Vietnam exploration was a blast!
Vietnam | Apr 30 - May 8, 2023

Lacy
Lacy S.
Auburn Hills, MI | Reviewed on Jun 07, 2023

Trang was our travel agent and went above and beyond. She took care of our Visas when we couldn't get them to go through the system. She also helped us when Air France screwed up our luggage on the way home.
Our local guide was Huy and our driver Chong. Huy was very knowledgeable and spoke fluent English. We requested a different/specific hotel in cat ba and it ended up being the only negative experience we had. Trang and Huy knew better. We should have listened to their recommendations. Having Chong and Huy with us the whole 9 days made for such an easy adventure. They did a great job! I would highly recommend them.

Hotel Reviews
Peridot Grand Luxury Boutique Hotel
Hanoi

Peridot is a beautiful hotel. The staff treated us very well and the front desk spoke very good English. They wouldn't let us check in early to shower after our 36 hours of travel but they did let us go to the spa to shower and get ready for our day. The breakfast was good and the sky bar was very nice.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Right in old town
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Silk Path Grand Sapa
Lao Cai

Silk path was very beautiful and clean but the view is the city of Sapa, not really the mountains. It is within walking distance to town, which is great. There's nothing to do at the resort at night. We got massages and wandered around town. The gardens and facilities are beautiful though. The staff treated us well too.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh

The room is here is so fun. You feel like you're in a cabin in the middle of the jungle . There was a small private pool right outside our room as well as a bigger one where the restaurant is. This place is gorgeous. We were not impressed with the service here though. We waited a very long time at the restaurant, despite being only a few tables. The staff seems uninterested in being there and mostly socialized amongst themselves. The food was not very good.

Authenticity & Character
It was beautiful jungle Nihn Bihn
Location
Facility
Staff
Restaurant staff was lacking
Cleanliness & Comfort
Paradise Elegance Cruise

We had a wonderful experience on this cruise. The food was great, the massage was wonderful, the excursions were fun, the room was beautiful and the staff was outstanding. Such great staff. Would definitely recommend.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Flamingo Cat Ba Resort
Cat Ba

5 star resort that made me bring my own luggage up, safe was broken and waited in room for an hour for some one to come swap out. Out of towels at the pool, no place to get food after check in (3pm-5pm), AC in room struggles to keep up, hardest mattress I've ever slept on, big round bright light turns on randomly all night long, rain shower head not positioned over the flat part of the tub, no wash clothes, very long waits for food and food regularly wrong or not good, appeared to be short staffed despite not very busy, wild unsupervised kids even at the pool bar, nothing to do in the evening, no live music, no shows, karaoke only private rooms, sky bar filled with children and closes at 1030pm Positives- most beautiful resort I've ever stayed in. Clean and so beautiful. This hotel was put on our agenda by my request and should not be held against Trang. She had us at a different place. This hotel has SO much potential. It is incredible... if only the services and mattress were better.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Gorgeous property and location/view
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Local specialist: Trang Thien
Trang
Trang Thien
Local specialist in Hanoi, Vietnam | Replied on Jun 09, 2023

Hi Lacy,
Firstly, thank you so much for travelling with us, we are glad that you did enjoy the trip with us and spent time to share with us your feedback, highly appreciated.
I’m very sorry for your experience with Flamingo Cat Ba and Emerald Ninh Binh, I have sent your feedback to them to improve the services in the future. Thanks for your contribution for this
I hope to see you again on your next trip to Vietnam as well as South-East Asia,
Wish you all the best in life!
Best regards
Trang