My partner and I arrived in Halong Bay after a turbulent journey from Hanoi, feeling a little worse for wear and a little exhausted! We walked around for a bit and found the Bach Dang Hotel in the more remote / quieter bit of Halong Bay. We weren't particularly bothered about being in the centre of all the commotion and Halong Bay is so peaceful we were just glad to get some rest.
We arrived at the hotel without a reservation and paid $50 for a sea-front room. We thought this as reasonable - considering this was last minute, and the location was peaceful. The staff were pleasant, but I wouldn't say their customer service was excellent - they didn't exactly go out of their way to assist us (and they were quite abrupt when I asked if we missed breakfast the following morning) - however they weren't rude.

The best thing about the hotel was the room which was surprising as if I'm honest, the exterior of the hotel doesn't exactly invite you in! Our room was massive - high ceilings, good air con, good mini-bar (very nice after our day of travelling!) and fab balcony looking out across the bay - I stress that I sea front room is a must here. My only critique about the room is that one might say it's a little dated - but we were very happy nonetheless.

In terms of recommendation, is this the best hotel? Probably not, but in terms of functionality, it met and exceeded our needs for a one night stay. (Don't book book for leisure facilities either...they were a little dodgy!)

I must also add that a member of staff (not sure if he was a manager) - his name was Mr Bin (i think) arranged our boat trip round Halong Bay and we paid $110 for a one night stay on a "luxury" boat with tours etc. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS MAN. We were offered two types of trip an $85 for a standard or $110 for a luxury trip and because we wanted something special we selected the latter - this is not what we got - and even though the trip was fabulous, would couldn't help but feel we were conned as the group who were also on the boat paid $90 and received a 2 night stay!!!!!
SHOP AROUND - apparently the best deals are booked in Hanoi...

Oh, and do not book a bus with Mr Bin - we paid $40 each for an 18 hour "luxury & catered" bus journey to Hue which transpired to be a 21hour PUBLIC BUS in coffin beds and prison food on route...

Just do your research and do not book any trips from the hotel :)