La Vela Saigon Hotel

Overall, the hardware is excellent, but the front desk service needs improvement. My overall stay was actually quite good. The hotel lobby is spacious and beautiful, with a strong sense of design, and there are many comfortable seats, making the wait during check-in quite pleasant. The room was also satisfactory – clean, spacious, and equipped with a bathtub; the overall hardware facilities were excellent. The breakfast was the highlight. The breakfast area is on the top floor, where you can walk out onto the outdoor terrace to enjoy views of Ho Chi Minh City. The morning breeze was very refreshing. The food selection was incredibly diverse, including Vietnamese, Chinese, Western, Japanese, and Indian cuisines, offering such a wide variety it felt like a dinner buffet, just without seafood. One or two floors above the top floor, there’s also a large infinity pool, with a very relaxing environment. However, the pool is quite deep, reaching around shoulder height, so be mindful when using it. However, some unpleasant incidents occurred on the day of check-out. There's an electronic entertainment/game area on the 4th floor, and staff mentioned that each guest room receives a USD25 voucher. After I collected the voucher for my room, my friend was checking out of their room next to me. I reminded the front desk staff to give them their voucher, but the staff member seemed to ignore me and continued with the check-out process. Only afterwards did they say that since the room was already checked out, they couldn't issue the voucher. When I tried to explain further, the staff member became impatient and even slammed documents on the counter, making their colleagues a bit awkward. Ultimately, I had to escalate the issue to another manager, who then helped to cancel the original check-out process and re-issue the voucher to my friend. Additionally, for a hotel of this caliber, I had expected a welcome drink to be offered proactively, but it was self-service, requiring guests to fetch it themselves. I felt that the attention to service details could be better. In summary, the hotel's hardware, rooms, breakfast, and pool are all quite good, but the front desk's service attitude and how they handle guest inquiries still have room for improvement. The hardware is highly recommended, but the service experience didn't fully align with the hotel's positioning.

Facilities: The hotel is quite new. The TV wasn't working, but I didn't ask anyone to fix it. The elevator was a bit slow, but everything else was great. Hygiene: Very clean. Breakfast was also very delicious with a wide variety of choices. There's a convenience store outside, which is very handy.

Delicious hotel. The pool is really beautiful. Excellent for after a long day of sightseeing. Very kind and polite staff. Breakfast is plentiful and varied.

I rarely leave bad reviews, but this time I really can't hold back. I'm going to give an objective, unbiased account of my experience below. The only pro: I booked this hotel specifically for the rooftop pool, which was hyped everywhere online. It's genuinely impressive for Ho Chi Minh City – high up with an expansive view, offering a direct panoramic vista of the entire city. It's definitely picture-perfect. Ridiculous cons: 1. On the day of check-in, my friend suddenly had an upset stomach around noon. We asked the hotel for a glass of water and were flat-out refused, simply because we hadn't officially checked in yet. They wouldn't even meet a basic emergency need. 2. Our red-eye flight was delayed by 2 hours due to weather, meaning we didn't take off until almost dawn. I thought I'd just extend our stay for another night and head to the airport in the early morning to avoid being too exhausted. So I booked another night through a different platform, hoping to just keep our current room and avoid the hassle of moving. The front desk flat-out refused and then, out of nowhere, assumed we were going to cram three children into one room. In reality, I only had one child; the parents of the other two children had already booked a hotel near the airport and wouldn't be staying with us at all. They wouldn't listen to any explanation. 3. The room only came with two small 300ml bottles of water. After finishing them, I asked for two more, and the staff immediately refused, without any flexibility whatsoever. My friend drank an extra 300ml bottle in her room, and they even charged her for it during checkout. When you go on vacation and stay in a hotel, you're looking for convenience and peace of mind. Instead, we hit roadblocks every step of the way. This kind of service truly doesn't live up to its 'influencer hot spot' reputation!

The room was a bit small upon entry, but overall it was good. The breakfast was incredibly rich and diverse, offering a mix of Chinese, Western, and Vietnamese dishes.

Only stayed for one night and didn't have time to use the pool, which was a shame. I did get to see it though, and the view was great; it looked like a perfect place to relax. The hairdryer in the room was a bit disappointing – it seemed to have a loose connection as I had to hold the plug in place with one hand to use it. Other than that, the room was clean.

The rooftop view at La Bella is just lovely. Enjoy the city view during off-peak hours when the sun isn't as strong. I visit every year. Also, grab some pho from Pasteur nearby!