This post on Phu Quoc Island is to share with you my thoughts and recommendations on Vietnam’s premiere beach destination. It is also a summary of the few articles I wrote about Phu Quoc with links to the individual posts. Summarizing them into points, the 10 things you should know about Phu Quoc are:

I paid only US$5.50 for this room in Phuong Hong Hotel in Rach Gia. For this price, I got cable TV, 2 fans, an attached bathroom and free WIFI connection. The toilet, which is outside my room, is only 5m away…

I only have 1 problem with this Tan Phuoc 3 Hotel in Can Tho, Mekong Delta: there was a mild ’stinky feet’ smell throughout my recent 2 days stay. I hope it had happened only when I was there because there are 2 good reasons to check out the Tan Phuoc 3 Hotel:

Recently stayed 3 days 2 nights in this Tropicana Beach Resort at Long Hai, Vung Tau. Unfortunately, it was not for a holiday. My friends at HilarionJasmine.com needed a hand with a few commercial shoot and I went along to help with some simple translation. They were engaged by Tropicana Beach Resort’s new CEO, Richard from Singapore, who is a 30 years veteran in the hospitality industry. Richard is on a mission to revamp this 2 years old resort and needed professional pictures for his promotion activities…

I must give credit to my friend Bennett from Good Morning Vietnam for this post on Kim Loan Restaurant in Mui Ne. He wrote so many good things about Kim Loan Restaurant that I had to check it out during my recent trip to Mui Ne. And I have to agree on most of his review. The 2 points that I can’t agree are because I didn’t get to experience them…

One of the best things about Mui Ne, arguably Vietnam’s best beach resort destination, is this: it is laid out in a long strip along a main street, with mainly the resort and hotels on one side (along the beach) and bars, restaurants and shops on the other. This means it’s very easy to move around. More importantly, when it comes to food, accommodation and entertainment in Mui Ne, you are spoiled for choice with this 10km stretch…

Came across Hai Yen Hotel during my recent trip to Mui Ne. Nice overall hotel or resort accommodation in Mui Ne with friendly staffs, beachfront location and best of all- a swimming pool. I asked for the cheapest room and was quoted US$13 with fan but no TV although I’ve heard, during my stay there, them charging the others US$10 with no bathroom (mine came with attached bathroom). The room is quite ok but you may find some ants crawling around and a few mosquitoes every now and then. I won’t complain given the overall package that Hai Yen Hotel provides at $13…

Huynh Anh Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, has always been the hotel I’d book for my buddies whenever they come over to tour Vietnam. Located right in Saigon backpackers hostel area, they have very friendly staffs, a security guard based in the lobby for 24 hours a day and even security cameras on every level of the hotel. For US$25 per night at Huynh Anh Hotel, you’ll get cable TV, hot shower, a small fridge, free breakfast, WIFI, free access to the internet in the lobby and GREAT views of Saigon backpacker’s area if you can get the room with a balcony. Note that this is not the perfect hotel. If you want a flawless one, go to Sheraton or Hyatt My experience with them is that sometimes the battery for the air con remote goes flat. And sometimes the hot water gets too hot, or not at all. But at only US$25 with its location and facilities, you’ll find that it’s worth every dollar…

Beautiful Saigon Hotel is the new kid on the block in Saigon backpackers hostel area having been fully renovated less than 6 months ago. So you can expect all the advantage of a new hotel like a flat screen plasma TV, working water heater and new and clean beds (although they are on the hard side). Within this short period of their new set up, the Beautiful Saigon Hotel had already gathered lots of good reviews, particularly from TripAdvisor.com, one of the leading travel guide site. The only 2 negatives, from my personal experience and also from what’s read on TripAdvisor.com, is that the standard room (costing US$26/night) is very small and can be quite noisy (they are located opposite 2 big and very popular pubs in the Saigon’s backpacker’s area). If you can afford it, I suggest taking the deluxe room at US$45/night. The deluxe rooms are bigger and being located on higher level, the noise issue should get better.

There are actually 2 articles in this post. I’ll tell you about the type of room you can rent in a Phu My Hung hotel at Saigon’s district 7 in a while. But first, let me share how this post came about…