Ha Long DC Hotel

The staff are lovely and helpful, and breakfast has a nice buffet. They also let guests check out late when the room is available. There's a small gym with three machines and an indoor pool, though the pool has a strong plastic smell, unlike chlorine. It's near good restaurants but the area isn't overcrowded :)

The front desk stood out in a good way. The staff speak English well and are willing to help. The room was large, had a nice view, and came with a good hair dryer. Breakfast was okay, though there wasn't much for Western guests to choose from. It's well placed for Poem Mountain, but there aren't many restaurants or massage places around, and shops close early. If nightlife is what you're after, this isn't a great spot.

We booked a transfer to Hanoi and confirmed three times, with the exact address, that the driver would leave us 2 to 3 km from our hotel there. Instead, he dropped us more than 25 km away. When we called for help, they kept saying we had to pay for our own taxi and hung up on us twice when we wouldn't accept that. We ended up arranging the rest ourselves, paying for a taxi and losing two hours. For a supposedly four star hotel, that felt extremely unprofessional and pathetic. The main draw is the Ha Long Bay view, if you get the right room. Otherwise, the hotel is rather run down and the service isn't what you'd expect from a four star place. Breakfast is meant to be a buffet, but on two of our three days they cancelled it without warning and offered only stale bread, an omelette, and fruit. People were smoking in the food area, too. Don't stay there.

The employees were very nice, and we had a big hotel room with a great view. I booked a six hour Ha Long Bay cruise through the hotel for $90 for two people. If you can get a better deal outside the hotel, go for it.