Green Bamboo Lodge

We had a really good time in the pool. It’s free to use, with several levels and a quiet, relaxed feel. A shower beforehand would help, since some guests go in without rinsing. We used pool water to wash off before swimming, and I’d recommend that others do the same. The staff were incredible, so kind and helpful. They made a cake for my wife’s birthday, and it was super good. The food was good too, though breakfast was limited to one small dish and a drink, with no coffee. Tours are available, but I’d buy the ferry ticket and tour on the other side to avoid the hotel fee. We had two bookings. For the first three nights, our double room faced the garden. It was nice and far enough from reception that we didn’t hear the bridge construction noise, which we did hear later. The room was okay, though the glasses were very dirty and it seemed like no one had been there for ages. The terrace was nice and had a hammock. Then we moved for four nights to a riverside tree bungalow. It was amazing, though the glasses were dirty again and the toilet seemed half made, staying wet enough to be really good for foot fungus. Getting there was tricky. Our booking was under Nature Hotel, not Green bambo lodge/restaurants, and we struggled to navigate even though Maps showed a spot. I told the staff, but they didn’t seem to notice. We took a taxi from HoChiMinh. After three days, the hotel sent instructions for getting there by bus, along with useful information. It would have helped to receive this earlier. With those details, we booked the FUTA bus back to HCM for a third of the taxi price.

The porch hammock was a great place to relax and take in the river view, and the hotel is close to the park. Reception can arrange park tours, which is convenient, and the staff helped schedule transportation to and from Ho Chi Minh. I also had a Gecko 🦎 in my room. I thought it was cool, though I understand not everyone would feel the same.

You can hear the people next door clearly through the paper-thin walls, even while lying in bed. My room was dusty and mouldy. Breakfast didn’t include coffee, and there was just one towel for two people. There was a kettle but no mugs, coffee or tea. The place felt like a chaotic jumble of decorations, unfinished construction and badly planned spaces. Avoid.

The vegetarian menu had two full pages of options, but the food was the blandest, least flavorful vegetarian food I’ve had in Vietnam, maybe in all of Asia. There was no seasoning, and some combinations made no sense, like cold fried egg in a cold spring roll with dry rice paper. During my massage, the staff were polite, but played videos and games loudly on their phone alongside thumping Vietnamese dance music. I can’t get used to how much noise people seem to feel the need to make, even in a supposedly relaxing setting. The practitioner was okay, but spent about 75% of the time on one foot. The other sat too long in hot water and went wilted, then got a quick, distracted rub. The room seemed to be in the older cabin section. Gaps in the wood let ants crawl over me all night, and I woke to a trail of rat/mouse poop. The AC smelled funny, so I opened it up and saw a filter that looked like it had never been cleaned or changed. I’ve found that very common throughout SE Asia. The shower placement made no sense either. I’m used to East Asian bathrooms, but this was just nonsensical. Construction was already the most common complaint over a year ago, and it’s still going on all day, every day in 2026. It looks like it’ll continue for a while. When I hear “resort” and “national park,” I expect peace and quiet, not constant construction. Nights weren’t quiet either, with drunk locals shouting over open-air karaoke at three of the six surrounding hotels. I’d suggest the owners stop calling it a “resort” until the renovations are done, maybe in another year or two. It felt more like a party pad for local weekenders from HCMC and an official stop for hard-drinking motorcycle tours. They should also consider recycling. Disposable plastic cups and styrofoam boxes burned in a pit at night don’t make a place “green.”