Hoang Long Riverside Homestay — Hotel in Ninh Bình Province

In brief: Our stay here was beautiful; we were warmly welcomed and felt completely comfortable. There was nothing negative to report; we had a great time here. Everything matched the pictures and information online, everything worked without any issues.

Detailed Review: We arrived at the homestay by night bus at 4:00 AM. Unfortunately, no one was awake at that time, and we didn't want to disturb anyone, so we waited in one of the outdoor pavilions. Around 6:00 AM, the homestay slowly came to life, and we were greeted by the hostess, who promptly assigned our rooms. This is remarkable because we had originally booked for the afternoon/evening of that day, yet we were given our rooms at 6:00 AM! After a few hours of sleep, we were served breakfast, which was also unexpected and not included in our booking since, as mentioned, it was supposed to start in the afternoon. Later, the lady of the house explained that we only needed to inform them, and they would have even picked us up from the night bus, so here's a tip for those arriving by night bus 😉. The homestay also has a restaurant where the owner himself cooks. The food is excellent; we practically tried the entire menu during our stay, and everything we ate was wonderful. All ingredients were always fresh, and the food was prepared to order. We didn't eat out during our stay because there was no need to. All facilities and rooms (that we could see) match what is shown in the online pictures. Everything is clean, all facilities work, and the rooms we had were equipped with both air conditioning and a fan, so you could choose what's more comfortable. Additionally, there are two stand-up paddleboards available for free use on the river. In the main pavilion, there is a refrigerator with drinks, an ice chest, and a shelf with various chips that you can help yourself to at any time; you just need to inform them so the consumption can be noted. The settlement of all expenses for rooms, drinks, snacks, and meals is done collectively at the end of your stay. We departed by train, and the owners arranged the train tickets for us through an agency, with payment made directly at the homestay—very convenient 😊. To catch the train on time, the owner himself drove us to the station. Furthermore, on the day of departure, we were allowed to stay in our rooms until our departure (around 9:00 PM!) without any extra charges. I want to emphasize the hospitality and passion of the hosts. We felt comfortable at all times, and they always took care of us. Here, you get an all-around feel-good package. In general, we experienced this homestay as a very quiet and relaxing oasis, so it's a better choice for people seeking relaxation rather than those looking for a...

We were referred to Hoang Long Riverside Homestay by another homestay that was full. What a great referral! Hoang Long is Beautiful!! It is right on the river with water lilies, and view of Karst mountain peaks beyond. They have a lovely garden with flowers and lots of lush green plants, beautiful Vietnamese lanterns around a very nice pool with nice loungers and tables to sit at and take it all in, very peaceful! They light the pool and garden area very pretty at night. The rooms were spic and span, airy, bright and with lovely views. Quite comfortable king beds with good clean sheets. Nice hot showers, good air conditioning and heating (we had one cold stormy day). The breakfast was filling and made fresh to order. One nice thing is they warm and toast up the baguettes and offer butter on request. We enjoyed the vegetable omelettes and the fresh juice. We didn’t love the coffee, but we got spoiled by excellent coffee in Da Nang. The use of bikes and helmets, as well as paddle boards for the river is included. We used the bikes which was fun! They rent motorbikes for a reasonable price. One caveat: the bikes and motorbikes are well used, so check them out well before leaving, so you can pick out the best available. Having said that, we went to a rental place in Ninh Binh and their motorbikes were well used also. We rented a motorbike from Hoang Long which was adequate for $150,000 Dong which is about $6 USD for the whole day. That is the going price. The hotel owners don’t speak a lot of English, but there is a young man who works there who speaks a little and is very friendly. We found everyone there was helpful and nice. Use Google translate. Trang An is more spread out and less developed than Tam Coc, another nearby tourist town. We prefer the quieter serenity of Trang An, but we used motorbikes to go to Tam Coc for their wonderful 1 1/2 hour river cruise which goes into 3 caves. The Trang A river cruises have more people in each boat and are 4 hours long. We rode bikes to Hang Mua (4 miles each way, flat and easy) and made it up to both the Pagoda and the dragon!! Killer climb (we are almost 70 yrs old), certainly not a climb everyone should/can do, but so worth it for the incredible views!! The Bai Dinh Pagoda complex is definitely worth a visit, and within motorbike distance; there are many other beautiful things to see and do in Ninh Binh province.

Oh BTW, the area seems very safe (much less traffic than in the cities and the main roads are wide so biking was easy. The people are wonderful here, as they have been everywhere we’ve been to in Vietnam.

We loved our 5 day stay at Hoang Long Riverside Homestay and would stay here again when we return to...

We’ve spent 5 weeks in Vietnam and this is the best homestay we have stayed in. The location is absolutely stunning, tucked away between limestone cliffs next to a river which a cheap (70k per person) boat ride direct from the hotel is available to take. There are also a lot of good restaurant and places to drink nearby but enough of a distance for this homestay to feel quiet. The hosts were so down to earth and friendly, although their English wasn’t fluent we were able to use google translate throughout to communicate with them. They have good quality bicycles to use for free and motorbikes available for rent at 150k per day. Every meal we ate was fantastic and the chicken pho at breakfast was the best I’ve had in Vietnam. The highlight of our stay was being invited by the hosts to join their Tel celebration party with their family where they fed us some incredible (and peculiar) local specialities, we met so many amazing people and got to drink banana wine and Vietnamese whisky with the family, truly a night to remember for the rest of our lives. After check out the host also let us keep our bags at the homestay for 3 days whilst we did a motorbike loop starting and ending in Ninh Binh. We cannot recommend these guys enough if you’re coming to Ninh...