This was my third stay at the Royal Mekong; any connection to Holiday Inn must have been in the distant past by the way.

The rooms are huge and clean.
The bathroom is clean and water is usually hot.
TV is terrible; one English channel and it's a shocker.
Pool is huge.

That's the good bit folks.

Breakfast is perhaps the worst in Thailand; I've never struck such terrible service from sullen, unhelpful staff.

It was OK two years ago, but the staff have been let go and it was left to a couple of staff to cope with hundreds of guests.

Tables were cleared of dirty plates etc, but were never wiped down and thus it was always a lottery to get a cleanish table.

A repeat customer, I learned from my stay previous. First day here I went to tesco and bought my own supplies; milk, mueseli, yoghurt, orange juice.

The hotel supplies corn flakes but these were terribly stale.

At lunch time and dinner time the restaurant is empty for very good reason; service and food is just awful.

I had a hamburger that had the texture of cement. My fries and salad were good.
My Thai companion ordered a hot/spicy seafood dish and was sick the next day.

I was there for New year's period and admittedly the hotel was packed, but there is no change even in quiet times.

I will not stay here again; I'd sooner try a guest house.

If you are Western and looking for a good hotel experience then stay away. If you're prepared to bring your own brekkie and eat out at all other times, then the large rooms and great pool and of course, the very cheap price, will probably earn your tick of approval.

Mekong Royal Nong Khai is quite ok for the money.
Stayed for only one night, the Hotel is typical Thai standard for away from the usual farang (foreigner) tourist route. Large, slight musty smell, the usual grande foyer, and the rest is OK.
I give it's dues, the room swere quite good, large and everything worked ok, hot water was good, the rooms where clean, cable TV. No problems there. Breakfast was a surprise, it was quite good actually.
The Hotel is right on the Mekong, so had a nice sort of feel about it.
For about 2000bht for a deluxe I would stay there agian.
Its a bit of a drive into Nong Khai town main drag, but its close to the bridge if you are heading into Laos from the frendship bridge.
Not bad really, if you did not have transport i think something closer in would be better, as there are many smaller hotels through out Nong Khai, there are only (2) LArger Hotles, and this is one.

I want to see the Fireballs and this was the only hotel that had rooms. There is no wonder why they had rooms. They charged double their going rate. The hotel staff was poorly trained and did not have accurate information about Nong Kahi, the Fireballs or transportation. The floor in the room was dirty, you know like it stuck to your feet. The hotel manager did not return phone calls. There was no hot water until I demanded some three or four times. I asked for them to help with booking transportation to the Udon Thani airport and they did not know who to call. They told me there was no street food in Nong Kahi. The breakfast was the low end of okay. If you are in the neighborhood go to the 6th floor and look at the ceiling. That represents the cleanliness of the hotel.

The hotel says they are 3 star. I give in 1. This is a place to avoid.

All the good reviews must have been written by the hotel itself. The location is out of town and can be expensive and is inconvenient to go back and forth. The pool furnature is non existent.

A great hotel, with a great staff (from the manager to the cook), in a great location. Rather than go into all the things that this hotel does right, I will just say this: In 2 months I will make a special trip to this hotel and stay for 2 weeks. I will take a Thai family (spaning 4 generaations) of 6 with me. How much stronger recommendation can I give?

William H Outten of San Francisco and Palm Springs