Novotel Hotel

While I've been living in Hanoi, a hotel rennaissance has been occuring in Nha Trang, Vietnam's south central coast beach resort and, also, my hometown. The long and natural bay lends itself to this kind of development, with many of the big players in international hotels moving in to claim their plot of beach front. Tran Phu Street, the boulevard running parallel to the beach, is turning into Vietnam's Gold Coast.

I wanted to check out what all the fuss is about. Of course, normally when I'm home I stay with family and when I'm on holiday I stay at family run mini-hotels, so the four-star Hotel Novotel Nha Trang is a big deal for me. A recommendation had come from a friend in the trade and when I was offered a room upgrade as I checked in, I must say that this little experience of luxury was quite nice for a change.

The hotel boasts that every room has a seaview; in some hotels that could mean out of the bathroom window. Not so here. A blue panorama of sea and islands can be seen through full length windows from air-conditioned comfort or from each room's balcony, where Nha Trang's famous afternoon seabreeze takes the edge off the heat of the day. Sunrise in the morning is truly a spectacular sight which one need not get out of bed for. That's a bonus!

The room decor is purple on white and there is no hint of Vietnam in the design or the finish. They have avoided the cliched images of girls in ao dai and there is not a lacquer vessel in sight. Maybe there is a Novotel template of room design. The shiny chrome reading lamps are a classy touch by the bedside, which is a couple of steps up on a mezzanine of sorts. This creates a sense of spaciousness, with desk space for laptops, glasses for the main drinking occasions, sofa and the balcony and outdoor setting down below.

And don't forget the sea, which really is the star feature of the room!

Outside of the room, there is lots to enjoy, including a pool, fitness centre and massage service; all quite typical I guess for regular guests at the Novotel and other high-end hotels. My outside of the room experience was spent mostly with friends and family at the local eateries but I did enjoy a beer at the hotel's main restaurant, The Square, which almost feels as if it is located on the beach.

Indeed, the sea seems to be the recurring theme at the Novotel Nha Trang.
Novotel Nha Trang Hotel
50 Tran Phu Street
Telephone:(+84)58/6256900

Golden Banana Hotel

Last month we went to Siem Reap, Cambodia and following a recommendation from a friend, we stayed at the Golden Banana Hotel. I was very impressed with the hotel in general and particularly the service and friendly atmosphere created by their staff.

We are welcomed with a glass of iced lemon juice with mint and a cold towel to cool us down as the weather was 35c+ degrees. What a great way to welcome guests...we realy appreciated that drink at that time! After that, the receptionist explained to us about how the hotel operates, the city and some of the best destinations to go for the next few days, then he sent us to our room.

Most rooms in the hotel are similarly designed with a bed room, bathroom on the ground floor and a living room with an extra bed on the second floor. There's a balcony with a rocking chair, small table, another chair and a view over the swimming pool. I wondered if I needed all of this for my holiday? Was it a bit too much for me? And reconsidering, that's what most people need for their holiday, to relax and release all the stress. I decided it was okay!

Our room was tidied up everyday and new complimentary water placed in the bathroom.

Having a cocktail or a cold beer by the side of the pool was how we spent our afternoons after wondering through temples all morning. The Golden Banana Hotel serves great cocktails even in my limited experience. Their mojito was a hit with me. Besides that, I loved the hotel food with great tastes of Kh'mer and some fusion of Thai, Cambodian.

Golden Banana Boutique Hotel & Resort
email: goldenbanana2@gmail.com
telephone: +855 (0)12654638 / (0)12885366

Sapa Rooms Boutique Hotel

Visiting Sapa in the summer is developing into a bit of a tradition amongst Hanoians largely to escape the heat of the capital. Recently, I joined the throngs of locals and foreign tourists for the overnight train journey up to the hills. Unfortunately, we arrived on a day of heavy rain which did not bode well in our search for a hotel. Looking like drowned rats after a few knock-backs, we found Sapa Rooms Boutique Hotel which is located close to the markets and main road. Offering great views back up to Sapa town as well as a panorama down over the rice paddies and up to the mountains, the hotel is on the road down to Cat Cat village. It is such a brilliant location and we were so glad to have found this hotel completely by chance and luckier still that they had some vacancies.

The Sapa Rooms has been thoughtfully designed with original paintings and artwork, furnished and decorated in contemporary tones with touches of local tribal culture. A feature of the comfortable lounge area is a large golden bust of ‘Uncle Ho’ which strangely did not seem out of place amongst the eclectic mix of art and handicrafts. The rooms themselves all have views – something that is imperative for a stay in the mountains, especially when you’ve come from the city. Each room has some lovely cosy features, including shaggy rugs on the floor, marvelous tall vases and books laying on the beds on arrival.

The hotel restaurant serves excellent interesting food with the menu changing regularly according to whatever seasonal organic and free range produce is available from the local suppliers. I especially loved their grilled green banana and tofu casserole, the grilled Sapa pork fillet marinated in lemon grass and the exotic side dish of grilled pineapple and chilli. Another favourite was the baked fish wrapped in banana leaf. Lunch and breakfast or drinks after a hard day trekking can be enjoyed on the outdoor terrace, perfect for a glass of crisp Australian white or a cold beer. If trekking doesn’t appeal, a lazy day with coffee and a good book can also be spent here.

I highly recommend this hotel as their staff was so helpful and friendly; I also like the fact that the owners are putting something back into the local community. They are committed to improving the living standards of ethnic minority groups by contributing to local development and education projects. The Sapa Rooms proprietors invest all of the profits from trekking for such purposes in addition to providing decent wages to the young girls they employ as guides. These girls are truly delightful and really make the whole Sapa experience worthwhile so the investment made by the hotel is already having positive impacts.

The Sapa Rooms is a winner all round.

Athens, Kalimera

My dream has came true and I am now in Athens, Greece. A country with history and holy stories. Athens nowadays is such a modern city with a great public transportation system. There are so many options for tourists to choose from local bus to MRT.... Every single day I found a new thing in this city and I have learned alot.

One of the funniest things was that my first breakfast in Athens was vanilla ice cream. Do you believe that? I couldn't believe that I ate ice cream either.

It's a bit like our trip in general, actually. We didn't make any plans for it, we have just been going with the flow and everyday is a surprise. Athens...the ruins...the lifestyle....it's all a surprise for someone from Vietnam.

Anyway, on our first night we stayed at Marble House, a small pension hotel close to the public transport system and a short walk to Athen's main attraction, the Acropolis. It was in a really quiet neighbourhood. The lady who welcomed us was a Greek American and she told us all the information about Athens and what we needed to do. After checking in, we walked up to the amazing Acropolis but the weather was a bit stormy and wet so we decided to come back the next day. We also arranged to meet Angeliki, my friend's friend from Athens.

I think I'm in love this city. There are so many things to check out and the food is so good but one thing that I need to be concerned about is things are expensive here and they use Euro, not Dong like in Vietnam:) I need to calm down to everything because I have 4 and a half weeks to go. I hope I can check out everything and show everyone about it

Tobe continued

Van Hai Resort

Just by chance rather than good planning, my friends and I got the last available booking at Van Hai Resort which is located on a wild hidden beach on Quan Lan Island. The recent public holidays joined to the weekend created the perfect opportunity for a break from life in the chaotic capital. And the atmosphere on Quan Lan Island is about as relaxing as you’ll get. The simple accommodation offered by the Van Hai Resort was fitting too.

With rooms in stilt houses looking through the conifer trees and down the sand dunes onto the sea, we settled down for a five day stay. The cold shower bathrooms and fan rooms may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the sheets and towels were replaced daily and the beer was delivered cold in a polystyrene box full of ice. We sat on our long balcony with our feet on the rails, beers in hand, forgetting the pressures of city life.

The complex is owned by Viglacera, a government owned company which makes porcelain basins and toilet bowls. Ironically, this company is also responsible for the sand mining one beach around from their resort! Mr. Ngoc, the deputy manager, says the resort has recently been renovated but has been operating for three years. The surrounding foreshore is largely untouched and uninhabited – no more resorts on the drawing boards as yet, which is a good thing.

The only criticism is the difficulty getting fed. There are several little stalls run by local women within the resort grounds but there’s not much on offer apart from steamed squid, grilled dried squid and instant noodles with egg. There is a restaurant, too – though it has no menus and, anything that can be eaten there needs to be ordered in advance in the morning at highly inflated prices. One night, we had a set menu meal there, the dessert for which was one orange on a plate to be split between six people! Go to town for meals is the lesson here!

But we were not there for the food. As an escape, to see a bit of my country where development is happening slowly, to be the only one walking along the entire beach – these are the reasons to visit Quan Lan Island. And, with sunrise views over the sea, Van Hai Resort is the accommodation of choice.



Van Hai Resort

Son Hao - Quan Lan

Van Don - Quang Ninh

Tel : (84).(33).877316