Restful River Villas

This place is depressing, don’t stay! The pool area is sad with a small pool that never seemed to have a filter on and looked unsafe. Breakfast was very sad and limited , one item a person. The owner kept asking us if we on his way overpriced tours. It all seemed sad and penny pinching. No fun at this place, we left early and warning sign we had to pay in advance with no refund. Sad, sad, sad___

We loved our time here and didn't want leave. We stayed 9 nights and loved restful River and all of Phong Nha. The rooms were large and beds comfortable. The pool and views were fantastic, it was right on the river. The free breakfast was very tasty with lots of variety. The owner was able to organise scooters for us, car transfers and everything else we needed. The laundry service was also very good, we had wet and muddy clothes and shoes after a muddy jungle hike and our clothes came back so clean. The owners are kind friendly, helpful and cheerful. We will definitely choose Restful River Bungalows for our next stay in Phong Nha.

Great location. Family is friendly, helpful and kind. Hung, the owner, helped with motorbike rental, cave trips, trekking, boat trips and transportation. Located down a quiet lane, you can walk (20 minutes), bike 10 minutes, or motorbike to town. A number of places to eat or drink along the river on the way to town. Nice to be riverside to watch the boats and enjoy the River. Nice pool too. Very clean room.

We absolutely loved our time here, it was the perfect location for us and the hosts were brilliant from start to finish. As such I'll put up a video on our YT channel 66tripsleft within the next month, this will have lots of footage. I was a little concerned about the location being a bit too far out from the town but it was fine, with a few little stores and restaurants within walking distance, although we liked eating at the hotel, by the pool, with a view of the river. This felt like a real homestay, it's run by a family who are always available and it's got such a lovely vibe because of this, with enquiries/drinks dealt with by Hung, meals cooked by his wife, reasonable rates for everything (food, drink, laundry). There's a couple of cycles you can borrow for free. Hung organised a scooter for us for which we paid him (150k dong/day), it was delivered to us and picked up after we left, all perfect. This enabled us to visit Paradise Cave and Dark Cave for a total 1.4million dong (£46), whereas with a tour you will be paying over 1.2 million for each person, per trip, plus having to do it all at the same time as every over tour. It meant we could arrive at Paradise Cave at 11:30 just as every coach was leaving, we had the place almost to ourselves. I've already suggested Phong Nha to a view people and I've recommend the Restful River too, for a brilliant trip. I don't really have anything negative but as others had said the only issue was the combination of westerner used to soft beds and standard firm Vietnamese (SE Asian) mattresses. If you're coming to Vietnam and spending this sort of money on a hotel then that's what you're going to get everywhere, so come prepared like we did and bring a hiker's small self-inflating airbed, works a treat!

We spent a few nights here last week while in Phong Nha. A perfect family run operation right on the rivers edge. The rooms are basic but comfortable. My only complaint was the hardness of the beds but this is a common problem in many Vietnamese hotels. The pool was refreshing and Hung and his family will go out of their way to ensure your needs are met. I would stay here again if I was to return to Phong Nha. Please note; make sure to bring bug juice with you!! You will needs it!

The location of this hotel was nice, beautiful scenery. It was a clean room. It was nice that I could pay extra to be picked up from my bus, especially when it was kind of late 10pm. But I actually felt unwelcome kind of odd like I wasn’t supposed to be there. When we arrived I was just placed into my room quickly and wasn’t given any information, nothing about the wifi or breakfast. I guess there isn’t breakfast? When I walked around the property searching 8:30-9:30 there was no one around. I saw reviews before booking about meals and very good food, maybe I came at a bad time. There’s no restaurants around and I hadn’t eaten since 3pm the day before with the long bus ride so that was a big let down for me. I had booked with this in mind. Just felt strange. Was feeling glad I only spent one night, it was comfortable enough for sleeping. No one was around for check out either so I just left my key on the counter.

Great homestay with a very helpful and accommodating host. He organised taxis, tours and luggage storage for our family of seven. Rooms are clean and spacious. Breakfast was included and very tasty. You just need to pay for your drinks - great choice and reasonably priced. Our kids loved the pool!