Guest Reviews

The Cabochon Hotel: "Best restaurant ever"

Amazing food & great prices. The atmosphere is amazing and so romantic. The food is delicious. Everything we ordered was so good. Also the interior of the restaurant is so classy and elegant. After dinner we had some tea, in one of the tea rooms. I had such an amazing experience and will definitely be back

Cuca: "Superb restaurant"

The food style is tapas so you can order as little or as much as you like. The tastes are amazing as is the presentation. It's so good that we went twice while on an 8 day trip in the area.

Rice & Zen Boutique Resort: "A small peace of Heaven here in Ko Samui"

"A funny story about this resort. My partner and I were at Ko Samui for the first time 3 yrs ago and found this place – a small piece of heaven here on earth. We were actually the first ones ever to check in to Sea Dance who just had opened. This resort has since been on our favorite list. Now 3 yrs. later we were able to have another stay here and it’s still as amazing as last time. They had since last time added some more bungalows (all hidden behind hedges you can’t even see them) they also had a new reception and a Spa department. It all looks so great. As Scandinavians we love the design of concrete together with wood. We both tried the oil massage and yes, it’s more expensive than the one you get on the beach – but then again, it’s so much better. Coming here I strongly suggest that you try their food in the restaurant. I had their Fish Taco – the best one I ever had. We got to talk to the chef and they even make their tortilla bread themselves – and trust me, you can taste that. As a final request to the reader planning to go there – you have to try their Passion Fruit Mojito (no words needed) Would I go here again, NO DOOUBT. We love this resort and their staff."

The Island Lodge: "Absolute gem only 2 hours from Saigon airport"

"We just spent 3 fantastic nights at this hotel, relaxing, exploring the island, and eating fresh, delicious food. Can't rate this highly enough, and it's easily accessible from Saigon and the airport. Having said that, we were a bit disappointed as we passed over the huge bridge to Thoi Son island. In my mind, we were heading to a rural idyll, and I didn't see how the island could be rural when it has a motorway passing through one end of it! But 10kms later, after driving through the fruit trees down the one road suitable for cars, we arrived at the Lodge. And the setting is beautiful and quiet, surrounded by lanes through the fruit plantations and houses, and with a view of the ever-changing Mekong. Everybody we interacted with at the Lodge was friendly and helpful, and service was always with a smile. Some of the staff didn't have great English, but there was always someone around who did. The staff make the place, and we were really charmed by them! A special thank you to Giao, one of the waitresses, who remembered our orders from previous days and was always kind and friendly. The Lodge itself is wonderfully designed, with a huge open communal area which is subtly divided into bar and dining areas. The whole place is beautifully furnished and oozes style - I would like to transplant everything from the bar area into my house! We loved that there were so many different seating areas around the grounds, including a couple of pagodas, sofas, riverfront tables and a table right out on the pier for watching the sunset. The pool is warm, long, and spotlessly clean, with plenty of loungers and huge fresh towels. Bedrooms are clean and comfortable, and as stylish as the downstairs area. There were so many other places to sit and enjoy the view that we didn't really use the balcony, but it is a relaxing place to be. The food was unexpectedly good. There is a French and a Vietnamese menu, and food is fresh and well presented. They bake their own bread and croissants on site, and the smell of it in the morning and before dinner was a treat. It's an odd thing to recommend when you're in Vietnam, but the quiche lorraine was one of the most delicious things we ate on the whole trip! It's on the starter menu, but is big enough and rich enough to enjoy for lunch with some of the fresh bread. We also enjoyed the duck, and the tuna. And breakfasts were sublime, with everything made to order. There is a comprehensive wine list, and we also appreciated the fact that the house wine was very reasonably priced and very drinkable - thanks Michel! The Lodge offers tours, which we didn't do, but instead we took bikes out on two afternoons and explored the lanes and bridges of the island on our own. It's hard to believe that the big city of My Tho is only a few kms away when you're cycling around under the shade of the trees, over bridges that are 2 feet wide. At the very far end of the island, as far as the road goes, we stopped and had a drink at Mr Thanh's little waterfront bar and chatted to him about tourism on the island. He was an interesting man with superb English, and his wife makes a delicious cold lemon juice on a hot day. The only negatives: At a Lodge with eco credentials, I would have liked to see drinking water available as refills, rather than endless 500ml plastic bottles. And just be aware that the Mekong view is of a busy waterway full of commercial and industrial traffic, with industrial buildings across the water. In actual fact we really enjoyed watching the traffic and the change of the tides so this wasn't a problem at all, but we hadn't realised it wasn't looking out on to countryside. Thanks to all the staff at the Island Lodge. This really is a gem, and we were so pleased that we stayed for 3 nights rather than rushing through."

Muang La Resort: "Magical and relaxing"

Staying here was worth the drive! Peaceful, relaxing, and downright magical. We stayed four days and each day felt more at peace. It was wonderful to watch the locals go about their activities on the river from the balcony of our comfortable room. Rui-Yang and Jean-Roch were helpful and caring hosts. We enjoyed the excursions to the hill tribes and to the local village and temple. The food was delicious. I'm glad that the staff are locals - they are so kind - and Rui-Yang or Jean-Roch were always available to translate. The grounds are beautiful, and gorgeous butterflies are everywhere. This is a simple, charming and beautiful hotel, with a real sense of place. Loved our stay here.

Rachamankha: "It felt like a dream"

"This hotel is unreal. You will feel like you are in the movie, The best Marigold hotel. Very quite and calm(no offense to kids and parents, but thanks to their no kids policy) serene. Staffs were soooo nice. Their English was short but they tried their best. Location is perfect. Short walk to temples, street food, and sunday market(Must go!!!-food, music and everything is there, it's huge!!) You will get lost because every street looks the same and similar temples are every corner. We got lost so many times but just take tuk tuk back to your hotel. (I recommend writing down hotel addresss in thai since most drivers dont understand English. Room is beautiful, not 5 star hotel way, but more authentic kind of way which I love. The best part that made me almost cry? We had to leave hotel at 4am to catch our super early flight, they prepared us little bag of sandwiches, fruit, cracker, yogurt and soy milk. We arrived at the airport, nothing was opened, I had the sandwich which was made with love. Almost tasted like what mom makes for the kids. With a lot of love. Almost made me cry. I love love this hotel sooooo much. I will be back very soon."

Inle Heritage Stilt Houses: "Unique Boutique Hotel with fabulous service"

"My sister and I spent 6 nights at this fabulous hotel and I can honestly say I have never stayed at a hotel with better service. It is a training hotel for the hospitality industry and each year there is a new intake of about 48 students from all parts of Myanmar. The attention to detail is unsurpassed in each of the six stilted huts which feature local crafts and fabric with a lot of teak wood. Breakfast was served each morning overlooking the reed banks floating in the lake. Stunning views in all directions. There is a very special shrine room featuring a fabulous shrine copied from a temple nearby. My favourite feature of the hotel is the Burmese cats. The hotel has taken on a project to reintroduce the Burmese cats to Myanmar. The breed had all but died out. Guests are allowed to spend time with these precious animals getting a cuddle. We were fortunate to attend a cooking course at the hotel with the head chef. What an amazing experience that was, not cheap but worth every cent. Perhaps my only negative at this magical place was the passing boat noise which is probably to be expected if you stay on a lake and that is the only form of transport available. I would strongly recommend a few nights stay at this very unique hotel. I can't finish this review without mentioning some of the very special staff members who made our stay even more enjoyable, thanks Pann Myet, Nay Zaw, Chaw Su and Thun and so many others. Stayed December 2016, traveled with family"

Maison Polanka: "Appreciated the place"

"We stayed here for a week with my family and friends. We were picked up from the airport and was greeted warmly with a big smile. Our first day was filled with good food, relaxing times and good memories. Especially when my kids played with the rabbit at the garden. The chef was great! She cooks very tasty khmer food. The home made cocktails are also good to try. My wife loved the charmjng garden they got and there's green everywhere. We also had a great time with the tuk yuk driver and the tour guide. Thdy were very helpful and very keen on explaining the history of the place"

Rahai'i Pangun Wildlife River Cruises: "Extraordinary 3d2n with wow Borneo"

We chose Wow Borneo because they had the safest looking boats for our small children whilst having competetive prices. We had the boat to ourselves and a lovely crew. The food included some of the best local dishes we've had in Indonesia in 2+ years. Our guide, Faisal, knew his stuff and was great with the kids. We woke on both mornings to see large male orang utans hanging in trees yards from our boat. We saw probiscus monkeys, endangered Storm's storks, gibbons,macaques and crocs too. A fantastic trip. Do it.

4 Rivers Floating Lodge: "Most Amazing Trip of All Time"

"This hidden treasure is amazing. The view was spectacular. I got to experience the life in the nature. The room is very beautiful. The staff and foods are on point. They are very environmental friendly. To save the environment is always their priority. The kayak, the pickup boat the view of the place made me never wanted to leave this wonderful place ever. More than that, they are not just business people, they help the community to be aware of the environmental issue, .... Community saver!"