Both are lovely places, both are owned by people who are invested in teh economic development of the local economy. We stayed at the Inle Lake View. Full details about all of their wonderful programs in my 2009 trip report. You can drive to the Inle Lake View, which has its advantages. The Princess requires a boat transfer. We loved the Inle Lake View and would stay there again.

No matter where you stay, the hotel will have its own boatmen. The boatmen rarely speak much Engligh, but the hotel staff will make sure they know where you want to go. We also had a map, and could go somewhere just by pointing.

The boatman will take you to Sankar (aka Sagar), but has to stop on teh way to pick up a Pa-O guide and pay your fee. The Pa-O guide will be able to provide all the guide services you need.

You really don't need a travel agency guide at Inle, IMO. If you want to visit Kakku, you'll want Santa Maria to arrange for a car to take you from the airport to Kakku and then on to your hotel.

We also chose the Inle Lake View because it was easier to get to, i.e. no boat ride required...

Sounds like a better and easier location to get to.
I also went back to Trip advisor and many reviews gave rave reviews about the food.
So...Inle Lake view, here we come!
And thanks.

Yes, the food was excellent! Enjoy...

WE loved the Princess. I understand it has been renovated also.

Another vote for the lake View. You will have no problems booking trips with them once you arrive. We talked to the front desk manager the day we arrived about the sorts of things we would like so do during our stay & figured out best days to do certain things. We set up a day for Sankar & then planned other days around that. Each evening we would stop by on our way to dinner & talk about what we would like to do the nest day. No problems at all.

Just wondering if you are going to reserve the lake view on your own or via Santa Maria? I have written to Santa Maria 4 days ago to book our November Burma trip but no response - is this normal? I contacted them through their website should I do so otherwise??

Ladouca, did you use one of the email addresses on their website? If not, do so. And be patient. The internet is not as reliable in Burma as it is elsewhere. If you haven't heard back by the end of the week, email again.

Inle lake view: deluxe room or junior suite? I prefer to be on the first floor rather than the ground floor but don't know whether that is the distinction or not? View is probably more impt for me than anything else. Any recommendations? Also, how did you get from the airport to the hotel? Did SM arrange transporting advance? Thanks, getting final details in order now.

We had a junior suite on the upper floor when we stayed there - very spacious. There are also deluxe rooms on the upper floor. The junior suites are on the ends of the buildings and the deluxe rooms are in between. I'm pretty sure we specifically requested a room on the upper floor. The hotel is actually set back from the lake - access is via a canal which connects to the hotel grounds. From your room, the lake can be seen in the distance. Views from some rooms are better than others - ours wasn't that great. The sunrise was really nice though. The best views would be from the 2 lakeside villas. Definitely arrange your transport from the airport in advance with SM.

At Craig's recommendation, we also had a junior suite. It was on the upper floor. I thought our view was very nice.

We arranged transport to the hotel through Santa Maria. We actually had them pick us up at the airport and take us to Kakku before going to our hotel. It worked out perfectly. If you don't arrange your reutn transport to the airport with Santa Maria, let the hotel know (either upon arrival or via email before you get there) when you will need transport back to the airport. As you'll see, this isn't a place where you can just call a taxi. We had the hotel arrange our return transfer.

Thanks Craig and kathie. I was looking at pictures posted on tripadvisor but it is difficult to see the views from the rooms. The website at inle lake view is not too helpful. I'm thinking this might be like the views at the Anantara at the golden triangle? We were
very lucky there to have an upper floor villa at the end of the property which was was more elevated and had a better view of the water. I wouldn't have known what to ask for in advance, so is there one side of the building where the views might be better? Even though we weren't close to the water at Anantara, we thought the distant view was fine.

Our view was partially blocked by trees. Other than that it really wasn't that bad. There are at least two buildings that house the rooms (there is also a building with the reception and restaurant). Facing the lake, our building was the leftmost and our room was on the left side of that building. I have not stayed at any of the Anantaras (which one are you referring to?) so I can't compare. Maybe Kathie can give you some further guidance...

We were at the right end of the building (on the right?) and had a nice view of the lake.

You are closer to the water at Inle than at the Anantara at the Golden Triangle, but it is that kind of view.

Thanks to both of you, that helps.

Have you reached SM yet? SM put us on a wait list for the Inle Lake Princess over a month and a half ago for rooms in late November--and I tried to get something on my own at Lake View around that time and they were booked.

Yes, after not hearing from SM in 2 weeks, we now have a daily correspondence going, revising the itinerary base on flight availability, cruise non availability etc. so I suggest you email them again. Do you have one secure reservation as a back up?

sorry, I must have misread/misunderstood your dates--thought you were making plans for a November trip (we'll be there in high season--late Nov. and Dec.). We're in regular contact w/SM--MM Din has been terrific to deal with and our entire trip EXCEPT for Lake Inle is confirmed and I'll be sending our payment this week. Our backup reservation, which is confirmed but we still don't know the rate for the winter, is at the Princess Garden Hotel in Nyaungshwe, a b & b that has consistently terrific reviews on TA--and where we may just stay even if the Inle Lake Princess comes through.

The only thing we're wavering on is the Bagan balloon ride, which we were definitely not going to do--and now have decided to do after hearing from many who have done it--but it is NON-REFUNDABLE--and is $270 per person.

Our itinerary and hotels are pretty similar to yours, but we're doing a ten-day-Pandaw cruise after Mandalay--and the prices you've gotten in July are MUCH better than what we have for November!

There seems to be a big difference between high and low season, with good reason I'm sure. I'd prefer not to go in July but this is the time we can travel this year.

The Balloons over Bagan is now non-refundable? They must still refund your money if the balloon doesn't fly... We were scheduled twice on our first trip, never made it up, On our second trip we decided we didn't need to do it.

Kathie, I remember your saying in your trip report from your first trip that the weather wasn't good and you weren't able to go up--and that they arranged for your money to be refunded. I imagine that must still be the case, but I guess the balloon people are tightening up things as Burma's tourist industry keeps exploding. I'm sure we don't need to do it, and we've never been interested in doing one--or this kind of thing--before, but we've seen lots of photos of the views and have had several people say how extraordinary it is.....so there you are; we're on the verge of committing to it!

DC--and my DH can't travel in summer and the time between Thanksgiving and Xmas works well for both of us, so that's when we usually schedule our travels. It's worked well for places like India and New Zealand...and, I guess, Burma.

Hello Everyone!
Thank you for such an informative conversation. My trip is booked and I did most of my reservations through Santa Maria. Communication was a bit spotty, but it all worked out
Below is the email address I used and I was communicating with Moe.
accounts@santamariatours.com
I ended up booking at the Inle Lake View. I have a suite on the upper floor. Just seemed Inle Lake View had better reviews on the whole. I also booked a driver to and from the airport with Santa Maria with a stop in Kakku on the way to Inle Lake.
I'm leaving in 6 weeks and can't wait!

I'll look forward to hearing all about your trip!

Deb
I didn't book the stopover at Kakku, will look into it

From DC, just ask Santa Maria to arrange for your driver to take you from the airport to Kakku before the hotel. You'll pick up a Pa-O guide on the way to Kakku and pay a small entry fee to Pa-O lands.

I have the car booked, I'll write again to Zaw to let him know we want to do the stop on the way. Thanks for the advice, I haven't gotten into the daily itinerary planning yet. It took a while to get the general routing set but I think we're all set on that front, just waiting for info on the internal flights

$79 per person for airport transport to go to Inle Princess Resort. That is what our travel agent says is the cost to get to this hotel. By taxi, then by boat.) We already have reservations. Too late to cancel. This will add $326.00 to our two night stay! Anyone know how to get this resort cheaper???