Hotel Mukdahan dengan Gim

The hotel itself is very nice and probably the best you can get in Mukdahan - at least as my research showed. The location is awesome: the hotel is directly at the Mekong River, and you have a fantastic view over Laos. Our room had one big window to the river, which was terrific, especially during the morning when the sun rises, and you have some magic when the sun wakes you up, and you have that undisturbed view. Although the hotel appears a bit aged, the room was very nice and clean. I always pay special attention to the bed and the bathroom, and both were without any reason for complaints. The mattress was a bit firm for my taste, but I think that is highly subjective. I had to wait several minutes (!) for hot water in the shower, and the temperature was not stable - so I had to adjust the temperature several times. But apart from that, everything was fine. Breakfast was absolutely ok for the size of the hotel. There was a mix of western and local items - nothing special, but I had my eggs, toast, coffee, and jam, which were perfectly fine for me. As everywhere in Thailand, you also get excellent fresh fruits (watermelon, pineapple, some orange melon - I forgot the name). No cold cut or cheese, which I did not miss, but who expects a fully served continental breakfast should be aware. Now to some quirks: this is the first hotel ever in my travel life that asked for a deposit for the room key cards (in cash). And they gave us just one card for the room, which does mean you cannot run the AC when leaving the room - not the best idea in the humid summer weather. When my wife asked for a second key card, reception denied referring to a limited number of overall key cards available, which was strange. However, when I asked the following day again, I got a second one without problems and without asking for an additional deposit. Further, the restaurant's kitchen closed at 7 pm as everybody was tired from Thai New Year/Songkran - fascinating explanation. Fortunately, we had some street food before and were ok, but what do they do with hungry guests who just want to have dinner? Probably, they have to order food from outside, but 7 pm is still dinner time. But we just wanted to have a glass of wine - unfortunately, bottles only, so we ordered one. The service was more like a hostel, where you could help yourself in the kitchen: the wine was brought to the table, but we had to open the bottle and pour it ourselves. Whenever we wanted to have something (additional Glas, some water, etc.), we had to walk over to the guys who obviously enjoyed theirs after work time. But to be fair, the gentlemen were very nice and friendly and helped us with what we asked for. It was just not the typical bar or restaurant experience you would expect. However, we had nice two hours on the terrace enjoying the full moon and the view over Laos. Overall, I can only recommend this hotel if you stay in Mukdahan. The quirks are precisely that: an unexpected and a bit funny