Customer reviews and what they say

We found significant variations in terms of quality and responsiveness to concerns among the 12 hotels in which we were booked. While some hotels were fine, many had issues that caused unnecessary consternation, poor sleep, and stress. Hotel noise was a problem in at least two hotels – to the extent that we had to change rooms three times in one hotel and actually change hotels in the other. While some hotels were quite responsive to these issues, InsideAsia was of little help and indeed contributed to the stress in at least two situations (see below for examples). Following are comments on hotels in chronological order:
• Saigon – Our hotel was situated on a poorly lit street marred by broken pavement, resulting in difficult, hazardous evening walking conditions. Despite our consultant’s stated understanding of the importance to us of visiting historical sites, the hotel was not within easy walking distance of such sites. Noise was an issue. The first night was plagued by disco music that played throughout the night. When we complained, the receptionist said it was likely due to the guests next door and that he would speak with them. The second night was no different. At 2:00 am, after no sleep, I finally called the front desk, and was moved to another room. This room was better, but because it was unavailable for the following evening, the hotel then moved us to yet another room and finally told us that there IS a disco next to the hotel that starts playing music at 11:00 p.m. and continues throughout the night. Three nights of no sleep and having to completely pack up and unpack three times to stay in the same hotel was not an auspicious way to begin a three-week, 3,000-mile journey.
• Hue – The grounds of this hotel are lovely with rooms of different types spread over a huge plot of land. Because the room assigned to us had a bad odor, the staff readily offered us a couple of alternatives, one of which was perfect. (InsideAsia had nothing to do with the room change; it was all done graciously and professionally by the hotel staff.) The hotel had an excellent breakfast, providing us with possibly the best meals on the entire trip.
• Hanoi – Although the room was quite small and lacked even one luggage rack, the staff was quite accommodating, offering to bring us a chair on which to place at least one of our bags. The breakfast was fine, although several of the items were mislabeled. When asked by hotel staff to fill out a comment card, we did so, noting all the positives of the hotel and its staff and also suggesting that the labels on the breakfast buffet table be checked for accuracy. Upon our departure, the hotel manager stopped us to say that he was very sorry that the items were mislabeled and gave us not only some Vietnamese coffee to take home but an envelope that contained a generous amount of cash to compensate us for the inconvenience. This was way above anything we could possibly have expected, since our stay was so nice and the labeling issue was just a small suggestion and certainly no big deal.
• Luang Prabang — As we were checking in and our guide was briefing us on the next day’s active schedule — late in the evening and exhausted after finishing day two of the Lan Ha Bay cruise, a long drive from Lan Ha Bay to the Hanoi airport, and a crowded flight from Hanoi to Luang Prabang — a group (20 plus or minus) of loud and inebriated men stumbled through the lobby, creating quite a stir. The hotel desk informed us that they were attending a wedding party underway at the hotel that could continue until 1:00-2:00 in the morning. The noise from the party permeated the entire hotel property, which was sprawled out over streams and garden areas. The walls of our room, which was located quite a distance from the party, did nothing to shield the noise. The hotel told us there were no quieter rooms. As it was clear we would get no sleep until after the party was over, we called InsideAsia to help find us another hotel, as we had a full day of touring scheduled to begin early the following morning, The InsideAsia representative was unsympathetic, unhelpful, sarcastic, and rude, saying only that if we wanted another room in the city, it would cost $700 per night. Given his refusal to help and the late hour, the only option for us was to try to locate a suitable hotel on our own at roughly the same cost as the one in which we were booked. I was able to do this, via bookings.com, and ultimately, InsideAsia reluctantly agreed to allow the move. After paying porters to move our luggage to the new location, we were finally able to get a few hours of sleep.
• Nong Khiaw — The town was extremely hot, literally nearly around 100° F, but not unusual for this time of year. At check-in, at the end of a long hot day of morning activities at the homestay followed by a bumpy two-hour drive, the hotel owner took us directly to our room without explaining anything about the property or the room and told us we could find any information we needed on the card on the table. When I asked how to turn on the air conditioning, he said there was no air conditioning. None in the hotel. How could InsideAsia book a client in a hotel with no air conditioning in Laos in March where the average daily temperature approaches 90 degrees? The owner was completely unsympathetic, and despite owning the hotel for more than 10 years, said he didn’t know anything about other hotels in the town. InsideAsia was equally unhelpful. Again, we had to find suitable accommodations on our own. These types of inconveniences are more than hiccups. They are exhausting and dispiriting.
• Pakbeng — After a lengthy, hot day of cruising up the Mekong River in a long boat that was completely open in the 90° weather and visits to villages and an elephant sanctuary, we arrived at the hotel, where we unpacked and prepared to take very necessary showers before meeting our boatmates for dinner at the assigned 7:00 hour. When I entered the shower and turned on the hot water, there was none. My husband called reception, which said we had to turn on a switch and wait 15 minutes. We did this, but still there was no hot water. Again, we called reception, and this time they sent someone to investigate. I had to get out of the shower, dress, and wait. The maintenance people could neither identify nor fix the problem, so once again, we had to pack up everything and move to a new unit where we could eventually take warm showers. Needless to say, we were too late to meet and join our fellow boatmates. Granted, InsideAsia did not choose this hotel. Instead, the InsideAsia-recommended Heritage cruise line booked the hotel as part of its amended 4-day, 3-night cruise up the Mekong, which was a part of the overall itinerary that InsideAsia did book for us. Nonetheless, the experience was disheartening and, in our opinion, unacceptable for a highly rated hotel.

Not the best but was well positioned