Mai Chau Hideaway Lake Resort

Good resort

We offers an exceptional opportunity to explore the serene beauty of Hoa Binh Lake while immersing yourself in the rich culture of the Muong minority people. We recommend you stay at Mai Chau Hideaway for a 2-day or 3-day tour to fully experience this unique getaway.

This is not on the usual tourist trail but we enjoyed our stay here, especially our visit to Lac Village (about 35 minutes drive from the hotel). This is not a hotel for anyone with mobility issues as there are steep paths everywhere. We stayed in an executive suite and enjoyed a corner room with windows on two sides with incredible lake views. The room is huge and the bathroom modern. The balcony had a table and chairs and even a hanging egg seat. We were on the first floor right next to the stunning infinity pool, although this was freezing and only a few brave people used it! It was really unclear where to get pool towels and it ended with a steep trek back up to reception but these appeared a few minutes later. The pool bar was closed for the duration of our stay but you could get drinks in the restaurant area (but that was back at the top of the hill). We did sunbathe on our second day because it was lovely and warm but couldn’t be bothered with getting drinks as it was too much of a hassle! The bathroom had shampoo and body wash in pumps which was good to see but no conditioner or body lotion. We also had dressing gowns which I used as it was cool on our first night plus, we had extra blankets and a heater. The balcony doors didn’t fit too well and had large gaps at the top but we closed the curtains and it kept the majority of the cold weather at bay. The safe in our room was easy to use but fellow travellers had a bit of a nightmare with theirs and they had the same room type. We also had sliders and umbrellas. The hairdryer was a travel sized one and so took a little longer to dry my hair but it’s better than one fixed to the wall. We did have an issue with our shower leaking into the main bathroom. What made us smile is that this is meant to be a retreat, but early morning, you’re woken by local boats blasting out Vietnamese party music. We were up early both days as we were on a busy tour and we quite enjoyed it but it’s not really what you’d expect at a retreat. However, the massages are amazing and well priced so definitely book in on arrival to get a slot. The biggest let-down was the restaurant. We dined here both nights as it really was the only option but the food was disappointing. It wasn’t too expensive considering how remote it was - £3.50 for a glass of wine and £5 for a pasta dish. There is an outdoors area at the restaurant which we enjoyed at breakfast. Breakfast wasn’t brilliant and as vegetarians, the choice felt very limited and we had to just pick something to eat. Again, it wasn’t the best food. The staff are lovely and when we left our laundry after checking out, they worked with our guide to get it back to us in Hanoi the same day which was incredible. The grounds are very well looked after but for the section by the shore which looks quite run down and no easy path to get down there. Kayaking here would be brilliant as the views are great. Sunsets are absolutely stunning over the infin