The Mystery Con Dao

I suspect some of the five-star reviews are being posted by the hotel through suspicious profiles. I wouldn’t trust the positive reviews here, and the real rating seems closer to 2.5 stars. The stay can turn into a nightmare. Street noise makes it hard to sleep even with earplugs, and the rooms don’t match their descriptions, with things missing or broken. Staff didn’t seem to care when I raised concerns. My bathtub was broken and nothing was done about it. The pool is tiny, really only suitable for sitting in the water, and after two days the breakfast was bland and boring. Management seemed to use questionable tactics to intimidate guests and staff, and might try to get you to cancel your booking or something similar. For a peaceful stay, I’d steer clear. If you do stay, I suggest not paying on arrival, and communicating any problems in writing so you have a record.

The staff were incredibly helpful, and they sorted out scooters for us at a great price and shared lovely suggestions for things to do on the island. We also really enjoyed the breakfast. The clean, spacious rooms had a lovely atmosphere and design. They even gave me a gift and arranged a birthday cake because we were there for my birthday. We loved our stay at the mystery hotel.

We stayed in executive suite #401 for five nights. I wanted to extend, but someone had already booked it. The hotel is nicely decorated, the views are beautiful, the bed is comfortable, and the service was friendly and accommodating. It’s conveniently close to everything, and scooters can be rented for 130k a day. A couple of things could be better. Breakfast is mostly meat, so it’d be nice to have more vegetarian choices, maybe oats or muesli, banana bread, croissants, or proper cheese instead of that plastic stuff. Also, the suite bathtub water was only cool, not hot or even warm. Please check and fix it, otherwise the tub’s just there for decoration.

The staff were so kind and greeted us with smiles, and the rooftop pool was a welcome way to cool off in the heat. We stayed two nights in a second-floor deluxe Mountain View room. It was huge compared with other hotel rooms we’d had in Vietnam, and the king-size bed with four pillows was soft and comfortable. The included breakfast buffet had a big, varied selection. Renting a scooter for a day is fun and the easiest way to see the island.