Vietnam
Hotels
Fed up with booking a
Viet Nam hotel reservation from directories only to find that don't
correspond to reality when you arrive? If so, you'll like our Vietnam
hotel pages. We'll tell you how it really is - warts and all. We
call it 'tourism with attitude'! Use this section to choose the
Vietnam hotel you like, or to check up on another Vietnam hotel
offered by other companies.
Selecting
hotels
When we design your itinerary, we'll select what we consider to
be the best hotels in Vietnam in the areas you will be visiting
according to the standard Vietnam accommodation that you have selected
and provide you with details. If there's a similar alternative,
we'll include that as well. If you want a particular Vietnam hotel,
just let us know.
Obviously, accommodation
at your selected vietnam hotel is subject to availability at the
time of booking, but as we work with small groups, there's not usually
a problem unless the booking is late. However, there are a few places
where there is only one Viet Nam hotel at a suitable level of accommodation,
and is therefore often fully booked - in such instances, early booking
is essential.
Hotel Information
In all itineraries that you receive from us, the level of accommodation
will always be clearly identified with a brief note about particular
features, if any. Detailed information about specific hotels and
their facilities will usually be available on our web site. If you're
interested in a hotel that isn't on our list, tell us and we'll
find information about it for you.
Hotel Classifications
We only suggest hotels that we consider to offer good value for
money. We inspect and classify many hotels and resorts according
to the quality of their rooms, service, food, facilities and location
and place them into the categories below according to those criteria.
- Luxury: the 'crème
de la crème' of Viet Nam accommodation
- First Class: hotels
in Vietnam providing international service and facilities
- Deluxe: high quality
four and five-star Vietnam hotels close to First Class standard
- Superior: good
four-star hotels with a range of facilities and good service
- Mid-range: reliable
three star hotels offering good service and value for money, or
hotels in areas where accommodation is limited
- Unique: unusual
hotels that have something special to offer, but don't 'fit' anywhere
else (see below)
- Local: the best
available accommodation in areas where hotels of a higher standard
are limited or nonexistent, or accommodation in National Parks
- Homestay: accommodation
in family homes or purpose-built traditional houses (see below)
Hotel Facilities
We use high quality establishments with international standard facilities
in Deluxe and First Class and Luxury categories. Our Superior, Mid-range
and 'local' hotels are carefully chosen to provide comfortable accommodation
with Western-style facilities, well above the standard of 'budget'
hotels offered by other operators.
On pages where we provide
room and hotel facilities tables, we assume that all rooms will
be equipped with an en suite shower/bathroom with hot running water,
IDD telephone, television, complimentary toiletries and laundry
service as a matter of course.
In
general, hotels rated as 'Superior' or above will provide a minimum
of a bath with a shower fitting. A few mid-range and some 'local
standard' hotels have only a shower.
We do not offer a 'budget'
category unless customers particularly request it, or unless it
really is the only acceptable accommodation in the area. In such
cases, we would specify appropriate standards of service and facilities
to the hotel prior to your arrival.
'Unique' hotels
Some accommodation in Vietnam defies classification. For example,
an 'away from it all' resort may be without telephones, television,
or even hot water, but cost the same as a four or five star hotel
on the basis of complete
solitude, a stunning location, excellent service and a high-quality
restaurant. For these, we'll tell you what you can expect, and what
creature comforts you'll have to do without!
'Featured Hotels'
Amongst the many hotels in Vietnam, a few stand out from
the rest. In our hotel listings, Featured Hotels range from First
Class luxury to local standard and are limited in number, but all
are exceptional in some way. To be considered, a hotel must provide
excellent
service and value for money together with singular features, such
as rich character, striking views, unusual facilities, a commitment
to sustainable tourism, and so on. Needless to say, our Featured
Hotels are very popular, so early booking is necessary.
Homestays
On some tours and holidays, we offer 'homestays' - accommodation
in local people's houses. These are typically traditional wooden
dwellings, often located in ethnic villages or areas of natural
beauty. They usually lack most of the facilities you would normally
expect even in a basic hotel - no shower (or hot water!), sometimes
no electricity, and toilets 'au naturelle', for example.
Sleeping is normally communal
on thin mattresses with small pillows on the floor. However, the
warmth of your welcome and the opportunity to get a little closer
to the rural culture of Vietnam are more than adequate compensations
for most people.
For those who find the prospect
of homestays somewhat daunting, it's usually possible to find adequate
alternatives in the area.
Some of the ethnic houses that we use have a long tradition of hospitality
and are used to seeing tourists. We also travel further afield to
more remote villages where visitors are a rarity. In such cases,
we take care to ensure that our presence respects the traditions
and beliefs of the people who live there and do our best to contribute
positively to the conservation of their culture.
National
Parks, etc.
In national parks, accommodation is often limited to official 'guest
houses'. Rooms, facilities and eating arrangements are usually very
basic, and lack the charm of an ethnic house. However, the location
usually compensates.
Camping is possible on
a few official sites, but camping 'wild' risks a brush with the
police and the unwelcome attention of local people.
Please note!
Descriptions of, and information about,
hotels are compiled using a combination of details supplied by the
hotels themselves, feedback from our customers, and our first hand
knowledge of hotels we have inspected.
All information is provided
in good faith. However, we cannot accept responsibility for its
accuracy.
Many of our hotel descriptions
include subjective opinions relating to the merits or deficiencies
of particular establishments. However, tastes and attitudes differ
from person to person. Once again, we are cannot be held liable
if you disagree with our assessment.
In all cases, including
hotels that we highlight as 'Featured Hotels', we neither seek nor
accept inducements or benefits of any kind.
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