An escape from the chaos of Yangon, Thanlwin Guest House is a big beautiful house with a homely atmosphere that attracts guests back again and again. With comfortable rooms, a charming courtyard area, delicious traditional Burmese breakfasts and affable owners, Thanlwin provides the perfect home from home for travellers to Myanmar.
What makes Thanlwin Guesthouse a Best Hostel?
A variety of rooms at great value for money:
The nine-bedroom house-converted into a guesthouse has a variety of room options to suit all budgets. There’s a 6-bed dorm room for $10 USD / night or a 4-bed dorm room for $11 USD / night (both male and female only dorms available). If you’re travelling in a group of four (or even three people) you get to block the whole room out! For this cheap price, you’ll get to enjoy all of the other facilities in this beautiful house… the free delicious Burmese breakfasts, the large beautiful courtyard area, super fast WIFI and wonderful hospitality. A lovely twin room will set you back $40 USD, a double room $50 USD and the huge superior room costs $57 USD – complete with a bath!
(In high season the dorm rooms are $15 USD / Bed – Including breakfast.)
Amazing traditional breakfasts, lunches (and proper coffee!):
We stayed three nights at Thanlwin Guesthouse and got to sample three traditional Burmese breakfasts, which were all completely different and totally delicious! The first morning we had Nan Gyi Thoke, a Burmese salad of thick rice noodles, curried chicken, chickpea flour, onion slices, chilis, slices of hard boiled egg and lime zest. The second morning (a Sunday special) we had Mohinga, the most popular breakfast dish in the country – a cat fish soup made with vermicelli rice noodles, ginger, onions, lemongrass, coriander, chopped green beans and crispy fritters. If you’re worried about eating a very fishy fish soup the moment you wake up, this dish is really not what you think! Give it a try…
Throughout the day, you can eat many traditional meals from Tea Leaf Salad to Pennywort Salad and Shan Noodles! Beer, iced tea, tea and coffee are also available all day, as well as free water.
Homely atmosphere:
From the moment we arrived at Thanlwin Guesthouse we felt like we were staying with friends. We were helped by the staff with everything we needed, from tips for things to do in Yangon, to booking our overnight bus to Bagan.
The communal breakfast (6.30am – 10.30am) means that you get to know your fellow guests right away and there was a friendly atmosphere in the whole house. On our last night, the staff cooked an amazing meal of chicken curry, coconut rice, cucumber salad and balachaung (fried dried shrimp with garlic, chili and onion), plus fried banana with honey for dessert. Sar kaung de = delicious!
Decor and cleanliness:
We had a twin room with a shared bathroom and both were tastefully decorated (not always the case in Myanmar!) and spotlessly clean at all times of the day. We arrived to find rose petals sprinkled on our bed, much to my (not so much my boyfriend’s) delight.
Our room was cleaned daily, with fresh towels provided and free toiletries in the bathroom. The rest of the house is a pleasure to relax around, especially the lantern-lit courtyard with long wooden tables. You really feel like you can spend all day here and just chill out if you’re in need of a break from sight-seeing.
Home away from home:
When they say that Thanlwin is a home from home on their website, they really mean it! Two former guests from Spain, who had been travelling for three weeks in the north of the country came back to the guesthouse to relax for a few hours and take a shower before they caught their flight. They were not charged for a room this time, they just came back to say hello, use the wonderful facilities on offer here and have one last bowl of Shan Noodles before leaving Myanmar!
Prices at Thanlwin Guesthouse:
- $10 USD* for a bed in a 6-bed dorm.
- $11 USD* for a bed in a 4-bed dorm.
- $40 USD for a twin room, (shared bathroom).
- $50 USD for a double room, private bathroom.
- $57 USD for a superior double room, private bathroom.
*Dorm rooms are $15 USD in High Season Oct – Mar.
You can book via their website here.
You can also check availability and book on Agoda or Booking.com.
In return for reviewing this guesthouse, we received a free stay. The guesthouse was told in advance that they were not guaranteed a place on this ‘Best Hostels’ list, and the views expressed in this article are our own.
