Offering a good insight into local life is this friendly family home on the outskirts of town, with several gers in its compound, offering excellent-value budget accommodation. Its Western-style rooms are less appealing. Ganbaatar and his wife Suvd both speak good English, and it's the definitive place for local information, onward travel and arranging jeep tours and horse treks in the surrounding region.
The food here is excellent and vegetarians can be catered for. Showers are in the bathhouse next door, but don't expect reliable hot water. The shared toilets are clean, but in an outhouse, so it's one for those seeking a more local experience. As well as the five kids who live here, there's a host of other relatives spanning generations. Free pick-up from the bus station.