Not sure if there is any point posting this as replies do not appear to work, but I'll give it a go.

Vientiane, I have cross referenced this forum replies (albeit old ones) with Booking.com for hotels.
Mali Namphu and Phonespaseuth come up as available. Both have positive, but also very negative comments.
Any thoughts?

We are in Laos 18-29 Dec, including travelling time. We are booked into LP 24-29 Dec.
We arrive Vientiane 18 Dec. I was just wondering whether to spend 18-24 Dec in Vientiane or
to stop somewhere like Vang Vieng in between. I appreciate that travel to all of these places takes time.

Thanks for any input.

I like Vientiane, but that is a lot of time for a small town. V.V. was backpacker central when I was there way back in 2004, but I hear that they have cleaned things up, and the scenery is certainly worth seeing.

Agrree with thursdaysd. Vientiane is alright for 3 nights max. There are one or two worthwhile sights.....the Budha Park, and Vientiane's version of the Arc d'Triomphe, a tour of the Beer Lao brewery. But the town shuts down quite early after dark.

We enjoyed VV, the scenery is stunning, and it's worth hiring a pushbike to explore a bit.

I really wouldn’t bother too much about spending time in Vientiane, not the most exciting town in SE Asia, one, maybe two nights max. Apparently, VV has calmed own a lot since it was the party capital of Laos. The scenery is stunning and it makes nice break on the road to LP.

How about spending a night or two in Vientiane and then flying to LP. Then, go up to Nong Khiaw for 3 or 4 nights before going back to LP. We really enjoyed Nong Khiaw, and it was a very different experience for people who like to be off the beaten path a bit. There is one "nicer" lodging there. I think it is something like the Riverside Lodge.