La Vela Saigon Hotel — Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

Absolutely disgusting Hotel, ruined my trip, please don't stay here.

The food is cross contaminated, they mix pork with the vegetables and do not use different pans/utensils but claim to be vegetarian/halal friendly.

The phone in my room didn't work, the conditioner in the shower was broken and people who are not staying in the hotel can come and use the pool for a fee, which means I was unable to get a sun lounger for my entire trip!

I booked this place for the facilities and the pool however they were impossible to use. I expressed this to the staff who showed no interest and made no effort to try and accommodate. I continued to ignore this as I didn't want to ruin my trip that I worked so hard to pay for.

On the 6th day of my 7 day booking, I noticed ham in my egg, when I strictly asked for a vegetarian omelette. I realised after this, that the food is cross contaminated, using the same pans and utensils for pork/meat and vegetarian food. This being completely unacceptable, I went to reception to speak to a manager.

I informed them of that major issue and of the other issues mentioned above. My religion is important to me and to have been eating cross contaminated food over the last few days was devastating.

I had to explain what cross contamination was to the kitchen manager and about separating meat from non-meat foods so the same utensils are not used. They agreed they will do this going forward, offered me a taxi to the airport when I check out, and offered to reserve me 2 loungers by the pool for 11.30.

I agreed to this as I didn't want to be difficult and believed that they will make the necessary changes for their guests in the future.

When I got to the pool area there were no loungers free so I asked for the manager as I had 2 seats reserved. I was told they were unable to reserve these seats as promised and that I have to wait but they didn't know how long for. I asked to speak to the same manager who reserved me those seats but was told she didn't want to come.

After insisting to speak to a manager, the kitchen manager who I spoke to earlier, came and gave me excuses why the seats were not available.

By this point I had enough and just wanted to leave. I asked to check-out early and to recieve a refund as the food was cross-contaminated, the issues mentioned previously and the solution that was agreed, not being put in place. I am shocked that this hotel is rated 5 stars as they have no idea what customer service is, and fail to provide the simple things that are expected.

As the manager refused to come to us, and the kitchen manager was clueless with what to do, we decided to go to reception to speak to the manager there, and we found the lady that was refusing to come to us. We discussed the continued issues and requested a full refund and to check out.

We were then confronted by a man who I believe is the assistant hotel manager. He was very rude and was smiling and laughing at our frustration whilst trying to hide it. I continually asked for a refund standing in a packed lobby, half naked as I was dressed to use the pool facilities and was sent round in circles for 3 hours!! I requested multiple times to speak to the Hotel manager who I was told will NOT come to reception and will NOT speak to me. She will only communicate via email.

I asked for the names of the hotel manager, the man who was serving me and the lady manager I initially spoke to but was refused even their names. They made me stand in reception for 3 hours telling me lies and offering no solutions.

My trip has been ruined, my religion has been compromised and I have been treated worse than I could have imagined. I hope and pray that others do not have such an experience.

I believe the name of the hotel manager (by searching on google) is Vanessa Le, the hotel manager who refused to speak to us. The man who served us at reception without a name badge, was either Luan Vo or Thuy.

Please avoid at all costs, you will regret...

I don't think the hotel is honestly 5 star worthy. It looks like a 5 star hotel, but its management, and service, is a 3 at best.

To be clear, we did enjoy our stay. The facilities available are nice, and there is plenty to do which is included in the price of your stay. However, the staff (though lovely), are inexperienced, and there's simply not enough of them to accommodate the large population of guests at the hotel.

Extra services, such as laundry, airport drop-off, and late check out, which are reasonably priced elsewhere in Vietnam, are extremely expensive here. You'll pay tenfold for something you can get locally, or by using other services such as Grab.

Check-in was downright lowsy, to put it simply. We arrived from a late flight, and had emailed to let them know (they didn't reply btw), and there was no welcome party to greet us, and we wondered around the foyer for a minute, trying to figure which concierge desk to go to and no-one said hello or gestured to help us. The instructions given to us by the staff were incomprehensible, and I don't mean to say they couldn't speak good English because most could, but the information we were given upon check-in was just irrelevant, and in our sleep deprived states, seemed unnecessary. There was no offer to help us with bags, or show us to our rooms, and it may be entitled to think a 5 star hotel would give these services out, however, isn't that the point of paying all this money?

The room was okay. The bathroom is nice, and it was clean (thankfully), and there is plenty of soap/amenities. The bed is comfortable, however, the nightstand is very dodgy, and the electricals system must be faulty because if you touch the lamp slightly, everything stops working. I'm not sure how they would fix this, but it seems a bit unsafe. We didn't use the TV, but it's a good size. The balcony is cute, but the doors do not block out the street sound. If you're a light sleeper like me, bring headphones. Generally, the room was fine, and we didn't have many issues with it. The makeup room service was great.

The one redeeming feature of the hotel, is the breakfast buffet. It's vast array of options, and on site cooking, makes the experience enjoyable, and yummy. The only downside is again, the mass of people you have to contend with, but if you pick the right time (between 6am-8am), you can avoid the rush.

Other facilities such as the pool, and gym, are nice. The pool is pretty, but by the end of the day, is filled with floating plastic and other debris which is not properly filtered. The view is astonishing, and you can watch the sunset which is beautiful, if you can find a space. There is also constant maintenance happening, which makes it look less appealing. Generally, it's okay.

In terms of satisfaction, I'd say for aesthetics, they've got it. It's beautiful, and well decorated in the foyer, and main dining areas. However, the service, and overall standard we experienced, was not 5 star, and sullied...

To keep it short - DON'T BOOK THIS HOTEL!!!

This is a sinking ship... From a far it does look grand, in pictures it is luxurious. For those who have never done online dating, this is the exact definition of getting cat-fished. 5 stars should encompass an experience that levitates your being into relaxation, that feeling when you've had a long day and you sit back into the sofa and let out a sigh of relief to feel the weight lifting off your shoulders.

Not only did my shoulders get heavier with each minute I stayed on board the sinking ship, but my mind was trying to work out where exactly this ship was taking it's customers...

Firstly, upon checking in I was given only 1 key card and when asked if I could have 2 she said "tomorrow" , I'm thinking they are running low on cards? Only to find out a few hours later that if I asked again they gave me another, but with a stern warning that if I lost it, it would be $200,000 vnd fine.

Secondly, there is a massive issue with hygiene in this place. I've been to 5 star hotels and they usual have a signature scent, like you're walking into a enchanted Jasmine forest. This hotel has the signature scent of a middle aged man smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. The room upon entry has a strong mouldy smell and extremely stuffy like there's no air circulation. The carpet in the room looked like a long lost welcome mat left in the sun. There were stains on the linen, walls, and every surface you can imagine.

This ship is sinking fast, with holes everywhere and I mean that literally. The rooms were filled with outside noise because the doors don't actually close properly, the drawers will upon by themselves because they were either made so cheaply on a slant or the heavy bass coming from the rooftop bar are moving everything below the hotel.

This hotel is literally falling apart like a spaceship re-entering atmosphere.

To make matters worse they charge you like they need to design something to go into space, the laundry prices are ridiculous, fair enough if you exude ultimate luxury and comfort but this place is anything but that.

The display cakes at the reception look like they've been preserved from 1993. The list goes on... More absurd is I wasn't allowed to take photos with my camera at the rooftop but I could with my phone, absolutely mind blowing logic of this place.

When asked if they provided taxi service to the airport they say they do not, and asked how much it would cost they say they didn't know.. what kind of hotel that is situated 15 minutes away from the airport doesn't know these important details.

The buffet breakfast is even nastier... Everything is old maybe the exception of the fruit, the beef had a sour and dry taste. Everything here screams I don't give a sh!t and just give me your money.

Save your soul unless you want to walk into hell itself.

On departure the manager did provide the ride to the airport as an apology but this hotel needs a...