Page 92 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

90 Yangon and around ACCOMMODATION
1 in a great position right in the thick of the downtown – disappointing, especially given the massive price tag.
action. Rooms are dated and bland but unusually spacious Facilities include a pair of overpriced restaurants, a popular
for the location, and there are nice views from higher bar (see p.95) and a spa – but no pool. $620
floors. $60 Sule Shangri-La 223 Sule Pagoda Rd T01 242828,
Clover Hotel City Center 217 32nd St T01 377720, Wshangri-la.com; map p.64. Swanky five-star in a prime
Wcloverhotelsgroup.com; map p.64. Tucked away central location between Sule Pagoda and Bogyoke Market.
behind the Sule Shangri-La Hotel, this small hotel makes Accommodation is in spacious if rather unexciting rooms
the most of a very cramped location, with eight floors of with all the usual mod cons, and facilities include two good
slightly capsule-like but surprisingly chic rooms, with pure- if pricey restaurants, the pleasant Gallery Bar (see p.95),
white minimalist decor and mod cons including TV, safe and an upstairs outdoor pool, all backed up by the city’s
and fridge – although the staff might well be the smoothest service. $220
grumpiest in Yangon. $48 Vintage Luxury Yacht Hotel 6 Bothataung Jetty T01
Hotel Grand United (Chinatown) 621 Mahabandoola 901 0555, Wvintageluxuryhotel.com; map p.62. Wacky
Rd, at the corner of Bo Ywe St (reception on 4th floor) concept hotel set in a retired cruise ship moored near the
T01 372256, Whotelgrandunited.com; map p.62. Botataung Pagoda. The nautical 1920s theme includes staff
Reliable mid-range option in the middle of Chinatown – dressed up in sailors’ uniforms and rooms (with great river
slightly better (albeit a bit pricier) than other choices in this views for $15 extra) decorated in cod-colonial style,
category, with small but neatly furnished modern rooms complete with dark wood furnishings, fake antique
equipped with minibar, tea- and coffee-making facilities telephones, and minibars concealed in a ship’s barrel.
and flatscreen TV; superior rooms ($10 extra) have good Facilities include two restaurants, a bar and a spa. Hokey,
bird’s-eye views of the streets below. $65 but fun. $129
Loft Hotel 33 Yaw Min Gyi St T01 372299,
Wtheloftyangon.com; map p.62. This funky boutique OUT OF THE CENTRE
hotel is one of the most stylish downtown accommodation ★ Alamanda Inn 60b Shwe Taung Gyar Rd
options, with loft-style decor featuring lots of hardwood T01 534513, Whotel-alamanda.com; map p.71. This
floors and brick walls, with splashes of white and red. place is a real find, occupying a homely colonial-style villa
Rooms are stylishly kitted out with arty black-and-white set amid lush gardens in the exclusive Golden Valley area
photographs of Burmese scenes and cool contemporary – all very peaceful, and feeling a long way from the
furniture, and well equipped with writing desks and big hubbub of the city centre. The spacious, old-fashioned
flatscreen TVs. $175 rooms are nicely kitted out with colonial-style furniture
MK Hotel 1 Wut Kyaung St T01 297274, and the occasional artwork – a little worn around the
Wmkhotelyangon.com; map p.62. Above-average mid- edges but full of character and charm. There’s also a good
range option at a competitive price. Rooms are well restaurant in the garden out the front. A taxi from here to
equipped with an eclectic mishmash of furniture plus Sule Pagoda costs around K3000. $90
fridge, kettle and writing desk. Less dated and drab than Classique Inn 53b Shwe Taung Kyar St (Golden Valley
many other places in this price range, complemented by Rd) T01 525557, Wclassique-inn.com; map p.71.
friendly, efficient service. $45 Guesthouse-style accommodation in an attractive modern
Parkroyal 33 Alan Pya Phaya Rd T01 250388, villa in the smart Golden Valley suburb, with eleven
Wparkroyalhotels.com; map p.62. Swanky, albeit stylishly furnished rooms with wooden floors and crisp
profoundly bland, five-star in a conveniently central white linen (plus another three in the adjacent family
location and with a host of facilities including pool, spa, house). A taxi from here to Sule Pagoda costs around
gym, sauna and a trio of restaurants (international, K3000. $70
Chinese, Japanese). Rooms are kitted out in generic five- Governor’s Residence 35 Taw Win Rd T01 229860,
star plush style – comfortable if characterless – and rates Wbelmond.com/governors-residence-yangon; map
are often good value. $200 p.71. An oasis of calm in one of Yangon’s most superior
Strand Hotel 92 Strand Rd T01 243377, suburbs, occupying a lovely old 1920s two-storey mansion
Whotelthestrand.com; map p.64. Yangon’s finest old with wrap-around wooden balconies, gorgeous gardens
colonial pile (see p.65), still going strong after a century in and plenty of period charm. The 49 spacious suite-size
business and with plenty of atmosphere, although rooms are attractively decorated in colonial style with teak
overzealous restorations have robbed the place of some of and silk furnishings, while facilities include a pair of good
its old-world character, and parts of the hotel don’t look (though pricey) restaurants (see p.94) plus a spa and a big
very different to any of the city’s modern five-star hotels. fan-shaped garden pool. Rates are seriously steep,
The 31 huge, high-ceilinged suites are nicely furnished, although special offers and low-season discounts can
although the faux-colonial decor borders on bland sometimes reduce prices by a third or more. $550

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