Minh Nguyen

Nice and clean hotel with great room service. Well located to many sites in Hanoi.

Nice hotel with good room however the air conditioning didn’t work which was not great since it was VEEY hot out! Room service was good and appreciated after a long hiking day in the heat!!

Very rustic and our air conditioning didn’t work for the night we were there which was not great since we had spent a long day hiking in 40 plus degrees. Not much to do but was fine for a night in between other locations.

This overnight cruise was a highlight of our trip to Vietnam. Beautiful boat and was not too busy at all when we went. Views of surrounding are spectacular. Went kayaking and enjoyed the top deck and delicious food!!

Great hotel close to centre of Hoi An so easy walking. The hotel has discounts to good tailor shops so we had some wonderful clothing made which was so much fun!

Well located to be able to walk around easily!

Beautiful hotel located right near the private beach. Huge pool! Enjoyed our stay here. It is very quiet as it is away from the main part which was appreciated after a long stay in Vietnam. Enjoyed delicious food, great beach where we rented floats and snorkeling equipment! We had a great time and was a perfect end to our 2 week trip in Vietnam!!

Was beautiful but VERY hot which made it tough!

Beautiful boat and great time seeing Halong Bay!

Lots of fun! Our boat guide was so cute!! Fun activity!!

We had a wonderful time on our Vespa tour! Our guide was incredible and so generous! My birthday had been a few days earlier and he surprised us with a small birthday cake which was so thoughtful!! Loved our Vespa experience!!

Great location in Saigon. Well appointed with friendly staff and great buffet breakfast.

This resort was so outstanding that we did not want to leave!!

Our stay here was lovely. Its location made walking to see local sights quite easy.

The cruise was awesome even though we did not have any sunny days aboard.

Great service. Spotless! Excellent food!

Very relaxing place! Great services! Amazing view!

Beautiful and very relaxing place. Great service. Delicious food!

I would love to back to this place, in the same boat, same room ;) and with the same tour guide (Sunny) Amazing experience!

Very interesting, different, beautiful! We loved the show!

The ceiling fan was not working in the room

Taking off a star because the restaurant wasn’t staffed for dinner and had very limited choices.

Very friendly staff and excellent food. Too bad the ship common areas are equipped to deal with the cold temps we had during the trip.

Excellent and responsive service

Centrally located, clean, excellent customer service

A luxury hotel right in the middle of the Old Quarter Hanoi. The food, service and amenities (pool, bar) were first rate. The rooms were quiet and dark with mini-fridge, two bathrooms, and comfortable bed.

We were looking forward to our trip to Ha Long bay but were disappointed in the number of ships in our area and the boat staff trying to squeeze us for more money. The cocktails were weak and overpriced and the wine likewise. I asked for a cafe latte for breakfast and was told that would be an additional cost. Tried going to the upper deck for the sunset and cocktails but their was blaring thumbing techno music that totally ruined the experience. I complained to the bartender/DJ but nothing was done. Left after 15 minutes. Our second floor room with balcony was nice and quiet respite from the rest of the boat. We went kayaking and swimming off the back of the boat. We would have done better with a smaller boat and more sedate, refined feel to it. We were fed like hogs but I didn't go to Ha Long bay to just eat all the time. Seeking a beautiful, quiet and reflecting natural experience not a techno music festival.

One of our favorite hotels on the trip. Staff very welcoming and helpful. Our room was nice and quiet with a room overlooking the beautiful pool which we swam in every day. The bed was comfortable and the room had a minibar with sink and coffee maker. The breakfast buffet was great and the staff even brought out a small birthday cake for me accompanied by a Happy Birthday chorus one morning! the hotel had bikes to use and we rode to the beach one morning. Good location to the historic area also with just a few blocks to walk. We had one hour of free massage available per day but we only used it once.

Also one of our favorite hotels of the trip. Beautiful wood furniture in the room with a balcony from which we could see the Saigon river. The rooftop pool and bar were very cool and we went swimming every afternoon. Good location for shopping and helpful staff.

This was our least favorite hotel of our trip. We were expecting a quiet rural setting i.e. "Retreat", but what we got was a frustrating and aggravating room (306) located at the perimeter of the resort next door to a loud noisy bar/restaurant playing thumping techno music all Saturday night and even Sunday morning! Also our balcony view included a new resort down the hill with bright Christmas lights shining in our room all night. Our room was furthest from the restaurant and bar and the wet, poorly lit sidewalk and bridges presented a challenge for this 70-year old couple. The rain made the up and down sidewalks quite slippery and we worried about falling. Our room was also close to the main road and we could hear trucks and traffic all day and night. The restaurant asked that you give them one hour notice for grilled fish or chicken which seemed unreasonable. We went to a next door restaurant the second night and had a delicious meal at half the price. Dac San Pu Luong. We could hear the frogs croaking and the insects singing minus the techno music. When we went on a hike with Peter we passed a very nice hotel (Homestay Anh Bong) off the main road with a nice pool and restaurant that looked far better.

Long drive to Pu Luong Reserve (>4 hours) but interesting stops along the way. Peter was very helpful showing us around the Pom Coong village. Big lunch there. Enjoyed watching the native weavers at work and bought a couple of weavings. Walked around the rice fields and saw the village folks going about their business.

Mildly challenging hike on mostly developed roads seeing mountains, rural areas and villages. Some good overlooks. Saw a snake that was both venomous and poisonous. Visited with an elderly woman weaving and bought a couple of weavings. Ate big lunch at a villager's home. Peter was quite helpful and patient with us old folks.

more scenic drive back to Hanoi than on the way to Pu Luong. Stopped at an elementary school and were swarmed by 5th graders eager to try out their English. Stopped and saw some water mills. Stopped for coffee and pho for lunch.

We were really looking forward to our visit to Ha Long Bay but were disappointed in the number of large boats in our area, the overpriced, weak cocktails and drinks, and the loud techno music blaring on the rooftop bar when were hoping to have a peaceful sunset experience. The food was plentiful and tasty and the service first rate. Our room was quite nice with a balcony after we paid for an upgrade. We went kayaking but the crew staff made us take off our water shoes so we couldn't get out on barnacled shore to swim. We were able to swim from the boat in the bay and we made the crew staff nervous swimming too far from the boat. We did use the boat pool to relax in after our bay swim. I think we may have misled Minh when we mentioned swimming as a priority in our trip to Ha Long Bay. She probably thought we meant an onboard swimming pool when we meant open water swimming. A smaller cruise boat without a pool would have provided a more intimate experience and perhaps get us away from all the crowds of large boats. I was irritated when I asked for a cafe latte for breakfast and was told it would cost extra. The row boat trip to the caves were interesting.

Enjoyed the rowboat visit to the caves in the morning.

We skipped the vegetable village and only did the Hoian walking tour. It was okay but our guide was not very inspiring and we had tired of looking at pagodas and old shrines. Probably more about us than her. She took us to a few of her favorite shops..a tailor, lantern maker, and clothing. No real deals to be made. We had a coffee together and she took a photo of us on the bridge. We had another big lunch which was excellent. Spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and went home for a late afternoon swim at the hotel.

Loved this activity! Our drivers and guides Vic and Kim (?) spoke English quite well and seemed to enjoy showing us all the different foods and places. Fun diving into all the motorcycle traffic on the back of a Vespa and flowing along.

We first met Peter our guide and he was amazing. We visited a small village outside Hanoi and met Dr. Du a retired orthopedic surgeon at his home. We talked for quite a while using Peter as our interpreter. My wife and I are both physicians and found him interesting. He had been a physician in the North Vietnamese Army during the American War and had been shot in the head by an American soldier. It left him unable to perform as an orthopedic surgeon but he continued to work as a physician and teacher in Vietnam after the war. He had no animosity toward Americans and was happy we had come to visit Vietnam. We took a walking tour of his village (it was lightly raining and not good for bicycle riding. We enjoyed visiting the marketplace and temple but were less interesting in seeing some of the homes of famous leaders and soldiers. We helped prepare pork spring rolls with his wife and daughter and ate Bun cha for lunch. That was a fun and hands on experience. We also did a few shots of rice wine. :) In the afternoon we toured the Literature Temple and Tran Quoc pagoda with Peter. That was interesting and beautiful. We saw the John McCain memorial at a nearby lake. Peter stopped at a shop where disabled folks made and sold weavings and other products. We bought a few souvenirs and drank egg coffee for the first time. Saw a water puppet show at the end of the day that was entertaining. it was a great day that exhausted us with all the walking (we were still jet lagged ) but we could have skipped all the historical sights in the outlying village.

Our guide Mr. Nam spoke very good English and provided good historical information as we toured the tunnels, Liberation Palace, and the War Remnants Museum. Seeing the elaborate tunnels and traps the Viet Cong had built during the American War showed how resilient and innovative the Vietnamese fighters were and brought home the stark harshness and cruelty of war. Touring the War Remnants Museum showing horrifying photos of massacred and mutilated VC soldiers , women and children, all reportedly at the hands of American soldiers and bombs, made me feel shameful as an American. Definitely a one sided view of the war but there was enough cruelty to go around for both sides. Visiting the Liberation Palace refreshed my memory of the end of the South Vietnam regime.