Guest Reviews

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 Lodge: "Beautiful lodge"

Mung La Lodge is a beautiful ecolodge and a bit of paradise. The hot spring baths, the wonderful dinners and the terrific service contribute to a terrific relaxing stay. We stayed three nights and didn't want to leave.

Sukoon Houseboat: "Wonderful relaxing experience"

The Sukoon houseboat is a super luxurious and comfortable houseboat. We had a wonderful time. The staf is super, very helpful and were really taking super good care of us. The breakfast on the sundeck was an absolute highlight. This houseboat is a bit away from the overcrowded part of the lake so you can really enjoy the beatiful view on the lake at sunset and sunrise!

Tugu Bali: "Hidden paradise"

Tugu Bali is a magical place, with fabulous staff and great food. Breakfast is exquisite! Everything makes you feel as a guest in a large warm welcoming house and not like a standard hotel guest. This was the second time my wife and i spent a few days and we will gladly return to enjoy the peaceful rest and the nice massages. A place to bring your loved ones!

Villa Song: "Amazing City experience"

"we had a fantastic stay at the Villa. the staff and Manager were extremely helpful and friendly. we are not city lover so this location was ideal and the speedboat transfer meant we had limited experience of traffic jams. The hotel organized all our tours and there were superb. Would highly recommend this hotel the food was excellent and been only 23 room it did feel you were getting one on one personal service. thank you all for making this the great experience it was."

Amata Lanna: "Excellent in every aspect!"

Stayed here for 4 times, really had great time. The room was clean, adequate and beautifully decorated. The staff was very friendly, and informative on places to go. The location was great and easily accessible by all means.

Le Du Wine Bar & Restaurant: "Extremely Delicious Dishes"

I love tasting menus, and Le Du’s really stood out for me. While there are usually a dish or two that are just “good”, Le Du’s tasting was consistent throughout; excellent. There were a number of dishes I wished would not end! I loved Le Du, and hope to be back, and yes, it’s a little difficult to find.

Glenburn Tea Estate: "Surpasses all expectations"

"We stayed at the Glenburn after a week travelling around Sikkim and it was the perfect end to the trip. We received a warm welcome on arrival from Faye and Will the management team and nothing was too much trouble for any of the staff. We were offered refreshments throughout the day (fantastic teas) and found everyone very friendly. The rooms are lovely, each bedroom is different and in a colonial style and the food was excellent with a different theme each evening which we loved. Our stay was relaxing - we enjoyed the walk down to the river where we had lunch, exploring the tea plantation and reading on the veranda admiring the views. Just what we were looking for in a tea plantation. Thanks to Faye and Will and their team for making our visit so memorable It was a few days of luxury that I would highly recommend."

Mathis Retreat: "Beautiful hotel and surroundings. The staff is charming, the rooms are very confortable and the pool is great"

"The hotel is 15 minutes from the center of Ubud, surrounded by rice fields. It has a wonderful swimming pool, a great restaurant and the staff is very friendly. The attention to detail is impressive. The rooms are large, the beds very confortable, great linen, very good air conditioning ( an important item in this warm and humid climate), fast WiFi We stayed for some days at the beginning of our trip to Indonesia, and returned for more before going home. Highly recommended"

Cheong Fatt Tze – Blue Mansion: "A Step Back In Time"

Recently visited Cheong Fatt Tze's Blue Mansion in Georgetown. All in all I was glad I went as I learned a lot about the original owner. The tour guide was a fascinating raconteur. I could tell she had told this story a few times in the 18 years she had worked there. The quality of the restoration is absolutely amazing.