A La Carte Ha Long Bay Residence

We'd been enjoying our stay in the Residence until an upsetting incident today. We sat on a sun lounger by the infinity pool. There were lots of empty chairs, nobody was using them, and there were no signs saying Residence guests couldn't sit there. Then a staff member named Thuy came over rudely and told us to leave because we weren't “hotel guests” and hadn't paid to swim. If that's the rule, it should be clearly posted by the chairs or at the entrance. Being told to leave when there was no information and the chairs were empty felt very uncomfortable. Two nearby guests told us they'd had the same issue with the same staff member. One woman said THUY had also told her to leave a lounger, and a man said the same woman had shouted at someone the other day over this. So it doesn't seem like a one-off misunderstanding. The issue is how the rule was handled, with poor communication and a rude attitude. Guests shouldn't be treated like that, especially when there are no clear signs and nobody else is using the chairs. Very disappointing service.

We had a relaxing two nights in Ha Long with our family, enjoyed the beach and tried some local food. The apartment was roomy and comfortable, with plenty of space for the three of us. The staff were super friendly and helpful too. It's next to the Intercontinental Hotel and across from the beach facing Ha Long Bay. Our room looked toward the hotel street, though, so the view wasn't as good as it would've been with a direct bay view. Downstairs there's a 24-hour mart, and getting a Grab was easy, with no long wait.

The room was roomy and comfortable, and the bay view was amazing. The infinity pool on the 40th floor was stunning. I couldn't work out what the built-in kitchen was for, since there were no pans, plates, or cutlery. The lifts were bizarre, only one star for those. You use your key card, but there are no floor buttons inside. We seemed to be assigned lift F, while the other lifts kept taking people up and down and we were left waiting. Really annoying!

Review of À La Carte Ha Long Bay Hotel Our stay was a huge disappointment. The hotel is new and the rooms are clean, but reception service left a lot to be desired. Staff there were rude, unfriendly, and unhelpful. At check-in, they didn't help us cancel our reservation or offer any solution. We waited a long time for someone who spoke English, and when that person arrived, they started the conversation aggressively without knowing what our problem was. We were also unpleasantly surprised to learn that the swimming pool wasn't included in the hotel price. We're very disappointed with how the staff treated us, and wouldn't recommend this hotel.