The Jam Hostel

There is an active bed bug problem here. I found multiple bed bugs in the bed frame and provided photo evidence. I later learned other guests had the same issue and that there have been previous complaints. The only solution offered was to “clean again,” which is not a proper treatment for bed bugs. Management does not seem to take this issue seriously. Very concerning and not acceptable.

It’s what you would expect for £4 a night. We stayed in the 6 bed female dorm (next to the dorm which had bed bugs, although we didn’t see any in our dorm) the room was above where one of the families slept and as the walls are paper thin you could hear everything.The door to our room was difficult to shut and so was often left open. There was a “window” in the bathroom that was basically just a hole. It is a social hostel and has good facilities and for £4 it’s not to bad, just pretty run down

I picked this hostel because it looked nice and had a pool, but I was really disappointed. The pool was green and had no steps to get in or out. The rooms and bathroom were filthy! Another room had to be evacuated due to bedbugs. The WiFi didn’t work, and the food was bad. One girl in my room got sick, and the staff did nothing to help her. They even cleaned our room and made our beds before we checked out, which was confusing since I still had over an hour.

The photos that are shown online make it look promising. However, while we were there, two rooms were infected with bed bugs and the people in those rooms were only given a refund by the staff, even though it was late at night. There is a standard rate for every room despite how some are brand new and some are mouldy and the walls are stuck together by tape, so you don’t know what you will get. Our door would not lock. We told the staff about how dissatisfied we were, and they didn’t help us.

Do not stay here. There are other hostels in Luang Prabang, and although the atmosphere and environment are very nice, the rooms adjacent to where we stayed had BED BUGS.

Bedbug infestation in one of the rooms which spread to another room on the other side of the hostel overnight. Staff only offered refund of one night if proof of bed bugs were shown. Pool is grimy and doesn't appear to be clean.

There is an active bed bug problem here. I found multiple bed bugs in the bed frame and provided photo evidence. I later learned other guests had the same issue and that there have been previous complaints. The only solution offered was to “clean again,” which is not a proper treatment for bed bugs. Management does not seem to take this issue seriously. Very concerning and not acceptable.

Our stay was overall good. But had issues. The 6 bed dorm was awful, I have never been in such a dirty place, all the walls had cracks and were taped up to keep together. There were loads of mosquitos and it was hotter in there than outside. The room next door had bedbugs and they’d evacuated everyone and placed 7 people into the 6 bed, obviously wasn’t going to work and one girl had to leave at 11.30pm at night to go to another hostel. The rooms need upgrading allot but the social area is nice.

i woke up with over 20 bites all over my skin, my back, bum, tummy, arms and legs which definitely look like bed bug bites. the bedding just wasn’t clean at all, i had to change them 3 times when i got there. walls are dirty and the actual bunk beds definitely don’t get cleaned. the cleaners are so nice but they take their shoes off to get on the beds to change the sheets and a lot of them have really dirty bottoms of their feet which leaves marks on beds that are meant to be clean. i stayed in the 6 beds female dorm and the en-suite is really run down. no hooks or shelves in the shower so makes it difficult to put your things anywhere.

Bed bugs! Otherwise property really nice. No hair driers though. Have outside toilets and showers which are needed as 1 toilet with shower in same room between 8 people difficult. Pool good. Bar good. Need tuk tuk or bike to get to bowling or 7-eleven. Staff amazing and super helpful. Booked excursions through hostel. Good experiences with them. Would recommend but not bed bugs!!!

The hostel has an excellent set up with great facilities, a really nice area and a hotel feel to the whole complex. The hostel was also located very close to the centre of Luang Prabang. However, these remained the only positives. We checked into the room and our AC was dripping cold water, an issue that the staff were aware of and in our three nights made no attempt at fixing, leaving a puddle at the entrance to our room. We had an issue with bed bugs in one of the beds which the staff simply couldn’t care less about and offered no help with whatsoever. Some other guest in the room blocked the toilet which was massively unpleasant; what was more unpleasant was how the cleaners never made an attempt to resolve the problem and left our toilet in the room unusable for two days until we checked out. You also have to pay for a towel, which is fine, but is only fine when we get given towels that don’t have strange stains on. Additionally, whilst we get given a room key, our room could be opened without the need for a key so quite literally anybody could walk in. That was just the room. Whilst the hostel looks good from photos and when you first arrive, the pool itself is filthy, the kitchen weirdly closes at 4pm, some staff members refuse cash payment at the bar and make you top up your wristband whereas others just accept the cash and having no air con facilities in a hostel common area in south east Asia is ludicrous given the clientele and the temperatures in Laos. Overall, the hostel photos are misleading and not a true reflection of the experience here. You will be impressed by the photos and when you first arrive to check in, but this is just a facade for the well-below standards that are set here. At least the location is good.

So mixed rating. was great, relatively clean, good pool, good social bar area. But stayed 3 nights, and on the final morning i did wake up with 3 bedbugs under my pillow. I was in a rush to the bus, but they only compensated 1 night of my stay. and weren’t very sorry about it. Also as soon as you get there book the train to vang vieng - NOT THE BUS. it was horrific. Trust me

Had a great time staying here after leaving the riverside hostel because that room was disgusting. We stayed in the newer building and no one in my room had any bed bugs. 4 stars because it was pricier for basic services in the hostel compared to other ones

BED BUGS. The hostel is okay, social, loud at night from music & in the morn from construction. Food isn't cheap & wasn't great and the staff were wholy untrained. The female deluxe in the blue building was new & nice and okay cleanliness, but mixed 6 bed (we got put in the wrong room type) was smaller, smelt, gaps in the door so loos of ants & mosquitos and it was filthy. If it was cleaner and they sorted out the bed bugs, it could be a really good hostel as the location is good. The pool was also filthy during our stay. But, as of 16/06 room K has bed bugs & they knowingly checked us in. A poor girl told them she found them & they told her if they change her sheets she will be okay (biggest lie, the only way to treat them is to fumagate the whole building, not just that room for 24 hours & any belongings in the room, bag & all, need to be tumble dried on hot for 1 hour to kill them as washing does nothing). The staff obv know this but don't want to lose the money as they were full. She stayed as she trusted staff and we got checked in there & came back at 12 & found 2 bed bugs crawling in & out of the wood on the wall by the bed (I've managed hostels & have training in how to identify & deal with them. It was 100% bed bugs. They will live in walls, bed frames & curtain poles etc not just mattresses). I went to the staff & told them there was bed bugs & they needed to move us & close the dorm & let others in the building know also & they said no there is no free rooms, we will have to stay in a room with bed bugs! (My partner reacts badly & is one of only about 40% of people who are actually allergic to their bites which is why they only show up on some people). So of course we are not going to willingly sleep with bed bugs & another staff says if he uses bug spray it will be okay! I said that this clearly does not kill them & will just mean we spread them to other hostels & they just said "well what do you want us to do?". I asked for the manager & he was laughing (as well as the bar staff - putting tourists in this situation knowingly for profit is not funny). He eventually offered us only 50% of our accom back if we checked out quietly then, at midnight, with no where to go! (with his lovely female receptionist translating, I felt so sorry for her as he kept leaving her to deal with it & she felt so bad for his behaviour). I said that this was insulting & that the least we deserved was a full refund if they were going to leave us with no where to stay at midnight. Eventually as we weren't giving in he agreed & said he wouldn't help find accom but gave 50,000 for a tuk tuk to get us to leave. They originally tried to give us less than we paid also & we actually never got back the money we put on our wristbands either, so they still owe us 37,000 that they kept. Thank god Mad Monkey reception is 24 hour the staff are incredible & went above and beyond, helping to come get us at 1am & we had to bag up all our stuff to treat just incase and to make sure we didn't spread it, which was obviously such a faff and not cheap & should have been done by Jam not us. MM was also so much cleaner & much better all the staff were so so lovely. Note to hostel: I have never been so shocked and disgusted at the way a hostel has acted. Bed bugs can't be avoided sometimes, but most hotels would be horrified, immediately find you alternative accom, tumble dry your belongings & close the room to fumagate & stop the spread to other dorms and to other hostels! It is irresponsible & disgusting. You could have closed the dorm and allowed us to find alternative accom at check in time & dealt with this properly in 2 days. I wouldn't be surprised if it's spread to other rooms by the shared bag storage space & washing sheets together. If you still haven't treated the room or even closed it, shame on you! Note to travellers: If you get put in any room in the first brown building, do not stay & don't keep your bags in the shared storage area. Unless they have fumagated that whole building, do not believe them if they say they have sorted it!

BED BUGS. Checked into room K on 16.06.24 (not the room we booked but the hostel was full), dropped our stuff off and went out for the evening. Came back and found bed bugs in the bed frame and in the wood of the walls. Told the others staying in the room and found out that another girl had found them in her bed, she told reception who changed the sheets and told her that she'd be fine...what BS. Told reception (at midnight) the owner laughed and offered us a 50% refund if we left quietly.