Hotel by the Red Canal — Hotel in Mandalay District

We stayed here for one night - even though paid for two (not refunded for the second). It was miserable. While the staff is very nice, there was a funky smell in the room, it was pretty tight (Chin class so not the inexpensive ones) and no hot water - slightly tepid but too cold even for a shower. Went to bed dirty and woken up around midnight by a spray noise all over the building. Apparently we missed the notice they were doing their weekly "fogging" that night (No idea if it was there - we never saw it but hotel insists it was there somewhere). So we didn't know to shut off the AC and our room filled up with nasty permethrin. I prefer not breathing in insecticides in my sleep and especially hated the thought of my asthmatic son next door. So frustrating because nowhere to go and can't open the window to air it out. Terrible sleep made worse by someone knocking at our door at 6 am. No one was there when I woke up to answer. Random I'm sure. Breakfast was eh at best. Perhaps we were spoiled by some other hotels in Bagan, Yangon and Inle which were great. Very disappointed and I personally recommend against this hotel. Red Canal was our least favorite of all hotels in Myanmar - including even the probably $5/night one on trek from Kalaw!! At least there we knew what we were getting and weren't subjected to chemical exposure...

The hotel has already a lot of excellent reviews but since I just got back from Mandalay I would like to write a more recent update. As Myanmar suffers currently from in my view pointless sanctions and travel warnings, a lot of hotels struggle to get by with just local travels. Therefore, it is even more impressive how much effort the staff puts into maintaining the property and its service level. The rooms are very comfortable - I admired the artwork and the craftsmanship. The bathrooms are very modern and offer a certain wellness feeling – with rose leaves filled bathtubs. Amazing.||For breakfast I got Shan-Noodles as an extra treat from the management. I had just casually asked if they are available and found them the next morning – even more impressive. ||Very convenient also is the beer-garden-like open air restaurant right next to the hotel with an separate entry from the property. Myanmar at its best. I regret that I could not stay longer, and I will definitely...

There aren't many hotel options at Mandalay at the moment so we stayed in this pretty hotel. Problem is, it's double the prices of most of the other hotels around Mandalay, the rooms are small and urgently in need of renovation. The pictures online really over-sell the glamor of the hotel which is nicely done-up but basically just an average building with a small pool and an average restaurant. Breakfast can be brought to the room but it arrived cold and was of middling quality. The bathtub had scrapes and the hotel forgot to turn on the hot water until they were specifically asked (due to lack of guests, I suppose). Staff, particularly restaurant staff, are super friendly and they gave us a good deal on an airport taxi- and until the tourism industry recovers, this may still be your best choice in Mandalay, at 2x the price it should...