Dan Le Guesthouse

The showers are right next to the toilet, literally, though that seems common in Vietnamese guesthouses. Rooms vary in size but were okay, and they have air conditioning. Towels can be changed daily if you want. The staff don't speak English, but they really tried to help with our questions.

It's a ten-minute walk to the backpackers street on Dê Tham, with a mini-market and several restaurants nearby. Everything was immaculate, and the rooms have refrigerators and free laundry. Prices listed were 250 000 VND for a single, 300 000 VND for a double, or 5 500 000 and 7 000 000 by the month. And who says they don't speak English? The very classy lady-owner and her older son both do. Best address in the area!

The guest house has air conditioning, room service, and friendly staff, but the wifi is a huge problem for tourists. It averages 700kb/s, drops out now and then, and is unavailable almost every day. When you're somewhere unfamiliar, you need to look up activities and guides, and this connection is very, very slow. It's frustrating. I'm staying another month, but if they don't fix it, I plan to leave early and move to the guesthouse right next doors.

The owners are friendly, though their English is limited. This is a guesthouse, not a hotel, on a quiet street but still only a short walk from the tourist spots. I stayed in a private bedroom.