Traveling to Myanmar? Find Shan Division hotels

We booked this hotel for the nice pictures I saw. But This place excedes every expectation we had. From the moment we arrived the staff was super helpful telling the boat driver where he should take us according to our requests, the food was very good. The rooms clean and very cozy. But the best of the hotel is the staff always with a smile always helping. Besides everything, They surprised us with gifts for Xmas and a party for all the guests. I’ll come back, I’ll recomend it to everyone traveling to Inle

We had a great time at ANANTA Inle Lake. By far it was the best hotel we have stayed in so far. The hotel is in a beautiful location with stunning views over the lake, but what made it really special were the people that work there. The rooms and premises were kept sparkling clean; morning breakfast buffet spread had a lot of choice and was healthy and equally delicious; evening meals were well prepared with fresh ingredients and very tasty; and the service from all staff was at a very high standard: waiters were all friendly - special shout to Phyo- attentive and warm hearted. But the absolute shining star was the hotel manager, Hlaing, who went over and above his duties in helping us with travel arrangements and making our stay as pleasurable as possible. Kudos to the whole team at ANANTA Inle Lake for making this place very special!

This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever stayed and is very much at the upper end of these types of resorts. The hotel is set on the shore of Inle Lake, in a fantastically serene and beautiful location that allows you to watch the sunset over the mountains. You can access the hotel via boat and road, although it's mainly accessed by boat. It's about a 20 minute motorboat journey to the lakeside town where you'd pick up a transfer to go back to Heho Airport. The hotel is extremely sympathetic to the natural surroundings, meaning its size is really not apparent from first appearance, with the rooms comprising single story pitched bungalows scattered here and there. We went for the cheap cottages nearer the back of the hotel, which I think were excellent value for money (at low season), but if you really want to splash out or are on a honeymoon for example, go for the lake view villas at the front. Our room/cottage was great, very clean, a nice size with all the usual amenities and extras, such as bathrobes and slippers etc. It also had a lovely little deck at the back which overlooked a small pond so you can enjoy a coffee at 6am and watch the sunrise on the deck. They hadn't overdone it, but there was a lot of local character specific to the surroundings, such as carved wood encasements for the light switches. The staff were lovely, which you would expect in a 4 star hotel, but I would add that they allowed me to add an extra guest to the booking at the last minute free of charge. The breakfast is really good, and the food in the restaurant was good too. In terms of location, it's about a 25 minute cycle to the nearby Red Mountain winery which I'd highly recommend. It is situated on the hillside overlooking the valley which, if possible, is even more stunning than the view over the lake. This is very much to my mind a tranquil couples get away, but not one for young kids.

I can't even say how much I loved this hotel - quirks and all. We booked Private Lake Chalets and I couldn't have been happier with the room (except better AC). We had huge decks overlooking a lotus flower filled pond. Rooms are very large with seating areas, fridge, armoire, huge picture windows, bathroom with boat shaped tub (with a rain shower) and huge outdoor shower. Unlike other reviewers, our bathroom windows did have an opaque film giving us privacy. The outdoor shower area was the bigger than my hotel room in Mandalay! I loved the Burmese cats who rule the lobby and the fact that the staff doesn't shoo them off the chairs, rather they will bring another chair for you to sit on! The gift shop has some lovely things and I'm sorry I didn't spring for the kimono robe that was in the room. I celebrated my 50th birthday here and my conspiring friends and the hotel arranged a little band that appeared after dinner to serenade me with happy birthday and a birthday cake. They also gave me a beautiful gift and card which was a lovely personal touch. Food was delicious! Especially the spring onion tempura things and the avocado salad with Shan rice crackers. I could eat that every day! Chicken curry with coconut milk rice was also ridiculously yummy. My only complaint would be the transfer offered by the hotel is way overpriced and they should encourage you to arrive by boat. They now seem to prefer to bring people in by road and if that is the case they need to spruce up that area as it's a little bit of a let down from what you are expecting. I love that the boats don't run their motors until well away from the resort so it is very quiet and peaceful. I imagine that some of the hotels right on the lake are very noisy.

This was my finest and most welcoming stay in Myanmar and made me forget the shortcomings of the other sites and cities visited. I spent over 2 weeks in beautiful Myanmar and my 4 day stay at ViewPoint brought out the very best of the Inle and Shan area. Fine wine (Red Mountain), very good local and international dining from breakfast to dinner and dessert, culture abounds and is worth the extra travel and energy to see this unique and diverse location. Back at the hotel, my presence was rewarded with in room massage, genuinely warm attention by the staff and bookings for every need. I am a retired international resort hotel GM and I can't understand the expectations of any negative comments by travlers prior to my stay. It was a very good value all the way around and I look forward to revisiting ViewPoint and telling friends of my personalized travel experience at such a fine establishment. You can spend more or less money for accomodations in the Shan/Inle area but you will not have a finer stay overall than that at the ViewPoint. Such a nice time!

On arrival by boat from Nyaung Shwe, we wer put off by the deeply unsympathetic architecture - layout, building materials and colour being those of a club med resort rather than a lake resort in Shan state or Burma. The walls are beige concrete rather than bamboo and the rooves are tile-effect bitumen, with the villas joined by concrete walkways designed for use by golf buggies. However, the staff were wonderful - three lovely French managers coping admirably despite a large influx from a nearby hotel that had had to evacuate due to a major problem. This had meant that the Novotel was running at capacity rather than the intended soft-opening with limited occupation. The Burmese staff were all also exceptionally competent and cheerful. The enormous interior of our superior villa was stunning - the interior designer was 5-star and redeemed the Novotel-aspects of the exterior architecture. The location is ideal - halfway down inle lake so making access to the rest of the lake much easier than a northern or southern inle location. The lovely pool is a boon for those with children though with full occupation it is a little short on sun-lounger space. The food is of a remarkably high standard for European food so far from supply lines. The New Year's Eve buffet included unlimited lobster (actually crawfish from warmer seas) and suckling pig for a sensibly priced $60 a head. The rack rate for the rooms is eye-watering but our agoda rate was reasonable value. It will be a huge success as a hotel.

We had heard about the hotel from friends. We have been to Inle 4 times before and stayed in a number of hotels, both on the lake and on the shore. This hotel is beautiful and is the best that we have stayed in so far at Inle. The rooms are immaculate, well designed and perfectly equipped, with such comfortable beds. The location is perfect, on the shore, but overlooking the lake and bikes are available to use for free, to explore the local area. The staff are particularly good, with a level of discreet service - not too much, not too little. The restaurant and bar have a particularly cosy feel and the food is of a high standard. Breakfast was very good, with plenty of fresh food, egg and pancake station, fruits, good fresh bread, yoghurts and meats. It would have been nice to see other fresh juices (only freshly squeezed orange provided - but very good standard) and also a local Shan or Myanmar breakfast dish option too. We are in Shan State, so this would have been nice to try. There is a great pool overlooking the lake, with plenty of high quality sun loungers. A great place to swim and watch the sunset. We will be back in the rainy season for some rest and relaxation! Thank you

Good location next to the canal for boat trips. Staff are very friendly and booked all excursions and transport for us. Room and bed were a good size, and view from the balcony was great! Wi-Fi is good most of the time; the best you will get in Myanmar anyway haha! Only negatives are that the restaurant wasn't the best- loads of choice, but they were out of everything. Also, they had a spa, but it was too expensive, and the water was never that warm in the shower (it was actually pretty cold). I would definitely recommend this hotel considering the price though!

I can not praise Thahara Inle Heritage Hotel enough. I planned to propose to my girlfriend months before we left for Myanmar. Leading up to the trip I was still unsure how I would do it. I contacted a manager at Thahara for help and she was my savior. She helped me plan a private boat tour along the Inle Lake, private candlelit dinner in their hotel terrace and also transportation to and from the airport. Everything worked out better than I could imagine. The boat tour was perfect and during sunset I popped the big question! She said Yes! We then arrived at the hotel, changed and prepared for dinner. The hotel set up such a romantic, private, candlelit for us and it really took our breaths away. Keep in mind that this was a special request from me during this important time for me and my fiancee. They never once asked for any extra charge for their efforts and served us with smiles! I was just amazed and taken away by the great service and planning that this company went through for me! I can not say enough good things about this hotel and there is no other place I would recommend to friends who are looking to go to Inle Lake. Thank you so much and best of luck and success to you! You deserve it!

This new hotel has everything, huge rooms, great restaurants, cool swimming pools, great spa and great views.The price suits the high level of the hotel. You can get boat and market trips to close locations and even though the airport is not close the distance gives you an unique location. The only negative comment is for the boat driver that didn't wanted to go to the Indein temple and tried to get us convince that was too far.Luckily we didn't listen to him and made him go because is one of the best places in the lake and is just 30 minutes away form the hotel. This hotel is a must if you go to Inle lake.

We stayed for 2 nights in this hotel in september, it was a memorable experience. The staff was kind, fast and attentive, our deluxe cottage was gorgeous, the Shan breakfast was delicious and the restaurant offers very high quality food at dinner for incredibly cheap prices. The hotel is entirely composed by stilt houses in the middle of the lake, so you will be strolled around by boat for your whole stay on the lake but this is indeed the only way to explore and discover the beauty of this magic place. Your visits will include many local shops and at first you will feel like a wandering wallet, but then you will start to realise that most of the products they are manufacturing and selling are actually of very high quality and sold at very, very reasonable prices so you will be more than glad to help the local economy of these beautiful people.

We were intending to trek next day after arriving in Kalaw but the New Year (water) festival meant that few of them were available. So we stayed and loved it, The staff were truely welcoming, genuinely not in well trained Western manner. We enjoyed the authentic Shan culture and cuisine. The trek we undertook (through Niang Niang) into the hills was a very worthwhile undertaking. The tennis court played okay even though it was biilt at the same time as the hotel. Kalaw is worth at least a couple of days stay and the Heritage Hotel is an excellent place to stay (the old part feels nicer than the new though).

This is a foreigners' hangout but it is one where everyone is almost rabidly positive about being there. Rooms range from primitive but tastefully decorated to more substantial and modern superior rooms. Particularly by Myanmar standards, the staff are remarkably well trained. Too often the Myanmar people are both willing and flakey. But not so here. The staff ask the right questions and respond professionally. The owner/manager is a remarkable man who is generous and customer savvy. This is one of the best budget hotels we have stayed anywhere in the world. Also worth noting is the next-door Red Star restaurant and bike rental shop. The rental prices are reasonable, and in spite of hole-in-the-wall store appearances, the food is not only cheap (in the soak-the-foreigners, over-priced Inle Lake area, it is excellent in quality. The owner is a bilingual, semi-retired intellectual who is willing to talk with guests. He can offer fascinating insights into Myanmar.

Inle Cottage offers very high standard chalets (including the bathrooms!). The staff are just wonderful. There is also a nice restaurant with a wide selection of food prepared to a high standard. The Shan noodles are excellent. They also serve the best local craft beers that are up there with the world's best, as well as local and imported wines. In a quiet street not much more than 5 minutes walk to the boat dock and night market, it's not in a 5 star location, but everything else more than makes up for this.

Stayed here for 2 nights. Very clean and quiet location . Although the location is a bit outside of the main business area, you can rent a bicycle for free for an easy access to the town. The staff were always asking how I was doing and any problems with the room or staff. They are very focused on how to please customers during the stay in any ways they can. Also there was a Thai restaurant on the premise, which had great made-to-order breakfast such as egg dishes, fried rice or noodles, fresh squeezed juices,fresh fruit and some warm bread. They also had delicious Shan noodle for breakfast. I was very impressed to see a hotel like this in a relatively small town like Nyaung Shwe. If I return to the area, I will definitely stay here again without no hesitation. I recommend this hotel in a heart beat.

I like to support these cottages because they're run by the Pa-Oh people, a group that has their own Self-Administration Zone. The location is wonderful - halfway down Inle Lake, and close to the artisan village and other sites. If you stay in Nyaung Shwe, it's quite a long boat ride to get to the southern end of the lake. But at the Golden Island Cottages, you're much closer. The cottages are beautiful - thatched walls, each with their own balcony on the water, and large bathroom with bathtub. Breakfast is OK - typical Asian offerings with an egg station, toast, jam, coffee & tea, and some pastries. You can order Shan noodles the night before, which I recommend - they were delicious. The Japanese massage was a great deal for the price - about $7.50 USD - and she came to my cabin. The one thing to highly recommend this place is that you can exit through the back of the resort, and walk through the village to a pagoda on the main road. This combination of land/water is really unusual, and is nice for those times when you want to get a walk in without getting on a boat to go somewhere. Some down sides are noise - the walls of the cottages are very thin, and people talking in the next cabin over sound like they're in the cabin with you. The boats on the lake still use very loud two-stroke engines, and one night there was a boat idling it's engine at midnight for over an hour. The bed was quite uncomfortable. We did manage to get thinner pillows delivered - for some reason, most Myanmar hotels include huge, very high pillows. Recommended sites: Indein Village, especially the pagoda with the stupas scattered about next to the walkway to the pagoda. The artisan village with silversmiths, parasol/paper makers, weavers - lots of restaurants in this area. Intha Heritage House - expensive ($25, I think) but it's very educational and includes a very, very good lunch. Paung Da U Monastery, especially if you manage to be there when the 5-day market is behind it. Also,

Very nice and clean hotel. They have bicycle that you can borrow for free, very useful since it is a bit out of the heart of the city (walking is ok but if you just finish the 3 days treks from Kalaw you would appreciate the bicycle !). The bed is very comfortable, a real pleasure. Didn't use the swimming pool but it looked clean. The staff is really nice, ready to help any moment. The breakfast was really good, probably the best we had is Myanmar so far, quantity, variety and quality were above our expectations.

We had a great stay here at the end of our Kalaw Trek. The staff checked us in quickly, allowing us to wash off all the mud and dirt from our past three days. The location is great, the staff was friendly, and they have plenty of great amenities and good rooms. The only two things to note/mention as negatives: the free pasta is good, although if you're a couple they'll expect you to share a portion, and also, said portions are usually gone within 5 minutes. Also, the bus company we booked through them was pretty atrocious. Despite being a healthy young man, I'm fairly sure my back suffered some serious damage. Terrible seats, erratic, insane driving, and absolutely puzzling routing. I was tracking our route on Google maps the entire time and began convincing myself that the driver had never looked at a map of his own country in his life. They had two buses to Mandalay - book the one that costs a dollar more, because in theory it's better, so you'll thank me later!

Arriving at 6am on the overnight bus from Taunggyi, I was very pleased that they could check me into my room straightaway. Nice room, but I would have appreciated heating. Good view from the restaurant on the top floor. They also arranged transport for me to the station for the early morning train to Hsipaw. Apparently this is the best hotel in Lashio. Would stay here again.

I did an extensive search on hotels in Inle area before finally booking Amata Garden hotel. I have absolutely no regrets. It's a fantastic hotel. The villas that we stayed had everything needed for a comfortable stay for a few days. We stayed two nights. I wish we could stay longer. The boat ride to the hotel was a great introduction to a great place. If you are visiting the hotel for the first time I highly recommend to take the boat even though there's road access. Arrangement of villas in the land adjacent to Lake is commendable. Restaurant is tastefully designed and serves good food. You can make the hotel a base to explore the Inle Lake area, particularly by boat. You will experience ethereal beauty in early morning and evening. You will get a glimpse of the traditional life of this interesting community living practically in the lake. Don't think twice if you feel like reserving the villas of Amata Garden.

We travelled as a family of four (children are 7 and 9 year old) in second week of January . We stayed in Deluxe family room. The room was big, clean, new and had high ceilings. Although it was too cold to swim, my children enjoyed splashing in the outdoor pool. Breakfast was European and they made us Shan noodles on request. The hotel is located within 10-15 minutes walk to the jetty, the market and the restaurants. The loud noise from the boats kept us awake in the first night. We found that the streets near the hotel were dimly lit and there were no pavements which made us nervous walking around with children. Local restaurants mainly offered Chinese food and we struggled to find one that offered Shan cuisine in a nice clean environment. Boat hire for a day was 25,000 Ks including going to village called Indein. Although we prearranged it, it is very easy to hire a boat on the day. Heho airport is 45 minutes away but the taxi was rather expensive at 25,000 Ks.

I have traveled and lived in Myanmar since 2012 and Inle Lake View Resort and Spa was by far the best hotel I have stayed in. We stayed here during a visit of my parents who were celebrating their 54th wedding anniversary. We had two adjacent rooms on the top floor of the main building and the views of the lake and Shan hills were spectacular. We loved the dining experience for both the food and the service. The hotel arranged a driver for us to visit into Nuangshwe and the winery as well as a boat tour of the lake. On the first night, we returned to find "Happy Anniversary" written out in flowers on my parents' bed. We were impressed by the organic farm. The resort's attention to eco-friendly efforts (no a/c, but adequate cooling via ceiling fan and screened windows) are refreshing here in Myanmar, and particularly appreciated in the biosphere region of Inle Lake. The kindness of the staff and quality of service was beyond our expectations. We will definitely stay here again on our return.

We were happy staying here given the discounted rate on Agoda but our room did look a little worn and the overall impression is definatly not one of luxury or a boutique experience. On the plus side everything was clean, the staff were friendly and we enjoyed our stay. The only other comment I have is the slightly strange breakfast options. We had a choice of 4 set menus, chosen the day before - American, Shan, local or mixed. Sounds good but the American was dull and Shan/local was very heavy on carbs. Loads food but too much rice, crackers, etc. You aso get bread and pastries. Neads some tweaking.

LOVELY, RELAXING STAY. We are retired educators who spent 4 nights at the Saynamkhan River View Guesthouse, but were in the newer section that is a few blocks from the river, The location was ideal; it was quiet while still surrounded by restaurants, within a very short 3-minute walk to the main street and night market, and the river could be reached within a few blocks from three different directions. Our room was exceptionally spacious, clean, and comfortable with lovely teak floors, and we especially enjoyed the tile bathroom with enclosed shower and ample hot water. We had cable TV access to Western news channels and reasonably fast Wi-Fi. The upstairs rooms have balconies, and the downstairs ones like ours are just off a sweet little garden patio area with tables and chairs making it great for sharing coffee or a beer or just relaxing with a book. Except for the excessively strong coffee, breakfast was fabulous consisting of a fresh fruit plate, juice, toast and eggs. The management was exceedingly kind and helpful too. All this and an extremely affordable price made the Saynamkhan River View Guesthouse one of the best stays of our trip.

The best stay I have had in Asia so far! The staff were the most friendly and accommodating. From running to my cab and helping me offload my bags and insisting they carry all the luggage to the room, I felt like a King. The room was wonderful , I had so much fun that I didn't realize how late it was and at 12pm decided to go down for a coffee or a walk. The man who was behind the counter was amazing, we became friends and I felt like I was part of a family. I slept so well that the next morning I woke up beaming from ear to ear so I booked another night. The best place in Asia I have stayed and I'm sad that tomorrow I will have to leave.