Villa Nam Song

We selected to stay at the Villa as it was recommended, and with French ownership we expected good Western food. However it was definitely a poor choice and bad value for money. We had booked the best balcony room "with good river view" at $70 per night B&B directly with the manager 4 weeks before our arrival. List of problems below:
1. At 3.30pm when we arrived the room was not ready as the manager had allowed the previous occupants to stay in the room whilst they went off tubing. A bad start!
2. When we finally got into the room we found the balcony actually overlooked the car park not directly on the river.
3. Tiny, badly arranged bathroom. Only room for 1 at a squeeze.
4. Western food we choose was awful & highly priced (no wonder the restaurant was completely empty). The cook clearly had no idea what he/she was doing.. everything overcooked & tasteless. Even the breakfast was bad.
The main plus is its location by the river but that attracts a stream of spectators who they allow to come in take photos, use the loos etc - which really affected the peace of the place and presents a security problem for residents. The manager seemed to have no control and didn't even see it as a problem.
This is not the boutique hotel it claims to be, a badly-run guest house at best and the worst hotel we stayed in Laos. Maybe there has been a recent change of management. Anyway there are now many other more up-market places to stay in VV with better river views so would recommend avoid the Villa and look elsewhere.
NB The drive from Luang Prabang to VV is wonderful scenery .. definitely worth it if you have time.