excellent hotl
The hotel is new, recently built and for sure is a good one. It's built in a "resort-like" style, with
independent, very large rooms.

Very good service and courtesy especially at reception and information desk, with free bikes available.

Rooms are clean - as the overall structure - and very quiet at night.

Negative aspects:
- rooms are big but relatively poor in terms of forniture resulting anonymous
- especially the bathroom looks empty - the open shower in the middle of the bathroom is not convenient
at all (flooding...)
- location in Mandalay is not the best one, a bit far away from major attractions
- breakfast is just ok (we never had dinner in the hotel)
Quite ok but no place to stay"
 Oct 15, 2014  Sansibar22, Wiesbaden, Germany
First of all: The friendliest and most helpful people you can ask for work in this
hotel. The rooms are spacious, very clean and nicely decorated. The hotel as a
whole lacks soul and coziness. It is more reminiscent of an American suburban
row bungalow settlement, some of the cars park in front of the rooms like a
motel. The pool is embedded between the wall of the house and the driveway
and with a depth of 1m is only suitable for children. Breakfast takes place in an
oversized ballroom with freezer temperatures. All in all: good for a short stay,
nothing to stay.
Hotel 8
Hotel 8 which offers quality accommodation and great service. The city centre is merely 0.0 km away,
airport can be reached within 45 minutes. Hotel 8 is located a few minutes walk to Mandalay Palace,
Mandalay Zegyo Market, train station, local restaurant of downtown and easily reach many local
points of interest.
A very uncomfortable place"
 Feb 26, 2017  Stella_Marie_Claire, Berlin, Germany
We felt very uncomfortable because our superior room had no window with
daylight. In addition, the light was incredibly cold and the walls green, a very
uncomfortable atmosphere. There were unplastered holes in the walls which
were stuffed with cleaning rags. In the bathroom the towel holder was
completely ailing so that you could not use it. No other room was available on
request. However, the staff was very nice. At the price you can of course not
ask for much, but we already had much better hotels in the same price range. I
do not recommend it.
Amazing bathroom drain! Correct rest"
 Nov 4, 2016  JPJG82, Baranain, Spain
This hotel has almost enough to be correct! But there are serious things that
should improve! The good: it is cheap, relatively well located, spacious rooms,
AC, bright, a spacious bathroom! Good mattress and good sheets! The bad; It
is not conceivable that the shower tray is the whole bathroom! Xq if you're in the
cup you'll be flooded with the shower! And the waters of the tb basin go to the
floor, so basin is mixed with bliss and you sitting in the cup of spikes! In
addition, the rest of the waters of the Rest of the Hotel fall through the same
pipe open to your bathroom and you hear everything! Come on a fudge!
Summary: good hotel for one night stopover! In the surroundings there is not
much restaurant to choose from! The n1 of TA q is very expensive and the n3 q
is a street stall q although it is very good it is always the same food and you end
up bored!
The staff were enthusiastic and the supervisor was sloppy"
 Nov 9, 2019  CBRislands, Taipei, Taiwan
After passing the counter on the first floor, the supervisor was always
expressionless. We had to take the initiative to say hello before responding. I
asked the supervisor where there is a car rental shop? I was told that it is only
about two kilometers away. Actually, there is a car rental shop around 500
meters away. . At night the staff will help move the locomotive into the room to
prevent accidents. Breakfast is on the top floor, wide view, full of sunlight. Very
comfortable.
Basic no-frill
After having read all the positive reviews on Hotel 8, we decided to stay here for 4 nights. To me, this hotel
is a bit overrated though. The rooms are basic and no-frills, really nothing special. The bathroom was
rather old and a bit run down. It took each time several minutes for warm water to come out of the tap,
resulting in water wastage. Also, there was no way to clean the water on the floor after your shower and
your bathrooms remains flooded for hours. We got new towels every day, and each time they were packed
in plastic! Not very environmentally friendly!

If you stay in the fifth floor as we did you can enjoy sone nice views over the city. Bring earplugs, as it is
very noisy in the morning when kitchen staff arrives and starts preparing breakfast. The staff were always
very friendly and helpful and their service was the best thing of this location. On the other hand, much cold
be done in the interior of the hotel in order to look a little bit more inviting
Wonderful staff, but location and breakfast wasn't good
Staff was super friendly and helpful. They have even gave us Xmas present - small handmade bag with
elephant. It was so lovely, we have got for the first time in our lives present from the hotel staff :) Hotel was
quiet, wi-fi was stable and fast, A/C in the room was working wery well. Staff organized the bus to Bagan,
but what we didn't liked, we have asked 2 hours later check-out than official time is declared and hotel
asked for these 2 additional hours almost half of the regular stay for one day. Of course, we refused.
Breakfast was a disaster - it was the worst breakfast in our travel around Maynmar. When we came to eat
the breakfast in the first morning, it was fun situation: we were standing and looking to each other by
saying: "What to eat here?" I will try to upload the picture: there were only rice, noodles (pasta), not
properly cooked omelette (egg yolk was not even hardened), potatoes, cooked corn and some kind of
vegetarian stuff. That's it, folks! No meat, no eggs, no cheese - nothing. Only basic rice, corn, potatoes
and so on :) Enjoy your meal if you'll find what to eat here :)
Hotel offers free bikes to ride in the city, but they looks terrible - old and unrealiable. When we asked how
to lock the bike, one of staff members couldn't even properly lock and unlock the padlock on the bike. So
we decided to go on foot, because nobody of us wanted to ride so old and scary bike.
Location of the hotel is bad. It's far away from everything (and I don't understand why people are saying,
that the location is very good). It's not true. Mandalay Palace, Kuthodaw Pagoda and Mandalay hill with all
the pagodas are 3-5 km away. I am not talking even about the distance to U-Bein bridge. It's sad to say,
but I wouldn't stay in this hotel if I would come to Mandalay again. There much better places to stay in
Mandalay.
small room
They offered a early check-in. I used a standard double room. The room is so tiny, the bed filled almost
the entire room . Bed sheet doesn't seem clean. The shower room is also too tiny, shower is fixed high
and the shower flow was not sufficient.
I stayed three days, they don't arrange the bed every day. Overall, the room is not comfortable. I don't
know about other type of rooms, but I think it's over rated. And the hotel is located at a very noisy street.
Of course the staffs are very kind and the breakfast was good
Without infamy and without praise"
 Dec 27, 2017  GiuseppeDeNinno, Baia e Latina, Italy
Good hotel centrally located in a Mandalay that - if it were not for its
surroundings - would not offer great attractions, especially if compared to
Yangoon. The hotel has free bicycles for guests, and even on foot with a nice
walk you can reach the royal palace and the entrance to Mandalay Hill. The
acceptable Breakfast, a good standard of cleanliness and an interesting
location make this hotel fully acceptable for a short stay in Mandalay. The price
is also interesting, which is why I give 4 stars instead of 3. Equip yourself with
local currency: in Myanmar everyone asks for a + 3% if you want to pay by
credit card!
"Good hotel for the Burmese standard"
 Oct 19, 2017  Javier B, Madrid, Spain
Despite insisting that we wanted separate beds, again I had to sleep with my
travel companion. Nothing happens, but I prefer to sleep without tripping.
Otherwise, the hotel is fine. The simple, spacious and very clean room. The
bathroom is another story, as it is not comfortable for the sink drain to go
directly to the floor and run through it to the shower drain. The correct breakfast
and the hotel staff friendly and very efficient. They organized the Mandalay
visits and facilitated the rental of a private taxi for a whole day at a great price.
Not bad but improvable"
 Aug 27, 2017  Viktor R, Sevilla
We touched room 402, room with little privacy since showering or in bed you
could see a block in front and without the possibility of closing anything, dirty
towels / sheets, although that seems normal in all myanmar hotels, the
Breakfast fine although only with a slow toaster, the terrace great. The staff
very well.
OK for the price
I've just returned from my trip to Mandalay and stayed at the hotel for two nights.

I've had a mixed experience, probably ok for the price.

The good:
i) the staff are very nice and helpful; it's low season so I got to check in early which was very helpful given
flights arrive around 10am in the morning
ii) the location is pretty decent: close to the old palance and just a 10min tuk-tuk ride away from the main
attractions; there are several very affordable open-air restaurants nearby which I enjoyed for dinner

The not-so-great:
i) the rooms are tiny and very spartanic
ii) the bathroom was borderline: the shower (above the toilet) flooded the entire bathroom as the drainage
is behind the toilet bowl (and hence the water has to stand high before it gets drained; so if you shower
you can't use the toilet for the next couple of hours unless you want to wade through your shower water
iii) the breakfast - though quite plentiful - didnt really taste at all; I've ended up just eating the eggs and
fruit

Overall OK hotel given it's quite affordably priced. But need to be aware of it's limitations
OK but
Its a good hotel, basic and clean. Rooms are very small and its not great.

For the same money you can get much better. We stayed at the Royal Orchid for the same money but
much better quality.

It has high ratings on this site, probably as its older, but I wouldn't stay there again, ,there are many new
hotels much better.
Valuable Asistance
Welcoming upon arrival was as cordial as one comes to expect in Myanmar. Guests are immediately
offered a face towel and cold drink, and check in is done very quickly. Considerable information on the
facilities of the hotel was also given.
Room is on the smaller size, but not so that one feels cramped. There is still a large comfortable bed, and
a full-length work bench from which work can be done. Mini bar is well stocked, and tea making facilities
available (if you prefer coffee, you will need to bring your own).
Bathroom is large, with shower facilities and complimentary toiletries provided.
Staff are exceptionally helpful and provide immediate assistance for whatever requests may be made of
them. This includes tours and the hire of bicycles, as well as identification of desired retail outlets within
the near vicinity.
In room Wi-Fi is provided, but must also be paid for.
Also on the negative side, room was not always cleaned well, and the bathroom was definitely not mopped
out each day. Supply of towels (again without face cloths) was erratic, although whatever you were given,
was sufficient for the task.
Toiletries were not replaced when used.
Breakfast, while complimentary, appeared to be of a diminishing type, which makes one wonder if all they
do is recycle left overs till they are all used up. On the fourth morning of my stay, there was barely
anything at all presented (other than a warm good morning).
Great staff. Other than that not worth it.
I booked 2 nights here.

bad:
===
- First of all they photoshopped the main photo of the building. this is not a stand-alone hotel, it's attached
to 2 other buildings.

- Taxi prices are usually double compare to the street (exactly the same taxi). They tell you that this is the
normal price as if it's your only option. For example, they offer taxi to the jetty for 5,000 kyat (and already
offer that the same driver will pick you up back for 5,000 more). I decided to take only one way and found
a taxi back for 3,000 kyat. A day trip (saiging, inwa, amarapura) cost 45,000 kyat at the hotel. you could
find the same for 30,000 kyat in all other places. trip to u-bein costs 20,000 at the hotel and I found for
10,000 kyat. not cool.

- no safe in the room.

- stains on bedsheets (it's not about changing them when I ask, it's about noticing the big stains in the first
place).

- no safety lights on bicycles

good:
====

+ free bicycles

+ good breakfast with a big selection variety.

+ staff was super nice. especially Kyaw Zin Thet, Min San Thein, and another receptionist (she looked like
the main receptionist, I just can't remember her name). without their great service I would give even lower
score.

this is a cheap hotel but I think there are many points to improves
Maybe I wasn't lucky....
The shower was really weak and cold. As I had already undressed and was really tired by whole day
exploring, claiming to the front desk wasn't a good idea to me.

Checking the temperature of shower is something must have been done right away after you checked-in,
which is a important tip to any travelers. Thank god that I finally learned something...
Next morning, I had a big cockroach found in death on my backpack...RIP....
Anyways, I will not come back to this hotel. We weren't the match
Saved by the staff
Ok rooms wrt bed comfort, size and cleanliness and value for money at about $40/night.

Bathroom was a bit shabby but the hot water situation was totally unacceptable. We had only cold water
for a day and a half because someone had turned off the supply to the room and no one came to check in
spite of us telling them. When hot water was finally restored it pulsed continually between dangerously hot
and completely cold with nothing in between. Showers were an adventure.

Wifi was just about tenable but only just.

The breakfast items were cold and mostly inedible.

What prevents the Hotel from scoring a 1 or 2, is the super friendly can't-do-enough-for-you staff. These
kids just about bend over backwards to serve your every wish and always with an ear to ear smile. Even
when I got stroppy over the hot water situation, they never stopped smiling. A great assert to the
establishment. If you go there this should be the reason. The rest is pretty ho hum.
Very helpful, facilities were a bit disappointing"
 Dec 17, 2015  Erik V, Boxtel, The Netherlands
The hotel tries to radiate to belong to the top segment of the market. Extremely
nice staff, good level of English, doormen and pursers. Unfortunately, the
facilities in the room leave something to be desired; low water pressure and hot
shower takes minutes (if it comes). The hotel is also quite noisy, in the luxury
suite near the breakfast room we were kept awake from 5.00 onwards by staff
juggling plates and cutlery. Far from ideal. Finally, the beds were not too
comfortable, very hard. The breakfast is well cared for, toast, jam, egg, fresh
fruit, cottage cheese and noodles. Something for everyone. All in all a great
place, unfortunately a few important points fall short.
The Hotel Emperor
Nestled in the heart of Northern Mandalay, The Hotel Emperor is an ideal spot from which to discover
Mandalay. Only 0.0 Km from the city center, the hotel's strategic location ensures that guests can
quickly and easily reach many local points of interest. No less exceptional is the hotel's easy access
to the city's myriad attractions and landmarks, such as Mandalay Railway Station, Mandalay Palace &
Fort, Ruined Tourist aTrains.Offering hotel guests superior services and a broad range of amenities,
The Hotel Emperor is committed to ensuring that your stay is as comfortable as possible. Guests of
the hotel can enjoy on-site features like babysitting, tours, car park, room service, Wi-Fi in public
areas. The Hotel Emperor is home to 23 bedrooms, all tastefully furnished to provide comforts such
as complimentary bottled water, mini bar, internet access – wireless (complimentary), non smoking
rooms, hair dryer. Besides, the hotel's host of recreational offerings ensures you have plenty to do
during your stay. Superb facilities and an excellent location make the The Hotel Emperor the perfect
base from which to enjoy your stay in Mandalay
for 3 and a half star rating they need to raise their game
Apparently this is a 3 and a half star rated hotel, please tell me HOW?
First off, let me say my stay wasn't unpleasant, far from it, however ----- !
For a 3 and a half star establishment I'd expect, and have received elsewhere in Myanmar, a lot more.
Our room was very, very small. Two twin beds and that was just about it. A small bedside table and a half
unit in the corner and once you'd dropped your bags the room was full!
The bathroom was a true wet room experience, meaning no actual shower, but a shower head on the wall
of the bathroom, with everything getting wet when you used it. But the water was hot, and the water tank is
in the room with you so it's your water you're using, and that means it will be always hot for you.
The reception was very flash, teak wood everywhere. In fact the same can be said for the rest of the
building, teak everywhere. This means it's a little dark.
The dining room was for breakfast only, no evening meals, and it was the same every morning. Rice,
noodles, chicken sausages, eggs, toast. But they did have the best orange juice I've tasted in
years......ask for more.
The staff were lovely. They were always helpful, (more on that later), and booked taxi's for us when
needed and answered questions where they could.
We did have an issue with building maintenance. One evening we returned to find the A/C leaking water
over my bed. We went out for our evening meal and mentioned it to the desk staff. They said they'd look at
it.
Upon returning they said nothing could be done, but we had two options. Stay in a non air conditioned
room (?) or use another room, but keep our stuff in our original room - which we did.
The replacement room was much better. It was larger, more spacious and better equipped. Why we
couldn't have stayed there i don't know.
The other thing was noise. We were next to a restaurant. The building was so close I could have touched
it almost. Most evenings we heard everything they said or did until they closed. If you are tired then this
isn't a problem, but if you are a light sleeper then it will be.
So to close, we enjoyed our time there, but it is NOT a 3 and a half star hotel, more like 2 star, hence my 2
star review
Disappointed
This hotel was very disappointing, only good thing was the staff, the rooms dark and dinghy, the drainage
smelled bad,breakfast poor, the superior rooms were better, we changed I could not stay another night in
the standard one . But the food we ordered for lunch and dinner was tasty and the staff excelant
Adorable staff, bad beds/pillows, noisy as hell
I'm not sure what other reviewers are smoking... It's my second night here and, again, i'm unable to sleep.
I've been sleeping in 5 star hotels as well as in hostel dorms for a couple of dollars, and I'm not a diva. For
$50US a night, I don't expect royalty treatment. But at least to sleep. Which has not been possible here.

The mattresses are not stiff, they are downright hard. Some of the hardest I have laid my young body on.
So it's not so much of a relief, when trying not to use the unusable pillow (even harder).

Biggest problem is the noise - concert of strau dogs barking all night long. Impossible to sleep. That after a
room next door was also super noisy (paper thin walls) - which the reception took care of appropriately
though.

A/C is working great. Room size is ridiculously small - though cleanliness is ok. Bathroom is kind of a joke
for a hotel at that price but not my biggest concern.

So here it is, if you can handle noise and rock hard beds, by all means, sleepthere. Otherwise, forget it.

Also, staff extremely nice and more than willing to help. Lack of understanding Énglish for some of them
didn't help though.

Now, a message to other travellers/tripadvisors: stop to give freaking unwarranted 5 stars!!! And
tripadvisors, find a solution for unreliable business owners promoted reviews!

Smart Hotel
Smart Hotel is conveniently located a few minutes walk to Mandalay Palace, Mandalay train station,
local restaurants, shopping mall and a short distance from Mandalay famous places. Smart Hotel is
ideal base for city tourists as well as business travellers and everyone visiting this beautiful Myanmar
teak blending style and sophistication hotel can expert warmhearted, truly Burmese hospitality
experience. With three exquisite room types; Standard, Superior and Executive rooms are perfect
retreat for individual needs and styles. The interior of all rooms was designed along very clean but
beautiful wallpaper design as well as lovely curtain and teak furniture with a tasteful mix of Myanmar
and European style
Avoid without hesitation"
 Jan 25, 2019  Le_Phoenix_54, Ludres, France
What can I say ... how is it that for the same price we find hotels of much better
quality but really of better quality !!! Very small room just a short passage on the
half of the bed (the other side sticks to the wall) very aging carpet and above all
unhygienic, worn tapestry, decent bathroom but very aging ... but the worst
odor to contain and toilet odor going up ... for your courageous electrical
connections with the sockets to successfully connect correctly. The breakfast
room with carpet ... I will not know how to really qualify it ... another era .... On
the other hand I would like to underline the kindness of the staff who are at your
disposal. Conclusion: this hotel really deserves a complete renovation because
quality / price = 0
Management response
Aug 18, 2019  SmartHotelMdy, Public Relations Manager, SmartHotelMdy (Management representative)
Dear Le_Phoenix_54, Warm greetings from the Smart Hotel Mandalay! We are
very sorry that your experience did not meet all your expectations. Please be
assured that we are taking appropriate action to resolve the problem and
prevent it from happening again. Please give us a chance to change our stuff
and get back to square one. We wish to serve you in our very near future. By
the way, sorry for your late response, we can access it right now. Sincerely,
Management and team members
No hot water and water drops falling!
I got to Mandalay in the day bus and arrived around 22:30 to the city. I was looking for a cool place and I
thought I've found it in Smart Hotel but NO! Even paying 30 dollars for a no-window room my surprise was
that my shower was with cold water and a lot of water drops were falling from the ceiling. Very bad
experience. The only good thing is the roof restaurant with breathtaking views of Mandalay, no more.
tarfile
staff are very rude to local Burmese traveler. They intentionally try to kick me out from the hotel when I
was packing my stuff to check out because I was a few minute from their check out time. It has military
back ground. I wouldn't bother to go and stay there again. By the way, a hotel staff entered to my friend
room in the middle of the night when she was asleep. No privacy and safety at all.
Dear Lovely guest ,
Greetings from Smart hotel !
Thank you for booking with us .
I'm very sorry for your moment stayed was unpleasant at our Smart Hotel & we hope you to accept our
apology. Regarding your comment , normally our hotel check out time is 12:00 PM. we’ve already
informed that to every guest when the guest check in . If the guest requested for late check out , we’ll try to
give the best service to guest . We don’t have any authority to kick the guest out and also we don’t enter
the room without the guest’s permission expect the guest requested .We never do that to our lovely client .
We apologize for misunderstanding with us .
Have a nice day
My nightmare in Mandalay.
I would never spend my precious holidays in hotel like that again. I have to wait at least 1 hr for every
service. They don't have taxi service and if you ask them to heir a motor bike, they will give you exhausted
one and ask for the price of brand new YAMAHA
"dilapidated - without interest"
 Aug 19, 2016  brmn2016, Paris, France
dilapidated set, hall, corridor, small bedroom and bathroom to be reviewed:
water leaks from the toilets, ventilation, worn fittings and bathtub, dirty limit.
Doorframes damaged therefore soundproofing vis-à-vis the outside nonexistent
(street noise all night). to enter the room, you had to hold the door open
otherwise it hits the wood of the bed! A bad memory. Not recommended in the
current state. No breakfast so no opinion on the matter. the videos at reception
and on the internet show another attractive reality that I would have liked to
know and not the one I experienced. watch out for illusions
Awful experience
Management changed recently and this might explained drop in rating.
Welcome was nice and staff very friendly but it stopped there.
We have had problems with air conditioning and hot water; most rooms do not have windows and are
really old; we have been charged an outrageous price for laundry (I could have buy new clothes... Price
was in the back of a closet we never opened) and at the moment of check in, we have had an issue with
the bill which was dealt in an awful way, manager was home.... Very very unpleasant attitude
Dear Distinguished Guests,

I do appreciate for your review as our staffs were welcoming was nice for you when you checked in.
And we are still sorry to hear that you was problem with air condition and hot water , in your room do not
had window which all I've known when you check out while you were preparing to pay for your bill. But I
was checked all time when I see with you that are you everything were being okay or not. You just said
that everything okay then I though you all were being okay everything.
And also another issues was you've paid the outrageous prices for laundry and you haven't opened the
laundry charges list. Yes Madam, we are also sorry to hear that you haven't checked the laundry prices list
then you want us to wash your cloths. We are still charging that laundry prices because other guests are
washing their laundry with these prices and all they were fine with these prices except some guests. Then
we didn't changed these prices.
After your family were checking in first day, your father was requested that he would like to stayed same
floor with your family then we let your fathers' room changed to room 405 and in that evening time, your
father doesn't like the aircorn in room 405 and would like to change another room again . Then we were let
your father to change another room again on that evening but in the same time your young daughter was
fall in asleep in room 405 and you requested us just let her sleep . We just said okay although you was
used that room for the whole night for your daughter and we didn't charged additional for that and I was
signed as free of charge for that rooms. My aim is only my all clients to be happy at all.
And another issue was when you were paying your bill at reception desk then you just want us to give you
reduced the price. We were really sorry to give you with discount price for totaled of your bill. I feel really
sorry for it. Yes Madam, I'm at home at that time and that day was my Day Off. But I said I would come to
Hotel when I phoned with your husband. But you couldn't wait for me because you need to rush also to
explore to another place.
These all above mentioned were not excuse definitely but my explanation which I hope to get your kind
favor to understand us. Hoping to get your understood on us.
I really appreciate for your moment stayed at our Smart Hotel.

with kind regards,

Zin Lin Tun
Operations Manager
Smart Hotel, Mandalay, Myanmar.

Room smelled like a sewer

You will notice that this is not the only complaint about the sewer smell in the bathrooms of this hotel. I
doubt we all stayed in the same room. It was really not possible to stay in this room. We asked for another
room. The person at the desked asked me to wait in my room which I did. However after 2 hours it was
apparent that nothing was going to be done so we looked for another hotel. We booked this through
Agoda and they claimed that the management would not reimburse any of our money even though we did
not stay there. If the management claims that they would change our room in a response that is simply not
true. Except for the lobby, the hotel did not seem very clean, especially the carpeting in the hallways. We
did find a very nice clean hotel that did not smell for a lower price.
Not like the photos - avoid
I'm not a negative person but a hamster died in the toilet, decomposed and was then reincarnated as one
of the reception staff. That was one room .... the other one was riddled with cigarette smoke, to their credit
they did allow us to move rooms...but the replacement had the same bathroom sewer odour.

Breakfast was foul ..... no redeeming features... rooms tiny. Don't say you haven't been warned
To,
Monkeyboynz
New Zealand
Dear Valued Guest, I must accept the complaints when every single of our customers who are feeling
inconvenience while they are staying in our Smart Hotel, but for these issues like hamster was died in the
toilet in your room, frankly, I've got this complaint after you mentioned on this website and we didn't have
chance to offer you with something while you were staying in our Hotel because you didn't tell us . Please
I would like you to believe us that we are maintaining with pets control for insects and pets at least twice in
a week.. And this is the first time that we've got this complaint which concern with insects since 2 years of
Hotel operating time. I'm sure that this is not excuse and I would like to compensate you for your next stay
at our Smart Hotel again.

with regards,
Zin Lin Tun
Operations Manager
[email protected]
Avoid this place...
This isn't the place to stay if you have high sanitation expectations. Upon entering our room on the top
floor the stench of sewer was overwhelming. The carpets in the halls were not clean either. The safe in the
room didn't work. We asked for another room and had no reply. We opted to stay at another hotel, not
feeling comfortable with this one. The staff was friendly, however management was not willing to give us
any of our money back even though we were not satisfied with the hotel. I would not recommend saying
here.

To,
amy p
Kalamazoo, Michigan
I'm deeply sorry that your moment stayed was unpleasant at our Smart Hotel and please accept our
apology on behalf of our smart hotel management. I definitely accepted your feeling while you stayed at
our Smart Hotel. As a Operations Manager since I joined at Smart Hotel, I have full responsibilities for my
all valued Guests. Now I could say definitely that you would feel happy and comfort at all with our service
whenever you come and visit to our Smart Hotel again and this is a deal from Smart Hotel Management.
And we've planned that we would renovate our Hotel to upgrade especially for Hygiene. I hope I could
compensate to you for your next stay at Smart Hotel.

with regards,
Zin Lin Tun
Operations Manager
[email protected]
Disappointed hotel!
I visited Myanmar for a week and experienced many nice hotels excepting SMART hotel. I booked for my
family trip for 3 nights of 2 rooms.
I always read the reviews before booking the hotels. This hotel has very good reviews and rated at
average 4 stars. However, it is really disappointing. Rooms are very limited space. Room and toilet have
strong drain and musty odors. I think the staffs know as they had air refresher spray just before we go to
the rooms. I had comment on the reception on this strong smell but they told it is common for carpet smell.
Then, I have no more wording to say.
What I appreciate is the breakfast is okay and good service.
Please be careful to book this hotel if you have allergies or high hygiene standard.
NOT Smart at all!
After 3 weeks in SE Asia, this was the only poor hotel we experienced.
The glam photos on their website certainly are not reflected in situ. This hotel's decor can only be
described as "tired". In many places the wallpaper is peeling away, paint is chipped, wall & floor tiles are
chipped and the carpet in the breakfast & top floor bar area need a serious shampoo!
Our bedroom and bathroom had a dirty drain odour. After complaining someone came & spent some time
in the bathroom. The SO2 / drain smell persisted & only the next morning we were moved to another
room..... here the odour was there, but bearable!
The reception & dining staff can barely speak English so communication is limited. Service in the dining
area is indifferent.
The only satisfactory service was the calling of taxis.
The wifi is inconsistent, continually disconnecting.
We do not recommend this hotel!
Poor Choice, not Smart at all!
The room was small, old and tired with dirty floors. There was no plug in the sink, the AC water dripped in
the bathroom through a broken pipe, and the evening meal I had the first night laid me down with food
poisoning for the next 48 hrs. I really would not recommend this place. It was a real disappointment after
reading other reviews about it. There is a 7th floor restaurant where breakfast is also served but I found
that to be poor quality choices too. There are some nice views over Mandalay but that is all. I decided to
cut my losses and moved to a much nicer hotel not far away.
Dear Guest,
Your tripAdvisor review comment appeared the other day for Smart hotel was not an impressive
gentleman's comment at all. This intends to degrade a simple friendly courteous Staff and that hotel
and it's clean image..! An EU Guest,in-house for three days, who read your review said , " this is purely
insane's work, by an Empty Vassel".
Now, I will have to refute or reply or answer your off the track, untrue complaints, very humbly
as a genuine hotelier. ( if you don't mind ) You have mentioned," the breakfast was poor quality choice," ...
kindly refer to recent review comment about our Sky-bar breakfast, all praise, as it is a
very comprehensive Asian and Western delicious food with fresh juices and fresh fruits as well. Please
ask any good friend of yours to come and enjoy this breakfast, and also to count. I have
just counted the cheffing dishes, containers, bowls, platas, trays, baskets etc.. I guarantee there are 31
kinds of food items. Menu changing everyday.
Regarding your food poisoned made-tale, we never had such food poisoned complaints but, in case you
have had such problems, frankly you should,..you must inform, report us immediately.
Then, I will take urgent VIA,.. Very important action and we will call a doctor, or take you to a Clinic,
( e.g. I will never lay down for 48 hours in bed,... you mentioned that you did ) For your kind information, I,
myself as the General Manager of this hotel, I am always taking great care of all our
Esteemed Guests, also I act as a Quality control-man 24 / 7 as I live in this hotel. That was also a piece of
purely made-up story.
Next, you complained about the Air-con, the sink, the bath room ..etc... Sir, Why ? you have not
complained us, anyone in the House keeping, Front Office or to me. We never ignore such kind of
Complaints. I have shown your review comment to an Inspector of hotels in the city. Well, he just
made a remarks with a broad smile, and said, " this is an isolated case, a disgrunted poor person,
I pity him ," was his advice to me.
May I request to all our previous Loyal Esteemed Guests, and to our new would-be Smart's Guests,
please book with us and just try one night stay at Smart, I, humbly guarantee that you will be very
happy here, with our very friendly, courteous service and facility, in the city,the hotel is away from noisy
Main road.
Sorry for troubles, those, ( you said ) caused you, and I apologize if my responses did not suit your
complaints.
Terrence
General Manager
( the one who is welcoming and taking care of all Smart's Valued Guests)
...... in Mandalay
"Horrible"
 Mar 18, 2015  Chris_Alex_W
We went on a 14-day tour, the actual hotel was fully booked and this was
offered to us as a replacement. After the reviews on the Internet, we agreed.
When we got to the room it was a shock. The furniture was completely shabby,
the room itself a small chamber, the carpet dirty and shabby, the bathroom
wasn't really better. We were stunned! In retrospect I can not understand the
previous reviews .... And we have been to many hotels in Myanmar and also
elsewhere in some third world countries and I am very aware that you have to
cut back on quality and so on, but that .... The staff was friendly and tried hard.
Overall the worst hotel I have ever been in my life
worst experience in Myanmar
Hotel is situated beside a busy road with nothing around - shops, restaurants and so on.
I paid for a deluxe room and got a room with no daylight at all. Window opens into a dark funnel as the
wall of the next house is maybe 1 metre away. Also very loud as birds are nesting there.
Room very small and the bathroom needs desperatly a renovation. Toilet handle broken, wash basin
clogged, bath rag dirty.Bed planket was also very thin and dirty.
After much discussion I could change into another room the next day. With window and daylight, it was
clean, bed was better,nice clean sheats and blankets. and it was ok although still not the deluxe room, I
paid for.
Breakfast poor - no really choices for western guests, butter was rancid all 3 mornings.
The rooftop restaurant and bar has a very cold atmosphere partly due to the blue light which reminds of a
swimming pool. Food is ok it just takes a very long time to get it.
Thank you for your detailed feedback. We sincerely apologise for the lapse in service you experienced
during your stay. I can assure you this is not the norm which can be supported by the many favourable trip
advisor comments and we sincerely regret that our usually high standards were not reflected during your
stay.

Being in a central location with easy access to all of the shopping(Diamond Plaza -10 mins walk) ,
restaurants(BBB, Too Too, Marin min, local pub and restaurants - 5 mins walk), train station(5 mins walk),
bank(3 mins walk) and Air Asia Shuttle pick up point (10 mins walk), is certainly an advantage for Smart
Hotel, but our receptionists may miss to give you all those information about the location. There may be
few noise from the street during the day time, but it is so quiet in the evening.

We have very few rooms with no window, but we are always happy to change the room or free upgrade
upon availability if our guest is not happy with any of room facility. We are happy to know that you are ok
after changing the room.

Our Breakfast offers Fried Egg, Scramble Egg, Sausage, Grilled Tomato, Baked Beans, Fried Rice, Fried
Vegetable, Fried noodle, Pan cake, Soup, white and BrownToast, Pastries and 3 kinds of fruits. Our chefs
are always happy to make other dishes for guest if our guest is not OK with our standard breakfast dishes.

We thank you for sharing you experience which will certainly help us to review our services.

I hope you will give us another opportunity and request that you contact the reservation department
[email protected] for your future reservation. I will ensure you have a seamless and enjoyable
visit with free upgrade and other amenities.

Yours sincerely,

Myo N Oo

General Manager
Smart Hotel
This is a good very inexpensive option with a great view of Mandalay Hill, close to Palace complex and
Minglabar but it has suffered from lack of investment and is now very tired looking, so you get what you
pay for
There must be better around....
Very old dated decor, needs a re fit badly. Stains and peeling wallpaper everywhere!

Shower was broken so sprayed everywhere.

Wasn’t given any info on breakfast nor entertainment, seems like I’ve missed out looking at these reviews
but I wasn’t told about it.

Air con screen is really bright so room can’t be cold and dark at same time.

A lot of street noise comes in to the room and early in morning too.

English of staff is okay, and helpful with a late check in and booking taxis. However, taxi prices here and
high and they quote inconsistently
Old, not so clean and no ability to help....
I made my booking based on the photos, however, they are at least 10 years old.... There is construction
in the lobby, thus it is kept dark and without a/c or fans (fans were finally added after I asked). My booking
was for a superior room, which I was under the impression is the one from the photos - WRONG (the
pictures are the executive rooms of which they have 4). The room was dated and the carpet dirty, bed
linens had dark spots on them. No bath rug, which made getting out of the wet bathtub after a shower a
real hazard.... towels are placed across the bathroom from the shower. Wifi could not connect. I asked to
speak to a manager and the owner's son came to talk to me. He offered me a different room, which was
even worse and further away from wifi router.... I learned after a while that wifi does work for about 2 hours
in the middle of the day when all other guests are out... The hotel offered me a fruit basket for my troubles,
but was not able to resolve any of my concerns. Breakfast was unremarkable, the one asset this hotel has
is free bicycle rentals. Drivers/Tours organized by the front desk are approximately 30% more expensive
than elsewhere.
Photos no connection to reality!
This hotel photos were so nice online but when we came it has zero to do with the actual place!!!! The
cleanliness was questionable. The decor was run down and grey/dirty. Service ok but a bit clueless
sometimes, breakfast average.
Its seems just because it was cheap....
Wifi reception was very poor - you needed to go to corridor next to router to get wifi
Simple and careless"
 Feb 24, 2017  Lycas2014, Rome, Italy
I was there with friends last August. Despite the good will and helpfulness of the
staff the hotel leaves something to be desired. Simple breakfast as well as
dinner, served on the top floor in a kind of glazed terrace.
Average service hotel"
 Nov 16, 2016  fishcircle, AURORA
We came to this so-called exquisite hotel with a travel agency. The hotel is
small, the rooms are small, even the elevator is very small. In fact, small is not
a problem. The problem is the poor service. It seems that the two of us only had
one room key. I went to the front desk and asked for another room key, but the
waiter answered that they could only provide one room key. I have been to
many hotels. This is the first hotel that cannot be given an extra room key.
Imagine how inconvenient it is for my brother and sister to have only one room
key! Finally, I have to mention that breakfast is basically only the minimum
coffee refreshments. It can be said that it is good!
Not as nice as website
This place is not as nice as it looks on the booking sites. The lobby is nice and it stops there. Rooms are
dated and a bit smelly, bathrooms need some major TLC, staff don't have very good English and
everything is very expensive (washing, food and cocktails). It's was going to cost over 3000 kyat for one
shirt. Won't not stay again or recommend to anyone
Over-rated for sure
No screens on outside bathroom windows, overpriced drinks and I felt a dank atmosphere overall.
I ordered a coke in the lobby and was charged 2600 ks, which is 5xs store price and way more than any
restaurant charges
Dear Guest,
You was stayed at M3 Hotel in Mandalay and you just came to our Smart Hotel to see our different rooms
as inspection. Then we showed you the one category , room 606 and which is just our ordinary room and
on the cost of just $25 per night for that room. And you said that price was expensive for you. And we
have other categories like Standard , Deluxe, and Executive. Even ordinary room was expensive that you
said then we didn't showed you other categories. Then you just came down and ordered one coke and we
served. And after we served then you said again that you can't pay for this coke because the price was
expensive. I would like you to check next time that you should try to know the price before you use. And
after you used then you was refused to pay and you said the reason just because of expensive which all
are not proper way. AND YOU DIDN'T STAY AT OUR HOTEL EVEN ONE TIME THEN YOU SHOULD
NOT JUDGE OUR HOTEL. Because you can't know everything that we are providing as our service to our
clients. Please you may read other reviews on this website and which all are just result of our Smart Hotel
and reviewed from our clients who stayed at our Smart Hotel. If you feel that the prices are being
expensive then you should try yourself to decide to buy or use.
Thank in advance,
Zin Lin Tun
Operations Manager
Smart Hotel, Mandalay, Myanmar.
[email protected]
Bad choice if you want good value for money
This is a Soviet-looking oldish hotel. Its breakfas is good and its free bicycle service is excellent, but they
just want your dollars, your dollars, your dollars!!! The stardard rooms are as tiny as a matchbox and too
expensive for what they offer. Go somewhere else
Maybe Not Such a Smart Choice
I have to keep reminding myself this is a budget hotel or it would be a 2 rating. First thing that rubbed a bit
the wrong way was the big sign upon check in saying "if you like us tell Trip Advisor as well as a few other
sites". Not a big fan of solicited reviews. I know the hospitality industry is in its infancy in Myanmar but
although I can't exactly put my finger on it the friendliness seemed somewhat "contrived". This hotel has a
rooftop restaurant with GREAT views - unfortunately all prices are in US dollars but when we went to pay
in kyat (imagine that, only having local currency) we were given an abysmal exchange rate. When
mentioned to the manager who everyone finds soo helpful he basically brushed it off saying yes, we could
do better on the street. Rooms are clean and this is decent value for the money but I've changed my mind
to a 2 rating because if you really want feedback, honor the constructive as well as the positive. That said,
absolutely loved Myanmar-go if you can now.
To
Edmonton

Dear Valued Guest,

Thank you for your tripAdvisor review comment viz... titled, " may be not such a smart choice "
Yes, very well indeed, " customer is always right. I shall not argue, but, may I explain a bit, and also I
apologize for the incident that had happened before your departure.!
Please consider and understand that, in most hotel worldwide, the Cambio..exchange rate and
laundry rates are always higher than the private Money exchange and private Laundry shops.
I did not actually brushed off the matter, instead I was trying to explain and apologize this unfortunate
incident. Then, I found out that, two rates happened, because the Finance Department
on that day owing to the fluctuation of foreign rates, they ( finance people ) missed to regularized
FE rates in time. Someone overlooked it and it was very unfortunate, we regret and please forgive
and it is not abysmal, and our friendliness, helpfulness, sincerity and service with a smile have
been not " contrived" everything is genuine and from our heart. Kindly check the ... tripAdvisor
review comment, in general we have received lots of positive lovely comments. One should not
judge the whole scenerio because of a small mistake or owing to a minor mishap.
To compensate this, and to forget the unfortunate matter, may I offer you, that we will return the
whole amount of money I. U.S. $ or in local Kyats,, ... that you think you have paid extra, and also
I will upgrade you room , whenever you would visit again in the new future to .." absolutely
Myanmar-go " ( that you have mentioned ) . Thank you for staying with us.
Terrence
General Manager
who leads the friendly... helpful Staff
Room without windows"
 Feb 27, 2015  Piergiorgio C
The hotel itself is not bad but it has a serious problem: the rooms with even
numbers up to and including the 4th floor have no windows (eg 302 which was
assigned to me, 304, 306 ...). The reason is that a second one was attached to
the hotel building, with no space between the two. So the original window is
there, but it is closed on the stairs of the other building. The room is therefore
without ventilation, which is very serious in a very hot climate, and is lived in
unhealthy air conditioning. The price of this room was not discounted, but was
equal to that of the room of fellow travelers on the other side of the building,
with a window. I strongly advise against it
Old hotel badly in need of renovation
I can't believe how Smart Hotel has such positive TripAdvisor ratings. The room that I got was quite small,
smaller than most hotel rooms I have seen in Asia (the width of the room fit the bed and the door, that's it).
The wallpaper was peeling and the room gave a sense of being very old and under-maintained.

The bathroom didn't have a shower divided, so showering would make the whole bathroom wet. The
shower curtain was very old and didn't even reach the floor of the bathroom. There was little place to put
an amenity kit in the bathroom.

For its price, the hotel definitely didn't seem like worth it, unless Mandalay has no good options
Dear Esteemed Guest,

I would like to Thank You for Your review comment viz..... " old hotel in need of renovation ' at TripAdvisor
appeared yesterday. Firstly, I apologize for whatever you have encountered as per your versions.I regret
and sorry for this unfortunate incident happened.
But, however had you go through numerous review comments , at TripAdvisor for Smart Hotel, by many
European and Western valued Guests for us, one will see constructive supporting remarks, and said, ..
good value for money,... although there were remarks and reminders.
Nevertheless, you have mentioned that " for it's price, Hotel definitely don't seem like worth it ' In that case,
may I humbly request you to, stop - by at Smart Hotel, first , and choose either of the (2) below mentioned
offers to compensate your spent money, as per your comments.
(1) To stay in the same kind of room ' but on a different floor as you have book through Agoda " this will be
with my compliments, as General Manager of a property , I will gladly do it and I have the right and full
authority to do such thing.
(2) or to take back your spent room charges, that you have mentioned, not worth.
For your kind information I have been to your country stayed in Bombay, Chennai ( Madras) and Delhi.
Those rooms are no more superior then Smart s, and service were incomparable. Then, I was in a
boutique hotel in Singapore the room was so tiny ,with my suitcase that I couldn't move much, and high
rate, no breakfast.
Thank your again, and my apology, and until ,wish to welcoming you as a special guest.

Terrence
General Manager
of a simple Hotel , in Mandalay
Very very Average
Didn't really have time to look around so booked this hotel. Stunningly average with very little to write
about other than the over attentive man who runs it. He needs to pass on the reins to his far more pleasing
and competent younger crew and stick to keeping reservations orderly, and consign the sycophantic
demeanor to history. Take this one if there is nothing else available, but keep expectations lo
Thank you for taking the time to write about your recent stay with us in Mandalay. We are deeply sorry that
your experience did not meet your standards or those that we strive to provide to each of our guests.

Reference to the attentive man, we will look into the matter and do the needful. Also, reservations is kept
orderly.

Our goal is to provide impeccable services and facilities for all our guests. We look forward to your return
so that we may demonstrate the services you have come to expect from Smart Hotel. Please contact me
directly should you have any other valuable feedback for our improvement - [email protected]

Yours sincerely,

Myo

General Manager
Great staff, dreadful rooms!
First of all, one must take into account that Myanmar, (Burma), is only now emerging from relative isolation
from the outside world, and that building new and better tourist facilities is proceeding at a frenetic pace.
This notwithstanding, it has to be said that the accommodations at the Smart Hotel in Mandalay leave
much to be desired! I think that I can truthfully say that I have never, ever, stayed in a smaller hotel room
(or, indeed, even a guest house room, for that matter) in my entire life! Without any hyperbole, there was
barely enough room for the bedroom door to close, given the queen-size bed, and it was quite easy to get
from the bed and into the en-suite without touching the floor! Almost impossible to open one's suitcase, as
well. Now, to be fair, the hotel may well have had bigger and better rooms, but I never saw them. To
counter this discomfort, however, was the great charm, friendliness and helpfulness of the gentle Burmese
staff. Communicating with these great people can, however, be a challenge! For a country that once was a
far flung outpost of the now well-and-truly defunct British Empire, the English language has not survived,
as it has in many other, similar states in the SE Asian region (e.g. Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong etc.).
Having said that, it is amazing how well one can communicate with a lot of good-natured smiles, goodwill,
friendliness and tolerance on both sides!
Clean but no thrills
It's definitely clean and rather centrally located (just a couple of blocs from the Mandalay Palace), but
otherwise it's a very basic hotel with small rooms, mediocre service and rather odd breakfast to European
taste. I would look for sth else next time I go to Mandalay
Thank you for your feedback.

We are very please to hear from you that ( hotel is definitely clean and good location).

To address the points you had highlighted, I can see that room type, service and Breakfast is just a basic
for your opinion. I would like to suggest you to try our Superior Room, as rooms are bigger than standard
one. We also have Executive room which are much bigger with balcony, large window and top views.
These two room types may match your needs.

Clearly, Excellent Service is our main focus on every guest, but you had an experience with basic service
at Hotel. We all are truly sorry for this and our team is ready to welcome you back to our hotel and provide
with best service if we have a second chance from you. For Breakfast, guest can also request to
Restaurant if you are not happy with Breakfast we offer. Chef will arrange for you another reasonable one
with no additional charges.

Your feedback was a good learning experience for us. We will make every effort to satisfy your
requirements on your next visit to Mandalay. Please feel free to let me know of your future travel plans at
my mail address which is [email protected] or contact me directly there may be something I can do
to assist your next trip.
Best Regards,

Myo

General Manager

Overpriced, dirty, mosquitoes

Smart Hotel is good for Chinese tour groups. That's all.

The lobby has been recently updated and is super-a/c'd with clocks telling you the time around the world -
I guess an attempt at sophistication. The attached hotel at the back seems much older. Rooms are dirty,
especially the bathrooms and there are mosquitoes floating (and biting) around. The AC in the rooms is
terrible - it cannot hold a steady temperature. Despite asking for a double room they gave us a room with
two single beds. This was after losing our booking the first time.... not great service. I guess in terms of
positives, the breakfast was reasonable the the staff are friendly. $5/minute for international calls and $4
for a plate of french fries.

I'd pay $30/night for a room here not the $55-65 they try to extort out of people
Thank you for taking the time to post your comments regarding your most recent stay at our Smart hotel.

I sincerely apologise that your stay was unsatisfactory and your comments will allow us to learn the areas
on which we need to improve upon. I am very sorry to hear that we are not meeting your standard. I have
already passed your comments onto the HK manager and make sure to use insert killer every each guest
check out and also meeting our cleaning standard. Ensure that a similar occurrence does not happen
again.

If you do choose to stay with us again, please contact our Reservation team
[email protected] and we will do complementary upgrade to you.

We are always striving to improve the standards of service within the hotel and we are always grateful for
your time and give a chance to improve our service and product.

Sincerely,

Myo

General Manager at Smart Hotel

Disappointing
I stayed here two nights, since no other rooms wete available in Mandalay. The room rate (superior type)
was $ 60 for a room which values the half, bathroom was ok, wifi does not work well in the rooms, but it
does in the lobby. They claim it is a new hotel, but the building and rooms' furniture are updated and
certainly not new.....
Breakfast was ok, staff friendly. The location is good, since there are nice restaurants in the area where
you can eat

Yadanarpon Dynasty Hotel

Yadanarpon Dynasty Hotel is quite close to Mandalay Royal Palace which is peaceful, delighted
silent zone road-map of 65th, between 27th and 28th street. Decorated with contemporary implement
to enjoy the odour age of Yadanarpon Dynasty. Sixth stories building design and/is nestled with cozy
Villas, improved a beautiful green landscape. Organized with total of 80 rooms and 3 room types as
Superior, Deluxe and Villa. We’ve upgraded the building and a new look of floating roof top infinity
swimming pool with spectacular photo-taking spot. We let you experience the unforgettable beauty of
sunset amidst the cloud and glorious background of Mandalay Hill with entire city lights.
very terrible front office service
Especially receptionists are very rude they don’t know how to serve customers in balance . They treated
us differently from other customers .We got an upset stay because of the disappointed service U know
Hotel field is a service industry u should learn how to take responsibility and have an ethic to all customers
in balance.
When we made a check-out they can’t say “thank u” to us. The next thing is that they treated us a freak
Disapointing hotel
The hotel looks nice from outside... People are nice at the hotel and that is it! The hotel is more for large
group of tourists. The room was extremly noisy. You can hear other rooms' shower and people walking...
The rooftop restaurant has a "nice" view but service is very slow and used to group of tourists... We would
recommend the restaurant "unique Myanmar" just 1 minute away. I would not recommand this hotel
Overrated 1 star hotel
This place is in a mosquito infested area. Be prepared to have hundreds of mosquitos in your room every
night. They appear in swarms in the evenings. Breakfast is the worst ive had at any hotel. Looks like they
search the area garbage bins to supply the breakfast buffet. Its a joke. I think they must of paid off the
other guests to write nice reviews for them. Looks like the managment gave the kitchen a 50 kyat per
guest budget to spend on the food.
Do you need to stay in Mandalay centre?
We wanted to stay in Mandalay centre; our travel agent had suggested a hotel a bit further out. We
overruled her, which was a mistake. The main attractive sights are a bit out of Mandalay, downtown is
mostly scruffy and lacks charm.

This hotel plus points:

Pretty small front garden.
Allowed us to check in early and check out late.

Minus points:
Strong smell of drains in our bathroom, room 712.
Very slow Wi-fi speed, 1 mbps, only one internet appliance per guest.
Near noisy road.
Practically no clothes storage.
Breakfast finishes at 9am.
No info folder in room with breakfast times etc.
Two windows have lights outside and inadequate blinds so room was light all night.
Did I mention the drains smell in the bathroom
Building Works Spoil The Stay
This is actually a nice hotel - clean, modern, well presented rooms, friendly staff, decent breakfast, and a
good location.

But - as the previous reviewer mentions too - it is presently completely let down by the awful construction
work going on in it. We were not told in advance that this was happening and after a long journey, arriving
mid-afternoon to find that they're in the process of adding two floors plus a rooftop pool, and an elevator
meant that the place was in chaos and it was REALLY loud. The work was still going on at 7pm!! Even
worse than the noise was the elevator installation. The hotel was still full, and we were staying on the
second floor. Usually we'd just take the stairs, but they'd been blocked off for the construction workers to
use and we weren't allowed to use them. This meant that any time we needed to go up or down, we had a
ten minute wait for the one functioning elevator. The other elevator shaft wasn't even blocked off when
they'd finished working for the day - it would have been easy for someone (such a small child hurtling
around the corner) to fall down it from our floor.

All in all, we were really disappointed with our stay here. We don't expect perfection or Western standards
in Myanmar at all, but to carry out such extensive works at the peak tourist season just seems insane if
you're planning to keep the hotel open. As the other reviewer says, once it's finished, it will go back to
being a nice hotel, but in the meantime, I'd avoid staying here until the work is complete
Ok, but...
This hotel has a lot going for it. The location is perfect, within walking distance of many sights, restaurants
and bars. The rooms are a good size and very comfortable. But, the hotel owners are in the process of
adding two floors to the top of the hotel, which means a lot of noise during the day, and no roof terrace.
Whether or not the building work was to blame, our room had no hot water. Despite several requests for
this to be fixed, we eventually asked to be moved to a room that had running hot water. We were only
offered an inferior room with no refund.

Maybe when the building work is finished, this will return to being the quality hotel that impressed previous
reviewers. But this reviewer left feeling unhappy with their stay and treatment
Not a good value
Charge 3% on credit card??? What's up with that. Not mentioned when booking.

Overcharged on taxi to airport. I know this because I went from another nearby hotel to the Airport 2 days
after for 1/2 the price.

Room was not terrible but for 100$ a POOR value.

Breakfast mediocre

I would not recommend this hotel. Stay at Bagan King hotel for same price
Noisy and forgettable
The windows were thin (was on 3rd floor though), the door as well: the maids shouted in the corridor from
early on, probably believing they were alone in the hotel. The aircon was super noisy as well, wake me up
a few times.
The breakfast is served from 6 to 9 am only. In short, if you plan to rest and sleep well, forget it.

Otherwise the bathroom was very clean and quite modern, enjoyed the bath.
The room clean, and the Wifi quite slow.
For this price i expect to sleep well, and being able to eat a breakfast until 10am. At least
Hotel which looks like a resort from outside
It is located in quite nearby to Mandalay Palace, but you need to walk quite a distance if you were to enter
via the main entrance gate of the palace. The hotel is relatively good, room is clean, wifi is okay in the
room, but I do not like the washroom, as the shower place is an open place in the bathroom, hence it will
wet the whole room when you take your shower, not unless you shower in the bath-tub. Breakfast is okay,
except. they do not serve that enough fruits. During my stay, only banana and papaya were served, and
both were to ripe. The mohinga served was quite good. They have a pool with a nice view if you have the
time to enjoy. Front desk service is quite good. If you were to come from the airport, you may take airport
shuttle van, and they bring you directly to the front entrance of the hotel.
Nothing special
Our room was OK - quiet and comfortable while the bathroom was a good size. We had two poor quality
dinners in their roof-top restaurant. Apart from anything else, the food arrives from the ground floor and is
therefore cold (waiting staff even wait for an empty lift in deference to guests); and drinks were expensive -
better to use one of the restaurants nearby. Breakfast included eggs cooked to order as well as cereal and
Burmese dishes. Our first breakfast was spoiled by a group of arrogant Italians who took over the
restaurant, however. Credit cards are not accepted for less than $50
Good serviceable hotel in Mandalay
We spent two nights here, from the outside the hotel looks really nice, with a row of bungalows on either
side of a landscaped central path. The staff at reception are friendly and welcoming. Our room was a
corner room on one of the upper floors, with views to Mandalay Hill. The room was relatively large and
spacious but fairly plain. The floors were all tiled, without any carpets. Would have been nice to have two
bedside tables. Bathroom was large with decent bath. Wifi was good.
The breakfast served on the ground floor, was decent, with a selection of local and western dishes, though
you had to pick your times as large tour groups tended to clean out some dishes which staff were slow to
replenish. Dining area was open to outside which meant always mosquitoes around. At night there are a
couple of good restaurants and cafes around the corner.
Great views from the rooftop pool however bar is not open most of the day and the pool area always
seemed to be in need of cleaning (removal of used glasses and plates).
In summary it’s a nice hotel but nothing special or amazing.

The Link 78 Mandalay Boutique Hotel

See why so many travelers make The Link 78 Mandalay Boutique Hotel their hotel of choice when
visiting Mandalay. Providing an ideal mix of value, comfort and convenience, it offers a family-friendly
setting with an array of amenities designed for travelers like you. While staying at The Link 78
Mandalay Boutique Hotel, visitors can check out Mandalay Palace (1.3 mi) and Shwe In Bin Kyaung
(1.5 mi), some of Mandalay's top attractions. The Link 78 Mandalay Boutique Hotel is a family-friendly
hotel offering air conditioning and a minibar in the rooms, and it is easy to stay connected during your
stay as free wifi is offered to guests. The hotel features room service. Plus, guests can enjoy free
breakfast, which has made this a popular choice among travelers visiting Mandalay. While in
Mandalay, you may want to check out some of the restaurants that are a short walk away from The
Link 78 Mandalay Boutique Hotel, including Mingalabar Myanmar Restaurant (0.8 mi), Shan Ma Ma
(0.3 mi), and Bistro At 82nd (0.4 mi). If you’re looking for things to do, you can check out Golden
Palace Monastery (Shwenandaw Kyaung), Kuthodaw Pagoda & the World's Largest Book, or Kyauk
Taw Gyi Pagoda, which are popular architectural buildings amongst tourists. At The Link 78
Mandalay Boutique Hotel, your comfort and satisfaction come first, and they look forward to
welcoming you to Mandalay.
I only gave 1 because 0 was not possible"
 Aug 20, 2019  dennymag, Turin, Italy
Total approximation. The cleaners have no idea what it is. Bad attention to
detail. The structure seems to be left to itself in particular with regard to the
floors with very evident impurities and pieces of dirt left for the whole time of the
stay, black marks of fingerprints on light switches, dust on window sills, smell of
sewers absolutely not healthy coming from the bathroom. If you are unable to
keep a carpet presentably, do not put it in the rooms! The only thing that was
actually clean was the bed linen. We happened to be in the area of the staff
looking for stairs as the elevators were temporarily out of service and we found
even more shabby floors with pigeon droppings in which laundry towels were
piled up. Apparently the staff seemed to be available, but when a sewage odor
problem was reported from the bathroom, which made it inaccessible, nothing
was done except to spray an air freshener and open the windows. In particular,
the senior receptionist (Nang zin su mon) claimed that there was no smell and
that the staff had performed a detailed cleaning of the bathroom, which was
absolutely not true. Then it was decided to go up to the room with a guy from
the staff and let him personally experience the experience of staying in that
unhealthy environment. After his confirmation, the senior receptionist, despite
repeated complaints and the inconvenience we had, neither apologized to us
nor made a penny off, liquidating us by claiming that it was not their fault and
not even trying to resolve the situation, showing little professionalism too. in the
ways. Experience absolutely to forget, I strongly advise against this structure!
Not worthy of being called a boutique hotel, given the exaggeratedly low
standards
Dirty and smelly
The AC works well (not clean) and wifi is (relatively) fast compared to other hotels in Myanmar.

Mediocre customer service: I felt like I wasn’t given the same level of respect and customer service
because I was a woman.

Toilet smells bad—sewage smell. I talked to the front desk next day. It didn’t go away. I left a note to the
house keeping. It was still there. I just checked out early and moved to another hotel.

The carpet, AC, and water kettle are disgusting. Also, the housekeeping didn’t sweep the bathroom
All style and no substance
We booked this hotel on the back of it's reviews on this site, which I have rarely found to be anything but
an accurate reflection of what to expect, but sadly in this instance I was wrong.

I appreciate that this review will go against many of the other opinions expressed on here, but I feel that
this is a balance and fair review.

The Pros:
- Centrally located
- Modern hotel, which looks very nice
- Large rooms, including almost comically large bathroom
- Fun novelty privacy screen in bathroom
(all of these are somewhat superficial when considering the cons...)

The Cons:
- The room stank (standing water/musty smell)
- The hotel was infested with mosquitoes, including in the bedrooms, to the extent that we had to cover
ourselves in repellant before going to bed
- The complimentary breakfast was very very basic and extremely unappetising
- The WiFi didn't work in our room
- Our room was on the front side of the hotel and on a very busy main road. The rooms are not very well
soundproofed and so the room was very noisy from traffic until late and night and from early morning.
- The staff spoke very poor English (this is an observation as opposed to an outright criticism)
- We ordered room service for drinks and food, for which numerous corrections needed to be made
- In terms of value for money, this was probably the worst in our stay in all of Myanmar (Burma)

Sadly, this was a major let down of a hotel - it was fine for maybe a higher end hostel, but certainly isn't a
4* hotel, even in comparison to its many peers in Myanmar.

I would hope that this was just down to a poor experience on our part, although I suspect that the hotel
needs to make some substantial changes to really be considered a 4* / value for money in my personal
opinion.
Design hotel" is a joke"
 Oct 28, 2017  HajoSc, Munich, Germany
The hotel is right next to the main train station. We have booked one of the few
deluxe rooms. It was about "deluxe" and - as advertised - "design", like a room
in a 70s Hilton. Beige carpet, double bed, desk. The restaurant is so brutally air-
conditioned that we are backwards out and has the charm of an official canteen
(the chafers for breakfast are in the middle of the room). Breakfast is only
possible with long trousers and a down jacket. The breakfast buffet was
average. The "hotel bar" is a counter next to the reception, which is not open all
the time. You sit about as comfortably as in the waiting room of the employment
office. Two stars from us because nothing was really brutally bad, but we would
never stay here again
Staff lovely but the room stank
This is a relatively new hotel. The staff are delightful. Comfortable room but absolutely dreadful smell of
drains from bathroom. I am not sure if all the rooms are like this and as I was only there for one night I did
not ask to move. I asked for air freshener which was brought promptly but they were reluctant to let me
keep it. Very quick and efficient check in and check out but the smell was bad enough to keep me awake.
If you are travelling for business, there is a thin ledge which serves very well for a desk and is about as
wide as a laptop. Would love to give it more because of the nice staff but would not stay here again
About services and amenities"
 Feb 22, 2017  takeuchi547, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar
We looked at word-of-mouth communication and stayed for two nights, but are
not recommended about comfort as word of mouth. What is important on my
trip is the shower room amenities, shampoo, rinse, soap, shower cap, but
nothing else. Conditioner, shaver, etc. It was. It is a 4 star hotel, but the
meaning of 4 stars is no longer understood. Also, I can ask for a massage, but
I'm unsure, but it's about $ 30 an hour for foot massage, $ 50 for a body, and
it's expensive for Myanmar, so when I asked a young local boy on the first floor,
There was a Mercer store behind and a body massage was 5,000 chats per
hour. For your reference. We gave a kind boyish tip and mineral water. Thank
you!
Potentially VERY GOOD but thanks to the SCARSO breakfast
and kitchen it is almost a gift!"
 Feb 2, 2017  PiergiuseppeB, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
We booked this hotel with Booking. The discreet price, the choice was
influenced by the fact that the hotel is almost new. The exquisite staff, but to tell
the truth only at the reception speak an understandable English (and not always
and not all) otherwise the communication is very limited. The nice big cozy
room. Also in this hotel no choice for pillows, only one type, hard and about
20cm thick. A hell for those like me who need a flexible pillow. There is nothing
else to do, I also searched the malls in the city center and found no one selling
pillows. The bathroom also very large and comfortable, although smelling of
exhaust. One sore point: the kitchen. We had dinner the first evening and it was
a real disaster, all very bad, almost inedible, a real offense to the palate. Okay,
we said, we'll go elsewhere the next few days, hopefully for breakfast. Breakfast
worse, we were three couples, we Italians, one of Germans and one of English,
we avoided any comment, but then we saw each other around the temples and
we were all hungry, because none of us had managed to swallow anything
alone food for Chinese, or Burmese, who eat onion noodles or the like in the
morning, bread, old and sour, poorly cooked eggs, no cold cuts or cheese, a
real crap. For the subsequent breakfasts we got some cupcakes at the
supermarket outside the hotel. The management should completely review the
management of the Restaurant and make a huge leap in quality.
Very disappointing
The hotel looks cool, but the room smelled like sewage the whole time. The mattress was hard as a rock,
and the room had mosquitos in it (but the windows didn't open). The carpet was stained and the toilet bowl
was dirty. They need to step up their game
"shame about the train station."
 Apr 30, 2019  roberto b, Ponte Buggianese, Italy
I stayed at this hotel in February for two nights. the hotel is a good modern
comfortable hotel. the half-board dinner was a bit small and without much
choice. downside the train station in front. the first night we were cooked and
we didn't notice but the second one the trains kept us company all night
Only if you are desperate!
This rather strange place had such a low ceiling in entry off the street, even though of modest stature I
found myself (unnecessarily) ducking.

The reception was on the first floor and was nice enough although the staff seemed to be in a frequent
state of panic.

Our room was on the sixth floor and although pleasant enough in a contemporary style sense, wasn’t very
functional. The worst aspect was the position of the air-conditioner, which blew cold air over our heads
once lying in bed. We had the bell-hop move our beds around which fixed the problem.

Laundry didn’t arrive before the allotted time on the first night, which was a concern and pair of socks had
gone missing when it was eventually delivered.

The location on the street was also a bit of a nightmare with a series of drain covers doubling as a sort of
pavement and a half-finished neighbouring building that had been abandoned some years earlier
providing a further obstacle to walking the streets. Our room looked out on another building site (complete
with yet to be erected crane) and a very sad squatter camp comprising a couple with five children! I
wouldn’t stay here again.
Proper and enough for business trip
The hotel locates near the train station and famous snack shop in Mandalay. My staff always buy from this
shop. The lobby of the hotel quite dark, not many lights turn on. Staff is friend and good service. The room
is clean and enough size for business trip. We can’t find the slipper and amenities inside, so we requested
then staff gave to us. Internet is fast enough. Breakfast is on the 8th floors then you can see the
panoramic view. Quality of breakfast is normal. No Gym and No swimming pool. For biz trip, I recommend
Cozy, very noisy environment"
 Nov 5, 2018  Atrevete, Munich, Germany
The Link 78 Hotel in Mandalay describes itself as a boutique hotel: As we know,
this is not a protected term, but one hopes for a certain individuality. The room
we were offered first was occupied by us for a maximum of 5 minutes and then
we moved to an alternative wing of the hotel. Both rooms had in common that
they were quite loud, in the first room through the busy street, in the second
room through a noisy and indefinable backyard. The second room was
definitely bigger, had a large and pleasant shower and was quite clean. I didn't
understand why both rooms had two single beds instead of a double bed. The
breakfast was OK, but not outstanding. From the 8th floor you had a good
overview of the bustling surroundings and the busy street. The breakfast room
was very cold, however. Two short tips: Don't try to go for an evening stroll -
this is a risk, since you either run the risk of being run over or sink into a hole.
Please do not order a breakfast box if you have to leave the hotel earlier
because the nutritional values are very limited.
May not be a very good option ..."
 Jun 2, 2018  neoage, Shinjuku, Japan
The location is conveniently close to the Royal Palace in the city center.
However, a nearby temple? I'm worried all night by the story I hear. The room is
clean but there is no space to work with the PC open because there is no large
desk and chair. The bathroom smelled somewhat.
Attention, do not break a water glass, this is expensive!"
 Jan 12, 2018  GyanShruti, Berlin, Germany
Despite the overpriced room price, a simple water glass, which unfortunately
broke, has to be paid, I was quite surprised when I was asked to write a review
after this accounting, ... the room was quite pleasant, the breakfast was good,
in the evening the restaurant but an ice cellar and not really to enter
Wifi needs update
The hotel is new. I love the clear-turned-frost glass wall technology between the bathroom and bedroom.
The room is clean, neat and a bit smaller than I expected. The window does not protect sleepers from the
outside noises. The breakfast dining has nice view from 8th floor. Would give the hotel 4 stars but have to
knocked out another solid star for spotty and unreliable wifi.
Disappointed
Just returned from our holiday in Myanmar and this was disappointingly our least favourite hotel. The good
bits - the staff were lovely but some seemed a bit clueless which led to poor service depending who you
spoke to. The rooms were great, modern with a big bathroom and clean, fab towels.
The breakfast was dreadful, they did not replenish, very little fruit, bread was stale. This could be a great
hotel but the management really need to up their game. I would stay elsewhere next time. Disappointing
as I really wanted to like this place. Ooh and watch for the mossies in the lifts there are loads!

Tiger One Hotel

Tiger One hotel is located in the heart of the city, nearly 45 minutes away, our hotel can be easily
accessed from the airport. It is five minutes walk to railway station, Ocean shopping center and the
night market for Chinese traditional food court. Especially for the sky bar is very beautiful and over
viewing around Mandalay city and also take the viewing Mandalay hill and Shan mountains range.
Poor choice
We thought our tour operator had booked us into the hotel next door but we were disappointed. This hotel
has nothing going for it.
No hot water, poor food, mattress didn’t fit the bed, staff with no communication skills.
Don’t go.
ok for 1 night
i stayed here with travel friends, one friend was upgraded to 5th flr and had a great experience, however
myself and other had rooms on the 4th flr and had a lousey night sleep due to outside street noise and
possibly construction work after hours

the room had poor ventilation all the windows were permanently closed, also the drain from the sink was
not appropriately connected to open drain

the room was ok but well presented, the a/c was ok but noisey , it was better left off

the breakfast was ok but mainly asian food

the staff were fantastic and assisted us with our onward travels and taxi service

ok for one night or on higher floors for extended stay perhaps

Basic stay in central Mandalay
We stayed at Tiger One Hotel for two nights and had a reasonable stay.
The hotel is located reasonably central although walking anywhere in Mandalay more than half a mile; I
found long, hot and hard going.
The hotel was quite dated and our double room was quite cramped and basic. It however provides a
comfortable bed, AC, a fridge and basic bathroom. We did however have some ants in the room around
the headboard.
The complimentary breakfast was ok - however I was expecting better from the reviews I read. There was
lots of options and variety and it changed everyday which was impressive for a complimentary breakfast.
However the quality wasn’t always great, especially in regards to continental items.
The local area was vibrant and exciting with lots of markets and local restaurants.
You are also sure to meet a man named Starsky outside the hotel. His family run a little stall outside the
front. He speaks very good English and in a very unobtrusive and polite way he offered us his taxi services
before leaving us in the peace to find our own feet and a local restaurant. The day after we went back to
Starsky and accepted his offer of taxi services. For 40 USD he personally toured us around the city in his
nephews car (with his nephew driving). From 0900-2000 he took us around countless sights of interest,
temples, pagodas, to a lunch venue of our choice, to Amarapura and then to a evening restaurant of our
choice for sunset. He was trustworthy, wasn’t pushy and didn’t try to force any recommendations on us.
He was respectful and also accepted and invited any questions we had about Mandalay, Myanmar, his
people and society.
He also took us to the airport the next day via monastery we had wanted to go to for nominal fee. He and
his nephew made our trip to Myanmar and to get a locals perspective was invaluable.
If you tour with him do me a favour and say “Hi from Dan and Emma from England (Tottenham Hotspur
Ok for a short stay
We had the world's smallest room, really only fit for one person not a couple as we had no room and had
to climb over each other (especially as bed was against the wall).
No hot water in the mornings and internet would cut out for days at a time.
Staff very friendly and helpful.
Breakfast was nice enough, all local food but what else would you expect.
Location okish but had to get taxis. Not close to any good restaurants.
Rooms were clean though
"A casual inn with reasonable breakfast"
 Apr 4, 2016  trehao, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
I entered Mandalay from Yangon by train, but the neon lights are bright enough
to walk from the station, so I arrived at a train that arrived early in the morning
(or before dawn). Unlike Yangon, there aren't many road signs, so if you don't
have neon lights, you may have had a hard time finding it in the town of
Mandalay where the night road is still dark. I made a reservation for one night
on the night of arrival, but I was able to put it in my room early in the morning,
and even if it was early in the next morning and I could not have breakfast in
time, I told me that I could eat breakfast now, so very much I was saved. The
breakfast was buffet style, but it was a normal stir-fry rather than an oil-gish
meal like Myanmar because the hotel was Chinese, so I was thankful when my
stomach was tired. The room itself was clean and it was a double room but it
was small. In Mandalay town, the view is not so good except facing the royal
palace or the view of Mandalay Hill. The room was as small as a business hotel
in Japan, and the flow line crossed when moved by two people, but there was a
dresser, so it was convenient to make up and make contact. The water
pressure in the shower is moderate, but it was a pity that the hot water supply
was not tanky and was not too large. Also, the drainage was not so good, and
the bathroom quickly became messed up. Not only in Mandalay, but throughout
Myanmar, the free Wi-Fi at the inn was difficult to get through at night. You
should have brought in a paid Wi-Fi system or looked up tourism information in
advance. Whether it was due to the location of the inn or the town of Mandalay,
taxi and motorcycle taxis were not easily caught near the inn, so it was a little
difficult to move. At the luxury hotel on the side of the royal palace, there was a
taxi waiting. There are cafes next to the inn, there are many cafeterias around
it, and there are stalls on the road at night, so there is no shortage of places to
eat. (Only those who have confidence in the gastrointestinal because the stalls
are solid Myanmar taste.) The front desk staff at the hotel is good, English is
well understood, and above all, it is very convenient because it was a
reasonable price.
Shwe Ingyinn Hotel
Shwe Ingyinn Hotel is located in 0.0 km from the center of Mandalay City near by famous Tourist
places such as Mya Nan San Kyaw Palace, Mandalay Hill, Khuthotaw Pagoda where the World's
Largest book existed etc... Moreover Shwe Ingyinn Hotel opposites by Mandalay Central Railway
Station and it just takes 45 minutes drive from Mandalay International Airport.
Bad, honestly even dangerous"
 Dec 28, 2018  Bolla83, Como, Italy
As a title I give 2 stars only for check out at 14, free extended to 15. For the rest
.. One day they simply went to make up the room. On another occasion
(1.30pm) we called to order a clubsandwich from the extensive room service
menu .. And to the third person who was passed on the phone we understood
that only noodles were available! Finally, not to be underestimated, showy
cracks in the windows that ran throughout the building .. And trust me, as a
structural engineer, it's something to really worry about. Not recommended.
Not a pleasant stay! HOTEL UNDERGOING CONSTRUCTION!
I returned with a cold from Bagan and was hoping to rest for a day before continuing my trip. First and
foremost, this hotel is currently undergoing major renovations so thwere is HEAVY CONSTRUCTION
NOISE from 9.00AM till about 05.00PM. This in its own is a disqualifying factor to stay here during this
time. Initially, the staff made a mistake and put me into a smaller room so I was escorted to a bigger room
just to find that the one air condition unit was not sufficient to cool down the room so after a short
discussion it was back to the old room. I would recommend travelors to stay away from anything but a
small room as the one unit will not be able to cool down your room. The breakfast buffet was mediocre
Stay Somewhere Else
First the positives, the staff are friendly and helpful and the room was clean with a nice view. The
negatives, the hotel is badly in need of renovation which the currently doing.

The plumbing system is marginal at best, first no hot water, then after notifying the front desk the hot water
would scald you. No amount of adjustment could get the shower to a comfortable temperature as the
water pressure continually changed and surged.

The breakfast spread is primarily Chinese food, although they do have an omelette Chef, not very tasty,
nor appealing.

The hotel is located on a very noisy street and the Burmese constantly honk their horns, so if you are
looking for quiet, this is not the place. Only one of the two hotels was working.
The pictures on the Internet make this place look much nicer than it really is
"Not recommendable"
 Oct 18, 2015  AnaMadrid22, Madrid, Spain
Not recommended for the situation, near the station with a strange atmosphere
at night, or for the state of the room, with signs in Chinese. Not worth it Ready
for Asian public
Not an enjoyable stay in Mandalay
Sadly, did not live up to expectations, overall was a poor choice, a real shame. The hotel is opposite the
railway station and is noisy, it is not really near any attractions and there are no restaurants nearby. We
had a huge room on the 8th floor which had a lot of space but minimal facilities, same in the bathroom, the
bed was also uncomfortable. Restaurant for dinner was a poor quality buffet; however the puppet
entertainment was good. Breakfast was chaos, a hot cup of coffee proved to be unobtainable. View from
the roof terrace worth a look.
Good from the 9th floor: restaurant and terrace !! ...."
 Dec 1, 2014  christee06, Beauvais, France
I am not the critical type but there I can not help warning future travelers
Downtown, facing the station and under renovation (work in the hall) 3 night
stay Sad and not very clean rooms, bathrooms well moldy baths, ours smelled
strongly of sewage Not very serious compared to our friend who was the victim
of "wild assault" of bedbugs and who had to resort to many creams and anti
histamines to calm very strong itching .... (Fortunately we had a doctor friend in
the group) After many shots at our agency, we were upgraded to suites, much
larger and more comfortable than the basic rooms The "Spa" is in a room on
the 1st , not easy to find and fitness in a windowless room with open
shower ...... A few hundred meters further a hotel has just opened its doors, we
have taken advantage of its neat, elegant and good spa. rket
We're glad to receive a Review from you.
If there is some weakness in our Hotel, we would really like to apologize you for this.
Our Hotel's Management is always trying our best for our guests.
We're really appreciate you for choosing our hotel and writing a review on TripAdvisor.
Hope that you will enjoy your time staying in our hotel.
We wish you to happy in your next future trip.
Very disappointing
The front of house staff were excellent and my room was a good size. That's where the positives ended
for me. There was only a very small shelf in the bathroom, no where to put my toiletries etc; I had to ask
for a hair dryer, the safe had no instructions, there was one useful point for charging iPad/camera etc & it
was in the bathroom & you needed to sit the device on the toilet. Other points either needed the TV or
fridge turned off to use. I was on the 8th floor and it took over 5 minutes for the water in the shower to get
hot then there was a very small turn of the mixer between too hot to stand under and cold. The pressure
was not good either. The wifi was much, much slower than in either of my Yangon or Bagan hotels.
Breakfast was OK, not much of a selection, but the coffee was barely lukewarm and on my last morning
there were no knives out anywhere. The cups for tea/coffee were tiny. I ate in the restaurant one night. I
had an OK fried rice with seafood but at $8 USD it was way over-priced. I've had great food (including a
fabulous soft shell crab dish at the Chatrium in Yangon) for that price and way less than that. There were
only 4 people in the restaurant but one insisted on walking around having a loud business conversation on
his phone. I am sure there are better hotels for the price but maybe I just had a bad room and a number of
annoyances that added up to a not good experience.
In need for a renovation! And noisy!
Room are big , but unfurnished. I had the tv at at least 10m from me..

Location is great but next to a very big roundabout which emplied to be up at 6 am when the traffic starts
and you can hear it perfectly from the 4th floor.

No hairdryer in the room- why?!? You need to ho to the reception and ask for one and then they give to
you, a pretty old one as well..
Breakfast not so good on the top floor with so much air conditioning on that you needed a scarf and
sweater on!

In addition there is not so much space to get out of the car, you are already in the middle of this busy road!
Nothing special - poor breakfast
We stayed for one night coming from the Shan State en route to Bagan. The first room they offered was a
smokers room which a loot of parfume applied too very the smell. We got another room without any
discussion which was far more better, clean and huge, so nothing to complain here. However the hotel
lacks any atmosphere. The breakfast is definitely on the downside - very poor. There are better hotels in
Mandalay.
Nice hotel but needs improvements
I was there for two nights and my stay was ok, even if pretty average. My twin room was spacious and
clean, but the place needs some renovations. Actually the building is undergoing some works, so hopefully
it will be better in the future. Unfortunately for me the works were quite annoying and they went on very
early in the morning and until late in the evening. Breakfast is just ok. On a more positive side, the staff is
very friendly and, even if their English isn’t great they do their best to help you. Also, we arrived by bus
very early in the morning, around 5 am, but they immediately found a room for us.
A not so good hotel with spacious rooms
This hotel is very central in the village just across the street from the central station. However, the
pavements are in such a bad shape that I do not recommend anyone to walk even a block.
The reception is very friendly, and the service level is high. The reception area is nice with a lot of beautiful
wood used in the inertia and the furniture. The room have the same design and are very spacious.
Unfortunately, the positive that can be said on the hotel finish here.
At least on the third floor the windows are completely covered with some type of cloth, so they have no
view what so ever. So, try to get a room on at least the fifth flour since there are rooms up to the eight
floors. The bed is extremely hard. The bathroom is working but is rather worn and I always prefer not to
have to shower in a bathtub.
The breakfast that is served on the ninth floor. The room is nice and there are some tables outside. The
staff is friendly. However, there is a complete lack of something but marmalade to put on the bread, no
cheese, slices of salami or ham. And there are no vegetables of any kind. The bread is dull, just some
very soft white bread and some toast that you must put in the toaster five, six times before they are ready.
Nice views, clean rooms, bad elevators
There is a lot of construction going on outside and there are open sewers when you try to walk to the
entrance of this hotel, so that was my introduction to the hotel.

The elevator was my major grievance with this place, during the days I was there it was either a 10 minute
wait or under maintenance and I had to climb down 4-5 stories which wasnt fun.

The room itself is clean and nice, the wooden work is quite impressive. The windows however are tiny and
there is no real view even though I was quite high up and with bigger windows it would have looked
beautiful.

I loved the location of the restaurant and breakfast bar, there is a way to have it at the roof top and the city
views are quite nice. I also loved the bar on the roof, it was beautifully made.

The food however was mediocre, I wouldnt recommend staying here because of this. I did manage to walk
to a few nice places.

If you are staying here, make sure you get the massage because its really good and very chea
Good location and reasonable rate for stay
The location is good as the in front of Mandalay Station and proximity to Mandalay Moat and ancient
palace of last king of Burma. Rooms are cozy, good break fast,nice location however, my last stay was I
get bad experience since hotel has construction works are in progress without any notice.
Some visitors canceled their booking due to noise from the construction works. Furthermore, working sites
are both inside and outside of the hotel so that visitors cannot avoid the disturbances of awkward and
noise until the works has done.
Thus, I like to stay this hotel but not now until its extension works has finished.
Not top quality but OK
We stayed there two nights with a group. The hotel is centrally located, opposite the railway station. The
rooms and other parts we saw are in need of refurbishment even though we have no serious complains.
We were told that upgrading of the facilities is in progress.

Good:
+ Staff and service
+ Location
+ Rooftop bar and restaurant
+ Big room

Less good:
- Room was very dark and gloomy
- Small windows, few lamps
- Old hotel, especially the bathroom was not very attractive
"well placed but not consistent with photos on the internet"
 Feb 22, 2017  moniquem851, Meximieux, France
A little disappointed, it is a bit dated, the rooms are quite large, but the furniture
and the mattress have lived !! The bathroom is small with a bathtub.Otherwise
the hotel is well placed in a busy street, but the front windows are all obscured
by advertising, so no view !!! Now ...... for the price, we're not going to be picky,
but I think there are other hotels around, which are better The positive; it is the
terrace on the roof of the hotel for breakfast, which is very basic.
Some bad rooms, others good
We stayed here a total of 3 nights on a tour of Myanmar. Our first room (a superior room) was terrible. It
was just badly finished, had a bad smell on the whole floor and stains on the carpet outside. To make
matters worse there was an interconnecting door with someone smoking in the room next door which the
staff didn't seem to be able to stop. We moved to a suite for the other 2 nights on a higher floor, which was
much better - not smelly and better finished. The breakfast at this hotel is quite ordinary (although there
are western options), as were the food/beverages generally. If you stay here the higher floors seem to be
better than the lower
Our family stay in this hotel
The hotel is interesting in design and the staff are very friendly, the pillows are the softest we've had on
our whole holiday which is great, the puppet show and dancers in the restaurant was a great touch and
was very enjoyable, BUT we've had a few issues with our room 1. The air conditioning is not running cold
even though we have it set a 18 degrees
2. Theres a smell in our room which is making me feel sick when we're in it, i open the window to let in
fresh air and someone closes it when we're not here.
3. I asked for a bottle of cold water in the restaurant and they said they ran out.
4. Sweet and sour chicken was ordered at dinner and pork was delivered after a lengthy wait then more of
a wait was required to get the right dinner
5. When showering the bathroom floor gets soaked and is wet for ages after.
6. We had an issue with the room and it took 4 phone calls to the desk as someone kept hanging up.
7. Our wifi stuffed up a couple of times and we had to be reassigned new details which is frustrating when
using it.
I wont go on, if issues were fixed we would stay here again as the hotel is situated in a great location
Pros and Cons
Pros:
1) Friendly staff
2) great location
3) helpful staff to arrange trips and transportations
4) nice bar and restaurant (we had drinks only, we didn't try the food)

Cons:
1) bad WiFi in the room
2) towels and sheets stained
3) poor breakfast
4) found a toothbrush cap in the bathroom from previous guest
5) rooms a bit out of date
"not impressive"
 Jan 5, 2016  peter c, sauerlach
The hotel is opposite the train station, but not central. The hotel is poorly
insulated and therefore noisy. The rooms at the back are quieter, but barbed
wire is in front of the windows. The rooms are of normal size and are
functionally furnished. Shower / toilet has just been Sufficient size. There is no
reasonable restaurant nearby, so we went to the attic restaurant in the evening.
We ate well here in a pleasant atmosphere. Above the restaurant is a cocktail
bar with a beautiful view over Mandalay. The roof terrace and the restaurant
were for me the highlight of this hotel.
"Good hotel but poor Wifi"
 Nov 20, 2015  Ingah22, Gothenburg, Sweden
Centrally located hotel opposite Central Station. Middle class hotel, large
rooms, nice and clean and nice staff. Big disadvantage that Wifi worked poorly,
constantly new passwords, slowly and does not start automatically but needs to
be restarted every time. A long time for hot water so the first person gets a
shower to cool before the hot water arrives. Standard breakfas
Lovely staff but don't expect much from anything else
The rooms here are very utilitarian and be warned, the beds are extremely hard. The bathrooms really
need updating it is extremely difficult to get a decent shower as it takes for ever to get any hot water and
then it's scalding and you can't get any cold unless it's a drizzle. Also the air con is set at one temperature
so with 40c outside It really should be adjustable.
On the plus side, the staff are delightful and will try to rectify any problems but 2-3 star would be a more
realistic rating.

Sanctuary Hotel
Our hotel information is as follow, our hotel is located in downtown of the city that guests can visit
famous places. Guest can walk only 2 minutes to King Galon Gold Leaf Making Workshop,5 minutes
to Diamond Plaza,10 minutes to Mandalay Railway Station,10minute to General Hospital, 20 minutes
to Mandalay Royal Palace
Don't stay here!
No hot water, poor air conditioning, loud, dirty, staff lie about fixing it and didn't answer the phone when
trying to get them to actually fix things. Advise to stay elsewhere, seems more like a 1* hotel
"EXCESSIVELY OVERVALUATED"
 Aug 23, 2018  Sara G, Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra
I booked this hotel motivated by its high score, and really, I think I've been to
another hotel. 1. I asked for a high floor and they put me on the second floor.
The unbearable noise and also has a window without curtains, which in this
room did not close well, and through which much light and bugs enter. I asked
for a room change and they upgraded us to the seventh floor, so the noise
improved somewhat, but the issue of light didn't. Luckily the window closed
something better (not quite right). I put picture of the window of the second
room. 2. Cleaning is horrible. In the first fatal room. The second improved
somewhat, but still leaves much to be desired. I put pictures of the second
(what you see are cobwebs, ants and spider veins, which accompanied us for
the four days of stay). 3. Breakfast: ants on the tables and at lunch. I put photo
of the juice of a day, full of mosquitoes. Many days empty trays and if you were
lucky there was food it was cold. 4. The staff does not speak any English
(except two managers we met two days in the afternoon). In fact, when I left,
they asked me if I had been well with them, I said "not really", the guy at the
desk smiled at me and said "Yes. See you next time". 5. They do not offer
excursions, which in Mandalay is important since there are not a thousand
agencies down the street as in other cities, and the taxi is very expensive. Use
Grab. 6. We paid in kyats and they used the exchange rate they wanted and
not the official one, hurting us a lot. Conclusion: if all this happens to me in one
day, I could have bad luck. But I have spent 5 days and 4 nights here in two
different rooms, so I have seen how left this hotel is. It is a shame because it is
open since the beginning of this year and could have potential, but it is seen
that they have decided not to take care of it, or take care of customers. I am not
too demanding with the hotels, and for the price I do not expect a 5-star hotel
but neither a hostel of bad death, which is what it is right now. The staff is
friendly and good location, although taking into account the distances in
Mandalay and that you will move by taxi or tuktuk the location is not important.
They have a more or less beautiful sky bar and invite you to a cocktail.
Dear Sir,
We are really very sorry upon your comment. But we thank you for your point of view with one star
comment. During these days at Mnadaly ther has a heavy rain and cause so many problems at our hotel.
But this is our weak point and we agree that we take care everything for future. We try to improve our staff
's English skill and now take an action. Unfortunately during your staying days, there has problems that we
really agree that if you have a next time at our hotel, you can see that everything will be improved and
changed. In our country, during your staying days, there has a high rate of currency exchange rate and
our hotel not to collect what we want and this is the official exchange rate for that days. We never collect
the over charge. And also, we try to solve for taxi service for you because of our Mandalay city type that is
not more agencies at the street, but you do not accept and try yourself so that you have a risk but let it be
because of our weak point to give information to clients.
For everything, we really very sorry for you and we apologized and please beg your pardon. We are very
really very sorry and try to improve everything.
Thanks and regards
General Manager
Do not recommend!!!
Never have I ever experienced this kind of bad experience with hotels. The staffs were too bad in English
that they put us into the wrong room. Although the hotel is new(they said), the air conditioning and hot
water system doesn’t work well, didn’t get enough maintenance, I think. We’re gonna have our dinner
there since they serves free cocktails for us on the sky terrace but the waiter treated us like we were
begging for it that we just ate outside at the Cafe House(review soon). The breakfast was one kind of a
hell. I was so frustrated to find so many ants in the fried rice and more on the buffet tables. Not only the
staffs don’t take it responsible but they even treated us aggressively for complaining. So aggressively that
we dare not even hire transportation on our new place. The worst ever.
It’s the worst experience in hotel of Myanmar.
1.After we checked in, the lift was broken. The staff didn’t explain the situation.We just waited on the
lobby. The staff said “wait 10 mins” again and again. We couldn’t enter the room for forty mins.Finally we
had to go on the stairs.

2.there’s no hot water for shower. We asked staff here for so many times, they couldn’t fix the problem.
They asked us for waiting and waiting...... The staff didn’t explain what situation and how much time. We
almost waited whole night. We still didn’t have hot water for shower.

3. The laundry we made were supposed to finish earlier, we should had our clothes at 6pm. However they
forgot until we asked. We got our clothes at 8:30 pm.

4. The staff here don’t speak well English. Hard to communicate.

5.most of the staff here are nice but there are 2managers (one man one woman) were very fake and had
bad attitude
Noisy and no view.
It was very upsetting that description from Booking.com was so wrong.
We booked a suit and the most expensive one in this hotel because it said it had the view and balcony.
There was no balcony or even view. The window was covered with the metal sheet.
The room had ok space, but was very very noisy that we could not sleep at all.
sofa was not comfortable to sit and the room had very strange smell.
I would not stay in this hotel when there are many and much better choice in the area.
We changed the hotel next day.
1 day stay"
 Dec 26, 2018  colime, Basel, Switzerland
Let's start with the few positive points: We reached the hotel early in the
morning after a long bus trip at around 7:30 a.m. We were nevertheless able to
move into our room immediately. The bathroom was nice and big, great
shower. Laundry worked well and was clean. Unfortunately, the negative points
predominated. We had reserved a room with a double bed. At check-in we were
informed that unfortunately there would be no room with a double bed, as they
were fully booked. There was no price reduction for it. We had our room on the
7th floor. However, the windows were so leaky that we felt we were on the
ground floor in a room without any windows. Enormous noise level in the room.
We asked three times at the reception for a taxi, which should come to pick us
up the next morning. We were always assured of this at 5:30 a.m. When the
time came, there was no sign of a taxi, which meant another ten minutes of
waiting. Furthermore, the card terminal did not work when we checked out,
which is why we had to pay cash. Overall, very, very young hotel staff on site,
did not always make the most confident impression. Conclusion: Not
recommendable for us, there are certainly better options for the same budget
Hotel Hazel
Hotel Hazel is an excellent choice for travelers visiting Mandalay, offering a family-friendly
environment alongside many helpful amenities designed to enhance your stay. Given the close
proximity of popular landmarks, such as Golden Palace Monastery (Shwenandaw Kyaung) (2.6 mi)
and Mandalay Palace (2.8 mi), guests of Hotel Hazel can easily experience some of Mandalay's most
well known attractions. Guest rooms offer air conditioning, a minibar, and a refrigerator, and Hotel
Hazel makes getting online easy as free wifi is available. You can also take advantage of some of the
amenities offered by the hotel, including room service. In addition, guests can enjoy a pool and
breakfast during their visit. As an added convenience, there is free parking available to guests. While
in Mandalay, you may want to check out some of the restaurants that are a short walk away from
Hotel Hazel, including Daung Lann Gyi (0.8 mi), Soi Thai Kitchen (1.0 mi), and The Little Mushroom
Coffee (0.9 mi). Best of all, Hotel Hazel makes it easy to experience some great Mandalay attractions
like Skinny Buddha (1.1 mi), which is a short distance away. Enjoy your stay in Mandalay!
No recommendation"
 Feb 27, 2018  Siegemund, Munich, Germany
No hot water in the shower. Repairs are still not possible. WLAN is only
possible if there are no other guests. So slowly or not at all. After resigning to
the shortcomings, the construction site begins to come to life at night with
excavators. A must-have earplug. After a day's trip to another city, we hoped
that the last night in another room could be better. Unfortunately it went on like
this. Ordering food in the restaurant has unfortunately been forgotten. Ok that
can happen. It was topped, however, when we went to our north-facing room at
8.30pm. A disco tested its boxes. Thank God stopped again. Another
disadvantage is the not central location, as there are only about 4 restaurants
nearby. The positive is the very hard-working staff and the breakfast is very
plentiful.

Terrible service of event hosting

We did wedding dinner reception at this hotel. We discussed with the responsible person about the
wedding plan more than one time. But they did very gross mistake and a lot of minor mistakes for the
service to our once in a life time event. There were no one who took responsibilities for those
unacceptable mistakes. This hotel is never recommended for once in the life time event like wedding.
Terrible service from Receptionist
Hazel Receptionists are rude to communication with customer.
They want to get early check in fees 25,000 kyats and late check out fees 25,000 kyats from Local
customer.
So they never inform to customer for check in check out time in advance.
Every Room, can hear every voice from another room.
For cleaning, housekeeping not change Tower, bathrobe daily
Clean but lacks character
We were very disappointed in the total lack of character. We could have been anywhere. The hotel is also
very isolated. Clean, friendly staff and a good breakfast. Just not our kind of place. We can't recommend it
to anyone wanting a Myanmar experience
HH didn't meet my expectations
Behind the classy looks of the ground floor (big stairs, swimming pool, large reception), it felt like a giant
building with no soul - lost in the far East of Mandalay. The restaurant is overpriced for the food and
service offered.

The management of the hotel should be a little bit more customer-oriented and put itself in our position
more often. As we say, the devil is in the details - yet many left us disappointed.

However, I have to admit that the staff is really nice and is always available to help
Spacious room is only thing going for it
Hotel is off a main road. Our room, 305 was quiet. Even numbered rooms facing a soccer field are noisy.
Large clean room, well laid out with comfortable king-size bed, desk, lots of storage but only five (wooden)
hangers, which seems to be standard in hotels we stayed in while in Myanmar. Well functioning air
conditioning and easy to adjust. Wifi function well with no disconnection. Two bathrobes, two pairs of
slippers as well as two pairs of thongs were provided. The bathroom is in dire need of an update with rusty
shower railings and mouldy corners. It makes you want to wear the thongs in the shower. There is a large
frosty glass between shower and bedroom, so if someone goes to bathroom in middle of the night, the
bedroom lights up too. Odour of backed up sewage in the room. Had dinner in the hotel restaurant, other
than vermicelli salad, food was average. Breakfast buffet is varied with western and Asian choices.
We stayed at this hotel for two nights as part of a tour. If travelling on my own, I would investigate other
options.

Pullman Mandalay Mingalar

Pullman Mandalay Mingalar is an international upscale hotel in Mandalay, with easy access to the
city's commercial hubs and tourist attractions. It features 358 rooms and suites, restaurants offering
international, regional and local cuisine, bars, 650 m² ballroom, meeting spaces, swimming pool and
spa.
Need to improve operations"
 Nov 6, 2019  penguin_p2p, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
As it was a new luxury hotel, of course, the facilities were clean and
comfortable. However, there are some problems. First of all, it is difficult to
understand where to touch the card key on the door of the room. Furthermore,
there is a deficiency in the attachment of the handle of the faucet in the
bathroom, and water cannot be discharged continuously. There are countless
mosquitoes in the lobby and I cannot stay for a very long time. The staff are
friendly but poorly organized and take longer than necessary for check-in and
check-out. Inadequate English ability. It seems that it is about a month after
opening, so there may be inevitable aspects, but I would like the software such
as operations to catch up with very nice hardware such as buildings and
facilities as soon as possible.
Very new hotel, very friendly and attentive services but quality/standard is
not there
The hotel is very new, some floors are still under construction. The room decoration and hotel interior are
okay/modern. But things are still not yet there, probably as they are still under soft opening phase.
Services staffs are very friendly and attentive (front staffs will never ever let you open the doors yourselves
...whenever you are within the door proximity, the whole team will be very active :D)....but
standard/practices are not there. For example, senior manager (european) touched and sliced the bread
right after fixing the wires on the ground with bare hands while the reservation teams sent multiple
annoying e-mails stating different and confusing info. No accors gold benefit. Overall cleanliness is not
very good even they are very new. Food is not very tasty...we did both buffet and breakfast buffet and
could hardly find anything very delicious. Pancakes were so cold that I have to requested hot ones...as
were the tea. Anyway, will stay here again if have to be in Mandalay...just wish the food be good so the
hotel can be great oasis of the city!

M3 Hotel Mandalay
Our M3 Hotel is situated at the heart of the city in downtown area of Mandalay. You can have a
glance of the clock tower of Mandalay City just in front of you. Restaurants, shopping centers, Zegyo
market and all of our Mandalay's door-to-door shops are just at your side open even until midnight.
The rooftop bar overlooking the entire view of Mandalay city is really breathtaking: the beautiful,
panoramic view of Sagaing Hill, the magnificent sights of Yadanabon Bridge and Ava Bridge in the
south and the Minguin , a historical place on your right. Green, beautiful and grand Mandalay Hill and
Yan Kin Hill will make you in a state of shock. We will be very pleased to have you stay with us in our
spacious, clean and cool rooms. Our restaurant serves from a fresh and healthy buffet breakfast to
dinner by the variety of international and Myanmar traditional specialities with a wide range of choices
open to you.
Do NOT stay here
Worst hotel in Myanmar - they try to charge you for everything they can such as towel stains (2000 kyat),
drinks at breakfast (only tell you that you have to pay for them when you walk out), etc. Awful breakfast,
food is not fresh and they don't even refill when the food is gone. Bathroom supplies like shampoo and
shower gel are just different colors of dish washers with bad smell.
Pick another hotel if you can.
0/10 rating due to staff's rude attitude over dirty towel
On our departure, we waited in reception area, a female member of staff came to my family and I and in
front of the whole reception area with guests holding up a slightly dirty hand towel flaunting it in front of
everyone and demanded that we pay for it. I was utterly humiliated and was so embarrassed I paid the fee
and got into our awaiting taxi as quickly as I could. I feel that the staff could have delt with this in a less
threatening manner and should have at least taken me to one side to explain as towels were put onto the
floors at the entrance of the bathrooms and between the bedrooms and they were always walked on and
were a lot dirtier then the offending towel. It's a total shame really,as it was the start of our family trip
around Myanmar and the experience left a sour taste to the trip. I would definitely not recommend this
hotel
Dear Valuable Guest,
Mingalarbar!
Thank you so much for your writing review,otherwise we will not know your problem.I want to apologize to
you for the bad service you received the other day when you visited our M3 Hotel for You.I'm appalled by
our staff treatment of you as a guest.We strongly believe that the guest comes first and that guest service
is vital,so it saddened me when you write that our staff treated you with such bad service.
I have spoken with our staff and put on probation to make sure it never happens again.I have also set up a
mandatory staff meeting to discuss our guest policies in detail in case anyone else has forgotten.There is
no excuse for the way you were treated in our hotel and I am truly sorry.I hope that you will not let that
stop you from coming back!
Anytime you return to our M3 Hotel,you can ask for me and I'll help you personally.Please take the time to
come back to our M3 Hotel and see the great service we typically have I hope we can make you forget the
bad service you received the other day.
Thank you so much!
With warm regards,
Kay Thwe
M3 Hotel
Near Zeejo Market"
 Dec 13, 2019  photomuzik, Tokyo, Japan
We think that it is convenient for location. There is nothing but Myanmar's
second city. It's a must-see for the morning market that is being held near the
Zejo Market. It was the most vibrant Asian morning market I've ever seen. At
night there is also a night market. There were no complaints about the room.
However, despite having promised early check-in, when we arrived by bus early
in the morning, the staff was sleeping on the sofa in the lobby and was waited
for almost two hours before getting up. When I asked for cleaning, the
sightseeing on the first day was over and when I came home, it was over, but I
was a little suspicious just hanging over the door.
Only for a stop over
Basic hotel close on the center. Nothing special, normal rooms that need be renovate, specially the
bathroom, hot water didn't work very well. The windows are very thing so is very noisy. The staff even if
smile is not very efficient. You can see them rest in the sofas at the lobby or just on the phone, english
skills not very good so you have to explain more than twice some basic things like confirm a pick up. Didn't
have BKFST there after see the coffee station on the lobby.
The hoytel mention a Sky Bar, that's a joke, seriously. I supposed a normal roof top with some stools and
tables like in the pics, but seriously that was totally sad and depressing. Went up stairs, lights off, then a
guy lay in the bar. Lights turn on, and surprise, was the laundry area. With the washing machine there.
Even the view was good.
What I said, just for one night, arrive there late and check out early.
Very disappointed.
Have to say... I was about to write a good review to this management. Overall the rooms are fair but they
have no clear rules and regulations and staff quite confused.

This is mainly for all the women out there. Don't smear your makeup on their towels or they will charge
you extra...even if it's small little dingy mascara! Overall don't stain the towels or some hidden charge with
occur.

I have to shell out extra 3000 kyats for a small stain... However what's ridiculous is that few days before
my friend and I checked out and they gave us an Ok to leave.

Today however, I booked into their room for a quick shower at a charge of 10$, then when I checked
out...they tried to incur the stain towel charge on the previous days! RIDICULOUS. Also saying that they
have to buy detergent for these stain... (So you know they don't use detergent for all their bedsheets etc)
hmmm. Cleanliness... I cannot be so sure.

Check out other hotels. Clearly, they have lots of hidden charges if you stain anything
Dear Miss,
Mingalabar! We apologize for the annoyance that this may have caused to you. I would like to explain
about your inconvenience matter. We tried to give the best service to you. We gave a room to take a
shower for you.You used that room for 2 and half hours. But we charged only 10$. Unfortunately, there
was a lot of stains at your big towel. That's why we charged 3000Kyats for chemical to get rid of stains.
However, on behalf of M3 Hotel,please accept my apology for your unpleasant stay at M3 Hotel. We hope
you will see the improvement and enjoy your time with us in your next visit. I hope you forgive this
inconvenience and not let it stop you from staying with us in the future.
Best Regards,
Sand Bo
Guest Relation Manager
M3 Hotel.
Run down hotel
Location is good, it's close to the Mandalay fort and the train station. That's about it.

Our room smelled really bad, someone came to 'check' (meaning spraying air freshener into the AC and
then leaving). The hotel looks run down and in very bad shape. It is mostly catered to Chinese visitors. I
had a burger in the restaurant which I could not finish, it was very bad. There are better places in
Mandalay to spend the night!
Good value in Mandalay, but look what room you will stay
in ..."
 Dec 13, 2019  Luah G, Sao Paulo, SP
Despite being on a noisy boulevard, the noise-proof windows are pretty good.
The bed is comfortable, the room spacious with several handy accessories to
aid in the stay. Shower water varied slightly during stay. In one of the baths, it
was only warm. The shower is made in a way that always wets the bathroom
despite having a shower curtain. The internet is great. Kind staff. Two important
points: our room (number 602) made a constant noise internally - 24 hours a
day. The front desk said it was from the water heater. We tried to move to the
same room downstairs, but I could also hear the noise. So if you have light
sleep, it's nice to see which room you get in the hotel. Breakfast: We were close
to the end time, so the coffee was already a real mess left by a large group of
Chinese who were in the hotel. By the way, these huge groups have been
recurring in various hotels in Asia to our misfortune. There were virtually no
western options. We ordered an omelet which came tasty and that was it. And
the Asian options are "very" Asian
Hotel Sakura Princess
Located in Mandalay, 0.8 km from Mandalay Marionettes Theater, Mandalay Royal Palace. Sakura
Princess Hotel features air-conditioned rooms and free private parking. Guests can enjoy the on-site
restaurant and garden restaurant area available for smoking customer. The restaurant is 24 hour
service. All rooms include a flat-screen TV with satellite channels and other full facilities. Some rooms
feature a sitting area for your convenience with Mandalay Hill view. The rooms are equipped with a
private bathroom fitted with a shower attach bath tub in every room categories. You will find a 24-hour
front desk & concierge & Housekeeping at Hotel. Laundry service available also.Only 1.5 km to night
market from Sakura Princess Hotel, and not only too closed area to down town but also very quiet
due to behind of Mandalay Education University. Check-in: 02:00 P.M.; Check-out: 12:00 A.M. Free
High Speed Wi-Fi Internet in Every Room In Room Dining breakfast Available from 06:00 A.M to 10
A.M.
Would stay again
Clean and comfortable rooms but a few niggling electrical issues with the TV not working in its designated
plug (we just used a nearby one) and the aircon needed you to press a series of buttons whilst standing
on one foot to get it to turn on. Ordinarily this would not have bothered me however every time you left the
room it needed to be redone. We did try to speak to reception however with the language barrier we came
up with our own solutions.
The hotel itself was in a reasonable enough location. Lots of places to eat nearby and the front desk were
able to get taxis for us promptly.
Don’t get too excited about the breakfast. Most of the food was cold

Moon Light Hotel

Many inconveniences
At first glance, the hotel seems good. Good location and nice establishment, recent, Chinese style
(normal, no?). At check-in, the hostess wanted to keep the ID card of my partner, it is surely a common
practice in Burma. But when I asked her what the reason, she was not able to answer and just smiled
stupidly. Regarding the room, the windows are very thin, impossible to sleep without earplugs. The hotel is
located in a very noisy street and it is a shame not to have equipped the rooms with quality windows
(made in China as usual, sadly). Regarding the bathroom, it is difficult to adjust the temperature of the
water. It is necessary to wait 1minute each time one modifies the quantity of hot or cold water to obtain a
result .... weird. No bath exit towel, so we put water everywhere in the room by stepping after shower.
Despite this, the rest of the staff are great, and the breakfast very decent. Too bad as it could be a very
good hotel.
"mixed"
 Dec 19, 2019  kamoulox17, Le Havre, France
Very helpful and friendly staff, this is the main asset of the hotel. Room ok
except the curtains, not blackout, and the bad soundproofing. Breakfast really
not great (varied but not very good). Wifi ok!
Good solution in the city"
 Mar 21, 2018  LUNALECCI, Rome, Italy
Booked on booking, at the reception we are assigned room 505 ($ 30 for two
nights), medium-small size, good double bed, baby bath, minibar, possibility of
making yourself green or Nescafé tea, bottle of courtesy water, in the bathroom
different products and hairdryer. Several defects: the view of half a window on a
wall; an annoying current / water generator noise; the electric key has difficulty
working. Night almost blank for the following reasons: intermittent engine,
morning prayer with megaphone from a nearby monastery; passing trains in
front of our part of the hotel. Very politely in the morning the room is changed,
the n. 301 is brighter, wider and quieter. On a terrace we witness a wonderful
sunrise that tints the horizon red and we eat very good breakfast: fruit
(watermelon and bananas or papaya and yellow watermelon), toast with two
types of jam, mini bull's eye quail eggs , unfiltered green tea leaves, American
coffee or Nescafé powder. Obviously always a lot of cooked foo
79 Living Hotel
Whether you're a tourist or travelling on business, The 79 Living Hotel (Travelers' Choice 2015 &
2016 Winner) & Certificate of Excellence (2015, 2016, 2018) is a great choice for accommodation
when visiting Mandalay. The city centre is merely 0.1 km away and the airport can be reached within
45 minutes. The site of the old Royal Palace and the beautiful old moat that surrounds it are just a
five-minute walk from the hotel. The lively shops, restaurants, and tea shops of downtown, shops
selling traditional Burmese sweets, a fruit market, etc., Are all to be found right out the door. The 79
Living Hotel offers impeccable service and all the essential amenities to invigorate travellers. We offer
25 modern rooms with complimentary wifi internet access and flat-screen cable TV with 18 satellite
international channels. All rooms include a mini-bar, coffee and tea making facility and In-room safety
box. Some rooms have excellent views of Mandalay City and Mandalay Hill.
Poor service
The hotel is just ok, no luxiries but functional and close to the train station. However services rendered
may bot match what offered (and paid). Information given is not clear and often wrong. They dont speak
good English. Out of 2 nights we were awakened 2 times during night (4 o'clock and 0630)
"205"
 Nov 29, 2019  Irresponsabile
The position of this hotel is centrally located, convenient X any movement From
the outside the reception is excellent, the Staf is extremely available, it also has
a nice terrace on the 5th for breakfast or an aperitif a nice comfortable lift, the
breakfast varies and always well-assorted. But the dirty dirty bathroom in the
worst is not possible a real shame
Dear Guest,

Thank you for taking your precious time to share your recent stay experience at our hotel. Please kindly
accept my deep apology for what happened to you during your recent stay.

I already investigated your concern with my team and they said a front desk team member called your
room number 504 mistakenly with Room.405 to acknowledge taxi arrival at 6 AM that supposed to go Jetty
on that morning and we're really sorry about that. But I didn't found phone call record to your room earlier
than 6 AM in our PABX system's auto call log and the receptionist also confirmed that she called only one
time.

It is with sincere regret for me to read that you felt unable to make us aware of the detail of your feedback
during your stay. My team and I always available to speak about any queries or suggestions our guests
may have for us. I am sure we would have been able to go some distance to find some solutions which
would have made your time with us more comfortable if you share the extent of your concerns with any of
us during your stay.

I am saddened that you left us with such an impression, however, I appreciate you taking the time to leave
us your feedback. Should you wish to discuss your stay with me personally, I would be grateful for this
opportunity and can be reached any time directly at the Hotel.

Yours sincerely,
Aung Si Thu
General Manager
Waste of your money
I spent 3 nights in this hotel with my partner, we both thought it was the worst hotel we have ever stayed
in. There are many other hotels in the same area for the same price and less, where you will have a much
better experience.

Location: BAD.
The hotel is located on the main setup of homeless people in Mandalay. Literally located right across the
road facing the hotel. It's a sad sight, they're pretty loud and also we were approached by a couple of
intoxicated individuals. Literally any other street is better than this one. Also, on the street directly behind
the hotel is a primary school. Your window faces this and they will wake you up at 7.30am each morning
with a loud drumming ceremony followed by a full day of singing. Cute - until you just really want to get
some sleep in.

Facilities: BAD.
Old, dirty, falling apart. ESPECIALLY the bathroom which for me, everything else in the hotel room can be
forgiven until the bathroom is dirty upon arrival, the shower not satisfying and tiles are cracked and
mouldy. Breakfast is gross, nothing to bother eating. Coffee burnt, eggs colds, plates dirty.

Service: BAD.
I saved the worst until last.
The service at this hotel is terrible. There are many many staff employed here, yet they all seem to be
allocated the front door job so that 6 people can open the front door for you when you walk in and out yet
nobody can adequately do anything else. Maybe instead of opening the front door, they could be cleaning
the hotel. Or instead of standing on their phones, they could be in training learning how to do their jobs
properly. The bar staff have not been trained properly and have no idea what any of the drinks are, the
front desk staff are rude and uninterested god forbid you have an issue - they do not want to help. Also the
hotel advertised fully English speaking staff, they speak very strained English which proves very difficult
and many mistakes are made because of this. If you order room service prepare for most of it to be
incorrect and also check your receipts upon checking out as they tried to add receipts to mine which
weren't even for my room. After finally convincing them it was not my signature they didn't even apologise
for attempting to incorrectly charge.

A word of warning, if you do happen to stay here do NOT organise a 'tour' with them. The taxi driver just
takes you to a whole bunch of extra shops to try and sell you things you don't want and also tries to tell
you when you visit certain landmarks that things like boat rides which cost 2000 Kyatt are necessary when
they certainly aren't. He will also take you to the toilets where you have to pay to use. The whole thing is a
money grabbing scheme and entirely boring and not worth it.

After careful consideration, we determined that due to the personal nature and inconsistencies written
here, it might be inappropriate to publically disclose extensive details here, but if anyone has any
questions or concerns I would welcome you to contact me personally. We are located in the city center
where Railway station, Royal Palace, Diamond Shopping Center, shops and many restaurants are just
within walking distance. You can see other guests' reviews didn't mentioned about those people and they
were quite safe and happy during their stay with us. There's another wrong fact in your review that
mentioned as "7.30am each morning with a loud drumming ceremony followed by a full day of singing".
The nearby school open at 9:00 a.m and their assembly held at 8:45 a.m. The school was not open yet at
7:30 a.m.

Our reputation and your complete satisfaction are our top priorities and we would rather direct you to a
more appropriate selection than have you disappointed with your experience.

Once again, we apologize for this incident which was outside our control and not at all a reflection of the
comfort and service we provide at the 79 Living Hotel. I hope you will give our hotel another chance. We
feel confident that under normal circumstances, it will be easy to see why the 79 Living is so highly
regarded by the members of TripAdvisor. Please feel free to call me to discuss this further or to arrange
another stay.

Best Regards,
Aung Si Thu
General Manager
Patent, loud, liars"
 Aug 15, 2016  JuanAntonioC227, Almussafes, Spain
We booked in the past a room that in photos was with double bed and one
person (we were 3 people), we do not have to know by the name of the room
as it is inside, but by the photos. When we arrived the door could not be opened
because it collided with an extra bed. The air conditioning at midnight began to
throw water and fell on the table and on my face, being three people sleeping in
such a small room I decided not to turn off the air conditioning because of the
heat it was doing and endure all night with the problem of air conditioning. We
asked for a change of room because we were going to be 3 days and they told
us that it was worth it but that we waited for him to stay free, that never
happened and we were there for three days, the staff laughed in our face. The
expensive breakfast for the prices there, 3 dollars per person and notice that
nobody leaves the clothes there to wash, in all the hotels round between 3 and
6 dollars and in this one it cost us 30 dollars !!!! I do not recommend it to
anyone, there are better hotels in the area by far
Dear Readers,

These guests booked (Superior Room Only) from Agoda which clearly stated that includes only 2 Twin
bed or 1 Large bed but they might didn't even checked the photos carefully when they booked their room.
They might only checked cover photo which is our (Family Suite Room) on agoda and never sold this
room without breakfast.

We already explained this on their previous review but they post again this terrible review. It is very
obvious that they just wanted to get upgrade to our Family Suite Room while they paid only for superior
room with an extra bed. They are intentionally posting bad reviews for our hotel on Tripadvisor community
but at this kind of point, we believe we must stand on our right as we didn't do anything wrong with them.
They also booked (Room Only) room type which is only for (Superior Rooms) types. If someone who book
for Room Only and want to have breakfast, he or she have to pay for breakfast and that's standard
practice in every other hotels around the world. We charge USD 3 dollars for each person for our
breakfast buffet and it is quiet good value for 3 dollars including yogurt, fresh fruits, breads, coffee & tea,
one kind of soups, congee, fried rice, fried noodle, vegetable, meat, salad, made to order eggs, milk,
cereal. You get what you pay for and I don't know what you expect more from 3 dollars breakfast? Please
directly contact us via [email protected] if you would like to discuss furthermore in details.
Best Regards,
Aung Si Thu
General Manager
Decepcion!!
Room for 3 !! Q Each time you leave the room moves the bed !! Very small!! not what Agoda hired in the
pictures! in reception I do not see much interest and concern! The meals are not very good and the hotel
is a little old!the truth a little disappointed, I recommend you look visits to the city outside the hotel!
Dear Mr.Juan Antonio Castellon Cuadra,

I am sorry you and your family felt the need to write 3 reviews with 3 different accounts over same issue
on T.A. The room we gave you is the same as the photo on Agoda but with an extra bed it could consume
some space of the room. This is my first time our guest complaints us over extra-bed blocking the door. In
your picture, the extra bed was not pushed to the wall and it caused the door was hitting the extra-bed
when you open. I already warned our room attendants over this issue and I am sure this kind of mistake
won't happen again. This is simple error and not the room issue.

I have checked with my front desk staffs and have been told that we were fully booked when you
complaint on your first day and this is very unfortunate as you also arrived very late in the evening.

I will look into the issues you raised and hopefully put right the things you were not happy with.
Hotel under average terrible location, poor breakfast"
 Dec 26, 2015  Realvidal, Milan, Italy
I really don't understand the previous reviews ... the hotel is located in a dark
street adjacent to the station used as a public urinal and shelter for homeless
poor people who live on the street. The road is dark and walking in the evening
is not very pleasant. The room is poor in terms of furnishings, comfortable beds
and cleanliness. The breakfast, for those who do not like fre breakfast with
Burmese dishes, is poor and poor (bread, jam and two slices of fruit). Not to be
repeated ....
Horrible
Absolutely the worst location AND hotel I've ever been in. I'm not even picky - but anyone who rated this
about rotten needs to have their head examined. The food is horrible, and I felt sorry for the staff having to
work with what they had. My window view was of homeless families living under the overpass. Absolute
poverty right at the door and no where to explore. I've been all over the world and this food ranks at a -2...
Do NOT stay at this hotel- I've warned you so it's off my chest. The smells will gag a pig. Ps I had their
best room...
~David
Dear DavyBluesboy,

Thank you for taking time to give us feedback.

I would like to apologies most sincerely for the poor experience your recently had about location and food.
Our hotel is located in the heart of this city where you can reach many shopping centers, banks and
restaurants. Also, the site of the old Royal Palace, and the beautiful old moat that surrounds it, are just a
five minute walk from the hotel.
I would like to assure you that I am currently dealing with our chef regarding your concern about our food
and I am taking it very seriously. I have raised your comments with our Food & Beverage department
involved and we are currently investigating on this to ensure this problem does not occur again.
Your point about homeless people who staying near railway station are paying money to our government
for their place. There is noting we can do for this people and we don't have power to control this situation
but let me ensure this area is right in the hear of the city and everything is very safe for our guests which
you won't see much complaint about these people in other previous Tripadvisor's reviewers.

Please accept my apologies for this and if you do have a moment to email me on
[email protected], I would very much appreciate it.
I hope we can look forward to welcoming you back to The 79 Living Hotel, Mandalay next time you are in
Mandalay.

Kind regards,

Aung Si Thu
"Very disappointed with the hotel"
 Jul 7, 2014  Monji64, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The rooms have no charm there is no restaurant around the hotel in the
evening I walked for 30 minutes and I found nothing and of course ask people
to meet you and nobody speaks English, the breakfast poor not even water at
the kf buffet stick not cool in the morning when I woke up when I wanted to pay
for my room I had to change a $ 20 bill because it was not new I thought he
was joking the receptionist but I had to change it It is inadmissible even better I
wanted to check out around 2pm since I had my plane at 5pm no 1pm
maximum they wanted nothing to know and the top in all that I had forgotten. A
pocket with a gift inside when I noticed there was nothing left it is the cleaning
lady who had kept it I had to type a screaming and as by miracle I recovered it
with no excuse this is my 3 day stay in the hotel that I strongly recommend
"it is not the best address. To avoid"
 Dec 16, 2016  Jmlarrouture, Bordeaux, France
I was disappointed with this hotel which however had good reviews. The hotel
is on a very poorly lit street at night (from 6 p.m.). In addition, opposite the
street, many people have elected homes which makes it a bit slum and not very
clean. The hotel is noisy because there is a lot of noise around (very loud
music) and the rooms are very poorly insulated. The breakfasts are just
adequate. Fried eggs are cold, ... Service is poor. No bike available upon arrival
at the hotel and yet these are included in the price of the room. The staff is
rather welcoming but not very efficient. I had reserved my bus tickets for Bagan.
They got the date wrong. I did not notice it until shortly before departure.
Fortunately the error was repaired. The information given on timetables is a bit
fanciful.
Problematic
Of the 5 hotels we stayed throughout our trip in Myanmar, this was the worst experience. They wanted to
charge us early check in fee even though our room was not ready. When we finally got to our room, it was
not the right size. Eventually, the manager in the morning shift did accommodate us by moving us to
another room (after we made several complains) but it was still a really tight squeeze. Towels were filthy.
Bathroom is not very clean and small. The AC had water leaking, and it was right above one of our beds.
This is probably more a 2-star hotel.
One +ve....strong wi-fi
Great customer service but the hotel needs work!
79 Living was rated very well and came with a good price, and the pictures that we saw showed the hotel
looking basic but clean, hence why I booked it. The staff are really friendly and helpful and the hot food at
the breakfast buffet was very tasty. There is also a nice selection of fruit breakfast.

It was not a very comfortably hotel. The off white sheets and linen were of poor quality, with stains on. It
was also not as clean as it looked online with residue stuck to walls, light switches and the remote control
for the AC. I could smell smoke from my bed (not sure if it came in through the window or the smell was in
the curtains/sheets) and some people might not sleep well due to the loud sound of water running in the
pipes and what sounded like electricity running around the building. Ants also kept appearing on my bed.
From time to time there would be 2-7 ants. I would get rid of them then there would be another 2-7, and
this would happen again and again. Sometimes it was annoying to have ants crawling around/on me
Rather disappointing
We stayed there for 1 night... The room, wifi were quite ok! we did experience several power cuts towards
the night which made our stay less pleasant, although not sure if can blame the hotel for that (perhaps,
their power generator should have worked better)! Buffet breakfast was good also!

However, we were very unhappy with the reception staff, with the way they were so inconsistent in quoting
us prices... Eg: we asked how much it would to go from Mandalay to Inle lake the next day, the
receptionist (whose English was rather good for Burmese) said at first that it would be USD15/bus (will
pick and drop off at bus stations only), and USD20/taxi/pax! We agreed to go with taxi! She picked up the
phone called them, then said USD25 from each of us (?!?) we thought it was a mistake and told her that
she quoted USD 20/taxi/pax before, to what she said no, it's USD25! Not impressed! Another thing is
when I asked for an iron, the receptionist (who could speak english) told me over the phone that they
would bring, which they did not. I didnt insist anymore, but have to highlight that! Needless to say, the taxi
apart from picking us up, took more than an hour to pick up other guests (which is ok, understandable, just
stating the fact).

I am sure you can choose better hotels in Mandalay for the price equal or even lower than in 79 Living
Hotel! Not recommended! The wifi is good though, but with frequent power cuts, it doesnt do much justice
Dear Valued Guest,

Thank you for your feedback. We take our guest comments very seriously and always strive to provide
comfortable and friendly accommodations. We appreciate that you find our room wifi and breakfast was
good.

However, we're sincerely apologize for the inconvenience the frequent power outage which was control by
government but out of our control. But we do provide 24 hours generator for electricity. Unfortunately, our
new front office staffs gave you wrong price quotation before she haven't confirmed price with ticket
counter. I am also really sorry for her omitting for bringing iron to you. Shared taxi always take their time to
pickup other guests as they provide pickup service for everyone.

We will address this concern. We take all reviews positive and negative very seriously, and your feedback
will help us improve for our next guest or your next visit.

Sincerely,
Aung Si Thu
General Manager
Wouldn't choose to stay here
Whilst the staff here work really hard and the bar on the roof top is excellent, the atmosphere from the
outside is simply awful. When I stayed there the outside was dirty and no where anything you would want
to visit and there weren't any places to eat within walking distance. It do not seem a safe area to be in on
your own.

Also the hallway outside my room has mattresses stored there.

So can't able to recommend this hotel.

It was not good"
 Jul 29, 2015  성준 전, Myanmar
There are a lot of hotels in Mandalay There are many cheap and good service
and the location is very good Close to the Mandalay railway station The
advantage is that it's all ah. It's really bad The bathroom is cramped and the
water doesn't drain very well The bed linen is really bad The area around the
hotel is very noisy Recommended if you're coming by train and don't go far
Really not recommended"
 Feb 1, 2014  martina w, Vienna, Austria
The rooms are clean and the TV programs are good. A Chinese receptionist is
not only friendly but also competent. If he is not there (almost) nothing works.
The most unpleasant thing was that I almost missed my flight because the taxi I
ordered had not arrived and, despite repeated requests, I was urged very late.
So I whizzed 40km on a moped to the airport !!!!! The roof terrace is fine, but a
look at the completely chaotic kitchen explains why hardly anyone eats there.
For breakfast: the eggs were already cold at 6.30 and there was even no tea!
Dear martina w,

Thank you for sharing your feedback about your recent stay with us. I am sorry to hear that you were
unhappy with about taxi service for airport. Thank you again for your review for highlighting about our taxi
arrangement. After I read your review and I noted that the taxi company forgot the taxi service that
requested for you. We know and understand how important to be at the airport in right time for travelers.
For the breakfast, we always make to ensure that breakfast to be ready before 15 mins of breakfast start
time and cold food to be cold and hot food to be hot on guest arrival.

But unfortunately, we didn't got your satisfaction during your stay with us.
Me and my team can promise if you give us a chance to back our hotel in next your visit, we will try our
best to meet your satisfactions.

I promise you that we will try to improve our service and ensure not happening again this kind of problems
in the future.

Sincerely,
Aung Si Thu(Mr.)
General Manager
Dirty!"
 Dec 12, 2013  countrymax, Rome, Italy
We stayed 4 nights at 79, and although we had pointed out the cleanliness of
the room as soon as we arrived, nothing was done to improve our first
impression. Probably strong of the proposed price (40 $ the double) the
cleanings are optional, not to believe. This is why they demand payment at the
time of ck in! Poor breakfast and equally indecent environment. Look
elsewhere!
Striving to Please
Central Mandalay is crowded and nondescript, a still decrepit city unredeemed by notable tourist
attractions. It’s striving to define its place as a travel destination. The 79 Living Hotel is striving too.

The 79 Living’s on 79th Street, which partly explains its name, and that turns out to be an unappealing
street alongside the railway tracks. The hotel is much newer and grander than its surroundings. It offers
about 30 rooms to a fairly mixed bunch of budget travelers. Our room was deeply discounted from its
listed price.

For $26/nite, we had a clean room with comfortable twin beds and reasonably strong wi-fi. There was
plenty of lukewarm water from the shower. Breakfast is included in the room charge. It’s served on the top
floor. Asian dishes dominate and were mediocre during our three day stay. The western offerings, crepes
with honey and eggs fried or in an omelet, were more satisfying.

There’s a nice little bar on the top floor covered patio, manned by three eager but essentially untrained
young men. Front desk staff were pleasant but also seemed to be learning by doing.

For reasons unexplained, five or six naked mattresses were parked in the hallway of each of floors 2-5.
We told front desk staff this was a problem for us, and shortly afterward the mattresses were removed
from our floor and an apology sincerely tendered.