Le Petite Prince — Hotel in Nha Trang City

Let Petite Prince has a ways to go before it meets the standards of other hostels I've been to over my last few weeks in Asia. The hostel is new so I can see how the owner (and sole staff member) hasn't gotten a grip on things yet.

To start, the hostel has a large gate that is constantly locked. To get in or out you have to buzz a bell for the owner to come and let you in/out. And if the owner isn't in, like what happened to me when I arrived to check in (note: the TripAdvisor page for the hostel shows that it has a 24hr reception) then you may as well leave and try again a few hours later. The place has been open over a month, and there is still only one staff member. So if he goes to sleep at night and you arrive back at 2am after a night out, he will have to wake up to come and let you in. Firstly, that is not good for him. Secondly, and this hasn't happened to me, but what if the buzz doesn't wake him? Yeah...

The room was fine only. The aircon was weak and to get to the top bunk there is a very widespread ladder at the foot of the bed. I fell twice from this while trying to get down, once knocking over the room's fan with my fall. The room didn't have a bathroom. Our shared bathroom was past the hall, through the next dorm of 8 beds, and then you get to the bathroom... So for us to get to the bathroom we had to disturb a room of 8 others where we weren't staying... A little odd as far as hostels go. And that room of 8 can lock their door. So what happened me one morning was their room was locked, so I went downstairs to use the other bathroom and it was being mopped, so I had to wait for the mopping to finish and dry.

Finally, the owner was fairly chirpy and helpful, but very pushy and tried to force conversations. We felt a little interrogated about him asking us where we had gone for dinner one night, and asked why we didn't go to the place he had suggested. He needs to take a step back from the receptionist work...

A good quiet hostel in very good location, literally 5 minutes from the beach and right next to the night market. The beds are big with curtains, AC runs great, the bathrooms are clean and modern. What's interesting is that the top bunk has a proper staircase between the beds for access, not a ladder so it makes it very easy to climb up. The owner was very nice, let us in early in the morning and even booked a last minute snorkeling tour for us. The hostel doesn't have a proper common area to hang around, just 2 couches on a balcony so it might not be that great for socializing. The hostel closes the gate at night so you have to ring the bell to enter. There are plenty of food options close to the hostel. Overall a very good choice if you're not into...

My stay was over the lunar new year period and therefore taxi/Grab prices shot up considerably. The hostel owner was kind enough to call a taxi for me directly, at a more reasonable price.

The location of the hostel is excellent, and only a few minutes walk away from the beach,

The beds are spacious, each bed has a nice little box to put rechargeable gadgets etc however, the beds are a little too hard for my liking.

The rooms are fit for purpose and the en-suite bathroom is a nice feature.

The lockers do not require padlocks, you can use the keys issued...