Elegance Premium Hotel

The room felt small, damp, and suffocating, more like a closed cell than a hotel room. It reminded me of a cheap student dorm from over ten years ago, with no sense of day or night. The AC blew straight onto the bed and gave me headaches, but turning it off made the room unbearably stuffy because there was no ventilation. I spent about two hours in the room, left for two hours, then returned to try to rest. After only half an hour I decided I couldn't stay another night. From paying until giving up, it was about 4.5 hours. I forced myself to sleep one night, and the unpleasant smell was still there the next morning. Anyone travelling with small children or older relatives should be extra cautious. I also worried there would be no proper escape route if a fire broke out. The elevator was extremely cramped, and the staircase felt makeshift and unsafe. I booked two rooms at Elegance Premium Hotel, and it was the worst decision of my trip. Opening the door, I was hit by a strong musty smell. The pillows and mattress were damp and cold, the toilet paper was moldy, and its cardboard core was taped together as if reused. The bathroom was old and run-down, its metal rack rusty, and the worn hairdryer had sharp edges exposed, so it felt dangerous to use. There was no hand soap. Worse, the power switch was right next to the shower, which felt extremely unsafe. The minibar was inside the wardrobe and made loud noises until I unplugged it. Opening it revealed a lingering smell like old durian. Dirty yellowish water leaked from the air conditioner, which clearly hadn't been cleaned in a long time. Thick dust covered the shelves and room corners. The room was heavily perfumed, which made breathing difficult and affected my sleep. I think the perfume was probably meant to cover up a musty smell. The hotel felt old and outdated, and the carpet outside the room looked very dirty. The bathroom was tiny and moldy, with a very small exhaust fan that did little to remove heat or moisture. The toilet was so small it was hard to use. Tape covered the walls, the wallpaper was peeling, and the decor didn't meet the hotel's standards. The Wi-Fi box was haphazardly placed and temporarily fixed to the wall. The room itself was very small. A window beside the door was fake, just a wall with curtains. It was noisy even with earplugs, and I was woken by footsteps, doors closing and vibrating, running water, conversations, frying, and even spatulas being used for stir-frying. Smells from stir-frying, deep-frying, and smoke drifted into the room. The breakfast choices were few, and the food was ordinary. I didn't dare eat the pasta because of its peculiar spice flavor, and I didn't like the coffee either. The toast and French bread were okay, and the fruit was good quality. Since the breakfast food wasn't to my taste, I ate more fruit. Then a staff member with a rectangular face wearing black was extremely rude and told me directly that I'd eaten too much fruit and couldn't have more. The service and attitude were truly terrible. For the second day, Elegance Premium Hotel moved us to a room in the next building that was acceptable, though it was still too heavily perfumed. What made the experience even worse was the staff attitude. From check-in to the end, there was no sign of professionalism or hospitality. On booking.com and other platforms, the hotel advertises “free cancellation at any time,” but when I asked for a refund for the unused night, they refused. Only after I insisted firmly did they offer a 50% refund, as if doing me a favor, even though we hadn't used the service at all. It felt like they were deliberately trying to keep money the customer had paid. I paid 5,400,000 VND for two nights and two rooms by direct bank transfer because they said card payment would cost an extra 3%. When I challenged the lack of transparency, they dismissed my concerns and even dared me to post online or contact the authorities. That response says a lot about their customer service and professionalism. I'm sharing this so future travellers can get accurate information instead of relying on misleading photos and surprisingly high ratings. My advice is not to waste time, money, a holiday, or any moment of your life here. There are plenty of better, cleaner, safer, more trustworthy options. Based on my experience, Elegance Premium Hotel isn't one of them.