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Region: Northern Laos> Province: Xieng Khuang> Location: Phonsavan
Kong Keo Guesthouse
Great little wooden bungalows, charismatic host
P.O. Box 158A, Phonsavan
Xieng Khuang Province
Tel: (20) 551 6365
Email them at: kongkeojar@hotmail.com
Visit website
Description
The front garden and entrance to the popular Kong Keo is attractive and very welcoming. In the corner is a wooden shack that does duty as a bar, and stacked all around the grounds are loads of old bomb parts and other war remnants, but the highlight is a cozy wooden balcony, which serves as a restaurant. The menu is limited but dishes are delicious. A large rocket shaped bombshell holds an open fire in the evenings. Out the back is a collection of individual wooden bungalows, all with private bathroom and hot shower, which are not really able to be fired up due to insufficient power for now. They are newly built and clean, with a big bed and piney scent. Rooms in the main building are nothing special, less clean, most sharing a bathroom with hot shower and western toilet which could do with a scrub, and without fan. The bungalows are definitely the better option. They run tours to the Plain of Jars, ranging in price depending on the number of passengers, between $4-7.50. They say they won't go without a minimum of 5 people, but could probably be convinced. Maximum is about 12 people. The guide is the cheeky guesthouse owner. Depending on demand, they often screen a documentary about the war and its effects.
Total rooms: 14
Dbl fan share b'room
2 USD (low season)
3 USD (high season)
Bungalow fan private b'room
5 USD (low season)
10 USD (high season)
Includes breakfast
Added to Travelfish on: 23rd October, 2004
Last visited or updated on: 5th August, 2005
Guest feedback
fine but cold! - 
By milou13 ( total comments: 8 
) Stayed here 11/2007
Stayed in a bungalow for $5. There was supposed to be warm water but there wasn't. Enough blankets to keep warm but very cold if you have to use the toilet at night.There still is a fireplace and the owner is nice and speaks English quite well. Breakfast is only omlets or pancake but nice enough.
Eccentric but welcoming - 
By pauljaymes ( total comments: 3 ) Stayed here 11/2007
I enjoyed the Kong Keo very much, but I can see why some people might not.
The $4 bungalow was nice, but there is a special knack to getting the water lukewarm rather than cold. Ask them to show you. Apparently the new $10 bungalows have 'real' hot water.
The tour was good enough, but if you're on a budget and not many people are staying you could probably get cheaper at an agency in the town.
The best thing about the place is the communal area with the fire in a bomb casing and the eccentric owner, who gives out lao-lao, sings crazy songs with his guitar and tells old Lao folk tales about Buffalo and Horses. He's priceless and in my view unmissable.
Needs to wake up to iteslf - 
By BC ( total comments: 16 ) Stayed here 5/2007
There is a lot more competition in town now, and Kong Keo's seems to still do well in recruiting guests. But it does little to keep them. The place really needs just a bit of basic maintenance, I mean the toilet seat in the upstairs bathroom was broken in half! Still no hot water and often no cold either while I was there. Tour mini-bus had 2 broken windows, not even plastic stuck over them to keep the wind and rain out. Minimal meals available, and the fireplace has gone so the communal area is a lot less inviting now. KK's still has more soul than some of the other guesthouses, but really needs to get its act together and reverse the decline into apathy.
Surely there's a much better option in town - 
By joant ( total comments: 6 ) Stayed here 12/2006
Not the best place to stay. Stayed in one of the bungalows. Even though the staff tell you there is hot water, there isn't and it is freezing at night!!! They have two options for tours around the area. We organised to go on one but on the day they made up an excuse because they only wanted to take one group out that day. So we couldn't go on the tour we wanted. Whatever you do, do not make an argeement with the guesthouse and a group of other people to be dropped off at the bus station. They will be keen at first then 15 minutes before the bus leaves they say the van has a flat battery before pointing out a 4WD and saying "needs a push start" and everyone in the group will take turns pushing the car around the airstrip out the front, until someone points out a jeep. Everyone in, but no one to drive. Back to pushing the jeep around. With a minute to spare someone else will come out and offer to take everyone to the station for an exorbitant amount because the bus is about to leave! I wouldn't stay there again. Be wary of overcharging.
Great rooms but was that guy wasted or what?! - 
By noushymoo ( total comments: 6 ) Stayed here 6/2006
OK great double room in the house, $4 with bathroom and hot water at night, no complaints and interesting garden with war scraps used as planters and fence posts but the guy that ran the place geez...don't know what was up with him. 5 of us were trying to get an answer out of him about the tours he ran and the cost but he just kept laughing and wouldnt give us a straight answer. Finally he said $10US for a day each mumbling something about paying buffalo prices getting buffalo tour, pay chickens prices get chicken tour, but he was just such a waster we couldn't be sure what was going on so we booked in town at a travel agency for $10 for the day taking in Plain of Jars, village that uses bomb scraps in daily use, buddha cave and medicine cave. The caves were not too interesting but the first half of the day was. Personally I would only stay the full day in Phonsavan then move on. But anyway the accomodation was fine.
Much more than a bed for the night - 
By BC ( total comments: 16 ) Stayed here 1/2006
Stayed in a bungalow - not 5 star but comfortable enough. Didn't see any evidence of rats, possibly because there is a very approachable (and at the time, very pregnant) cat in residence, to be found around the bombshell fireplace in the evening. Food is definitely available now, and it is very good and very reasonably priced. Our hot water didn't work too well, but in fairness we never got around to asking to have it fixed/turned on/whatever so we can't really complain. Kong Keo, the owner, is a bright chap in every sense, a wealth of information, with excellent English (and some other languages too). He no longer works with MAG (ask him why) but is involved with local villages who deal with UXO every day in places other than tourist sites. Praise for his tours is well deserved - ''Pet'' wasn't available the day we went (we did meet him at the airport and he seems very good), but we had the pleasure of Kong Keo himself in the morning and Toovee (sp?) in the afternoon and they were great. Prices are about $10 per person now, and if numbers are low you can hire a car with guide for the day. Wish we had been able to spend more time at this place.
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