It's a shame. The experience could be really good with very little effort from management, but nobody here seems to care much.
On the positive side:
- Great comfortable bed
- Lovely view of the Mekong from the balcony
The negatives:
- None of the staff speak any English (nor Chinese), which is unusual for a hotel in this price range, especially as they seem keen on attracting international visitors
- The internet connection is horrible. The staff seem to have no clue what to do about it other than restart the routers, which doesn't help
- The aircon is loud, really loud. A bit like sitting in an old Boeing 747. Whirrs, buzzes and clatters all the time. It even drowns out the noise of the water pressure pump switching on and off all night.
- The shower cannot be set to be warm. It's either ice cold or scalding hot. You can put the mixer into a certain position and leave it there, and the temperature will chaneg nonetheless. No fun at all.
- There is a blue light on the keycard holder that flashes on and off all the time. It's like sleeping next to a police car with the warning lights flashing
All in all, a real disappointment. What a shame, it's such a lovely building in a great location, and a wasted opportunity for the owners.
I will try to get a refund later this morning (6.30AM now), but I'm not hopeful. It's not something I have ever done at a hotel either. I doubt that Expedia will be of any help here either.