TOKI Retreat Vân Long

Lovely staff and a brilliant place to relax

Friendly staff: The staff is super friendly, speaks good English. Beautiful pool: The pool is gorgeous. Surrounded by lots of different plants, it really feels like an oasis. Tasty food: The food they serve for lunch and dinner (order with a day's notice!) is very tasty and stands out from the usual Vietnamese dishes you might have had before. Comfy bed: The bed was very comfortable.

Impractical room design: I stayed in a single room that looked great in the pictures but, in terms of functionality, was a total disaster. I booked it because I wanted to enjoy a workation – relax and get some laptop work done. While the room had a desk, it was clearly more for decoration than for actually working. It was very low, with decorative elements that made it impossible to fit my knees under it. There was no real storage – just three hangers. The room also needs to be locked with a bolt and then a padlock, which I found inconvenient. The curtains didn’t block out any light, so if you like to sleep in even a little bit of darkness, you're out of luck. Noise: The single rooms are on the first floor of the main building, right next to a gallery overlooking the reception and restaurant below. With no soundproofing whatsoever this means you can constantly hear every little thing happening downstairs – music, conversations, etc. On my second morning, I woke up at 5:50 AM because I could hear some people loudly chatting downstairs (presumbably the staff as their shift started). Not for taller people: The bathroom is outside the room and shared, which I knew beforehand. What I didn’t know is that it’s not designed for taller people. At 1.75m, I had to duck to avoid hitting my head, and I couldn’t fit under the rainshower. Unreliable internet: The internet was very unstable during my stay – both on my phone and laptop. Limited payment options: Lastly, you can only pay with cash or PayPal (with a 5% surcharge). No card payments possible! Overall, the place feels more designed for Instagram photos than practicality. It seems that’s what most guests come for – when I arrived on Sunday, there were lots of Vietnamese couples taking pictures and videos. It looks nice and charming, but it’s just not the most functional. For the room rate, I would say it wasn't worth it for me.

Very stylish design with lots of wood and stone elements. Nice tranquil garden and pool. Very friendly stuff. Probably the most authentic food that we had in Vietnam was at this resort, delicious. It was our last stopover in Ninh Binh, the place could be a bit far from attractions for those who want to explore from this location.

It's one of the most stunning places I've ever stayed in. The design is insane, and you're just can't cpmprehend so much beauty around. Amazing.

It's located far from everything but that's not a surprise at all, just be aware that you definitely need a bike to get there and from there.

A little

Loved the head of staff, great guy, very helpful. Location a bit far from restaurants, so plan on eating there. Food was excellent.

the bikes have NO brakes. I had an accident and have a bloody gash and I lost consciousness. The property should have this fixed. It is dangerous. They should have given us a credit. We paid over $300 USD for two night plus food.