Cheap budget hotels and guest houses in Mandalay

There are quite a number of cheap guest houses and hotels in Mandalay. Many of them offer nice rooms, friendly staff and some basic services at a cheap price. These are ideal accommodations for the budget travelers. Here are some of these cheap accommodations that are popular among the foreign travelers that got quite a fair comments and recommendations on the internet and on travel guide books. All of the following guesthouses and hotels have both fan rooms and air conditioned rooms, and the price usually includes the breakfast. Unfortunately, none of these hotels and guesthouses can be booked online so you will have to contact them by phone. A few of them have email addresses, but I cannot contact any of them by email. Please book a few days in advanced as they will be filled up quickly during peak seasons.

Peacock Lodge – Lonely Planet recommendation

This one is recommended by the popular guide book Lonely Planet. It also receives a number of good comment and recommendations on the travel and hotel websites. Situated near the Mandalay Royal Palace Fort, the Peacock Lodge guesthouse offers “a village like peace”, according to the Lonely Planet guide book. The guesthouse is run by a friendly family who would treat you like part of the family, a typical Burmese tradition that is disappearing in big cities. Some of the internet website comments include “Mandalay Family Affair”, “Very helpful and friendly hotel”, “An amazing home from home with a lovely Burmese family” and “Charming with a great restaurant”. The guest house has seven wooden floored rooms that fill up very quickly at high seasons. There is also a library of old books, one of which is a 1938 Mandalay telephone directory. The address of Peacock Lodge is No. 5, Myaypadaythar Street, off 61^st street, between 25^th and 26^th street, Mandalay. Phone number is 95-2-33411, 95-2-61429. Room rate around 12 – 18 US dollar per night.

Royal City Hotel

This is also another cheap hotel that many foreign travelers recommend. At US$ 20 a night, the hotel offers a “good value” as well as “great service”, according to some comments. This is “a small family run hotel” with “nice rooms”. The hotel is situated near Mandalay Royal Palace and the Mandalay Hill, which is a convenient location to travel in and around Mandalay. The staffs are helpful and are willing to assist you to have a laundry done or hiring a bicycle. The rooms are large and come with a TV and phone. Some cheaper rooms have shared bath rooms while more expensive ones have bath room attached. The hotel is located at No. 130, 27^th Street, between 76^th and 77^th streets, Mandalay. Contact phone is 95-2-31805.

Royal Guesthouse

This guesthouse is located in the city centre, and the room rates are quite cheap. The rooms are small but clean. The cheapest rooms have shared bathrooms while the more expensive ones have attached bathrooms. The rooms rate is around US$ 5 – 10 including breakfast. The address is No. 41, 25^th street, between 82^nd and 83^rd streets, Mandalay. Contact phone number is 95-2-65697.

AD 1 Hotel

This 27 roomed hotel is located between a market and the Eindawya Pagoda, in the small street with shops that sell monk gears. The rooms are clean and cute. The room rate is around US$ 5 per night, including breakfast. The address is Eaindawya Street, between 87^th and 88^th streets, Mandalay, phone 95-2- 34505, 95-9-697-1116 (mobile).

Editor’s note: Please read the comment from one of our readers below:

“The AD 1 hotel you mentioned above charged me more than you’ve described above. Rooms were not clean and cute as you said and it was of course badly small with poor ventilation. The mattress and towels provided are dirt. They charged me with many expensive extras such as mineral water, soap etc. To my surprise, They even did not provide a soap and terrible bad odor in bath room. The staff said that,”We forgot to put it”. The hang shower doesn’t work properly and there was no phone fixed to call out for a help. I had to go down to receptionist from 3rd floors for whatever need. It took me around 15 minutes to make receptionist understand what is going on inside my room. Poor English staffs are recruited. Its surrounding was on busy narrow roads full of street vendors selling smelly stuffs just like in crowded suburb India. No pleasant at all. Besides, i had to walk a large distant to pick a cab on main road. Poor room service and power went off quite often that made my air-condition turn off and on many times, no adequate cold I had got in hot 40 degree C. I thus could stay in AD 1 hotel only 2 nights and hurry switched to…”

Classic Hotel

This one is located near the famous Shan restaurant, Lashio Lay Shan Restaurant, near downtown. The location is an ideal place to travel and see Mandalay as well as taste delicious Burmese and Shan food. The rooms are clean, tidy with TV. Rates are between US$ 8 – 16. Address is No. 59, 23^rd Street, between 83 and 84^th streets, phone number 95-2-32841.

ET Hotel

This cheap hotel is situated just near Classic Hotel, just around the corner. This is rather a friendly guesthouse that offer clean rooms at slightly cheaper price than the Classic Hotel mentioned above. Rooms have TV and cheaper rooms have fan instead of air con. Room rates are around US$ 8 – 10. The address is No. 129, 83^rd Street, between 23^rd and 24^th streets, Mandalay, phone number 95-2-65006.

Mother’s World Hotel

This hotel is located behind the Mandalay Railway Station so it is an ideal place to stay if you are travelling by train to Mandalay as most trains from Yangon (Rangoon) arrive to Mandalay at the middle of the night. The hotel has clean and tidy rooms with carpet or tiled rooms with Chinese style woodwork, with TV and attached bathroom. According to the Lonely Planet guide book, the single room 506 has a full view of Mandalay Hill and the Shan Plateau. The address is No. 58, 79^th Street, between 27^th and 28^th streets, Mandalay, phone number 95-2-33627, fax number 95-2-66802.

Nylon Hotel

Another cheap hotel in Mandalay with friendly staff. Most rooms have air con and TV. You can also use internet at the hotel (although internet cafes in Mandalay are cheaper). The rate is around US$ 5 – 10. The hotel is situated at the corner of 25^th and 83^rd Streets, phone number 95-2-66550, 60757, email: nylon@mandalay.net.mm.

Sabai Phyu Hotel

This is an old hotel with slightly worn out rooms – 20 of them. However, the room rate is quite cheap (US$ 5 – 10 per night), with an excellent view from the breakfast area on the top of the building. The address is No. 58, 81^st Street, between 25^th and 26^th Streets, Mandalay, and phone number 95-2-64506.

Editor’s Note: Many of the above information has been obtained from our reference book Lonely Planet Guide to Myanmar (Burma). This is a very good guide book on Myanmar, and essential book that you must bring on your trip to Myanmar. The book can be obtained from Amazon store.