Anh Dao Mekong Hotel

For a hotel, I’d put it around 3 or 4 stars. We stayed one night in a fairly clean, quiet room with two beds, no smell, and two free bottles of water. It cost 500K ($20.50). I’m not sure if Tết affected the rates, since we stayed the night before the holiday began. I’d originally booked twin beds on Agoda for 400K ($16.40), but when we arrived they said there was only one bed. They suggested we pay to upgrade to separate beds, so we did. I couldn’t cancel the original Agoda booking, and they said they’d take care of it in the morning. We had to leave before they opened. I can’t tell whether they canceled it, since my account is linked to a US card and I couldn’t log in to US Bank from overseas. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I was charged, but they told me several times they’d handle it that morning. An email from Agoda makes it look like I may have paid for the original room too. If I find out they sorted it out, I’ll raise my service rating; if I was charged, I’ll lower the review.

The bathroom was a real highlight, clean and fitted with a nice deep bath, which is hard to find in VN. The room had all the facilities, plus complimentary rice cakes and an orange. Reception were friendly and spoke a little English, and they found a safe place to store my bicycle. The restaurant served excellent food. I loved staying here.

The banh cuon was what really sold me. Breakfast was great too, with fresh omelets and scrambled eggs made to order, plus cereal and other usual options. I only stayed one night in a standard room, but it was spotless and the bed was extremely comfortable. There was a tub in the bathroom, which I rarely find in Vietnamese hotels or homes, and HBO and other movie channels in English. Such a good stay.

We were booked here as part of a tour and were very disappointed. The room felt damp and musty, and it was really grimy. Our WiFi didn’t work, and the staff weren’t helpful when we asked them to fix it. There was no hot water in the shower, which also flooded the bathroom. The bed was very uncomfortable and creaked loudly with even the slightest movement. I wouldn’t recommend it. It felt more like a 1-star place than a 3-star one.