Emerald Bay Hotel & Spa Nha Trang

The hotel is well placed, close to the center and plenty of services, and we spent 15 days there to relax in Nha Trang. The room was fine for that length of stay, but they didn’t clean it every day, just made the bed. If we needed anything, reception responded quickly. Breakfast was okay, though more intercontinental options would be welcome. The beach service gets a 3 from me: there weren’t enough sunbeds, though towels were free. The staff did their jobs, but never smiled. To me, smiling is 90% of the job. We accidentally seemed to lose a spoon from the room and paid 1€ for it. It’s the rule, so I agreed, but after 15 days charging 1€ for a spoon felt like a very hard way to end the stay and undid the good work of the staff. Management should pass on better guidance about how to communicate with guests.

The staff were unbelievably friendly, and I especially want to thank Ms Khanh. I’d lost my massage ball, which I really needed, and she stayed in touch for several days while helping me look for it. It was a funny situation, but she took it seriously and was so responsible. I originally booked an Emerald bay room for three days to check out the room and quality. I was so impressed that I extended for another seven days and wanted to stay four more, but the hotel was full. The room was clean and smelled really nice. It was cleaned daily, with fresh towels and water, and the cleaning ladies were polite and kind. Breakfast was pretty good too. As a European and Jewish guest, I still found plenty to eat without pork. Overall, Emerald was a clean, quiet place with good food and great staff. Afterward I stayed at another hotel, Panorama, which cost more but was a mess, with cockroaches and mold.

Ms Jenny made things easy for me. She helped with room service, gave detailed directions to the beach, and shared tips on crossing the road safely. She also recommended some places to visit, which was nice. Thanks for all of that! The hotel is about a 15-minute walk from the city center, where it’s too loud to stay, and there are lots of shops and laundry nearby. I liked it. The food was good, the pool was clean, and at night I could hear the sound of the sea. Having a private beach was great, and I felt better about leaving my bag there. Everything else was really good too, including the service and location. I’ll recommend this hotel to my friends.

The breakfast was the worst I’ve had at any hotel. Most of the hot food was cold even when freshly put out. Food warmers are meant to keep already heated food warm, not to heat food taken straight from the fridge. That seems like a good way to give people food poisoning. Even the Pho wasn’t very good, with the noodles all broken up like kids’ chicken noodle soup. Staff looked at me poorly when I returned a plate of cold food that should have been hot. I don’t know why they thought I’d want fridge-cold bacon and fish. The arrival was a hassle too. The hotel has no direct street access at the front, and my Grab driver left me at a dead-end alley. I had to find the right alley myself, so don’t stay here with lots of luggage unless you want to drag it to the hotel. I booked an Executive King Room, but got two single beds pushed together, so I slept on the crease between them. I also spent thirty minutes trying to switch off the lights before getting staff to help. The switches were hidden behind the pillows on the two single beds. I’d booked early check-in and late check-out, but was told check-in was at their discretion, possibly not until 2:30 p.m., and check-out was noon, maybe extendable to 1 p.m. I said I was happy to wait for a king room, but they still gave me the joined singles. They couldn’t provide the room I booked, and there was no room upgrade. I was spoken to as though an extension was a favor, even though I’d booked late check-out. This is the only hotel I’ve stayed at where guests get access to the staff lift. You press the buttons and nothing happens, and I’m sure plenty of guests won’t realize they’re in a staff-only lift. Concierge, if a lift stops on a floor, someone may be trying to get on, especially when you can see them as the doors open. Don’t press the close-door button.