New Palace Bac Lieu Hotel

The rooms are spacious and clean, and the staff are friendly. Breakfast is limited, with the same items served every day. The hotel is away from the entertainment area, so having your own transport would help. You can hear people talking in other rooms since they aren’t soundproofed. The sanitary wares are old, and there’s no control for hot water. For the price, it’s not a bad place to stay.

The only edible thing at breakfast was the Hu Tieu Ga, the chicken noodle soup. The buffet had curry, fried rice, bok choy, bread, fruit, coffee, and tea, but my grandparents accidentally ate moldy bread. When I lifted a slice, the rest of the loaf was moldy too. My younger cousin nearly ate a moldy longan. That’s not food safe or okay. Most of the rooms on floor 2 also smelled strongly of cigarettes, which wasn’t pleasant for families or anyone. I stayed for one night in August, and honestly it was a horrible experience. I would not recommend staying here.

The good parts were the nice location and view, and that it wasn’t very expensive. Beyond that, the building is nice but the pool is very shallow, all the gym machines are broken, and the breakfast is meager. When food runs out, there’s hardly any replenishment. The rooms were very dusty, so cleaning wasn’t good either. I don’t know why the staff aren’t more service minded, perhaps their limited English is part of it. It feels like a hotel for locals rather than international tourists. They claim five stars, but I wouldn’t rate it above two. If you’re looking for a true Vietnam experience... well.

The food wasn’t good, and there weren’t many dishes for dinner or breakfast. The rooms were old, the cups dirty, and the tap at the bath seemed stuck, so the tub couldn’t be used. The curtain didn’t keep water from spreading across the floor, and the socket was loose from the wall. The rack was about 2 meters off the floor, as high as the door, so I don’t think it was designed for short people. Maybe I’d have to bring a chair in from the bathroom. The only way to get water to boil was to use the bidet, which was dirty. The hallway on the 1st floor was very dark and looked suspicious, while the hall on the 4th floor smelled like a dirty toilet. Around the pool, between two walls, there was trash. At night, guests and staff were loud enough that everyone could hear them even with the doors closed. Avoid room 424 and 425 at all costs. A water pump on 5 floor made a constant loud noise, like someone drilling into my brain. When I asked to change rooms, the staff member who checked ours wasn’t wearing a mask. She said it was a party on the 5th floor that would end later, then used the room phone to tell the receptionist it was nothing. She hadn’t brought her internal radio. She turned the AC to 16°C, angrily left, and said there was no other room. I could still hear the noise, so I called the receptionist again. They then said it was the water pump and agreed to move me. That means the first staff member lied to us. She returned without a mask, gave us a new key, and called reception to ask what to do with the room. It was so rude.