"I must admit, as my first city and first time in Laos I did get a bit of a culture shock and I'm not a timid guy. I did sign up for it and thats part of the fun for me. That all turned pure positive as I dealt with the staff and accommodations at Merry Riverside. Eager and helpful are things that I associate with good staff / stays and they proved to be both. Glad I spent the extra for the top room which I think I can say accurately was akin to a semi luxury cabin like experience. All was as seen on the web. Not everything was perfect, with some minor maintenance welcome but not nessisarily needed. One real but fairly minor complaint: the room fridge didn't work and according to a much older review thats a feature at this point not a bug. As I write this review, I miss this room after pulling a bad one in Vang Vieng! The view didn’t disappoint and stunned given the simplicity of a partially developed river bank! Breakfast was always good and reliable but subtlely diffrent each day. Get up early if you like it hot or like myself enjoy the best table in the corner! Centrally located in the tourist district but I had no problem walking the entire town minus the most remote areas. I cannot recommend it enough assuming you enjoy fully exploring other cultures. The experience changes in meaningful ways outside of the bubble but not an experience for all types to be sure. Not only would I stay again, but I fully expect to! My thanks to the staff!"
