CATBA PARADISE HOTEL - SKY BAR & MASSAGE — Hotel in Hải Phòng

⚠️ ⚠️WARNING⚠️ ⚠️ They have CAMERAS IN THE MASSAGE ROOMS. THEY HAVE YOUR FOOTAGE GETTING UNDRESSED TO PREAPRE FOR MASSAGE - THIS IS SO UNETHICAL

The positive feedback regarding this place is totally inaccurate. Prior to the massage we weren't offered any refreshments or anything to get us relaxed and comfortable for the 300K massage which is on the pricier end. Given the price and the fact that it was a spa in a hotel. We were definitely under the impression that it was going to be a very good massage. Alongside this, they have glowing reviews ranking 4.8 stars for the massage service. My 2 friends, partner and I committed to the most PAINFUL 60 minute massage of our lives. My partner and I are trained therapists and this is absolutely terrible, nowhere in Vietnam or anywhere in the world. Have we experienced this terrible other service and lack of skills. Firstly, they had their phone on volumes and I could hear the messenger notification ping for one of them, the therapist working on me obviously had been in a wet area and her shoes were squeaking the whole time which may seem insignificant. But honestly when you're trying to relax and all you can hear is squeaking. It's frustrating. They didn't use enough oil, pulled the males leg hair and it was incredibly inconsistent. My partner was receiving a different massage to what I was receiving although we wanted the exact same thing. We complained to management but they really weren't interested and it was more of them defending their 'style' but I can tell you that there is absolutely no training. Don't waste 300K!!!!!!!!!!! They also had no interest in problem solving and demanded that we paid, she came out and abused us, saying that she would call the police in which case I encourage her because I can report the spa for being the worst business I have ever encountered in the massage industry. In a country where people ride scooters at any speed limit with no helmet, you cannot tell me police are going to waste their time regarding an issue that management could just sort out with us directly. Our friends massage ended before us which also was not a full hour (all four of us had about 50 minutes), they paid a total of 600K for the WORST massage ever As they didn't realise we were also experiencing the same thing, when we came out and said that we were not happy and we don't want to pay for the service that's when they realised it wasn't just their experience it was a collective. Anyway our solution solution was to not pay for 2 of them, so basically a buy one get one free because it's not even worth $150K if divided by 4 , but they wouldn't accept this and demanded full payment from my partner and I. So to them, it's ok to torture people and because we didn't stop the therapist and critique them we are now liable. It's an incredibly uncomfortable to stop somebody and tell them off, especially when there is such a language barrier involved. Working in an industry where you service tourists your standard should be well above par and you should be able to speak English well enough for open to communicate to take place. Please do not go here for a massage and support somewhere else. Unless of course you enjoy...

We booked two nights at Paradise Hotel in Cat Ba through Booking.com, but unfortunately, our stay didn’t go as we had hoped. I believe the hotel currently suffers from the fact that there is a large construction site directly across the street, which affects both the atmosphere and cleanliness.

When we arrived, we were greeted kindly by a man who helped us with our luggage to the lobby. The check-in went smoothly, and we were assigned a room. The room itself was fine, but not as cozy or welcoming as the photos online suggested. The window was extremely dirty—most likely due to the construction dust outside. The lighting in the room was very harsh, and the floor looked quite worn and in need of maintenance. There were also stains and hairs on the floor, and the minibar was dirty and not refilled, apparently left as-is from the previous guests. It was clear that the room had not been properly cleaned.

To make things worse, we found a cockroach in the room. And as everyone knows—if there’s one, there are probably more. We immediately went to the reception to report this and requested to change our booking from two nights to one and move to another room. The staff was understanding and gave us the room next door. This second room was a bit cleaner, and the minibar was stocked, but unfortunately, we also found another cockroach there.

At that point, we no longer felt comfortable staying. We decided to cancel the booking entirely. Although we had already paid by credit card, the staff kindly refunded us in cash, which we appreciated. The receptionist seemed to understand our concerns.

Before we arrived, we had even received a random phone call from the hotel asking if we were really coming, which already gave the impression that they might be struggling to get guests—something that makes sense now, considering the situation. We had thought we were booking one of the most luxurious hotels in Cat Ba, but sadly, that turned out not to be the case.

Suggestions for Paradise Hotel

This hotel still has potential, but there’s a lot of room for improvement. • Be transparent with guests about the ongoing construction next door. • Offer a small discount or explanation if rooms can’t be perfectly clean due to the dust. • Most importantly, cleanliness must be a top priority — rooms should be spotless before guests arrive. • Take the time to welcome guests personally and maybe even accompany them to their rooms to ensure everything is in order.

There’s potential here, but it feels like the hotel is cutting corners in the wrong areas. A little more care and honesty could make a...

I’m Vietnamese but I’m sharing my experience here in English as a warning to all tourists here who are considering this hotel for their stay. THE SERVICE IS TERRIBLE AND IT RUINED MY FIRST NIGHT AT CAT BA. LET ME TELL YOU WHY.

I was passing by and saw that they have a sky bar on 17th floor so I decided to give it a try with my mom. FIRST OF ALL, there was NO STAFF at the bar and the so-called bar was terribly SMALL, the view was DISAPPOINTING.

The problem all started when we could not open the door and since there was no staff, we had to come back to the reception asking for help.

There was this middle-aged man who not only didn’t wear reception uniform but also almost laid back at his chair when we came down. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. When i told him about the problem and KINDLY asked him if the bar was opened or not, he literally started having a very bad attitude, almost like he was looking down on us with series of questions “How? Why? Why can you not open the door? Can’t you see that there’s staff inside?”. HE DID NOT LISTEN TO US AT ALL, he kept pointing at the camera screen and questioned why this and why that. “The bar is obviously opened, why are you saying that it is not?”

I do not appreciate a hotel staff talking back at a guest just because they were having some trouble using their provided service like that. He acted like we were out of our minds to ask such questions.

I FELT DISRESPECTED AND FRUSTRATED. This attitude is not even acceptable in daily interaction, let alone at a hotel, when I am a guest and I am willing to pay for service. He looked very annoyed as if we were disturbing his “rest time”. He made us look stupid as if our problem was not valid.

If the reception - the very first customer touchpoint is already this awful, how worse can it get?

In short, CHOOSE ANOTHER HOTEL WHICH IS WORTH...