Royal Hotel and Villas****
Our brief comments:
 At present, the Royal Hotel's name is misleading, as the only accommodation available so far is the 112 rooms in the villas. The hotel, a 23-story tower block, is under construction to the west of the site. Once completed, it will easily be the tallest building in Ha Long City, and provide stunning views of the bay.
The site is a couple of kilometres from the centre of Bai Chay, and is enormous. Across the coast road, a full-scale beach is being created. Despite all the building activity, the large villa area, set among attractive landscaped gardens, is entirely separate and functional.
The main reception building houses an international standard casino offering a variety of ways to lose money in style as well as a large restaurant.
When we inspected the hotel, the menu hadn't been finalised, but we were assured that it would be well up to international standards. Outside is a large paved area set up for barbeques.
Nearby is a large spa building with a comprehensive array of fitness and health regimes and treatments. Opposite is a large outdoor swimming pool with views of the bay.
 Deluxe rooms are rather bland, but have good views from their balconies. Furniture and soft furnishings are good quality. Suites are impressive - unusually, they have been designed as such rather than the usual two rooms knocked together.
Feedback from our customers has raised some doubts about the Royal. In particular, because the hotel targets the Asian gambling market few staff members are fluent in English and menus have little to offer non-Asian customers.
A further concern has been poor room maintenance and service.
Although the villas' facilities are attractive, the quality of the product is questionable at present. Nevertheless, it seems likely that Royal Hotel and Villas will be designated as Ha Long's second five-star hotel once building is complete.
Inspected November 2004
Room facilities:
Room Categories |
Deluxe |
Suite |
| Number of rooms |
104 |
8 |
Air-conditioner |
|
|
Satellite television |
|
|
Shower or bath |
|
|
Bath with shower |
|
|
| Bath + separate shower |
|
|
Personal safety box |
|
|
Coffee and tea facilities |
|
|
| Laptop connection |
|
|
| Free broadband access |
|
|
Extra bed |
|
|
Child's cot |
|
|
Room size (m2) |
38 |
84 |
View |
sea |
sea |
Additional room facilities: Deluxe rooms have one balcony, Suites have two. Suites have a Jacuzzi and spa bath, and two toilets
Hotel facilities:
Outdoor pool |
|
Non-smoking floor(s) |
|
Pool bar |
|
Non-smoking rooms only |
|
Fitness/health centre |
|
Vietnamese/Asian restaurant |
|
Sauna |
|
International restaurant |
|
Massage |
|
Patisserie/coffee shop/cafe |
|
Jacuzzi |
|
Business centre |
|
Additional hotel facilities: shuttle bus
|
