Ostello Bello Bagan — Hotel in Nyaung-U District

We stayed at Ostello Bello end of January 2020 on recommendations from other travelers we met as they offered free tours of Bagan. It seems the biggest draw. Pros: The free tour with a qualified guide was good, you just give tip to the guide (so it's like taking a guide for a group and you split the cost), it gave a good intro of the area. The hostel is very clean and modern There are day beds on the roof top with showers and blanket so when you arrive from your night bus it's good to rest and freshen up before the day start It has a good social environment, we met nice travellers that we stayed in touch with It's well located in New Bagan and you can walk to eat at different places there is an e-bike shop just in-front, although apart from the 1st day we didn't have good bikes from there. (we had to get it changed after only 7km when it was meant to be full) Cons: Payment was a real mess and quite dishonest. We booked via booking.com the price was in US dollars and booking advised we would be charged in local currency at Today's rate on check-in. First they asked us how we'd like to pay, we said card so it was easier to just input the US rate but then they said they can't take the card. So we ask to pay in cash in kyatt, they applied a random fixed rate they always use 1,540k but the rate on that day (and even lower now) was 1,420 so our booking was going to be $US5 more than expected. So we asked to pay in $ in cash. We gave them a $100 note that we got from the ATM while still in Cambodia. They inspected the bill for about 5min (CCTV can attest) and then accepted and proceeded to give us the change in $. Payment was complete and we went to rest. When we came back later in the afternoon after the Bagan tour to get the keys to get to the room, they told us that they were going to process our credit card that we entered on booking.com as they cannot take our $. 1st the transaction was already complete and payment settled, we paid and got change back, 2nd they were trying to give us back a $100 note how could we know it was a different one than the one we handed?!, 3rd they told us on arrival we couldn't pay by credit card but now you can?! - So they gave us back $100 we had to give back the change, they charged our online credit card, all this could have been avoided if in the first place they took the online payment. It was misleading, dishonest and your mistake in the first place. The breakfast is dull (2 small pancakes or small portion of scrambe eggs, 1 fruit, 1 biscuit, tea and coffee) compare to the price you pay. In our opinion while it's clean and modern it is not worth the price difference with any other hostel/motel you can find in the area. it's very expensive. They don't offer bus booking service outside of 10am-5pm (like when you are out and about) we were told when we asked at about 8pm if we could book a bus. So we had to walk to an agency in the street to book our bus. While everything was clean, we were in our room at the back of the building and there was constant smell of sewage, that was very unpleasant. You can see pipes and water being evacuated almost under the window of the room. To us we had heard good things about the social vibes etc. but the staff and welcome was a total disappointment to the point that we gave a miss at experiencing Ostello Bello in Mandalay that we had been...

The room was good and the pool also. But it stops there.||First, there are constant electricity cuts, despite they have a generator.||Second, upon arrival I agreed with the manager for a e-bike rental, for the 2 and half days we were staying in Bagan. Price per day was 15.000 ks but we agreed to make it 30.000 ks for the whole 2 ½ days. But after 1 ½ days they started saying I had to pay 33.000 ks and more 15.000 ks for the last day. We quarrelled because they were breaking the deal, and in the end I gave back the e-bike that day and paid 20.000 ks.||Third, breakfast was very bad, in the 2nd day I took one of their noodles dish, it came cold and certainly prepared a while ago. I got a violent diarrhoea that night, continuing the following day. And I had been eating Myanmar food everywhere since a week ago and it was all good.||Fourth, we booked through the hotel for a bus from Bagan to Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake). I was told it was a good bus, with aircon, etc, and paid 40.000 ks per person. The day we were leaving a rotten pick up bus arrived, I was thinking it was just the pickup taking us to the big bus. But no, that rotting van, dirty, with no space for the legs, no aircon, was the bus itself. Moreover, at the station they loaded and loaded it with boxes, bags, everything we can imagine, inside, over the top, and they filled it with people. For a trip of 8h ! ||And they left us at the road to Taunggyi, 15km from Nyaungshwe and we had to take a taxi for more 20.000 ks. This bus company, Bagan Minn Thar is a whole scam, be aware !||Just for comparison, we booked a trip from Inle lake to Yangon, in a VIP bus, a trip of 14h, for 35.000 ks per person.||I know the hotel is not directly responsible for all this, but they have to know what the others are proposing and doing, and avoid being the middlemen with scammers and restaurants which serve...

I am used to staying in other ostello bello as they are located in many countries. I love the idea that they are wheelchair friendly but sadly this place is not wheelchair friendly but the staff there is really really nice they went all out of their way to help me be comfortable ....so first of all the restaurant or you make call it a sitting area at the entrance has one step to climb, the rooms have 2-3 steps each to get into.... I was staying in a female dormitory luckily there was nobody Else so I had the whole place to myself....I was given a phone number of the reception person in case I needed any help at night.. since I was there only for one night it was fine I could manage...to get onto the pool area also there are about five steps so I did not even try to go there but all in all it was very clean and very modern the bathrooms are very modern if you are looking for a quiet environment you should come and stay in this place.... They have some games like carrom board and other table games... Yes the morning breakfast was a good layout with croissants bread egg fruits like banana and Orange... I did go to there other hostel branch which is just 10 minutes walk that place is quite wheelchair friendly probably they have one or two rooms which are accessible with a wheelchair but they were in renovation ....this place is more happening in the night so one can go for drinks out there... and if you want all the happening, noise and party then you should go to this other branch which is 5 to 10...