La Vie Vu Linh — Hotel in Yên Bái Province

Beautiful landscape, nice secluded location, but otherwise poor what concerns the lodge.||||It's not well maintained, all dusty and the furniture look like from China. Definitely not Eco and local. Staff was friendly, but usually spends their evenings drinking one beer after another. Again, I am not sure if providing alcohol for your local staff is so eco and social. But well, that's the least. ||||In the evening you eat with the local staff/owner/family for dinner. This is nice every now and then, but not so nice when you will be squeezed at a table with little room to eat, just because grandma and her entire family are starving and want to get the most out of the meal you are paying for. And if you are there for several nights, you may want to enjoy a meal for once just with your friends. The meals were good, but for the amount you pay, nothing special. I find it very much overpriced, especially when considering that it's in the middle of the countryside where everything is much cheaper compared to Hanoi.||||The social and eco aspects of the project are not much visible. Most of it seems like a make up story for charging more to the guests. ||||So, all in all, even if it is an eco and social tourism project, it's too expensive, you pay more, but don't see and know for what. ||||Due to lack of competition at the lake, they will probably continue being lazy and overcharging for no good reason. ||||Poor management? Probably, since there would be scope for making so much more of that place. Not to mention, the dust in the rooms and everywhere else. They don't seem to be able to train staff well and to motivate them to maintain the lodge well. ||||Last but not least, for a guided 5 hour tour they wanted to charge me $50. That's outrageous in my opinion, where the monthly salary of the average Vietnamese is around $160. A greedy monopoly. ||||To sum up, great location, beautiful landscape and it would be even a fairly nice lodge if managed well and sustainable and better maintained, with a more competitive pricing. ||||No time for a more elaborate review. But you...

We decided to stay in the Lavievulinh for 2 nights directly when they reopened after Covid.||The whole staff was extremely friendly and helpful and we had a great time with them! ||The owner was around for the days that we were there and together with Miss Lien they explained a good bit about the project of the eco lodge and the area! ||The highlights were surely the view from the lodge and the stilt house in the morning and the guided trip to the jungle with a Picknick next to a waterfall! ||||You have to be aware that this is the countryside of Vietnam, so there won’t be waiting a 5* hotel but rather a bigger family who speak English and who are willing to share the Vietnamese lifestyle and teach about the culture and differences to western society. ||This includes that the way to the place is not a fully paved road but rather a path that leads through nature and that is sometimes muddy. ||That is exactly what makes the place so charming and perfect for a time-out from busy Hanoi or Saigon. ||||As a hotel professional I can say that it is clean, but since nature surrounds this place you will find some spiders and bugs. Nonetheless a big mosquito net is available for the bed and we slept wonderfully! ||||Altogether I think it was my best short trip in Vietnam and If we have got the time, we will come again! ||||PS: you should contact them before the arrival date and they will help organizing the...

This so-called eco-lodge enjoys an idyllic lakeside setting & it looks great as one approaches from the lake. However, on arrival, the place is a huge disappointment being both dirty & tatty. It doesn't appear to have received any significant maintenance for years & even the sign at the entrance is twisted & torn.||||The one English-speaking lad who welcomed us was very pleasant &, as well as being the guide for our visit, he said that he was also the chef. There were several other members of staff around but it wasn't obvious what they did.||||Our dinner arrived on a large tray & the food was a good quality. However, the dishes had clearly been cooked in sequence & several were cold & unappetising. It would have been much better if each dish had been served when it was still hot & there were plenty of staff around who could have done this. We insisted that this was done for breakfast the next day. We were provided with copious quantities of strong rice wine at dinner & I suspect that we'd all have been very drunk if we'd finished it!||||This resort might suit groups who are looking for somewhere remote to party & are not bothered by dirt & discomfort but we would advise others...