Trip to Vietnam and Cambodia
Vietnam
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Feb 15 - Mar 9, 2024
Guides: The guides on our trip were all good, but our favourites were Victor Tran (Hanoi, Pu Luong, and Ninh Binh) and Wibol (Siem Reap). Victor was very accommodating to our interests and took many photos for us, took care of all payments during our tours and we felt generally very well taken care of. He had a cup of ginger honey lemon tea made for my husband one morning when he was feeling unwell.
Chanh Cao - accompanied us from Hue to Hoi An via Danang - he gave us so much information and was an excellent guide, albeit for a short time
Hotels: I will rank each hotel below:
Hanoi - San Boutique hotel - 3.5* - a quaint hotel with very nice staff; the room was small and bathroom was okay, but shower was a bit dirty as there was a blind in the shower; hotel was feeling a bit dated; breakfast buffet and service were excellent and the rooftop breakfast area was lovely.
Pu Luong - Pu Luong Eco Garden - 4.5* - I would give it 5* except for the first night in room 101. The room had a strong moldy smell throughout and the bathroom tiles smelled of urine. The room was very ‘wet’ in the morning, as the windows were completely covered in moisture. There was mold on some of the wood furniture legs. We were moved to a villa for our next two nights which was lovely. Again, an issue with moisture in the bathroom, but otherwise it was great. The restaurant was very nice and the breakfast was good. The main desk staff and manager, Mr. ?… I would HIGHLY recommend this hotel for its beautiful setting and lovely villas.
Ninh Binh - Le CLos Du Fil - 4.5* - absolutely lovely hotel; great attention to detail; rooms were a good size, bed and bedding very comfortable; lovely robes, slippers and linen touches throughout the room. Blow dryer not attached to the wall was a bonus. Very nice breakfast buffet and dining area. Staff were professional and excellent location. Spa was a bit disorganized and think they recruited people who work in the massage parlours on the street to come for our appointments. Massage was fine. Bikes may need to be updated as some were in disrepair. I would recommend this hotel, however better maintenance is required to keep the hotel in good condition.
Stellar of the Seas - 4.5* our room was on second floor and was very nice. Very clean and lovely amenities, such as robes and a nice tub, shower combo. The boat was very nice and we enjoyed the small size with only 40 people plus staff. Food was excellent and breakfast buffet was also very nice. BBQ one night on the deck was a lot of fun and food very good.
Hue - Rosaleen Boutique Hotel - 2* - this was the worst hotel of our trip. The room was dirty , especially the bathroom area. There was a moldy smell - our friends’ room didn’t have this odor. Hien was good about communicating with the hotel, but aside from adding a room freshener and ‘cleaning’ it more thoroughly, it was still not a nice stay. The photos on the website are deceiving. I would NOT recommend this hotel. The breakfast in the adjacent building was very nice in a nice setting. I will send photos separately.
Hoi An - Cozy A Boutique Hotel - 5* - this was by far the best hotel we stayed at. Every detail was very high quality and the staff were exceptional. The room was well appointed with robes and slippers, a blow dryer that wasn’t attached to the wall. The breakfast and dining area was bright and clean and the food was excellent. The pool area was inviting and there were lots of areas to sit and relax. The bicycles were in new condition and easy to obtain for use. The location was perfect, a nice walk to the busy area, but a bit outside of the area so quieter. I would HIGHLY recommend this hotel.
Ho Chi Minh City - Blue Diamond Luxury Hotel - 3* - Our first room was dark and dreary and the furniture and walls banged up; an update is needed; the second ‘upgraded’ room was on a higher floor, but was tiny with a smaller bed (not King sized) and the bathroom was terrible - a big tub, but a tiny shower with a huge shower head and no room to move, the area shared with the toilet. The bathroom was difficult to use with two people. There was no hot water in the shower. It was generally cleaner than Rosaleen. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel.
Siem Reap - Royal Crown Hotel - 4* - originally we were put in a double deluxe room, and were supposed to be upgraded. We checked and they hadn’t upgraded us (they did upgrade our friends, and we checked in together, so not sure why they got this wrong). The room in the old part of the hotel faced another wall and was dark and a big depressing. The new upgraded room was great, and was in the NEW part of the hotel, overlooking the pool and facing the street. The room was very spacious as was the bathroom. There were robes.
Phnom Penh - LCS Hotel - 3.5* - thankfully we were in an ‘upgraded’ room. The bathroom had an awkward design and the shower flooded the entire tub surround and floor area; we didn’t have enough towels to dry it all up. The room was very comfortable and spacious and clean. The decor in the hotel was dated and some updating had likely happened. The rooftop pool was very nice and the breakfast buffet was fine - excellent coffee. I probably wouldn’t return to this hotel.
Tours:
Hanoi - everything was great. The only thing I would omit was the visit to the art gallery, as we felt like we had to purchase something, and feel that we overpaid for what we got as we say examples of it for the remainder of the trip.
Pu Luong - absolutely loved this part of Vietnam. We loved the rural nature of the area, the rice paddies, hikes and visit to a local school
Ninh Binh - enjoyed the boat tour through the caves and Victor suggested we see Trang An at the time of year that we were visiting, rather than Tam Loc, which is better to view in the autumn. Victor helped us to have a nice experience in this area.
Stellar of the Seas - a nice break in our busy itinerary. We were sad to see the garbage in Halong Bay. Our butler Eric was excellent. The staff was great. Cat Ba Island was our main tour and it was interesting to visit. This was a tour with a larger group.
Hue - enjoyed the architecture of the citadel and the mausoleums; while it was interesting to see how incense is made, we purchased some and it just smells like smoke unfortunately. Not sure how much of this is influenced by the hotel we stayed in, but if I were eliminating a city, it would be Hue.
Hoi An - loved Hoi An - it was nice to have some unstructured time. Visiting the silk factory was interesting. We loved wandering the streets, shopping for custom clothing and local wares. Dining and rooftop patios were great. A very busy city, so glad we had a hotel a little outside of the main area. Riding bikes on a couple of occasions was a lot of fun, especially to An Bang beach. We went to a performance of Teh Dar at the Lune Theatre which was spectacular and I would highly recommend.
Ho Chi Minh City - loved our Vespa food tour - very professional staff and we felt very safe - guide Jason was really good and he made us small souvenir photo books as well as taking and sharing many photos from our night.
Mekong Delta - we were a bit disappointed by how touristy this part of our tour was. The bicycles available were in ill repair, so only two of us could ride.
Siem Reap - Angkor Wat and other temples - great tours - Wibol took lots of fun videos of our experiences.
Ate in an excellent restaurant one night called Haven which is committed to helping local youth to become trained in the hospitality industry - a story I recommend you become familiar with.
Kulen Mountain - enjoyed the rural nature of this tour. Visiting a school in Chan Sa was a highlight. Our local tour guide for this part of the day was excellent. We did need to tip throughout the day, and fortunately we had enough money in the correct amounts to be able to do so. Perhaps let people know to bring money for tipping. On other tours, our guides took care of all of this for us. Could have omitted the ox cart ride.
Tonle Sap Lake - very interesting - shocking to see so much garbage
Phnom Penh - very emotional and moving experience seeing S-21 and Choeung Ed Genocide Centre/Killing Fields - a must see
Overall, an amazing trip!! So memorable. Thank you Hien and the Kim Kim (Realistic Asia) team
Hotel Reviews
A small boutique hotel. Room was comfortable and clean with a small terrace. Breakfast area was lovely with a big balcony. Staff was friendly and helpful.
We stayed in a villa which was lovely and spacious. The bed and linens were comfortable and clean. The bathroom was huge and worked very well for two people. Unfortunately for our first night, we had originally been put in a first floor room that had a strong smell of mold and was very damp. The bathroom also had a very off-putting odor. The staff was great at accommodating our request to move the next day, with the help of our guide. The breakfast was lovely and the dining room had an outdoor terrace which was great for taking in the beautiful view and sounds of the morning. Excellent staff and management team.
Such a quaint and beautiful hotel. The room was very clean and the linens and decor were all high quality. The linen and embroidered touches everywhere were very special, from the hair dryer bag, to the pillows and wall art. The bathroom was small, but functional. Even the hallways were lovely and inviting! The breakfast area was very nice as it was adjacent to the pool. The small embroidery shop had the most beautiful linen pieces, art and smocked and embroidered girls’ dresses, I had to buy one, even though I don’t have grandchildren yet! They also had beautiful pillow cover and pyjamas. The staff was professional and very friendly and helpful. Loved the quiet location, but walking distance to everything. Perhaps some of the bicycles could be upgraded or replaced. Highly recommend this hotel.
Lovely room on second(top) floor. Quite spacious for a small ship. The bathroom was spacious and worked well for two people. We liked the size of the boat as it only had 20 rooms, so a nice break from all the tourist spots we had been visiting. The amenities on the ship were a bit tired. The putting area was a fun activity and was very good; however the workout equipment was in rough shape. Perhaps investing in some new fitness equipment would be good; although most people only stay on the ship for one night, for those who want a light workout, it would be nice to have better equipment. The staff was outstanding!! For those who want to go on Ha Long Bay tour, I would definitely recommend Stellar or its sister ship Elite of the Sea (a much larger boat), because some of the other ships we say looked quite tired and in need of some updating and repair.
Unfortunately I would not recommend this hotel, at least not the room that we stayed in. Our room had a moldy smell and was dirty and needed a deep cleaning. The bathroom was very dirty and in disrepair. Fortunately we were only there two nights, as they were unable to move us to a different room. In fairness, our friends’ room was better, no smell, although they also said the bathroom wasn’t very clean. They were on the opposite side of the hotel, so maybe that made a difference. The hotel staff did an extra cleaning of the room and added an air freshener which helped with the smell. They also gave us vouchers for free coffees at the coffee shop next door. I don’t remember the room number, but this room needs some attention. Otherwise the hotel was good. The breakfast area in the adjacent building was a lovely and bright and the food was very good. The location was excellent and close to the action. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. I would rate the room as a 2.5 and the hotel as a 3.5, overall as they did what they could to help us with the problem with our room.
Absolutely LOVED this hotel. Everything about it was perfect. It is a new hotel and a lot of attention was paid to the details in the design and management. The room was beautiful and spacious, and very cozy as the name implies. The bathroom was a very good design and layout with a lovely bathtub, although we didn’t use it. The main areas of the hotel were inviting and there were lots of places to sit and relax in the bar area and pool side. The staff was excellent - professional and helpful. The location was great as it was off the beaten track, but within walking distance to the market and restaurants. We had easy access to very nice bicycles and we could safely ride around the area and to the beach. I will highly recommend this hotel to friends who visit Hoi An.
Dear Jackie,
Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed experience in Vietnam and Cambodia with us! We’re over the moon to hear that you’re happy about your holiday!
Your feedback is highly appreciated, as it enables us to further develop our services and organize memorable trips for our future clients.
Thank you again for choosing our company and we hope to see you again!
From Vietnam with love
Hien