Guest Reviews

The Island Lodge: "Magnifique"

Superb hotel in colonial design with views of the Mekong, run by a charming French couple. We ended our trip to Vietnam by staying at the Island Lodge and the only regret we had is not there longer. The home is perfect with a welcome drink, the decor is sought and done with taste, rooms are spacious and comfortable. There is a beautiful pool, a spa with a great massage, and a restaurant. It's very nice to meet service standards "French" after 2 weeks in the end of the Vietnam background. Congratulations to the owners who have created this beautiful jewelry.

MesaStila: "Heaven on Earth"

This place is really something special. Spotlessly clean throughout, delicious free breakfast and afternoon tea every day, an extensive dinner menu full of tasty local Javanese dishes, enormous villa with a daybed on the veranda to while away the hours being immersed in the spectacular mountain scenery, a heavenly on-site hammam and spa. I could go on and on! But by far the best aspect of our stay was the staff who went above and beyond the usual service of any resort staff we've ever met, even going so far as to provide a complimentary Tiramisu after one dinner because I'd mentioned it was my favourite the day before! Being so close to the natural and cultural environment of Java complete with omnipresent birdcall and intermittent calls to prayer from the surrounding mosques was nothing short of magical. As was our private trip to Borobudur at dusk (the one time we could drag ourselves out of the resort) which was organised promptly with no fuss. Whilst there are many free activities provided such as a tour of the coffee plantation, yoga etc., relaxation took hold so thoroughly that we didn't join any of them...maybe next time. And since the 7 nights we spent at Mesa Stila was a pleasure from start to finish, there will definitely be a next time.

Slow Villas and Spa: "Luxurious Retreat"

"We stayed three nights in the 2 bedroom/2 bath villa at Slow and had an amazing time! The accommodations are wonderful and very private - comfortable beds and very clean. The outdoor bathroom allows you to take a shower under the stars! There was so much attention to detail, including beach hats and bags, head lamps, and a cell phone left in the rooms for our use. Bottled drinking water is provided and is refilled as needed at no additional cost. There was a free pilates class offered every other day and our stay included a 30 minute massage for each person. Bikes are available for rent at a reasonable cost. It is also possible to order food to be delivered to your villa or have a chef come to your villa to cook for you. Julie, one of the owners, is super accommodating and helpful. She helped us to plan our next destination in Lombok and very graciously made sure that all of the plans were secured before we left. The location of the property is on a dirt road (like all of the ""roads"" on the island) about a 5 minute walk to the beach. If you go out for dinner, you will probably need to walk about 15-20 minutes to reach a restaurant. Take flashlight and mosquito spray with you, as there are no street lamps, but it still felt very safe. The villa area is locked up at night and there is someone on duty to provide security. Breakfast was included in the stay and delivered to the villa each morning. There were about 6 different breakfast options to choose from. The food was delicious and such huge quantities! What a treat! If you want to be pampered and relax, this is the place for you! Thank you, Julie and all other staff at Slow Villas for an amazing time on Gili Air!"

Tugu Bali: "Closest hotel to the beach"

This hotel was 5 stars with a 3 star price. Everything was perfect at this hotel. It was close to the beach (a 3 minute walk). Very clean, beautiful rooms. The staff went above and beyond. I had a sun burn and called the front desk to see if they had any aloe. What they did was track down an aloe plant and brought it to my room. It was amazing! I also loved the essential oil they had in our room and the hotel packaged up some for me to take home. They really wanted you to love your stay! The breakfasts were outstanding. I had the healthy yogurt bowls that were out of this world. Can't wait to visit again!

Manda De Laos: "Wonderful Evening"

"We had a romantic dinner here on the last night of our stay in LP and it turned out to be the perfect location! Beautiful setting and atmosphere. You sit right by the lotus pond. Food and drinks were lovely, the staff very attentive. Of course you can get cheaper meals in LP but this restaurant is really special and more upscale. There is a secluded table in the middle of the pond, which you can reserve for a very private dining experience. As far as food goes, I had the vegetarian stew and one other home made ice teas and really loved it."

Sukoon Houseboat: "Superawesome!!"

Visited sukoon houaeboat on 1/7/15 for 1 night. Awesome experience!! Superb food!! Superb hospitality!! On a higher side if compared to other houseboats, but its incomparable to houseboats!! Its a luxury houseboat!! The staff is very cooperative. Jibin n babu too good!! Visit if u wana seek luxury!! Shikara ride is a must!! Also if lukng for a taxi for complete trip i would recomend out driver mushtaq bhaijaan..(099-06-460370)Excellent person with complete knowledge, knows where to visit and where to shop!!

Villa Song Saigon: "Fantastic boutique hotel, plus free speedboat and minibar"

"We absolutely loved this hotel. Beautiful, quaint, great staff, lovely food and wonderful rooms. It's no wonder that this is the top hotel in Saigon on Trip Advisor (at the time of writing). We stayed in a beautiful room overlooking the pool, with a deeply comfy double bed, separate shower room and washing facilities, TV, private balcony and all the usual mod cons included. Their service is second to none. There's a free minibar in all rooms (including beer, water, milk and juice). They serve breakfast at any time of the day (seriously - you could have it at 10pm if you REALLY sleep in), and it's included in the price of the room. And electricity can be left on in your suite when you leave, meaning those devices that keep dying might actually get charged. They have UK plug sockets too. Best of all, as the hotel is not right in the city centre, they put on a speedboat to ferry guests to the main bit of the city, on a first come first served basis. (Although it was never full when we stayed in May). The boat takes approximately 15-20 minutes, but you'd wish it would be longer, because it's brilliant. The last boat is at 6pm, and a taxi back to the hotel should set you back 150,000 VND. If it's more than that, they've got lost! The pool is excellent, as is their restaurant, which is overseen by Kevin the chef from Luxembourg - who will certainly seek you out to say hello, or offer some food and drink recommendations. Food and drink here, incidentally, is a few more pennies by Vietnamese standards, but very fair when compared to the rest of Saigon, and even better when compared to the likes of London. Breakfast, which I briefly mentioned, is very good. The best we had in Vietnam, in fact. And it offers up some really well done variations of Western classics like pancakes or a full English versus your traditional and excellent Pho noodle soup. (If you're really hungry, you can even have both - in fact, it was them who suggested it, which I greedily accepted). Their staff are great, too. When we wanted to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, the front desk organised a speedboat to pick us up from the hotel's own private jetty - and one of the highlights of our trip. If I was to take points off this hotel, and it is being picky, then their airport to hotel transfer service is very expensive in comparison to most hotels we stayed at in Vietnam (all of which have a comparative distance from airport to destination). It was a nice air conditioned private car, but then it was no better than every other hotel provided us. And 1,386,000 VND is a bit steep. Full disclosure: they had quoted this price to me some time before we arrived in Vietnam, and I could have shopped around for cheaper prices, so I can't really blame them for quoting a price to me and then accepting it. But it might be something they could look at in the future! The taxi they booked us for our return to the airport after our stay was much, much cheaper at 300,000 VND. So maybe shop around for your original pick-up. I know there's loads of 'taxi scams' in Vietnam, but you should be able to find a decent service for cheaper transfers if you need. None of that dented out love of Villa Song Saigon, and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. I really miss their speedboat..."

Inle Princess Resort: "Beautiful and quiet lake site resort"

"We arrived at the resort by boat from Nyaung Shwe. Some 100 m from the hotel, motors are no longer allowed. A rower came on board and leg-paddled us to the jetty. This exemplifies the resort's emphasis on quiet and relaxation. Our cottages were on the lake. From the terrace, the sunsets were beautiful. Our room had binoculars provided for bird watching. A spa with a massage menu, bicycle rentals, and a swimming pool rounded out the offerings. Breakfast and dinner on a sundeck were tasty and included a sampling of local and Shan cuisine. I highly recommend the resort. Room Tip: Lakeside cottages were private and delightful."

Misool Eco Resort: "Spectacular and Amazing vacation"

"Wow, how does one write a review about paradise. This place is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth with diving that surely rivals the best on earth. From A to Z, this place is top notch. We stayed in Water Cottage 1 right by the Dive Shop and loved the proximity to our daily dive ritual. The cottage itself is gorgeous, all made from salvaged local wood. The outdoor bathroom/shower is perfect for the setting, full of eco-friendly bath products. The veranda is amazing with lounge chairs, a bed and a hammock (over the lagoon), offering incredibly views of the lagoon and fish down below, plus stairs down to lagoon for easy access for swimming or snorkeling or just a dip to cool off. The cottage was cleaned and refreshed every morning during our first dive. The bed set up with the AC and mosquito netting is tastefully done and did in fact prevent mosquitos from getting in while keeping us cool and comfortable at night. The food was delicious from morning till night. Fresh bread, tasty homemade granola, egg dishes, smoothies, juices, salads, desserts, fish, chicken, pasta, etc. And I can't forget to mention the fresh baked fantastic cookies served every afternoon. The chef serves a wide variety of great food to keep the guests sustained and ready to spend their days diving or snorkeling. They also serve a wide variety of wine and some beer. The staff in the restaurant provided excellent service. As for the diving, well, it's impossible to really describe other than to say it is out of this world. Since returning I have decided the best way to describe it is like in the cartoons such as Finding Nemo or The Little Mermaid. The incredible variety of coral really is THAT colorful and gorgeous. The fish really are that big and stunning. Tons of schools of all sorts of fish - bump heads, snapper, giant trivially, and batfish. Plus sharks, turtles, eels, sea cucumbers, sea horses, starfish, sea worms, banner fish, clown fish and the list goes on. But the coup de grace of Misool diving is the manta ray. Massive and majestic creatures that are otherworldly. I could dive with them all day and never get bored. The organization of the diving is the best I have ever experienced. Extreme attention is paid to safety. I always felt in good hands thanks to all the staff including Calvin and Sabine, but especially our amazing and caring dive master James. We went diving with him for 8 days on the same boat with the same equipment master and speedboat driver. They were so kind and thoughtful, I wanted to take them home with me. There was something amazing to see on every single dive. The one down side about this place is that we had to leave. And I do believe that I am now forever spoiled. Misool Eco Resort is truly a 5 star destination."

Tugu Lombok: "Authentic Lombok getaway"

The Tugu resort is a magical place, filled with impressive architecture, artwork and relics of the island's past. The buildings are placed in various parts of this sprawling resort, which ensures that it feels quiet and relaxed, even when fully booked. The rooms are incredible: we stayed with a family of 4 (two teenagers) in a two bedroom Swarga villa with 2 outside bathrooms: the rooms cannot be faulted. They have character and individuality and still all modern amenities. The private beach offers some paddling, snorkling and kayak opportunities and obviously the Gili islands are close for an excursion. The only downside to the resort is the restaurant facilities: when we were there in August, only the main restaurant was open and the choice on the menu is limited and the quality is average (this resort needs a separate fine dining option if it is to keep attracting travellers in a gradually more competitive Lombok market), which is why we "eloped" to have dinner in the Lombok Lodge. Staff in the restaurant area is moreover not trained or motivated to the standards required of such an establishment. This being said, the location and rooms trump these improvement areas, which is why we still give it a five star rating.