Palace Hotel

Jun House didn’t honor my Booking.com reservation, so I went to Palace Hotel instead. The staff there were friendly, and the hotel was better than Jun House across the board. They also welcome pets. I got an upper-floor room with a balcony and sea view for 500k VND. It was spacious enough for my 3-night stay and had air conditioning. The furnishings were fairly complete: two couches and a coffee table, a desk and chair, a wardrobe, and a bedside table. The medium-sized refrigerator worked well, but the flatscreen TV didn’t work at all. The balcony was small, with a stone bench. The room and bathroom were very clean. The bathroom had a shower over a bathtub, a toilet, and a basin with a vanity mirror. The hot water was barely warm on the first night, even after reception tried to fix it, but it worked fine on the remaining nights. The shower head broke that first night too, but they replaced it right away. They provided complimentary water in refillable glass bottles. I had no noise problems during my stay, although the blinds didn’t keep the room very dark. WiFi was free throughout the hotel, with a strong, steady signal. The reception staff didn’t speak much English, but I managed easily with a translation app. The manager speaks pretty good English, though he isn’t always there. There’s limited, uncovered car parking out front. Motorbikes can be kept inside the spacious lobby, but getting one up the big ramp and maneuvering it into place takes a bit of effort. There are lots of cafes nearby but not many restaurants. A few restaurants are on the street, and others are within a 10-15 minute walk. A Co-operative Mart with Jollibee and a WinMart are very close; a larger WinMart is about a 10-minute walk away. The wharf for ferries to Phu Quoc Island is fairly close, as are ticket offices and agents such as Super dong and Phu Quoc Express. Palace Hotel was good enough, comfortable, and worthwhile for a short stay.