Page 256 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

254 INLE LAKE AND THE EAST NYAUNGSHWE
option, set around a lush greenery-stuffed courtyard and a ★ Princess Garden Mine Li Quarter T081 209214 or
quaint wooden restaurant. The cheaper fan-only rooms are T09 514 8418, Eprincessgardenhotel@gmail.com.
simple but good value, and there are also more modern a/c Set in delightful gardens with a surprisingly large
rooms (for $15 more) in the bright new, vaguely pueblo- swimming pool, this is a restful and friendly little retreat
that books up well in advance during peak season – hardly
style block around the back. $20
Golden Empress Phaung Daw Pyan Rd T081 209037, surprising, given the bargain prices. Wood-floored rooms
Egoldenempresshotel@gmail.com. Reliable and and slightly fancier bungalows are attractively decorated,
6 characterful mid-range option, with plenty of traditional while breakfast is served on a terrace with fine views of the
Burmese style, from the antique-strewn lobby to the cosy
PYI Guesthouse Phaung Daw Pyan Rd T081 209076,
wood-panelled rooms – although it’s well worth paying an surrounding fields and hills. Rooms $30, bungalows $40
extra $5 for one of the significantly bigger, brighter and Epyi.nsmm@gmail.com. Super-friendly mid-range guest-
house. Rooms in the main red-brick building are big, modern
quieter rooms upstairs. $40
Gypsy Inn Kann Nar Rd T081 209084, Egypsyinn and rather bare but sparklingly clean, albeit the very flimsy
hotel@gmail.com. One of the cheapest options in town, duvets could do with an upgrade. There are also some smarter
and a decent choice if you don’t mind the constant roar of and more generously furnished wood-floored chalets ($10
boats motoring up and down the adjacent canal. The extra), with proper blankets, around the back. $50
cheapest (fan-only) rooms are basic and share bathrooms, Queen Inn Win Quarter T081 209544, Equeen.inle
but are reasonably comfortable and well-maintained given @gmail.com. Neat little hotel in a nice location by the
the price; pricier en-suite rooms ($25) come with a/c. canal. The big if rather bare rooms are decent value at
the price (while singles cost just $15), while a handful
Dorms $8, doubles $14
Joy Hotel Jetty Rd T081 209083, Ejoyhotel overlook the canal itself – great for boat-watching,
inle@gmail.com. A good canal-side cheapie, with great albeit noisy. $25
people-watching from the upstairs breakfast terrace. Remember Inn Museum Rd T081 209257,
Rooms are past their best, but comfortable enough; Wrememberinn.jimdo.com. Enduringly popular budget
en-suite doubles are a couple of dollars more than choice with unusually bright and spacious rooms, slightly
those with shared-bath, while shared-bath singles go past their best, but still very comfortable and competitively
priced (although the boxy bungalows in the garden outside
for just $8. $16
La Maison Birmane Kyaung Daw Anauk St T081 are significantly less appealing). Breakfast is served on a
209901, Wlamaisonbirmane.com. Intimate little sunny upstairs terrace, with a choice of Western or various
boutique hotel, designed in faux-Burmese village style, Burmese options including good mohinga. Rooms $20,
with ten stylishly minimalist rooms of varying sizes, styles bungalows $35
and prices set around a lush garden. It fills up quickly, so Song of Travel Aung Chan Tha St T081 209731,
Wsongoftravel.com. Funky new hostel occupying an
book as far in advance as you can. $85
Mount Inle Hotel Yong Gyi St, 1.5km east of the centre utterly bizarre-looking building resembling a gigantic
T09 449 722 577, Wmountinle.com. Suave new ghetto blaster. Accommodation is in well-equipped 14-bed
boutique hotel mingling Shan, Thai and Balinese influences a/c dorms, and facilities include a neat little café and what
in its cool contemporary design, with bright green-and- staff claim is the “best wi-fi in Nyaungshwe”. Guests get
white wood-floored rooms arranged around a neat garden, free use of a bike. Dorms $14
and good views from the attached balconies. Free bikes for ★ Thanakha Inle Hotel 80 Nan Thae St T081
guests, and they also run good cooking classes. Given the 209928, Wthanakha-inle-hotel.com. Nyaungshwe’s
stand-out accommodation option, in a cheery banana-
style, prices are a bargain. $50
Nawng Kham The Little Inn Phaung Daw Pyan Rd coloured building set around a lush palm-filled courtyard
T081 209195, Enoanhom@gmail.com. Cheery and right next to the main canal to Lake Inle. The spacious and
competitively priced little family-run guesthouse with a attractively designed rooms come with a distinct dash of
few simple but inexpensive fan rooms (plus more expensive Japanese-style minimalist chic and a choice of mountain,
a/c doubles for $10 more) set alongside a little strip of canal or garden views, while facilities include a cool rooftop
garden. $20 lounge and a breezy waterfront restaurant. $130
Paradise Museum Rd T081 209321, Winleparadise Viewpoint Taik Nan Bridge T081 209062, Winleview
.com. Long-running upper-mid-range option in a rustic point.com. Nyaungshwe’s fanciest accommodation
resort-style complex – dated, but pleasant enough, in a option, with 24 stilted cottages set on platforms dotted
slightly humdrum sort of way. Choose between one of across the hotel’s private lake – like a miniature version of
the old-fashioned wooden garden chalets, or the more the big Lake Inle resorts. The traditional Shan-style,
state-of-the-art cream-coloured rooms in the main concrete-free constructions feature wooden beams, local
limestone, mud and rice straw, and paints made from
building. $75