Ha Thu Hotel

The staff were lovely and happy to help with anything we asked. We enjoyed our stay, with spacious rooms, nice bathrooms, and a view of the beach. It’s only a short walk to the beach, and restaurants and shops are all around, in the main tourist part of town. It does cost a bit more.

The location is handy, down an alley off the main esplanade, with the beach almost across the road. Weekend beach parties are a short walk away, dive shops are just around the corner, and there’s a hidden vegetarian restaurant nearby. From the upper floors you can see the amusement park under construction on the island across the water. It looks ridiculous. The room was reasonably comfortable, but the hotel has aged since the photos were taken and our room seemed much smaller than the pictures. You get what you pay for. Some staff initially seemed uninterested in helping us and did little beyond the basic welcome. Still, we appreciated being offered a shower and bathroom after checkout, before our train that night. We’d left our luggage there while we visited the city. My main tip is that Nha Trang suits people looking to party with Russian or Chinese tourists, or to go diving. Otherwise, I found it a big, noisy mess. The beach was filthy with trash from late night revelers and people nursing hangovers the next morning.

The room had the basics, but it was dirty, with long black hairs on the floor. The bathroom felt cramped, and the space could have been used better. A large window lets people look in, so privacy is limited, and the door lock felt flimsy. The TV was tiny. A swivel arm mounted on the ceiling would free up storage space in the compact room. I’d rather have a bigger mini-fridge with free water than that small TV. There was no water offered, free or for sale, which is standard at other hotels. Staff didn’t speak English and had trouble understanding that I wanted to pay by credit card. They didn’t provide or suggest tours, so I was glad to find ideas at the airport. Ask for the What's On Nha Trang travel magazine, and it helps if you can read Russian.

The accommodation is dated, and street noise comes through loudly even with the windows shut. The location is good, though, and the employees were very nice. They let us leave our large luggage for four days. Big thanks to Sun, who helped us get the best taxi deal to Phan Rang.