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Review: The Governor’s Residence Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar

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Arriving to the hotel:

We arrived to the hotel at about 4 PM, making it through the city to The Governor’s Residence. The Governor’s Residence is in a leafy embassy / residential district and is one of the few places in Yangon where tourists are found. Our rate ($159 USD) included a buffet breakfast. After Myanmar officially opened to tourists, the property was acquired by and is now operating under the luxury Belmond brand.

Traffic is pretty normal on arrival to a completely closed country and there were peek a boo views of Shewadagon Paya as we wandered through town.

Inside the Governor’s Residence:

The Governor’s Residence hotel was built in the 1920’s as a colonial residence and has been wonderfully maintained given its age. Based on the appearance of the hotel, similar to the palaces that you see in India, you wouldn’t believe the crumbling infrastructure surrounding the property outside of the walled compound. The property is situated in Yangon’s residential embassy district. Teak and old world British order are the flavour of the day throughout the residence. I’d highly recommend staying here if you pass through town. 

“The Governor’s Residence Hotel allowed us the experience to stay in a British Colonial mansion that represented an era of Burma’s past. The property is wonderfully restored and invokes a moment in time of history long ago”

Overall, our stay at The Governor’s Residence was very comfortable. The breakfasts were of good quality and the hotel had everything that we needed for a comfortable 4 day stay. It is a little “sleepy hollow” at night since there isn’t anything within walking distance of the hotel. This property would easily be a first choice to stay at on my next stay in Yangon, Myanmar.

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Dinner at Monsoon, Yangon, Myanmar:

On the date of arrival, we found a taxi and made our way into town to Monsoon for Dinner. The taxi was a flat rate $2 USD anywhere in town. I’m sure the locals pay much less on the bus. Since Myanmar has had trade embargos on it for the last 20 years, most of the cars are falling to pieces. If you’re lucky, you can catch a ride in an abandoned embassy car that was left behind. Each one had their own personality. On the ride in, the streets were deserted empty. 

I always find that you can tell whenever you’re in a second world country by the number of electrical cables that tap in to the power boxes like in this photo. 

We had a great tasty dinner here before retiring to the hotel for the evening. The taxi cab driver was so desperate for a fare back, that he waited for us while we ate before collecting us to take us back to The Governor’s Residence for another $2 USD fare.

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