Capital Garden Hotel in Hanoi

I genuinely do not know how to begin to describe the atrocities myself and my friends faced while staying at the Capital Garden Hotel. To start, the reception staff were cold and unwelcoming, constantly lying to our faces when we brought up problems or issues we were facing with our rooms. Speaking of, many of us encountered black mould growing in the grout and walls of our bathrooms, not to mention the mysterious black stains which plagued our bathtubs and showers. As if that was not bad enough, every single one of our toilets leaked water when flushed. However, there were drains built into the floor behind the toilets, so the hotel and staff were obviously aware of this disgusting issue. As if this was not bad enough, many of the bathrooms encountered sewage leaks, staining our rooms with a permanent smell of faeces.

Now, it doesn’t seem that things can get worse from here, but they do. On our trip we encountered a typhoon, after which many of the rooms in the hotel flooded. One individual on our trip opened her hotel door to be greeted by a swimming pool. The hotel staff were immediately dismissive of this and responded by ushering her into a room which had previously been vacated by another person in our group, due to the unbearable smell and mouldy bathroom.

It is at this point that things take another turn for the worst. Many of us were kept awake late at night, on weekdays mind you, by the talentless chairman of the hotel, who was coincidentally a member of the Vietnamese government, performing karaoke at decibels which could shatter the eardrums of a sperm whale all the way down in the Antarctic Ocean. Myself and one other girl from the group ventured downstairs at 1:30am on Thursday the 2nd of October 2025, to find this chairman extremely intoxicated and giving the entire neighbourhood one of the worst renditions of Vietnamese traditional music I have ever had the displeasure of hearing. When politely asking him to cease his activities we were laughed at. It was at this point that we considered calling the police, without knowing who he was, and were again met with laughter and threats of physical violence. We were told multiple times to “sit down and enjoy the show”. If this experience doesn’t paint a clear picture of the government and their levels of entitlement in this country, then I do not know what does. Whatever you do, avoid government owned hotels in Vietnam, and do not under any circumstances visit the Capital Garden Hotel.

Too bad to rest

Very bad! The waiter stole money! The $1000 I put in my bag was stolen!