Banyan Boutique by 5H

Like a silver lining behind a storm cloud, my wife and I discovered this hotel quite by accident. We were supposed to be staying at the Dalat Palace Heritage Hotel for 4-nights, which was probably the worst hotel that we've stayed in, EVER. Wracking our brains for a better place to stay after just 2 nights, we chanced upon this place, just because we visited it's associated restaurant for dinner. The hotel is basic, as an Eco place should be. Construction of rooms and villas is mainly wood. Rooms look basic, but on closer examination, there are all the usually facilities that a 4* offered. What's missing is room dining service, a refrigerator and a television. Otherwise, all the other mod cons are there. Check-in was a breeze, staff are friendly and conversant in English. However, reception is a basic affair, a wooden desk in a walk-through room, that's it. Grounds aren't huge but beautifully laid out, full of greenery and vegetable patches dotted around the property. Apparently, all these vegetables end up of the dining tables of the hotel's restaurant. It's was mid-winter when we stayed and the weather dropped below 10C at night. Staff had wooden fires going in at the various courtyards around the property, something welcoming on these chilly nights. As an added bonus, there are various reading lounges situated around the property, places great for reading, if not for a quiet chat. Breakfast is part of the room charge. No buffet, but you can order your morning meal off their breakfast menu. Portion sizes are probably insufficient for those with huge appetites, but nonetheless food is good. Also, children under 5 years of age are "NOT ACCEPTED", so great for a quiet time since local kids have a tendency to be unruly, uncontrolled by their parents and noisy. AWESOME!

Staff were very friendly, but the facility is not that great. Can do with some proper cleaning and maintenance. Some areas, especially outdoors, showed some neglect with broken pavers, facade and the likes. And no, it was not as part of the 'vintage' look, it was actually just broken.