Excella Hotel Ubon Ratchathani — condo-style suites with an in-room kitchenette, Chayangkun area

Excella Hotel overview — who it's for — If you want the shortest possible summary, Excella Hotel sits right in the middle between a "hotel" and an "apartment." The building is condo-style, so most of the rooms are suites with a living area set apart from the bed, plus a kitchenette, fridge, microwave, sink, dining table, and a private balcony. That's what clearly sets it apart from the typical Ubon city hotel that gives you nothing but a bare bedroom. It has been open since around 2013, with 57 rooms — a comfortable size that never feels chaotic. From reading the actual reviews, the people it suits best are travellers who have to stay several nights in Ubon, people here for work or long errands, families who want space to heat up their own food, and anyone driving themselves, since there's free parking. Who it suits less are tourists who want to walk out the door and immediately hit a buzzing strip of shops, because the hotel sits in a fairly quiet residential soi. Put simply, if you weigh "usable space and quiet" more than "flash or being in the middle of a nightlife district," Excella will fit your style of stay nicely at a price that's easy on the wallet.

Location and getting around — Excella Hotel is at Soi Chayangkun 40, Chayangkun Road, Nai Mueang sub-district, Mueang Ubon Ratchathani district, in the northern part of the city, which is a fairly residential and government-office zone. The reference point people use most is that it's near Nong Bua Market, about a 10-minute walk away, and not far from Big C and Ubon Square (around 1.5 km). The clearest advantage of this location is that it's very close to Ubon Ratchathani Airport (UBP), about 6 km or roughly a 10-minute drive — great for anyone who lands and wants to reach their room quickly, or who has an early flight and needs to rush to the airport. Getting into the city centre around Thung Si Muang and the Ratchabut night market isn't far either, about a 10–15 minute drive or ride. The thing to say plainly is that the hotel isn't in the middle of a restaurant or shopping district — several foreign reviews say it's "a bit out of main area," meaning slightly away from the centre, so without your own car you may have to rely on a taxi or Grab when heading out to eat or sightsee. On the flip side, being down a soi makes it quiet and easy to sleep in, which many guests praise.

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Room types and decor — Because the building is condo-style, Excella's rooms give you more usable space than similarly priced hotels in the city. The main room types are the Suite Double Room (one large single bed, with a separate living area and dining zone), the Twin Suite Room (two single beds, condo-style layout with a living room set apart from the bedroom), the Deluxe Twin Room (two single beds plus a sofa bed), and the Family Room (one queen bed plus a single, open-plan, fits around 3–4 people, extra bed available). What every room shares, and the real star here, is the kitchenette with a microwave, fridge, sink, dining table, and a private balcony. The in-room amenities cover the basics — a 32-inch LED TV with cable channels, air conditioning, blackout curtains, a hairdryer, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and bathrobes. What reviews agree on most is that the rooms are very clean, the beds are comfortable, and the rooms are bigger than the price suggests. The occasional note is that some rooms' furniture is starting to show wear given the building's age (over ten years now) — one review mentioned a damaged sofa in a suite and marks on the wall, which is more about that specific room than the overall picture. Another thing many people trip over is that there's no tea/coffee set in the room, so if you're a morning-coffee person you should bring your own coffee sachets or a kettle, or use the in-room kitchenette to boil water instead.

Facilities and common areas — Let me say it straight from the start: Excella Hotel has no pool and no gym. If those two are must-haves for you, this may not be the place. But what it does have, and what fits a longer stay, is a shared kitchen and shared lounge that give you somewhere to sit or cook simple meals beyond the kitchenette in your room. There's free private parking, which self-drivers often praise, as the lot is behind the building. There's free Wi-Fi throughout, and an in-house restaurant for breakfast. The note about parking that comes up in reviews is that the bays are fairly tight in some spots, so with a larger car you may need to judge the gap a bit, especially when the lot is full. Overall the facilities here are the "just right for a real stay" kind — not focused on luxury or in-hotel activities, but on letting you live comfortably in your room and park without worry.

Food and breakfast — The hotel has a restaurant serving breakfast with both Thai and Western options, plus coffee, tea, and juice. Some room rates include breakfast and some charge extra, so check carefully when you book. Reviews on breakfast are fairly split into two camps. The praise side says "good breakfast, clean rooms" and is happy to have both Thai and Western menus. The critical side says breakfast still needs work — some dishes are prepared ahead rather than freshly made, and if you come down late the food may be running low or the choices limited. The upside of having a kitchenette in your room is that you don't have to rely on the hotel breakfast alone. Many people pick up food from nearby Nong Bua Market or Big C and heat it up in the room, which fits a condo-style stay perfectly. For other meals, since this area isn't as packed with restaurants as the city centre, having a car or calling a Grab makes it easier to go find good food in central Ubon.

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Service — Staff and service are where Excella earns consistent praise in the actual reviews. The words that come up often are "friendly staff," "helpful," and in foreign reviews, efficient, cordial, and professional. Many people are impressed that the team looks after guests beyond what you'd expect from a small hotel — with check-in, recommending places to eat and visit, and help with the car. Because it's a 57-room hotel that isn't large, the atmosphere is fairly warm and on a first-name basis, not formal like a big chain. Worth knowing: check-in is 2:00 PM–8:00 PM, so if you'll arrive later than that you should let the hotel know in advance to arrange key pickup, to avoid any trouble on arrival. Overall, service is one of the main reasons the reviews here land in good territory.

What real reviews say (the good and the not-so-good) — Pulling from Trip.com, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor, the picture is fairly consistent. On the praise side: very clean rooms is the most-mentioned point, roomy suite-style rooms with a living area and a genuinely usable kitchenette, comfortable beds, friendly and helpful staff, a quiet area that's easy to sleep in, free parking out back, and great value for what you get. On the watch-out side: the most-mentioned thing is the location being away from the city centre and restaurants — without a car it can feel inconvenient to get out and about. Next is breakfast that some feel still needs work, especially if you come down late, no tea/coffee set in the room, tight parking bays in some spots, and furniture in some rooms starting to show its age. Most of these gripes are things you can manage by preparing — like driving yourself or bringing coffee — rather than being big problems. The scores back this up: Trip.com 8.6 from 72 reviews and TripAdvisor 4.3 out of 5, ranked #1 of 30 Specialty lodging properties in Ubon, which reflects that people who choose to stay here understanding its character tend to be happy.

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Price and value — Excella's room rates start at around ฿700/night for a basic suite and climb to roughly ฿1,000–฿1,500 for a family room or a high-rate period. Compared with hotels in Ubon at the same price level that usually give you only a standard bedroom, the fact that Excella offers a roomy suite with a kitchenette, fridge, microwave, balcony, and free parking at this price is excellent value in terms of usable space per baht. Even more so if you stay several nights and can heat up or cook some of your own food, which will save a fair bit on meals. The thing to weigh is that you have to trade off the fact that there's no pool, no gym, and the location isn't in the middle of a restaurant district. Compared with city hotels that have a pool like Laithong, or a mall-attached hotel like Sunee Grand, that's a different category altogether — Excella sells being a quiet, roomy little home, while those two sell facilities and a central location. For travellers with a car who are focused on longer stays, Excella offers value that's hard to find at this price level.

Good to know before booking — Let me sum up what to check before you hit book. One: check whether the room rate includes breakfast, since some rates do and some charge extra. Two: if you'll arrive after 8:00 PM, let the hotel know about your check-in time in advance to arrange key pickup. Three: if you're a morning-coffee person, bring coffee sachets or use the in-room kitchenette to boil water yourself, because the room has no tea/coffee set. Four: if you're driving a larger car, allow for the fact that the parking bays are fairly tight in some spots. Five: if you want easy access to eating out and sightseeing, having a car or planning to call a Grab will help a lot, since this area isn't packed with shops. Six: if room condition matters to you, ask for a room in good condition or recently renovated when you book, because the building has been open for over ten years and rooms can vary.

The verdict — Excella Hotel isn't a luxury hotel and it isn't in the middle of a nightlife district, but it is a small condo-style hotel that gives you roomy suites with a kitchenette, a private balcony, and free parking, at a price that's easy on the wallet. Its clear strengths are cleanliness, room size, friendly service, a quiet area, and being close to Ubon airport. What you have to accept is no pool, no gym, a location away from the city centre and restaurants, and a breakfast that still has room to improve. If you're a traveller staying several nights in Ubon, a family that wants to heat up its own food, someone working away from home, or a self-driver who values usable space and quiet — Excella is a worthwhile and satisfying choice. But if you want a pool, or want to walk to a mall or night market from the hotel door, take a look at options like Sunee Grand or Laithong in the city centre, which will suit your style better.