Ben Thanh Tower

Our four-bedroom vacation home was nice and clean, and the location was GREAT. It would have deserved five stars, but I filtered for four bedrooms and four bathrooms when booking, and the place only had three bathrooms.

The apartment was dusty and poorly maintained, with ants, dirty skirting boards, and a bad smell from the bathroom drains. It didn’t look like the photos. The old bed was dusty, the curtains didn’t work properly, and there was no safe. The two towels we got for four nights smelled damp, no clean ones were brought during our stay, and nobody serviced the apartment. Getting in was a struggle too. After 7 pm there was no reception staff, only a security guard, and we couldn’t check in properly. We only got access to the room after refusing to leave our passports and offering to pay in full. The landlord who came to collect payment was unfriendly and didn’t explain things like breakfast or the gym. We also weren’t given the elevator key until the next day. The TV and shower drain didn’t work. Water flooded the bathroom when we showered, so we had to put towels down. With only two towels for me and my partner, I used my beach towel to dry off for the rest of the stay. We also had to ask security to let us into the pool each time, which was such a hassle that we barely used it, even though it was one reason we booked here. The stay fell well short of what was advertised.

I was unsure at first, since booking an Airbnb in ho chi minh can mean ending up on a dirty street. But I rented the penthouse and was very happy with the choice. It has all the amenities mentioned, though the gym is a little rusty and could use improvement. The staff are all lovely. The room is cleaned every three days, and water is supplied for free. Manager THUY-LE is outstanding, replies almost instantly, and gets reasonable requests sorted with no hassle. I’m glad I chose to stay long term. You can walk to everything you need, and the place is central to the tourist attractions.

The pool on the top floor looked nothing like the advertised photos. It was either being renovated or was rusty, and cleanliness and maintenance elsewhere were also below par. We also had a bad experience with customer service. Security seemed to favor guests who were better dressed, ignoring us and refusing to help with our luggage, while giving other, more put-together guests more courtesy and assistance. After this experience, I’d tell potential guests to think carefully before booking.