Verified review
8/10 Good
Christina
Feb 16, 2019
Liked: Staff & service
A basic space, but right in the national park
The overall area of the guesthouse is quite large, they have two dining areas (though only one was used) and a small manmade pond with seating area around it. Lots of plants and greenary, so we were excited to get to our room thinking it would be warm and welcoming as well... which it wasn't really unfortunately. To be fair, it's a good sized room for Vietnam standards, however felt a bit cold and we couldn't seem to get the musty smell away and sometimes dampness in our clothes.
But not all is bad :) The location is great to wake up and head into the national park for a trail run and because it's far away from Cat Ba, you actually get peace and quiet. You forget how noisy the city is until you get away from the constant motor engines and honking.
The homemade dinner was also delicious, something I was also looking for during this trip! The noodle lunch is just a simple instant soup noodle.
One thing to note, is if you arrive at Ben Beo harbour after all the public buses have left, be sure to contact Jerry (the owner) to have him arrange your speedboat. My partner and I arrived at 6pm (pitch dark) and locals at the harbour wanted to help us find a boat, though I was a bit uneasy with the type they would get us (would it be safe?!) and also unfortunately felt like many people wanted to rip us off :( A quick call to Jerry and he was able to sort everything out for us right away and send over their speedboat.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019