We were comfortably accommodated at East Hotel Yangon during our 3 nights stay in Myanmar. The hotel is located at the heart of Yangon downtown area, near Sule Pagoda. I find the hotel conveniently and strategically located as many attractions, food and shopping are all within walking distance and easily accessed. (eg: Scott Market, Little India, Chinatown, City Hall, Sule Pagoda, Central Railway Station and much more).
The hotel is approximately 30 minutes drive from the airport (standard taxi fee is USD10 / 9,000Kyats to and fro per way).
East Hotel Yangon is a new concept boutique hotel with 45 guest rooms and 3 service apartments. Most of the rooms have Pagoda views. Each room is designed and decorated with local design and craft. Friendly hospitality and great service provided by warm and friendly staff.
Deluxe Room
There are a few types of Deluxe Room to choose from: Double Deluxe, Deluxe Twin Bed With Sule Pagoda View, and Deluxe Plus With City View.
Deluxe rooms are rather spacious and the bed is really comfy with fluffy pillows and comforter. Makes you just want to snuggle in bed all day long :3
Upon entering the room, the first thing that caught our attention was the bathroom – no doors, only screen or shower curtain. The showers in deluxe rooms are either walk-into “aquarium” showers or direct walk-in with shower curtains.
Another thing to note is the lighting and brightness of the room. Some deluxe rooms are brighter because they have more windows which gives most natural lighting into the room, while some is pretty dim (only toilet window). These are based on the various room views which could be requested upon booking (price varies).
Towels (bath, face and floor) and basic toiletries are available to use. Each rooms’ bathroom have their own contemporary design and basin are all so unique and pretty!
Each rooms comes with a safe, wardrobe, desk, fan, air-conditioner, shower with heater, hairdryer, coffee and tea maker, ironing facilities, LCD television with cable network and complimentary drinking water.
The standard voltage in Myanmar is 230V and frequency is 50 Hz. In Myanmar, the power sockets used are of type C / D / F / G:
Type F (left): This socket can also be used with plug C.
Type C (right): This socket can also be used with plug F.
Type D (left) & Type G (right
[source: http://www.power-plugs-sockets.com/myanmar/]
Junior Suite
Junior Suite has the same room facilities with the Deluxe, but with additional bath tub in the room. This is more suitable for a romantic getaway and comes with mini bar.
Bath tub with large window overlooking the city.
Bigger bathroom
Comfortable double bed
Fitness Centre with basic equipment.
Hallway
Complementary drinking water available at each floor.
Retro Concept Deluxe
There are 8 Retro Concept Deluxe rooms in East Hotel and it has different entrance from the hotel. There’s no elevator and getting up and down are by stairs.
Compared to the hallway in the hotel, the hallway have different types of paintings, which is more towards retro, whilst the paintings in the hotel are more towards Myanmar cultures.
Retro Concept Deluxe rooms are very spacious and it’s almost like a studio unit – without kitchen area. This is more suitable for those who prefer more privacy, spacious area, and longer stay.
The very obvious difference between the Retro Concept Deluxe and the normal Deluxe Rooms are the bathrooms – shower and bathroom are separated and each has its own room.
Amber Cafe
Amber Cafe is the Hotel’s in-house cafe and they cater breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast charge (when not included in room rate) is USD4 per person.
Every morning, we enjoy a simple yet hearty breakfast before heading out. Breakfast set comes with a dish upon order and free flow of coffee, tea, water and fruit juices. There’s also a buffet line for side dishes and fruits of the day.
One of my favourite Myanmar local rice has to be this Peapod steamed rice with egg. I had it every day without a miss! The rice tasted sweet from the natural sweetness of the peapod. The peapod is so soft and easily mashed into the rice. I love piercing through the runny egg and let the yolk flow into the rice and mixing them up before digging in. The rice is served with this spicy condiment. Extremely yummy and addictive!
Yellow flat noodle tossed with their house specialty sauces and served with crispy crackers, hard boiled eggs and lime. Very light taste but very fulfilling.
Simple stir-fried egg noodles with veggies.
Plain congee with lots of toppings! There are peanuts, pickled vegetables, fried shallots, and spring onion. It’s tasteless on its own and we were to season it to our preference with salt and pepper.
As mentioned earlier, the breakfast comes with buffet of side dishes and fruits. Here are some of the side dishes I find interesting and delicious:
Myanmar local delicacy – Nga Pyaw Baung is boiled banana in coconut milk and sugar with raisins.
French Toast and Mashed Potatoes. Although this looks like any ordinary dish from any breakfast buffet, I am posting this because the mashed potato is really delicious! It has bits of bacon and spring onion.
Cereals, Scrambled Eggs and Pancakes
Well, you can say that we were always well fed every morning before heading out to explore Yangon.
One of the best thing about East Hotel is its location (I mentioned before and will mention it again). Ideally located and walking distance to shopping area, markets, tourist attractions, Sule Pagoda and all the more street food. Taxi is easily available as we step out of the hotel and there’s no worry about being “touristly-conned” as the locals here are pretty honest. Furthermore, the hotel staff would assist to translate our destination to the taxi drivers.
There’s a railway station near the hotel known as Yangon Central Railway Station which is approximately 400 meters away (+/- 5 minutes walk), but we took the taxi which costs us 1,500 kyats (approx. USD1.50).
The hotel has almost all the facilities a traveler need on a holiday, including free wifi in every room! Initially, we wanted to get sim card data for our mobile phones and since the hotel provides free wifi, we saved our money for more street food 😀
The rooms are affordable and reasonable considering its location and facilities provided. Peak season is from October to March. Guests are mostly business and tourists.
If you’re planning a trip to Yangon or planning for a holiday, Yangon is an ideal holiday destination. So far, I’ve blogged about our first day in Yangon (read all about it here) and it was really great. It was a day filled with city and Pagodas sightseeing, which includes savouring local Burmese cuisines. Day 2 onwards are set to be even more happening and filled with more adventure! Can’t wait to write more on them, so, stay tuned!
East Hotel Yangon
No. 234-240, (1) Quarter,
Sule Pagoda Road,
Kyauktada Township, Yangon
Myanmar
GPS Coordinates: 16.778202, 96.159105
Tel: + 95 9 73135311, 73135299
Website: www.east.com.mm
Enjoy more discounts by booking through Agoda.com.
Hotel reservation made easier and handy on the go with Agoda’s mobile app. Available for FREE on Google Play and App Store.
The Agoda app also comes in particularly handy in the face of unexpected changes like a sudden flight cancellation, or a last minute trip extension. The app allows users to conveniently book a hotel in just a few taps regardless of their location, as long as they have access to data. The app is a single stop for all necessary information before making a booking, such as guest reviews, photos, highlights, policies and attractions, all listed within the hotel page.
