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218<br />
VIENTIANE<br />
11<br />
WHERE TO STAY<br />
and airy. <strong>The</strong> service is relaxed but efficient. <strong>The</strong>re is a restaurant serving breakfast only,<br />
which gets very good reviews.<br />
Khun Bulom Rd. & 021/218-415. Fax 021/223-257. 26 units. $25 single; $30 double. MC, V. Amenities:<br />
Restaurant; room service. In room: A/C, TV, fridge, minibar.<br />
Inter City Hotel This hotel is quirky beyond belief. It looks as if it was decorated<br />
by a slightly color-blind grandmother. In short, it is great fun if you are in the mood<br />
for the eccentric. It is in an old French riverside villa, and rooms are aged and feel very<br />
“lived in” but they are not ragged at all. It has original wooden floors and big windows.<br />
<strong>The</strong> furnishings are dark wood and silk and along the corridors are rustic looking pillars<br />
painted in purple and gold reminiscent <strong>of</strong> a Buddhist temple. <strong>The</strong> river-view deluxe<br />
rooms are simply superb. <strong>The</strong> walls <strong>of</strong> reception are an exhibit in themselves, lined with<br />
real pebbles seemingly picked up from the gray beaches <strong>of</strong> the English Channel. If you<br />
like your accommodations on the wacky side, the Inter City will not disappoint. It is a<br />
hotel with genuine charm and character.<br />
24–25 Fa Ngum. & 021/242-843. 47 units. $35 standard; $55 deluxe; $75 suite. MC, V. Amenities: Restaurant;<br />
room service. In room: A/C, TV, fridge, minibar.<br />
KP Hotel This hotel is modern, well equipped, and very central. <strong>The</strong> rooms are a little<br />
bit pokey, but not claustrophobically so. It is beautifully furnished with silk bedspreads,<br />
muted lighting, and enough boutique touches to be pleasant without being cloying. <strong>The</strong><br />
management has obviously thought about providing a businesslike efficiency with a casual<br />
atmosphere, and they appear to have succeeded. In its price range it is one <strong>of</strong> the most<br />
comprehensively equipped hotels in town, including car rental and traditional massage.<br />
59 Hangboun Rd. & 021/241-616. Fax 021/241-616. 27 units. $35 double. MC, V. Amenities: Restaurant;<br />
bar; Internet; room service. In room: A/C, TV, fridge, minibar.<br />
Lani Guest House This hotel stands out from the crowd simply because they are<br />
doing something quite different from everyone else. It is down a shaded lane in a slightly<br />
rambling old villa. <strong>The</strong> place is filled with atmosphere, with statues and handicrafts scattered<br />
artfully around both the rooms and the communal areas. <strong>The</strong> rooms in the house<br />
are large, airy, and pleasant. Those in an adjoining annex are bit dark. It is a lovely place<br />
but somewhat overpriced. <strong>The</strong>y have, however, done very well to create something special<br />
for a niche market. <strong>The</strong> Lani inspires real enthusiasm among those who stay there <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
and gets a lot <strong>of</strong> repeat customers. In keeping with its pleasant but slightly snooty outlook,<br />
the Lani Guest House does not have TVs, but it does have wireless Internet<br />
throughout.<br />
281 Setthathirath. & 021/214-919. www.laniguesthouse.com. $40 double; $25 single. MC, V. Amenities:<br />
Internet. In room: A/C.<br />
Mali Namphu Guest House In the center <strong>of</strong> Vientiane lies this beautiful<br />
French villa. <strong>The</strong>y have gotten the renovation in old Indochina style exactly right<br />
and at $25, this place is a steal. Rooms are tastefully furnished. <strong>The</strong> atmospheric ocher<br />
building is constructed around a shaded courtyard with a very Parisian-looking terrace<br />
on which you can sit and enjoy your very Parisian-looking c<strong>of</strong>fee. <strong>The</strong> staff is very<br />
friendly. <strong>The</strong>y also have an unusually efficient website operation if you wish to book in<br />
advance.<br />
114 Pangkham Rd. & 021/215-093. Fax 021/263-297. www.malinamphu.com. 40 units. $25 double. MC,<br />
V. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; Internet; executive-level rooms; room service. In room: A/C, TV, fridge,<br />
minibar.