Phu Quoc Pomelo Garden in Phu Quoc Island

If you want to ruin your vacation, feel free to book this hotel.

We booked our stay months in advance and received a confirmed reservation. A few days before our trip we contacted the hotel just to double-check everything. That’s when the owner suddenly told us the receptionist had made a mistake and the hotel was overbooked, so our reservation needed to be cancelled.

We were supposed to fly to the island the next day. No one warned us about the issue beforehand — we only found out because we asked.

After that, communication became extremely difficult. We tried to resolve the situation with Booking, but there was no clear solution. Since the overbooking was clearly the hotel’s mistake, we decided not to cancel and see how they would handle it on arrival.

When we arrived at Pomelo Garden, we were given a room for one night only. Then we were told we had to move to another hotel.

During our 8-night stay we had to change accommodation FOUR times and stay in THREE different hotels. We spent only one night in the hotel we originally booked. Instead of relaxing and enjoying Phu Quoc, we spent our vacation packing, moving, checking in and checking out.

The worst part happened the night before our flight. We were moved to a hotel that is still under construction and located far from everything. The area was unfinished — no proper paths, just mud, puddles and construction materials everywhere. It was impossible to roll a suitcase there. My husband literally had to carry our luggage through the construction site, and no one from the hotel offered any help (check the video).

A confirmed reservation should mean something. Unfortunately, this hotel clearly cannot guarantee that.

I would strongly recommend choosing another place if you want a stress-free stay

Misleading listing, extra card fee, and a filthy disgusting “cabin”

After a long trip, we arrived in Phu Quoc yesterday and went straight to this hotel we booked through Booking. From the very first moment, everything felt misleading, disorganized, and dishonest, and it only got worse once we saw the room.

A couple of hours before check-in, the property messaged us saying they could not accept our Visa card. That was already suspicious, but we didn’t argue and simply said we would pay by card terminal at reception. When we arrived at the front desk, the receptionist then told us that paying by card required an extra 3% fee. This felt like a blatant attempt to push their costs onto guests and squeeze money out of us at the last minute. We refused, and said we would pay in cash the next day if they truly wouldn’t accept card without a surcharge. Looking back, I’m genuinely relieved we didn’t pay upfront.

What was advertised on Booking as a private 50 m² “cabin” was nothing like what we were given. Within seconds it turned into a nightmare. Instead of a real cabin with privacy, it was basically a shared bungalow wall-to-wall with another couple, with zero sound insulation. We could hear everything they said and did, including bathroom sounds. There was no separation, no peace, and no privacy, and the size was nowhere near what was advertised. The “50 m²” claim was absurd. The place felt like a tiny room, maybe around 15 m² at most.

The condition of the room was disgusting and honestly shocking. It wasn’t just “basic” or “rustic,” it was filthy and neglected. The space was full of woodworm damage, cobwebs, and patched-up defects that looked like cheap, lazy repairs. The door holes were sealed with spray foam and plastic. The mosquito net was full of holes, and some had literally been covered with paper. There were black streaks dripping from the ceiling that I couldn’t even identify, and on top of that there were rat droppings. This is not acceptable under any standard, and it did not feel clean or safe.

The shock was so intense that my partner and I didn’t even debate it, we left immediately. We walked out with no plan, just to get away from that place as fast as possible. I have traveled extensively over the last 10 years in many different countries, and I have never EVER felt so scammed and angry. This property needs to stop misleading people and show real photos that match reality. Do not trust what you see on Booking, and if you’re considering this place, get a second opinion or avoid it entirely. I’m attaching photos so other travelers can see exactly what we found the moment we arrived in Phu Quoc.

Hotel might be great, but like others hotel contacted us ( via Agoda?) on the day of arrival claiming a valid credit card could not be processed and giving 2 hour window to sort using a link that did not work. Despite sending urgent emails to hotel, WhatsApp messages with no response, and calling two different numbers, one no answer and one answered but knew nothing about anything( via our existing hotels Vietnamese speaking reception person) the room we were informed had been cancelled. Perhaps an Agoda problem ( who failed miserably to even understand the problem, had ‘sever issues’ constantly and completely useless at sorting the issue- never again) arrive Phu Quoc 7.30pm peak season, no rooms available and nowhere to stay. Is it because room could now be sold at a higher price? Or just that pomelo had a problem with the payment card and couldn’t be bothered trying to sort ( how about calling us, whatapping us? Emailing us with a contact?) So cannot recommend this hotel. On the plus side there was some attempt to sort an alternative room at a completely different local hotel we think. And difficult to know if issues really with Agoda.

Perhaps it was an unfortunate situation, when we arrived we were seen by 3 men who didn’t speak English and couldn’t communicate on google translate or tell us what the WiFi password was. It was late at night and as two young girls we were made to feel very uncomfortable by these men. It was clear that our room hadn’t been cleaned for weeks as there was dirt on the floor and dead bugs in the bed and a strange smell. Again, maybe this was an unfortunate situation and we were put in an old room but we were shocked at the lack of cleanliness after such good reviews. After one night we decided to leave the next morning for the reasons above, when the manager was at the desk he was very kind and spoke good English but we had already decided to leave to a cleaner place. We were very surprised the resort didn’t live up to its reviews so we thought it would be right to share our experience so it doesn’t happen to anyone else. X

Perhaps it was an unfortunate situation, when we arrived we were seen by 3 men who didn’t speak English and couldn’t communicate on google translate or tell us what the WiFi password was. It was late at night and as two young girls we were made to feel very uncomfortable by these men. It was clear that our room hadn’t been cleaned for weeks as there was dirt on the floor and dead bugs in the bed and a strange smell. Again, maybe this was an unfortunate situation and we were put in an old room but we were shocked at the lack of cleanliness after such good reviews. After one night we decided to leave the next morning for the reasons above, when the manager was at the desk he was very kind and spoke good English but we had already decided to leave to a cleaner place. We were very surprised the resort didn’t live up to its reviews so we thought it would be right to share our experience so it doesn’t happen to anyone else. X