Kalaw hotels & places to stay

A wonderful and atmospheric place to stay. The Kalaw hotel first opened in 1903. It has now been restored for the most part sensitively to give modern comforts without sacrificing the charm. The rooms are simply but tastefully redone, and the hotel makes good use of some of the original furniture. The bathrooms are elegantly refreshed, with showers rather than baths. The hotel reopened recently, in December 2015, so a few things, such as the restaurant,are not quite up to speed. The young staff are hugely friendly and helpful. The hotel is in the valley in a quiet part of town about a ten minute walk to the centre. There are three buildings : the oldest is Acorn, the main building which looks to be from the 1920s is Pine, the modern annex Tudor built I think in the 70s is much less charming.

I loved everything about this hotel. I was a senior travelling on my own, so based on its excellent reviews and appealing photos, I booked for a long stay of 11 nights. I intended to use the hotel as a base for day trips rather than having the inconvenience of constantly moving to other places. I wasn't disappointed - the staff were extremely helpful in booking me into interesting activities in the vicinity of Kalaw, plus arranging transport. I wanted to explore the local area on foot - the manager spoke excellent English and assured me that I could walk safely anywhere in the town. She pointed out places of interest on a map and I enjoyed many walks in the pleasant climate (maximum 25degC in late October). Every morning I had an excellent breakfast in the garden - the young waiters really looked after me. The gardens at Hillock Villa are beautifully maintained and they also grow their own fruit and vegetables. Kalaw is a fascinating place with its alpine setting and British history.

Hotel staff were exceptional. They helped in every way they could (including helping me jump start my car at 7AM in the morning). The rooms are quite big and we could easily fit our family of four in there. The location is close to the town, but up a slight hill which affords the hotel brilliant views around Kalaw. The breakfast was also delicious - freshly cooked crepes and eggs. It's the second time I have stayed there and I will definitely stay there again.

My visit here was overshadowed by the tendency of the hotel to charge foreigners separate, considerably higher rates. There are several ways that they do this. First, the room rates are higher for foreigners if you book through the hotel directly. The price jumps up by 20-30% for foreigners. Be careful. Do not book rooms directly through the hotel itself. Second, they provide a shuttle service to different locations around the Kalaw area. However, if a foreigner is in the car, the shuttle service price magically increases by 30-40%. I inquired to hotel staff as to why prices were drastically higher for foreigners. They struggled to provide any justification for the massively higher prices. Their reasons essentially boiled down to: "We feel more responsible for foreigners, so we need to charge more." It's a nonsense explanation. Overall, the hotel is nice. The facilities are quite good. But be warned that if you are a non-Myanmar citizen you will be charged huge premiums simply for being a foreigner. Overall, I wouldn't recommend foreigners visit this hotel unless they change their pricing scheme.

Stayed in a superior room which is on the third floor with views over pagodas. Stayed one night and then one again after a 3 day trek so we could leave our luggage which was no problem. Fairly basic but clean. Beds ok but pillows hard. Good breakfast which fills you up ready for your day of exploring. Their 'Dream' restaurant just a hop, skip and jump down the road does lunch & dinner. We just had a drink there but their menu was extensive and fairly priced in lovely surroundings. The hotel has a hand drawn map of Kalaw with things to go and see. We spent a day walking (miles!) seeing all the sights but very enjoyable. A lovely town to enjoy a sweet coffee or green tea, people watching. Would probably stay here again if we were to come back to Kalaw but I predict they're going to have some stiff competition up and coming. Wi-fi was slow - but this is a general problem in Kalaw, not the hotel's.

Its not going to be the cheapest accoms in Kalaw but its probably the best guest house I have stayed at (only one night) in Myanmar as the rooms are clean and in very good condition. There's also a pretty good breakfast available on the roof (nice view) + they took care of my onward van tickets to Inle Lake. Note that the location is on a hill - maybe a 15-20 minutes walk from the train station. Don't bother trying to walk it with alot of heavy luggage or wheeled but w/o heavy luggage its an easy walk. You can walk to the market area where the buses or rather vans depart for Inle Lake + where there are some restos for tourists to eat at. The Wi-Fi did not work when I arrived but then it worked later in the day - this is typical for Myanmar. To be honest, there's not much to see in Kalaw and at the end of the dry season, the scenery is not exactly spectacular. For me, it was a good place to spend a night to break up a trip from Yangon to Inle Lake.

The Golden Kalaw Inn is cheap, breakfast is good but pretty standard from what I saw of hotels in Myanmar (toast, fruit, an egg, and tea/coffee), closed to where the bus drops you off and all of the trekking companies in the area, and the room and bed were spacious. The room was clean, but I took away one star for the facilities because this was actually the only place where I noticed a number of mosquitos in my room while in Myanmar (even during my trek, actually). It wasn't swarming, but, like I said, it was the only time I had this problem. And while I gave it 5 stars for location, I should add that from what I could tell, there wasn't really anything happening in Kalaw, and the only reason I could see for tourists to stay there would be if you're going to do a trek from there to Inle Lake (which I'd highly recommend if you're visiting Myanmar and want to visit the lake). On a final note, because I was leaving so early in the morning, the post office wasn't open so I left my postcards and money for stamps with the lady who I presume was the owner (I'd chatted with her a little when I first arrived, and she was really friendly and helpful, but I never got her name), and after I arrived at my hostel at Inle Lake, they showed me a message they'd received from Golden Kalaw Inn; a picture of my postcards and text saying they'd mailed them out. I must confess that I didn't examine the picture closely, as it was just on a cellphone screen, and just assumed it really showed my postcards, but that was back in June and all of my friends and family members have yet to receive their cards. I don't want to accuse anyone of being dishonest, and I don't entirely distrust the hotel myself because there is still a chance that there was just a problem with the post, but I've done the same thing in other countries like Vietnam and Thailand and everyone received their cards those times, so even though I'm sure the lady didn't just pocket my money, I guess I'll still recommend oth

Wow. This may be a 1 star hotel. But when it comes to service and cleanliness this is a 5 star hotel. Our host Cindy (who spoke amazing English due to a former job as a flight attendant) was helpful, smiling and welcoming from the second we came through the door. The place is new, and therefore very clean. And WHAT a bed! So soft it should come with a "good dreams guarantee". The breakfast was also very, very good. Can highly recommend her pancakes. She even made smoothies and there was fresh fruit. Right in front of the hotel is the well-reviewed "7 Sisters" restaurant and it was so good we ate all our meals there. Cindys mother is one of the sisters, so if the restaurant is full, no problem, they bring it to the hotel. Kalaw is small so it was a 5-6 minute walk to "downtown". We may not come back to Kalaw again, but if we did, we would stay here.

We arrived to Kalaw at 1.30 a.m. in the morning. The bus from Nyaung Oo stopped in front of our hotel, so we decided to check if there was someone at the front desk. One guy was sleeping in the hall and, after telling him that we had a reservation for the following day, he let us crash at the back of the hotel, where they had some mattresses. Some hours later, one lady working at the front desk came and offered us some coffee and apologized for not being able to offer us a room, since they were fully booked and we had to wait until some customer had checked out. At 10 a.m. she gave us the key of our room, even though the check-in time was at 12 a.m.

Cottage-like rooms in an open field/garden on a hillside above the town, looking out over piney hills. The reception and dining area are in an older building, but the cottages seem relatively new. They have porches with chairs for sitting out. The room and bathroom are good sized. As usual, no shower stall, but a good supply of hot water at any hour. Small refrigerator, but no hotpot. No AC or fan, but not needed in March. Breakfast was good, but no buffet. Eggs on request. Staff was very helpful and competent, and laundry was quick and reasonable. A nice touch was that they picked us up from the bus station and also dropped us back when we left, at no charge. This is almost necessary, because the taxi situation in Kalaw is not good, and it is quite a good hike to get to the center of town from the cottages.

This place is absolutely AMAZING. One of the best overall experiences we have ever had in a hotel. First of all the staff are really wonderful. Our overnight bus from Bagan unexpectedly arrived very early at 2am (!!!) and the staff checked us in when we arrived. We were expecting to pay for an extra night but we were only asked to pay a small amount for an extra breakfast! They also gave us great advice about what to do around Kalaw and how to go about organizing a trek. The two owners speak very fluent English - unusual in Myanmar. The rooms were also fantastic - fully self contained villas with a king bed and huge bathroom. The breakfast was wonderful and was served in the beautiful garden. The only small negative, although not their fault, was the Wifi. It was largely unusable due to problems with the connection to the town. When I asked about it, the owner straight away offered me the connection on his personal mobile to tether off to book my onward accommodation. He also gave us a lift in the early morning to the meeting place for our trek. Amazing stuff. We would highly recommend Nature Land as THE place to stay in Kalaw and would definitely stay there again if we ever go back.

I was so excited about coming to this hotel - chosen carefully and specifically due to the lovely pictures, especially of the wide wooden balcony for meals with sweeping views over the Kalaw hills. This doesn’t exist anymore and has been replaced by a new structure that is basic, narrow with no charm. The price is just not warranted here for the standard of the rooms, meals and hotel. Yes there is a view but the photos of deceptive,

Cleanliness and coziness was something to highlight with this inn. The room was neat and lovely with comfortable beds. I booked the one with private restroom, which was very spacious. However the shared toilet also looked very clean and tidy so it's up to your choice. We took a night bus from Bagan and reached Kalaw by 2AM. Richard Inn was just a 5 minute walk from the station we were dropped off so it was very convenient. Richard was a lovely person and his staff was also very nice and helpful.

The staff are amazingly friendly and go above and beyond in ensuring you have a perfect stay in Kalaw. The breakfast is good and there is free tea and coffee all day. Free WIFI, comfy bed and plenty of shower facilities makes this place is great value for money. Location is goof for the Kalaw trail run, but is a little far from the city. I will be staying again the run in 2019.

I really enjoyed my two night stay at Green Haven Hotel. The rooms and bathrooms were exceptionally clean and the gardens were very well-maintained. I also had one of the best warm showers here in this hotel over my ten day trip to Myanmar - water pressure and temperature was perfect...and this was rarely the case anywhere else! I also found the staff knowledgeable, easy to communicate with, professional and helpful at all times - after returning in the evening from a day long trek, one staff member even came to my room to check that the hot water in my shower was alright. The kitchen also prepared delicious shan noodles for breakfast each morning (ask for this!) -- other more conventional options included samosas, crepes and toast. Location-wise - the hotel is a 20-25 min walk from the town centre, where the bus station is. But I found this a pleasant walk and appreciated the opportunity to see a bit more of Kalaw besides the town centre. The hotel manager is also a very kind and obliging man to gave me a ride into town on his motorbike on two occasions. Bicycles can also be rented at the hotel for free. Otherwise, there is a little betel nut stand on the road where the locals wait for the bus and someone there will be happy to ferry you to the hotel for 1000 kyat (it's a 3 minute ride). A note about the rooms: Mine was very cosy with windows that let in plenty of sunlight during the day and wonderful views of the garden. I personally loved this, and could draw the day curtains whenever I wanted some privacy, which was not a problem. However, the walls are thin, and at night, light and sound (from the patrolling staff or other returning guests) might be an issue for those who are not heavy sleepers. Overall, I really enjoyed my stay at the Green Haven Hotel, found it great value for money and one of the best hotels I've stayed at in South East Asia. I would definitely stay here again!

We were only passing through Kalaw, we needed to spend the night to begin our 3 day trek to Inle Lake. When we walked into the hotel we were overwhelmed. We thought we'd hit the jackpot, the reception area was quite nicely decorated with a nice lounge area. That being said, it was quite far from the train station, and we couldn't access the internet (of course that was to be expected in Myanmar so not really an issue). When we settled down for bed, we realized there was no heating system (a problem in chilly winter months) but they had supplied a thick blanket on the bed. There was no hot water. Also a problem when you get up for an early morning shower after sleeping in room with no heat. The free breakfast was fine, a curry and an apple, although they did ask if we wanted more to eat once we'd finished eating. It was an okay experience, one I wouldn't want to have again in the cold weather. If it had been warmer I might sing a different tune. Going again that time of year, I would definitely think about finding a place 1) closer to the train station in town 2) somewhere with heat and hot water.

I came here for the Kalaw Trail Half-Marathon and wanted to stay close to the race hotel (Kalaw Heritage Hotel) and the Serenity Hotel is 100m away. Pros: * Impossibly friendly and accommodating staff who went out of their way to help. Never seen anything like that. Amazing. * Close to Kalaw Heritage Hotel. * Located right in front of the very good Happy Garden Restaurant. Cons: * Rooms are basic. * Hotels in that area are more secluded from the downtown area (15min walk) but it's probably why people want to be in that part of town.