Myanmar (Burma) — Hotel Mandalay, No. 652,78th Road, Between 37th and 38th Street (HayMaMarLar Taung Qtr), Mandalay, Mandalay Region, Myanmar (Burma)

Staying a Hotel Mandalay

March 2015

After an ‘interesting’ taxi ride from Mandalay International Airport (MDL), I arrived at Hotel Mandalay.

When I arrived, the staff greeted me with a glass of orange juice, which was very refreshing after the hot and dusty drive from the airport. Ten minutes later, some fruit and more juice arrived in my room.

All very pleasant.

My room was very nice with a comfortable bed. When I arrived, there was a minor issue with the plumbing, which the staff had fixed in no time.

The air conditioner in the room was wonderful. I had difficulty getting it started as the unit would only respond to the remote 5 -10 minutes after the room had been 'powered up' by inserting the room keycard in a slot. But once it was working, it was whisper quiet. One of the quietest units I have come across.

The hotel had Wi-Fi in the public areas and rooms — but it was slow.

Breakfast at Hotel Mandalay

I often rate a hotel by the breakfast, and the one at Hotel Mandalay was pretty good, not the best, but a solid effort.

I had the fried rice with fish paste, the fried yum yum noodles (they were good), the "fried assorted” (the doughnut-like things in the above photo), chicken, and the hot and dry fish. It was all delicious.

The one odd thing at breakfast, and something I had never seen before, was butter in a can.

Why would you can butter if the process doesn’t preserve it? All very odd.

Dinner at Hotel Mandalay

The hotel had a good restaurant and bar area, and the food was excellent. I particularly enjoyed the steamed seafood dish I had on my first night.

When my food arrived, I thought it was in a clay pot. It wasn’t; it was a carved melon.

The dish, served with rice, was fantastic.

Electricity

You rarely stay in a hotel and feel you have to comment on the electricity. At the Hotel Mandalay, the electricity worked.

Electricity was an issue in Mandalay. The hotel had emergency generators in the front carpark. Most houses and shops had generators.

And in the rooms, there were 'protectors', which I would recommend using to protect any electronic gear that needs charging.

Money at the hotel

Like most places in Myanmar, the hotel liked me to pay for things in US dollars. But there was a catch. They wouldn’t take any old US dollar bills; the bills had to be in almost perfect condition. No dirt, no tears, and no creases.

I had been told about this before my trip and went armed with a big wad of what, I thought, were pretty good-looking notes. But the hotel had other ideas and refused to accept many of my notes due to slight imperfections.

On one occasion, the staff at the hotel refused to take a dollar bill because it didn’t lie flat. It curled.

I told the staff I had another note in my room. I popped upstairs, gave the dollar bill a quick iron, so it was now flat, and presented it again. It was accepted.

The Hotel Mandalay — summary

I enjoyed my stay. The hotel was not in the centre of Mandalay and was about a 5,000–7,000 kyats (US$5-7; £3.50-£5) taxi ride south of the Royal Palace.

My room was great, with superb air-conditioning. The staff were helpful, friendly, and welcoming. And the food was excellent.

The hotel ticked all my boxes.