Douangdeuane Hotel

Nice little guesthouse

I've been going off and on to Vientiane for over a decade (it now being late August, 2007), and I've always stayed at this guesthouse.

The first time I went to the city, I had no idea where to stay. When I went out of the airport, I took a taxi, and the driver asked me where I wanted to go. I asked him to recommend a hotel in the downtown area. He told me he had always heard Douang Deuane was nice, so I tried it.

At the time, the owner and one of his sons were there, and they were simply wonderful. Sadly, the Father has now passed away, and the son finally managed to emigrate to the U.S. (Took him only 12 years!)

I've always found the rooms to be rather nice, especially for the money. Last time I was there I was surprised to get, for the first time, a slightly larger-than-normal room with a double- or queen-size bed -- I had always thought all the rooms had twin beds. Every room has air-con, with a hot-water restroom, each of which has a tub and shower. All rooms have a telephone and television, and have cable.

The one oddity is that the restaurant is open only in the morning for breakfast (which is included in the room rate. The food isn't great, but acceptable.

Unique Quality: These folks really go out of the way for guests. Some months back I called to reserve a room for two nights, but the first night they were full. But the guy with whom I was speaking asked me to give him a little while and he would see what he could do. When I did call again, he had arranged a room for my first night at a nearby hotel -- AND sent a car to take me from the airport to the competing hotel! The following morning, he sent a car to bring me from the other hotel to the Douang Deuane. And there is no charge for the shuttle service (unless you need transportation to the Friendship Bridge some 20 kilometers away, which is fair enough).

I've steered quite a few people to this hotel, and none of them has ever had a single complaint.

In fact, I'm leaving today to go to Vientiane -- and I called last night and made a reservation at this hotel. As Always.