May 28, 2015

Sleek contemporary design with a distinctly Asian touch sets the scene for a relaxing break at Novotel Ha Long Bay.

We made our reservation in chinese to stay here for a single night. On their website, it's written that they speak different languages including chinese and french, so it was interesting to test their skills. The lady at the reception found our booking easily, she was very polite, friendly and noticed i had a french passport so she talked to me in french instead of english. I was expecting she asks why we booked in chinese because none of us were chinese, but she didn't.

Our room was on the 9th floor with an amazing view on the bay but none of the balconies had any chairs to sit on and enjoy the view which was a real shame. The hotel is clean, the rooms are spacious and comfortable. Decoration is asian inspiration, it looks modern, the mattress is quite firm but comfortable.

There isn't much to do around the hotel, but we primarily went to the bay to see the limestone cliffs, so we didn't mind relaxing at the hotel after we returned from our 6-hour cruise.

At the pool bar, we enjoyed fresh fruit cocktails after a long and hot day. At the spa, we had a great massage and facial package, probably one of the best we've had worldwide so we left feeling well rested and pampered.

For dinner, we tried the Square restaurant offering a large buffet but also a-la-carte and set menu. It brings to its customers delectable international flavors with an assortment of choices: fresh seafood prepared at the open grill kitchen, tapas, appetizers, verrines, cheeses, desserts... If the room service offers a variety of eastern and western snacks it's very expensive for Vietnam.

Novotel Ha Long is much better than many others hotels of the same brand, if we had a bad experience in Novotel Sydney Darling Harbour (Australia), at Novotel Ha Long, we really appreciated the asian decorating, the pool, the spa cares, the cleanliness and the staff very welcoming and helpful. Even at Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square (Thailand), we didn't have so great and professional services!

What Megavina advisors thought about Novotel Ha Long?

- Hospitality: 9.00/10

- Cleanliness: 9.00/10

- Food: 8.5/10

- Location: 9.00/10

- Staff: 8.5/10

- Price: 8.00/10