Clouds Sapa Hotel (may sapa hotel) — Hotel in Sa Pa Ward

TOUR REVIEW - May Sapa Tour : I didnt stay with the hotel but I booked the Sapa Tour through Drift Backpacker in Hanoi..

Avoid! They just cram tourists in at a discount, poor quality schedule, it's not humane.

Overnight bus you will not sleep on. Drivers talked the whole time to his friends and super bumpy, can't sleep. It's better to take a day bus and enjoy the views. You arrive to Sapa at 5:15 am. She will pick you up to walk 10 min by foot, expected to wait in hotel lobby couches 3 hours, no bed offered. Lobby couches are uncomforable and awkward by the road, she kicked off staff so I could lay there.. After this you go to fansipan. Massive walk, I didn't reach the top and it's cold rainy now. I was told later in morning it rains and is full of tourists, afternoon would have been better. It's a cool cable car view, flower garden, but crowded, 1000s of people. Note,Fansipan is a commercialized theme park, not a historical place. Cat cat village is same, tourist trap for photos and vendors shouting "come in, buy something" as you descend stairs for 40 Min. Food included was terrible. White tofu, rice, cabbage. Awkward dining area, not nice, like 1 star hotel. I asked to opt out of meals after and ate elsewhere. Scheduling I often had to ask forore specific logistics, like where to meet. Lot of "later" or "over there" as vague directions... Hotel "included" after I saw it was dorm, I also decided to book my own place. I requested a 50% refund to ditch after day 1, due to food, hotel, and schedule. She claimed hotel in Hanoi should refund. They said no, she has been paid out, it's up to her. Then she yelled at me, saying no refunds. On top of this, there were further activities about the 2nd day activities that were supposed to be in the itinerary, like the glass bridge. She said it "wasn't included". I showed her photos of the menu I paid for. No refund.

Positive : Local guide Hmong women guides were nice, know English well, and are doing their job for tourism. I aske owner to split my tour to the 2nd day and she obliged. Also accommodated that I wanted to go back a few days later by bus. Transfers to tavan by bike taxi included. I found my peace there and decided to stay in the village few days to rest from the chaotic...

By far the worst hotel I have stayed at.

Rooms - old, smell like mould, worn out furniture, weak shower stream and visible glue between tiles in the bathroom. We were asked to pay 45k dong for a bathroom towel that we used to clean dirt off of trekking shoes or stay to wash it ourselves. Apparently, these people have never seen a washing machine. I have also never stayed at a hotel that cared so much about a $2 usd towel that they would charge the guest for it, but given the condition the hotel is in, I’m not surprised they would jump at every opportunity to replace anything with a new substitute.

Food - breakfast was 3 pieces of the saddest bread I have ever seen, eggs, a hint of salad and coffee / tea. Tables were not clean at 7am (we were told breakfast was between 7 and 7.30am, so you better eat quickly!) and the staff barely wiped ours as we sat down. Expect to have the kitchen staff eat their meals in the same room as you.

Facilities - lobby smelled of whatever was being cooked at the time and the sofas were dirty. Members of the staff were randomly sleeping on them at odd times. The walls are paper thin, you will hear everything happening in the corridors + the screaming and loud music in the street at random times (including around 5am).

On a positive note, this was so bad that we will have a story to tell our friends and future generations forever.

Avoid...

The room was clean and nice. Location is also great to many attractions. Food provided was decent. However, the laundry service was terrible. I dropped off my laundry at night after reception advised i can get it back by tmr morning.

By tmr morning before going my day trip, i went down to ask for the laundry and got told that it will be ready by the afternoon instead. A clearer and more direct communication regarding the timing of laundry service will be needed to confirm before hands.

By the time i got back the laundry, i noticed that the clothes were still damp and only the top few pieces got sprayed with perfume. The rest has no pleasant odour as if no washing powder or softer was used.

Some of my laundry (2 shirts and. a sock) also went missing and when I reported to the hotel and their laundry service provider they claimed that they have given back all the laundry. You will need to double check all the laundry and take photos before sending them off.

Lastly, the price was way too out of line from my experience. I was told 50 000vn/kg when i dropped off the laundry. However, when i got back my laundry bag which costed 220 000vnd. This was equivalent to 4kg sth. A more transparent service is needed, especially when a laundry service in big city like Ha Noi (VN capital) only costs...