Last time I stayed at the Lane Xang Hotel in Vientiane was in January 2008. So far, I always have been happy at this place. I stayed here several times before and I always got a warm welcome with a fresh juice.
It's correct that the place has seen better days. Where else in Vientiane do you get a spacious room, a clean bathroom and a big swimming pool for 30$ single or 33$ double, including breakfast...
Sure you can get some better quality at the Novotel, the Settha Palace or the Don Chong Hotel, but then expect to pay at least three times more.
When I stayed here last time, I got picked up at the airport as expected (free pick up and drop off if you make reservations) but when I arrived at the hotel, no standard room seemed available. The manager simply offered me a junior suite at no extra cost...
For me the Lane Xang hotel offers great value for money and I will return there for sure.

Having read many negative reports we were pleasantly surprised at the standard. Room was large, pool was clean, massive multi cultural breakfast (including American). What do you expect for $33 for two people?Very well situated close to city centre (such as it is!) and to Mekong river. Staff were helpful.Drinks comparatively expensive.

The front driveway is impressive and the garden is beautifully kept but that's about all we found to like about the Lane Xang. (apart from the bloke in the guard box at the front gate saluting us). We booked it from our previous city on the basis of its write-ups in various guides which talked about its cold-war glamour but really its just a once-great hotel that is now run down. Maybe its not, but it reeks of being run by the government.

Our room had a smell that we never really managed to identify - cheap disinfectant, musty, vaguely fertilizerish - the sheets had rips and stains and the towels could well have been left over from the cold war. The mattress was uncomfortably soft. There was a rotten spot eating away the wall down in one corner. Criticizing the grouting in the bathroom may seem incredibly picky but this stuff was the worst I've ever seen and seems indicative of lack of care taken at the hotel. (If it was the result a scheme to employ the handicapped I apologise. It certainly looked like it was done by a blind man.)

The breakfast buffet that was included in the US$30 a night we paid was probably alright if you were up early but by the time we got there the pickings were pretty slim.

Despite booking and paying for two nights we left after the first. To their credit the staff have tried to arrange a refund from the agent we booked through. We don't know yet whether we will get it or not and don't really care. We were just happy to leave.

Yes it has seen better days. But the staff were very helpful, friendly even, and at $33 I'd say it was good value for money. Great location, great pool.

Try the night club, it's great fun. We also ate in the restaurant one night, food was quite nice, and the entertainment a bonus. Breakfast would be improved considerably if they cooked the eggs to order, but I made do with bacon sarnies.