I had booked a tour with the Sinh Tourist (formerly Sinh Cafe) and upgraded to this hotel, upon learning that the one in the original package did not have in-room heating. I am glad I did - the room was pretty big - it had two large twin beds and a nice sitting area by a 'fireplace'. There was also a balcony, but as I was on the 4th floor, it didn't have fantastic views. The beds were clean and comfortable (slightly hard as is the case with many hotels in North Vietnam). The bathroom was basic but clean with hot water which is extremely important in winter (at least it is to me!). Water pressure was okay though at times, the hot water turned a little cold after a while. There was in room heating and the air con doubled up as a heater as well in winter, so no problems there.

Breakfast was included, and they had a decent mix of continental and asian food - from a sandwich maker, to ham and cheese and fried rice and pho. They even had a crepe station and an egg station. Did not have any problems with bugs or food hygiene. Maybe it was due to the live-in cat. The view outside the dining area is lovely - you can see part of the village to the right and the hills on the left. When the sun comes out, it is just beautiful. Though the blasting of dance music in the morning (from another building) was a little questionable.

Service from the staff was okay - I can't say it was fantastic, but neither was it bad. For example, they had a 'spa' on the first floor and offered a 20% discount if we booked in advance at the desk. They also offered to have it in room when I asked. I also enquired about laundry and they charged slightly higher prices than what I found outside, but I figured that it was worth the language barrier and any possible hassles (e.g. lost clothes, wrong laundry, etc). The lady who took my laundry said it would be ready the next day. When I enquired about it at the desk (approx 20 hours later), they said it would not be ready till the next morning, when I was going to check out. I had to be firm about getting my laundry as I needed to pack and they were able to deliver my clothes about 1-2 hours later. I'm not sure if this is part of the culture there or it was a language barrier, but to get things done I had to be politely firm about my preferences and requests.

All in all, a decent stay, decent rooms, decent staff. It's not luxury (go stay at Victoria Hotel for that) but good value for what I paid for. It was worth upgrading as the other hotel (Sapa Global Tourist) had a sign that said don't leave your food lying around as there are mice and other pests.

The positive reviews of this hotel are highly suspect. I just cannot believe that they're talking about the same hotel. Either that or they were written by friends/family/employees of the hotel.

I still have nightmares about this hotel. It was by far, hands down, the worst hotel we stayed in throughout our 3+ weeks in Vietnam. To add insult to injury, we'd actually paid the tour company (SinhTourist) for the "upgraded" hotel. No hotel could possibly have been worse.

First room was a double room on the first floor closest to the construction site (either room 102 or 103). The room had an OK view (and a window to the outside). The bed was AWFUL. It literally felt like you were lying directly on the springs. Plus the springs sounded rusty and would creak and scrape when you moved.

We asked to switch rooms and were given a room on the second floor, across from the elevators. This room had 2 double beds but windows that opened into the HALL. No external windows. I regretted changing rooms - at least the other one had a window for fresh air.

Decided to just suck it up and stay the night. I was literally being woken up multiple times in the night from the SMELL of MOLD in the room that became overpowering. The next morning, exhausted and wanting to get the hell outta dodge, I realized where the smell was coming from. The bathroom. There was no shower curtain and absolutely no caulking around the tub and the wall so water from the shower would spray everywhere and probably pool beneath the tub. Can't even imagine the mold situation if they were to rip up the tub.

Breakfast was gag-inducing. Live roaches - baby ones and adult ones - crawling among the chopsticks and around the juice and sugar bowls.

This hotel was on par with an Asian prison. I would not stay there again if it were the last place on earth and my very life depended on it.

I'll bullet point this review. It was HORRIFIC (and i can't stress that enough - imagine the worst place you've ever seen, and then double it).
1. Breakfast was foul. An impressive collection of COCKROACHES crawling around in middle of buffet table and from where you pick up the chopsticks. Vile.
2. Room on inside of hotel with no window. Smell of mould was overpowering.
3. Bathroom was straight our of a horror movie - pictures just can't do it justice. Rust seeping from fixtures, scary lighting, no shower curtain. Gave me nightmares.
4. Hotel had wifi - this was appreciated, there's also two PCs that are free to use.
5. the town is very small so it's a short walk to explore.
6. views are great.
7. This is HANDS DOWN the WORST hotel i have ever stayed in. Bed was so uncomfortable it probably dated back to the Jurassic era.
8. receptionist was quite helpful. we were offered a room change, so inspected the room to find it equally as disgusting.

There's the main points to remember if you're ever unfortunate enough to stay here. Sa Pa is an amazing place. when you leave the village to go hiking it is incredible, images that'll stay with you a lifetime. The people are amazingly friendly but will sell hard to you. and relentlessly.

Take some waterproof clothing with you, good shoes to walk in and a warm sweater - my wife and I were there at the start of October and were lucky to get some fantastic weather although the nights are cool.

If you're doing the hiking trip, they take you to visit a primary school in one of the villages. One of the guys we were with (and i really wish i'd prepped up and done this) had been to the dollar store before coming over to Vietnam and bought a few balls, colouring books, etc and handed them out. The kids literally exploded with joy, although this still didn't give me me 1 iota of appreciation for the room i'd paid over 20 bucks for.

I'm actually disappointed that i have to give this 1 star for Trip Advisor to process the review. i've give it NEGATIVE 5 stars if i could, and that would still be a little too kind.

Hotel is conveniently located with a very polite and helpful staff. Provides an excellent buffet breakfast. Neat and elegant rooms with clean beds giving a fresh feeling. Would prefer to return to the Hotel during my next trip to Sapa.