The Gate Boutique Hotel Sapa

The property is an old 3 story walk-up with no reception or front entrance. The rooms have doors that do not close or lock properly and access is directly to the street where anyone can walk up to. The rooms have wet musty smell and feel damp unless you have a loud pedestal fan going on high. No aircon. The main room light has an exhaust fan automatically connected to it for the bath that sits in the loungeroom space. So you cannot have the light on without the exhaust fan going. In the tiny bathroom is the shower and toilet. The water from the shower goes all over the toilet and the drain is situated on the other side of the toilet - so the whole space gets flooded with water. They only accept cash and you have to fight to get a receipt of payment up front. The included breakfast is from the hotel next door (Ladybird) - which I didn’t have, but I did do dinner there - basic chicken pho - and was sick an hour later (first time sick after 6 weeks of travelling Vietnam). The room was non-smoking, but directly outside my unlockable door and bathroom window was where 4 men sat smoking for hours.

Do read the other reviews rather than going by average rating... Our main complaint is why is it so noisy? The front door of the room was completely un-soundproofed, and the hotel plays some kind of loud announcement at 0600-0630am ish, apparently every day? Why?? But actually, we had a good night's sleep. The room is very attractively decorated.