Aravinda Resort Ninh Binh

Really peaceful setting in the back of Ninh Binh. Nice spacious rooms, good amenities, and easy to organise hiring a scooter or using one of the resorts bicycles to get around.

Well taken care of property, comfortable pool loungers and a great spa.

The surrounds are lovely. The place was clean.

We were not happy with our stay – it was such a strange experience. The hotel itself is lovely to look at: the rooms are nice, and the surroundings are beautiful. But there’s absolutely no atmosphere. During our two-night stay, it seemed only one other room was occupied, and otherwise, we saw no one. Normally that would be a positive, but in this case the rest of the hotel appeared closed. The restaurant was unoccupied and mostly in darkness. I’m sure they would have opened and cooked for us if we’d asked, but that would have been a pretty miserable experience. The pool bar, advertised as open daily until 22:00, was never staffed. We had to ask for pool towels, left them where we were told, and they stayed there uncollected for our entire stay. It’s not as if the staff were busy – that lack of attention to detail just made the whole experience feel even more peculiar. Breakfast (included) was not edible: stale cereal, terrible coffee, and a “pastry” section that consisted only of bread rolls. Breakfast had to be pre-ordered the night before as the buffet wasn’t operating – presumably because there weren’t enough guests to justify it. The hotel is not in Ninh Binh itself and sits on a very dark street, so walking around at night isn’t an option. Grab does service the area, but cars can be hard to get. Overall, the place feels overpriced. There are much better options elsewhere. It really does have potential, but they need to work on the soft product – service, atmosphere, and attention to detail.

Location, water lilies, quiet atmosphere, nature. Great for quiet and relaxing time.