Emerald Boutique Hotel

The balcony was the best part of the room. Inside, the furniture was old, worn, and stained, and the bed dressing seemed to be from another hotel. The bathroom could be used, but it was just as dated and worn as the rest of the place. Don't trust the newer photos, since not every room has been remodeled.

There are plenty of halal food options on the street beside the hotel, including "Haji Osman". I think there's also a small police station nearby, which makes the area feel relatively safe. The rooms are lovely, the AC works great, and customer service was lovely too. But be wary about the halal meals: travel sites say they're available, and the receptionist said yes and promised to make sure they would be halal the next day. When we checked with the cooks again the next day, they still said the food wasn't halal.

I stayed four days and three nights, and it was the worst hotel stay I've had in ho chi minh. Breakfast was very poor, and they hadn't planned maintenance around check-in, so I was left waiting two hours for my room. Reception service was poor too. I explained things in English, and she kept saying "I understand" even though she didn't understand at all. It wasn't worth the money, even though it was cheap.

When we arrived, the room was only half cleaned: rubbish was still in the bin, the cups were dirty, and there were no toiletries. Then $400 was stolen from our room. Another guest had reported the same thing in earlier reviews, so this seems to be a hotel problem. Not worth the risk, or even the one star I have to give.