Amanda Hotel

Total scam. My vn tour charged me, but there was no room at the hotel. The reception staff didn’t help and just played dumb. Terrible experience.

I had five main problems during my stay, and I wrote to the hotel about them but got no response. The early check-in charge may sound like the least serious, but the rest made the experience pretty absurd. I’d asked in advance to check in about three hours early, but the hotel never confirmed. Traveloka’s description said Amanda Hotel offered a complimentary room upgrade on request. I didn’t ask for an upgrade, just hoped they might accommodate the early check-in without charging extra. Instead, I was charged VND 120,000 at check-in, described only as “30%,” with no clear explanation of how that rate was calculated. I also asked for a receipt for the cash payment, but was ignored. The front desk staff could barely understand or speak English, which made everything frustrating. A local friend had to ask them on my behalf about drinking water. I found out I had to go down to the desk to request it, and as of 7 May 2018, none had been replenished in my room since I checked in on 3 May 2018. I ended up taking extra water from the bar fridge because the communication problems were driving me mad, then learned those bottles were chargeable too, even though they hadn’t been replenished. Housekeeping knocked extremely loudly at odd times, sometimes after lunch and sometimes early in the morning. They woke me several times just to ask whether they should clean later because I was still resting. The TV was on, so it was obvious someone was in the room and couldn’t answer. I’d expect the hotel to have a regular cleaning time, or at least train staff to knock with some courtesy. The basic supplies were irregular too. The bath gel was sometimes filled to the brim and other times only topped up a little. On arrival, there was no toilet roll in the washroom in room 801, so I had to call and ask for one. After that, I asked to move to a simpler room with one bed instead of two. There was also confusion about breakfast. At check-in I was told it ended at 10 a.m., but when I went down at 9.30 a.m. one day, I was told I was “too late.” A hotel listed on a booking site like Traveloka should be able to handle basic English conversations with international guests. If you just want somewhere comfortable to rest, I wouldn’t recommend this place unless you’re prepared to get frustrated and feel unheard. I’d pay a little more to stay somewhere better.

The last day of my stay, the power went out randomly, so I moved to a nice hotel for my remaining days. Before that, on my second trip here, I found a million strange little bugs in the bed, switched rooms, and woke the next morning with 20 bites on my feet. On my first visit last summer, things were pretty good except for termites living in the bathroom door. DO NOT STAY HERE.

The room was spacious, with a balcony, and felt really luxurious, but the breakfast was disappointing. They’d also run out of city maps at reception, and the receptionist couldn’t give us any information, only offering to call a taxi. The hotel is much farther from the city centre than the listing says.