The idea of staying in a past royal residence was enthraling but the practicalities were disappointing. The look of the hotel from the road is impressive and even the french doors to the rooms were quaint but you'd have to pay the price to get a luxurious room. Basic rooms will face the side or back of the hotel with nothing particularly to look at.
The dining room for breakfast was huge but with only a few people and the oferrings were just as paltry. As a result all other meals were eaten out of the hotel which means a reasonable walk along a dusty main road.
After one night the thrill of staying in a royal residence had faded and I moved elsewhere for much less.

This hotel was built by the Prince Boun Oum as his residence, however, it was abandoned in 1974 when he escaped to France. It was later converted into a hotel. Thus, it looks magnificant with a huge compound. However, when you take a closer look, it is very rundown with many places that requires a new paint job.

The rooms are huge and really clean. We took a double room and it cost about USD 35 per night which is very reasonable. The room has a backdoor that leads to a nice view of Sedone River.

The hotel provides airport transfer, but it is very unreliable. We had informed the hotel of our flight and pick up timing from the airport a few weeks before the trip, and gotten a reply that the driver will be there to pick us up. No one was at the airport when we arrived! I had to borrow a phone from the information centre at the airport to call the hotel, and the receptionist just asked whether we are already at the airport, and told us to wait 15 minutes for them to pick up us. If you take a taxi to the hotel, it cost USD 10 from the airport.

Receptionists are generally friendly and helpful, their English is not amazing though, and it is sometimes difficult to ask them questions.

Overall, I think it is pretty good value for the price that we pay. I gave an average rating because I was quite disappointed about the airport transfer.

The purpose for going to Pakse was to take a 3-day trip on the Vat Phou Mekong River Cruise through parts of Champasak Province. We flew into Pakse a day before the cruise and checked into the historic Champasak Palace Hotel. We also spent 1-night there at the completion of the cruise.

The building was originally built as the palace for the last king of Laos and is described by some as looking like the top of a wedding cake. In fact the picture we've included is actually of the central part of the 4th, 5th & top floor of the hotel. We booked one of the larger rooms on the 4th floor and while a little worn, it was full of charm and lovely furnishings. The bathroom had been recently updated and our room had large double doors opening out onto a terrace overlooking the city.

We had read some negative comments about the breakfast at the hotel but to be perfectly honest, it suited us. While service at the front desk was a little inconsistent, I would chalk that up more to a lack of communication more than a poor attitude.

All-in-all, we got the historical experience we were looking for.