Sandals Flora Hotel

Being right by the night market means the hotel gets extremely loud, sometimes through the night, so it’s a tough choice for light sleepers. I’d probably only stay again if I had a particular reason to be nearby. One visit was enough for me otherwise. We paid 2 million VND a night for the family suite. I wanted two beds for my partner and me and our three children, aged 4, 5, and a newborn. The room itself was spacious, with four free bottles of water and a stocked minibar, though the snacks and drinks cost extra. It was mostly clean, but the slippers looked old and worn. That made me uneasy about using the toiletries and other things in the room too. Maybe that sounds minor, but I wondered whether they were cutting corners on quality elsewhere. The breakfast was very local, which I enjoyed because I like bánh bèo, xôi bắp, and bánh cuốn. My Americanized kids weren’t happy with it, though. There was no bacon, sausage, or waffles, so my daughter just ate toast and jam. The lobby looked better in the online photos. In person it’s small and has a very “local Vietnamese” feel. The Land God altar is right on the floor, which felt cluttered in such a tight space, though I don’t mean that as a criticism of the tradition. The elevator is tiny too, and our family only just squeezed in with the stroller. Getting to the offsite parking lot was a hassle because it’s a bit far away. A security guard kindly takes you there on a motorbike and brings you back, but it was still inconvenient. We mostly used Grab instead, and the hotel refunded 70k for parking when we checked out. A Vietnamese room seller first told me about this hotel, but I booked through Agoda, where it ended up cheaper.

Most places are an easy walk from here, which was great. The start of the stay was rough, though: the motorcycle rental came with an empty tank, so we had to find petrol first. Staff also cut my booking short, supposedly by mistake. Nothing was done after I got upset, and it left a bad impression.

We came back to Dalat today, and this time my mum needed a toilet urgently because she had a painful stomach. We told the hotel we’d stayed there before, but they still refused, even when we offered 100K as a donation. Luckily, TLC hotel, just 10 m away, let her use theirs. That says a lot about the service here. Other hotels I’ve visited would try to find earplugs or a fan when someone needs them. This place’s service feels very undeserving. If it were your mum and there was nowhere else close, what would you do? I’m leaving this review two years after our stay. I usually don’t bother with negative reviews because it feels like they don’t change anything, but people looking for a budget hotel with good service have plenty of options in DALAT now. When we booked here two years ago, the room was very noisy, especially around 6AM when the market began opening. There was no AIR CON, and when we asked for ear buds, they weren’t available. It was also hot, particularly in May.

A good place to stay, with a convenient location for getting around, clean rooms, friendly and helpful staff, and free breakfast. I’ve got nothing to complain about. The one small thing is that they offer Vietnamese rather than English, lol.