Venue Hotel

The location is great for a couple or a small family, and it felt like good value. The rooms were clean and well kept, and the front-of-house manager was accommodating and spoke fluent English. Room service was also a problem. I called several times and placed orders in English and Vietnamese, but was ignored every time. The main issue was the head of housekeeping confronting us in front of other guests who were checking in and waiting for the elevators. They were visibly shocked. It was over a red stain on a hand towel from my fiancé's red hair dye, which should have been obvious from her bright red hair. She muttered xenophobic remarks under her breath. Sorry chi oi, Tôi hiểu tiếng Việt. From past hotel stays in Vietnam, I know the dye comes out after two or three washes, and it had never been an issue before. We were told to wash two hand towels, even though only one had a stain. When we got them back, one was still slightly marked and would have come clean with another wash. We agreed to buy the used towels after paying to have them washed, but then the hotel kept them anyway. It put a sour end to an otherwise great holiday in Nha Trang. There was zero situational awareness.

I slept much better here than at a place about 500 metres up the road, next to a church that rang its bells at 4 a.m. every day. I picked a beach-facing room and was very happy with it. Those rooms have a bath, and the air conditioning is great, with a fan as a bonus. Some rooms have big TVs with YouTube and Netflix; others just have basic sets with local channels. The rooms look like the photos, and the hotel isn't shabby. Some low reviews seem to come from people who paid a value price but expected premium accommodation. Online rates are much better than booking at reception. I booked my last night directly with the hotel because it wasn't available on Agoda, and the price was close to what I thought it was worth. Breakfast is fine, with enough choice to get started, though it isn't a huge spread. Vegetarians should be okay, but vegan guests may find it hard. The staff are pleasant, and the restaurant on floor 17 has great views. There are lots of restaurants nearby and the beach is very close. I didn't try the rooftop pool. There were many Russian guests while I was there.

The reception staff were kind and willing to help. The rest of the room was disappointing: the sheets looked unclean, with holes and dirty marks, and the bathroom towels were old, worn, and torn enough to seem fit only for mopping the floor. There were ants in the sixth-floor bathroom too. The Wi-Fi was so poor that video calls weren't possible.

The rooms look worse in person than in the photos. Towels were torn, there were ants, and breakfast wasn't tasty. The so-called training room really got me. They squeezed a treadmill and a bike onto the roof, with the “bar” just three metres from the treadmill. No barrier around the gym, no air conditioning, and no elevator, so you had to climb a dark staircase. Funny and sad at the same time.