Arriving after a long night bus on a rainy morning in Pyin oo Lwin brought us to making a quick decision on where to stay. Based on reviews online we chose the supposedly reliable “Grace 2 Hotel Pyin oo Lwin” for $20 for Double Bed, ensuite bathroom and a fan. We were disappointed.
We were too tired to look elsewhere and were just happy for a reasonable place for $20. Reasonable is a good word, average is another, best value in Pyin oo Lwin? Certainly not.
There was nothing about the room that stood out as being any better than any other guesthouse in Myanmar. As expected, dirty walls, peeling paint etc. No problem there, thats normal for $20. The climate in Pyin oo Lwin is such that Aircon is not necessary, so just the fan was sufficient.
So why would I only give this place a below average 2 stars? A few reasons:
-
The electrical socket had seen better days…
Although the bathroom was relatively large, the shower was positioned directly over the toilet, ie. you could have a shower whilst sitting on the toilet. Its common in Asia for the toilet to get a showering, but this is the worst I’ve seen.
- The sheets were dirty and had holes. After staying in plenty of cheaper rooms than this in Burma, there is just no excuse for dirty sheets. If a $10 room can give us clean sheets then Grace hotel for $20 (Apr 2013) should be able to.
- The curtain was way too small for the window – ie. almost half the size of the window. So, good luck sleeping in past 6am without an eye mask. I also had to fix the curtain rail with gaffa tape to hold it to the wall.
- The electric socket was a state. Also had to use gaffa tape to tape our plugs into the socket.
In our opinion Grace hotel 2 has been overrated online and they are riding off those reviews to keep busy. That said, the owners were nice (pretty weak English, but ok) and the hot water was genuinely hot.
Grace Hotel 2
46/48 Mandalay – Lashio Road, Pyin oo Lwin (just south west of clock tower)
$20 dbl dirty sheets no curtain / pvt shower over toilet with hot and cold water / Fan
+95 (0) 85 22081 / 28256
Shower pointing at toilet… never a good thing.
——–
We liked Myanmar so much we even wrote a book about it!!!
Later in the day we trawled around a lot of guesthouses, some with little internet presence, so less touristy, and chose to move to “Cherry Guesthouse“, so take a look at that review, we reckon it is the best value option in Pyin oo Lwin.
More info on the other places we took a look at are below – This is our info for April 2013, many of these places have changed a lot since the reviews in Lonely Planet (2011) and on Wiki Travel and we found a lot of differences.
Its worth noting that rooms at the front of hotels on the main road will be noisy, ask for a room at the back.
BUDGET
Cherry Guesthouse
(Read the Full Review with photos and videos)
19, 6th block, Mandalay-Lashio Road (Just north of clock tower)
$20 Large Dbl room with ensuite, Ceiling fan, padlock on outside of door, free wifi, great staff, semi hot water. NO breakfast.
+95 (0) 85 21306 / 21911
Queen Hotel
Further towards Lashio on the main road than cherry guesthouse, but still central.
Didn’t get to see the rooms as they were full, but pictures in reception looked good. Rooms and hotel have been upgraded somewhat compared to old reviews on wiki-travel.
$20 dbl room, free wifi, hot water, NO bfast.
+95 (0) 85 21465.
mobile: +95 (0) 940 3703661
Da Shanghai hotel
Sign on Main road, its one road south of Station Road and is marked on some tourist maps
They have a Very budget super basic room for $10 – just a double bed in a room, not even a fan. The $25 Dbl ensuite rooms were not good value in our opinion, some had fans, some not.
$10 dbl / shared bathroom, dirty, no fan
$25 twin with fan
$25 dbl some with fan, ensuite, hot water evening only
Golden dream
Right next door to Grace hotel 2
Much upgraded since the bad reviews on wiki-travel. Ensuite bathrooms now have very new and clean bathtubs!
$24 dbl with ensuite bathtub hot and cold water / fan / tv / NO wifi / no bfast/ triple room same price as double.
Grace 1
114(A) Nann Myaing Road
Sister hotel to Grace 2, nothing special, but completely fine. Clean enough, helpful staff.
$25 dbl with ensuite & fan / wifi / 10 minute walk out of town centre – quiet area.
+95 (0) 85 21230 / 21910
FLASH ($30 +)
Hnin zi khaing hotel
58 Khe-lell st, block 7 (Near Khe-lell monastery just off the main road)
This place is AMAZING. Fantastic staff, full service hotel and very tidy. If you want to spend $40 a night this place is good value.
$40 dbl ensuite / bfast / aircon / tv / very clean /
+95 (0) 85 22856
Mobile: +95 (0) 973 211998
Bravo Hotel
On the main road just north of the clock tower.
Another great hotel that is easily worth the extra money, if you have it. The rooms are way above standard for the price.
$30 dbl ensuite / bfast / aircon / tv / wifi /
+95 (0) 85 21223 / 21826
Star Hotel
Really run-down and definitely not worth $40 for a double room!
$40 dbl/twin aircon/ bfast / bath in bathrm very dirty/ tv / fridge… Not worth it!
+95 (0) 85 23120 / 21312
