Jan hostel Charm Garden — Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

It would have been a better experience (and better rating) if not for the room downgrade we were stuck with.||When we arrived, a female voice on a phone passed to us by the reception clerk told us that she couldn’t reach the occupant of the room whom was supposed to leave the day of our check-in (king room with balcony). They offered us a deluxe room for the price we’d pay via multiple booking platforms we checked at that moment. So we insisted on a discount for the trouble. A few minutes later a gentleman came and explained us a different story as to why the room was still occupied. In the end we got the discount, but their stories didn’t add up, so it might have been an overbooking for all we know...||The deluxe room is certainly not worth the price one would normally pay. Crammed, small and only milk glass partition to the bathroom. No TV. There’s window facing the common hallway, which makes it rather dark. There is a window blind, but since the room’s door is also milk glass, all light is coming in through there.||The originally booked king room with balcony however was certainly worth the price: very spacious, writing desk, small sofa to relax in, flat screen TV, 2 glass walls with a limited view over surrounding blocks, a separate bathroom with a glass-partitioned shower stall. The same problem with the glass door though.||Breakfast is served on the rooftop, but the bahn mi is with toast instead of french baguette variety. Only Vietnamese coffee, but they do serve a juice of the day. Complimentary fruit platter.||The building is well maintained, there is an elevator. Located in quiet alleyway, 50 metres from the street. Location is fairly good (close to the main night club drag), but for historical sights and musea we took a Grab taxi.||FYI: although you might have made a booking where a cancellation fee applies, the hotel/owner can always (or at least in our case) waive that fee. So if you find yourselves in a similar case with downgrade, an option could be to insist on fee-free cancellation so you can look for other accommodation. We didn’t know this was possible until we had agreed to the the discounted...

It would have been a better experience (and better rating) if not for the room downgrade we were stuck with.

When we arrived, a female voice on a phone passed to us by the reception clerk told us that she couldn’t reach the occupant of the room whom was supposed to leave the day of our check-in (king room with balcony). They offered us a deluxe room for the price we’d pay via multiple booking platforms we checked at that moment. So we insisted on a discount for the trouble. A few minutes later a gentleman came and explained us a different story as to why the room was still occupied. In the end we got the discount, but their stories didn’t add up, so it might have been an overbooking for all we know...

The deluxe room is certainly not worth the price one would normally pay. Crammed, small and only milk glass partition to the bathroom. No TV. There’s window facing the common hallway, which makes it rather dark. There is a window blind, but since the room’s door is also milk glass, all light is coming in through there.

The originally booked king room with balcony however was certainly worth the price: very spacious, writing desk, small sofa to relax in, flat screen TV, 2 glass walls with a limited view over surrounding blocks, a separate bathroom with a glass-partitioned shower stall. The same problem with the glass door though.

Breakfast is served on the rooftop, but the bahn mi is with toast instead of french baguette variety. Only Vietnamese coffee, but they do serve a juice of the day. Complimentary fruit platter.

The building is well maintained, there is an elevator. Located in quiet alleyway, 50 metres from the street. Location is fairly good (close to the main night club drag), but for historical sights and musea we took a Grab taxi.

FYI: although you might have made a booking where a cancellation fee applies, the hotel/owner can always (or at least in our case) waive that fee. So if you find yourselves in a similar case with downgrade, an option could be to insist on fee-free cancellation so you can look for other accommodation. We didn’t know this was possible until we had agreed to the the discounted...

|We arrived very late, about 11pm, due to our flight being delayed by 4 hours, but was surprised to find a guy asleep on the sofa in reception who could speak no English and seemed to have no idea who we were. Considering there are less than 10 rooms and I’d messaged ahead to explain that we were going to be late, I was a little surprised. |I have to say, I am amazed at the amount of great ratings this place gets on Booking.com. It’s location in relation to walking street is not bad, but it is in a smelly backstreet in the more run down part of town, and in two days we have seen reception manned once, around 10am when we left to go out sightseeing, when we actually met Jan. Every other time we have been in and out, the same guy has been asleep on the sofa in reception, no matter what time of day!|The room was large, but it feels a little cheap and tacky, plus the room door is glass (albeit frosted) which is weird. The TV isn’t even connected to an ariel or cable, so although it is plugged in the the wall there is no reception at all. We mentioned it to Jan who said she would sort it, but no change when we returned.|Minor point but I found it quite annoying - there is no bin in the main room, just a small one in the bathroom - I notice other reviewers have also commented on this, so I’m not the only one!|The breakfast is the poorest we’ve had in 2 weeks of travelling down from the north. The pho was quite tasteless, with bits of raw meat floating in it, with no coriander or flavouring. The ladies serving are friendly but the quality of food is not good. |Considering this is the most expensive place we have stayed during our travels in Vietnam for two weeks, It is the most disappointing and worst...