Asia - 5* (or close) options near Halong Bay?

I have meetings in Hanoi all next week (9/17-) and snagged tix to bring my wife along, ultimately I found flights that get us in a few days early and so we have 2+ days free. I just took her on a pretty rough trip thru developing SE Asia, so I need some 5 star treatment to make up for it. I know some great places in southern VN, anything in the Halong Bay area that would impress her? If not 5*, what can we expect and any suggestions? Also, not totally wedded to Halong Bay, could be anywhere nearby... thanks!

This http://www.halongplaza.com/home.htm was about as good as it could get in Halong Bay. We stayed there when it was brand new (4-5years ago) with nice beige carpets and full marble bathroom. The room was actually much nicer than that shown on their website, and it exceeded our expectations. I would rate it as 3.5 star (when it was brand new).

There were several new hotels under construction then but I have not heard of any "luxury" option so far apart from the Sheraton which is not due to open until 2010. Maybe be worthwhile looking for a luxury junk instead.

Maybe be worthwhile looking for a luxury junk instead.

...like the Emeraude (http://www.emeraude-cruises.com/). AFAIK, they only do one-night cruises, but I've heard great things about the boat and the service.

- Michael

Thanks for these suggestions. We wound up asking our hotel concierge about the Emeraude and that came highly recommended. But she then suggested this new boat "Bhaya Cruises" (http://www.bhayacruises.com/index.php) which she said has a similar class boat and an introductory promotion that works out to be a great deal. The boat looks a bit smaller than the Emeraude. We asked for her to book us a suite on the Bhaya, I'll post back with comments when we get back.

Bhaya was quite nice. We sailed around with the Emeraude (anchored up right next to it in fact) so I can give some direct comparisons between the boats. We liked the size and layout of the Bhaya more. It has about 1/2 the rooms and about the same amount of public space. The Bhaya also has a better layout, the rooms are accessed via a central hallway as opposed to an outside deckway. this means you have windows onto the water not onto a public walkway. We had one of the 2 suites in the front on the second floor. It was quite spacious for a boat this size, with a small couch under the windows and a large deck toward the front of the boat with a table, chairs and umbrella. The only drawback of the room was the shower, it was a bit of a short set up for a 6' guy. Furnishings are nice, something of a mix between a cape cod cottage and a junk, sounds strange but it works. The layout of the upper deck is nice, enough semi private seating that you can hang alone, or you can mingle with others. There were only 12 onboard our cruise, we had a nice time drinking wine etc late into the night with most of them. It was nice that the boat attracted like-minded folks. The biggest let down was the food. Breakfast was ok, lunch was just ok but dinner was really weak. All the meals were buffet, I know it's hard to cook to order on a boat, but for these prices you really have to offer a great buffet (not easy in my book) or consider doing three entrees to pick from. The dinner buffet actually left my wife hungry, she wound up snacking on nuts to fill up. I think they are still getting the food under control, so we left some firm comments about our dissatisfaction and I think they are doing some work on this. Others on the boat said the buffets (even on the Emeraude) leave a bit to be desired. Again, I am not a buffet kind of guy for dinner, I litterally will turn and walk out of a place when I find a dinner buffet. But we couldnt do that here!

I looked at the website for Bhaya, and the boat and cruise sound very nice.

Did you do the one night or two night cruise? Right now, I'm thinking the 2 night one is better because you'll have more time on the bay while the 1 night one sounds rushed. How were the side-trips (eg how much physical activity was required)?

Also, did you book directly with the company or through the hotel concierge? The prices on the website sound reasonable, but I'm wondering if booking via an agent will get an additional discount.

We did the one night version- if you really want to relax 2 nights would be great, but the food selection (or lack thereof) might be a problem.

Side trips were very mellow, we did the tour of the floating village and then a short swim.

We booked thru the concierge, but i had looked at the website and it was about the same price. In the future I will do separate booking for a car, to get a better one. It's a long drive and you want a comfortable luxury car for this. The hotel gave us a fairly cheapo one and I wasnt happy with it. Make sure your driver understands where to take you, you'll likely arrive at this empty dock before the Bahaya comes in to pick you up. Grab a water and sit under the tree while you wait for the boat to pick you up.

I looked at the website for Bhaya, and the boat and cruise sound very nice.

Did you do the one night or two night cruise? Right now, I'm thinking the 2 night one is better because you'll have more time on the bay while the 1 night one sounds rushed. How were the side-trips (eg how much physical activity was required)?

Also, did you book directly with the company or through the hotel concierge? The prices on the website sound reasonable, but I'm wondering if booking via an agent will get an additional discount.

We did the one night version- if you really want to relax 2 nights would be great, but the food selection (or lack thereof) might be a problem.

Side trips were very mellow, we did the tour of the floating village and then a short swim.

We booked thru the concierge, but i had looked at the website and it was about the same price. In the future I will do separate booking for a car, to get a better one. It's a long drive and you want a comfortable luxury car for this. The hotel gave us a fairly cheapo one and I wasnt happy with it. Make sure your driver understands where to take you, you'll likely arrive at this empty dock before the Bahaya comes in to pick you up. Grab a water and sit under the tree while you wait for the boat to pick you up.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll go with the 1 night version. Looking more closely at the itinerary, you spend most of the 2nd day kayaking on the 2 night trip. I'd probably enjoy that, but I don't think everyone else would!

This boat sounds nicer than the Emeraude, if only because it holds ~50% less people. Looking at the schedules for both, you get ~1-1.5 hrs more time on the bay on this boat, presumably because it takes less time to disembark.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll go with the 1 night version. Looking more closely at the itinerary, you spend most of the 2nd day kayaking on the 2 night trip. I'd probably enjoy that, but I don't think everyone else would!

This boat sounds nicer than the Emeraude, if only because it holds ~50% less people. Looking at the schedules for both, you get ~1-1.5 hrs more time on the bay on this boat, presumably because it takes less time to disembark.


Try either the Huong Hai and Dragon Pearl Junk cruises. You can book Huong Hai private for $450.00 per night. Food is not buffet-cooked fresh, although not off a menu. We spent 2 nights just sailing around-no kayaking for us. Time at the cave, a couple of beaches, looking at all the floating villages and just enjoying the scenery. Fantastic experience.

The biggest let down was the food. Breakfast was ok, lunch was just ok but dinner was really weak. All the meals were buffet, I know it's hard to cook to order on a boat, but for these prices you really have to offer a great buffet (not easy in my book) or consider doing three entrees to pick from.

Was it the lack of variety (vietnamese, asian or 'western') or the quality of the food itself that was bad. I have been on some "cheap" boat day-trips in Thailand where they actually cooked onboard and the quality and variety (of Thai food) was surprisingly acceptable and bordering good. I would not expect much from a buffet in places like Bali, but this being Vietnam is quite surprising.

Was it the lack of variety (vietnamese, asian or 'western') or the quality of the food itself that was bad. I have been on some "cheap" boat day-trips in Thailand where they actually cooked onboard and the quality and variety (of Thai food) was surprisingly acceptable and bordering good. I would not expect much from a buffet in places like Bali, but this being Vietnam is quite surprising.

Vietnamese food is my favorite in the world, so I would have gladly taken that! The food was a mis-mash, one or two VN dishes on the lunch buffet (and those were ok) but dinner was kind of french-inspired but jest really poor quality.