New Life Hotel Đà Lạt — Hotel in Da Lat City

Terrible experience. Will not revisit

First the cons:

1. POOR CARPENTRY: Toilet door does not close at all due to faulty carpentry. Highlighted this to counter staff on first night and third night, they said they would check but nothing was done.

2. LEAKY FITTINGS On rainy days, the balcony would leak water into the room. We asked for a towel to soak up the puddle. It almost got into my luggage had I not noticed earlier. Again, management did not do anything, which was fine since I only asked for a towel. But if they were proactive, they would have offered to see if they could make our stay better

3. NO TISSUE No tissues provided, only toilet paper. Had to use our own tissues

4. POOR HYGIENE CONSCIOUSNESS When first leading us to our room, counter staff walked into our room with shoes. He did not take them off

5. RUDE NIGHT COUNTER STAFF The counter staff managing the night shift was rude. When I could not understand his English when he said breakfast buffet was opened till 10am, he rolled his eyes at me. I only got him to repeat twice and he’s already annoyed. What’s the point of standing and greeting customers when they enter the hotel if you don’t even have basic social skills?

6. POOR SECURITY AND AVERAGE HOUSEKEEPING The room we got shares a balcony with another room, separated by only potted plants, one of which fell over during the windy night and wasn’t picked up by the staff during housekeeping. We picked it up ourselves and arranged it back. Anyway, not very good security there because if you don’t lock your balcony door, technically your neighbour can pay you visits 😂 also I walked past some rooms and I saw that some of their main door don’t even close properly due to poor fittings. We were at least fortunate that our main door closed properly

7. SHOWER POOLS INTO A FLOOD No separator between the shower and the toilet bowl, causing the floor to be wet when one showers. Water at the shower pools quickly due to slow drainage. You find yourself stepping in flooded water after 5 mins of showering.

8. MESSED UP OUR TRANSFER TO AIRPORT On the first night, we told the staff we need a transfer to the airport for our last day. They said to inform them again on our last day. One day before our last, we told the counter staff again we need to set off at 7.50am. The counter staff confirmed with us and even said the taxi will be here early at 7.30am. All was good until the day itself, where the taxi was nowhere in sight at 7.50am. We checked with the counter, and apparently, our cab was somehow scheduled at 8.15am instead of the agreed 7.30am. The staff said she would call the cab to come now, and that was it. No apology nothing. It was like as if it was so natural to have such mishaps. Only when I confronted her later at 8.05am, then did she give another call to the cab and apologised and admitted their mistake. In the end, we boarded the cab at 8.13am, with no difference to the 8.15am timing that they have mistakenly scheduled for us. Bad service and extremely bad service recovery.

9. POOR BREAKFAST QUALITY AND HYGIENE firstly, I noticed they keep their leftover serving sauces overnight in the same serving bowl out in the open, covered with cling wrap. Chili, thousand island dressing, salad spreads should be kept refrigerated. Moreover, there could be contamination from customers in the day. It seems they just reuse the same serving sauces. I know this because I walked by at night and see the sauces there. One could only imagine they might not have washed the bowls often or changed out the sauces. I don’t claim to know how they operate, but it’s a reasonable speculation. While this could be normal for a street side vendor or even an eatery or restaurant to have, it’s certainly not normal for a hotel to do so, especially when the sauces are in an exposed bowl and handled by customers everyday. I don’t have words for their breakfast variety, let’s just say it’s a chore to eat breakfast at the hotel.

Now the pros:

1. GOOD VIEW The hotel is propped on a hill, with a stunning backdrop of the...

Terrible experience. Will not revisit||First the cons:|1) POOR CARPENTRY:|Toilet door does not close at all due to faulty carpentry. Highlighted this to counter staff on first night and third night, they said they would check but nothing was done.||2) LEAKY FITTINGS|On rainy days, the balcony would leak water into the room. We asked for a towel to soak up the puddle. It almost got into my luggage had I not noticed earlier. Again, management did not do anything, which was fine since I only asked for a towel. But if they were proactive, they would have offered to see if they could make our stay better||3) NO TISSUE|No tissues provided, only toilet paper. Had to use our own tissues||4) POOR HYGIENE CONSCIOUSNESS|When first leading us to our room, counter staff walked into our room with shoes. He did not take them off||5) RUDE NIGHT COUNTER STAFF|The counter staff managing the night shift was rude. When I could not understand his English when he said breakfast buffet was opened till 10am, he rolled his eyes at me. I only got him to repeat twice and he’s already annoyed. What’s the point of standing and greeting customers when they enter the hotel if you don’t even have basic social skills?||6) POOR SECURITY AND AVERAGE HOUSEKEEPING|The room we got shares a balcony with another room, separated by only potted plants, one of which fell over during the windy night and wasn’t picked up by the staff during housekeeping. We picked it up ourselves and arranged it back. Anyway, not very good security there because if you don’t lock your balcony door, technically your neighbour can pay you visits 😂 also I walked past some rooms and I saw that some of their main door don’t even close properly due to poor fittings. We were at least fortunate that our main door closed properly||7) SHOWER POOLS INTO A FLOOD|No separator between the shower and the toilet bowl, causing the floor to be wet when one showers. Water at the shower pools quickly due to slow drainage. You find yourself stepping in flooded water after 5 mins of showering.||8) MESSED UP OUR TRANSFER TO AIRPORT|On the first night, we told the staff we need a transfer to the airport for our last day. They said to inform them again on our last day. One day before our last, we told the counter staff again we need to set off at 7.50am. The counter staff confirmed with us and even said the taxi will be here early at 7.30am. All was good until the day itself, where the taxi was nowhere in sight at 7.50am. We checked with the counter, and apparently, our cab was somehow scheduled at 8.15am instead of the agreed 7.30am. The staff said she would call the cab to come now, and that was it. No apology nothing. It was like as if it was so natural to have such mishaps. Only when I confronted her later at 8.05am, then did she give another call to the cab and apologised and admitted their mistake. In the end, we boarded the cab at 8.13am, with no difference to the 8.15am timing that they have mistakenly scheduled for us. Bad service and extremely bad service recovery.||9) POOR BREAKFAST QUALITY AND HYGIENE|firstly, I noticed they keep their leftover serving sauces overnight in the same serving bowl out in the open, covered with cling wrap. Chili, thousand island dressing, salad spreads should be kept refrigerated. Moreover, there could be contamination from customers in the day. It seems they just reuse the same serving sauces. I know this because I walked by at night and see the sauces there. One could only imagine they might not have washed the bowls often or changed out the sauces. I don’t claim to know how they operate, but it’s a reasonable speculation. While this could be normal for a street side vendor or even an eatery or restaurant to have, it’s certainly not normal for a hotel to do so, especially when the sauces are in an exposed bowl and handled by customers everyday. I don’t have words for their breakfast variety, let’s just say it’s a chore to eat breakfast at the hotel.||Now the pros:|1) GOOD VIEW|The hotel is propped on a hill, with a stunning backdrop...

Our decision to spend two nights up in the hilly side of Dalat is definitely a great choice. Firstly the hotel is located away from the hustle and bustle of mid town and the cooler weather (especially at night time) simply made this a gem. Located in the center of Da Lat city with a position on the hillside with the beautiful view to whole city, avoided the noise of the city but still very conveniently located and near all the attractions is definitely a plus. However my review here is not merely on the hotel itself but rather of the Vegetables Hot Pot that was part of the hotel experience. Was not expecting a free dinner to be included in the hotel stay however like most highland the choice of food are normally inclusive of the locally sourced greens that are abundance here. What made me share this experience was actually the alternative offers the hotels gave along or should I say complimentary to the hot pot dinner. The meat was not inclusive but sure goes well with the vegetable hot pot. We ordered the mix meat platter which included ostriches, venison and local bred chicken (which I assume is equivalent to our kampung chicken). The mind blowing surprise was actually the hill bred and wild boar, the meat was absolutely incredible and the best addition was the kidneys and liver from normal pork. If you happen to ever visiting Dalat (AirAsia had made this a very very interesting and convenient location to visit other than Danang, Hue and Hoi An ) do make an effort to spend a night up at this hotel. The hot pot is a definite choice that I would highly recommend. My verdict is a three thumbs up 👍👍👍.

After our two night at this marvellous hotel, I find it necessary to share this extra bit: it’s their breakfast and it’s of no disappointment. The variety, spread and services that came along with complements are definitely a plus for this hotel. Feeling satisfied and after 3 cups of Vietnamese Coffee I’m in awed of this hotels’ location and all its amnesties!!! My verdict on the...