MY FLIGHT LAYOVER AT A KOREAN LOVE HOTEL – BRILLIANT IDEA OR HUGE MISTAKE?
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Are you looking for a hotel for a lay-over or short stay in Ho Chi Minh City? Then a love hotel near the airport may be for you!
During my recent layover in Ho Chi Minh City I was excited to score a posh hotel room with private sauna and large tub for just over USD 40. But what is a stay at a Vietnamese love hotel really like: is it the relaxing retreat I was hoping for or a sketchy experience?
The lobby was heavily themed but felt luxurios and not sketchy
What is A “love Hotel”?
You may wonder what I am even talking about. Not surprising, before this trip I had never heard of a love hotel either. And my first thought was of a seedy motel rented by the hour. But that is not the kind I mean.
Yes, a love hotel is a hotel that rents room either overnight or for several hours and is geared to “sexy times for couples”. But we aren’t talking about the sleazy version – instead it is geared for meet-ups with a boy/girl friend. These hotels are apparently common in Asia as many young adults live still with their parents and apartments are often too small for privacy.
My personal Experience at Pynt Hotel 6
So exactly what happened – how did I end up staying at a love hotel, what was it like and would I do it again?
The hotel entrance resembled any upscale boutique hotel experience
Booking the Hotel
When I booked my flight from Seoul to Denpasar as part of my six month trip through Asia, the best and cheapest connection went via Ho Chi Minh City, with a 20 hour layover, from 1:45 pm on a Friday to 10:10 am the next Saturday. After some thought I decided that worked well enough: I could spend the night in a cheap hotel near the airport and maybe find time to check out a new city.
A couple days before my flight I started looking for possible hotels close to the airport and I noticed several hotels that looked… a bit different. Not your usual cookie cutter chain or airport hotel but not a run-down motel either. Instead, these hotels were affordable but looked VERY nice with all kinds of cool amenities (like huge TVs, sauna, tubs etc) and an actual theme.
The more I looked the more tempting they were but then I figured out… these were love hotels
What even is a love hotel?
If you are like me, your first thought will go in a less than savoury direction. While I was looking for an inexpensive place to stay, I didn’t want to end up in the red light district either. But once I looked into it I realized that these love hotels are fairly common in Asia. Many young adults in Vietnam (and other Asian countries) still live at home and meeting up with their boy or girl friend can be a bit awkward, let’s say. So these hotels are maybe closer to what we would call a “romantic getaway”. Just close to home and sometimes rented by the hour.
The Decision
I went back and forth a bit – after all it was a bit unusual. But a room with a huge tub, a big screen, a comfy bed, my very own sauna and a cool theme for just over USD 40? If you know me you will know that I could not resist. So book it I did.
I booked my one night stay at Pynt Hotel 6 via Trip.com for USD 41.37 and it worked like any other booking with the only difference that they had to double-check with the hotel and reconfirm before I got my final confirmation. However, I don’t know if this was specific to love hotels or to cheaper hotels in Vietnam in general.
You can get a Grab right across the street from the airports main entrance
Getting to Pynt 6 from the Airport
My flight got into Ho Chi Minh’s Tan Son Nhat airport right on time and within a shortish time I was through passport control/immigration. I only had a small backpack with me as the rest of my luggage was checked through to Denpasar the following day.
Luckily, my Saily esim worked great and I had data the moment I landed so booking a Grab was easy. Even though there was a glitch and I had to go looking for the car in the pouring rain, I strongly recommend you use Grab at Ho-Chi-Minh Airport. It is a much more reliable mode of transport than some random driver/taxi and reduces the danger of scams.
The receptionist was very friendly and helpful and the lobby pleasant
Check-in at the love hotel
Pynt Hotel 6 is about 3 km from the airport so even with the heavy traffic it didn’t take long to get there. As soon as I saw the entrance and lobby most of my fears were gone. The hotel looked neither run-down nor sketchy but posh and comfortable like any boutique hotel in a major city.
The lady at reception was clearly surprised to see me checking in solo but was very friendly. Communication in English was a bit spotty but doable (presumably the majority of guests are locals). I had to wait a couple of minutes while she looked for an empty room but soon I had my key card in hand.
Excited I entered the elevator. What would I find?
The Room itself
My room was on Floor 2 which is apparently called Temptation and themed in a more or less desert/Arabian style. It seems every floor has a different theme and they all somehow relate to the show Twilight.
All in all, my room was exactly as expected though maybe slightly smaller. I had booked an Executive Queen Suite, one of the most expensive room categories, as I wanted to have the full experience with tub and sauna.
Sauna
The first thing I noticed was of course the private sauna! How luxurious!
Now I have to admit that I was rather exhausted both from my flight and the intensive touring in Seoul so I didn’t take as much advantage as I had planned of all the amenities. I did give the sauna a try but couldn’t quite gather the energy to translate the instructions properly so just managed to get it hot and tried it out for a couple of minutes.
If I had had more energy I could either have used my translation app to figure out exactly how everything worked or asked the receptionist who had offered to help me out if I had any questions (there were a lot of buttons for sauna, toilet, TV etc.).
Bathroom
I loved the bathroom – it was very fancy indeed. The tub was massive (though maybe not the comfiest one I have ever been in) and the toilet had enough buttons to power a spaceship. This included a nightlight and a heated seat! Again I didn’t push all the buttons as I had no clue what would happen.
If you are traveling with a friend, the glass bathroom walls might be a problem but on a solo trip it was perfectly fine and looked cool.
Bed
My favorite part was the bed though. It was extremely comfortable, probably the best bed I have had on the trip so far! In line with the intended purpose, there were mirrors on the wall and a sparkly metal ceiling (it wasn’t a proper mirror) but neither bothered me in the least.
There was also a massive TV screen with access to Netflix and YouTube. Again I had a bit of a problem using these due to everything being in Vietnamese. But honestly that was mostly due to me being extremely exhausted.
Pynt Hotel 6 is in an authentic local neighborhood
Neighborhood
Prior to my trip I was a bit worried about staying in a possibly sketchy area. However, I went out to a nearby market to buy some soda and snacks for dinner and it was a perfectly normal neighborhood with regular shops, restaurants, and amenities.
This is not a touristy area nor the most scenic location ever. Just a regular authentic Vietnamese neighborhood close to the airport. Not something you would choose specifically as your destination but definitely also not a place to avoid.
Check-out and return to Airport
The check-out in the morning went without a hitch. They do require you to wait for a couple of minutes while someone checks the room (presumably for damages as well as for mini-bar use). So do account for that and don’t leave for the airport at the very last minute!
Getting a Grab proved very easy, I had to wait maybe 5 minutes for a car to arrive and just 12 minutes later I was at the airport. The cost for the Grab ride was about USD 2.20.
Disadvantages of my Love hotel
Overall I loved my stay at Pynt Hotel 6 but there are two potential disadvantages to be aware of:
- The room has no window
The hotel description had made it clear that there were no windows and I had no issues with this. It gave the room a nice secluded, cave-like atmosphere. But I am also happy in inside cabins on cruises and I know not everyone is. So if you need a window to feel comfortable, this hotel is not for you. - There is no soundproofing
This is a bit surprising as you would think that is the first thing the hotel invests in! But the walls are thin and sound carries. So how bad was it?
a) It was pretty noisy early in the evening. Not in the way you might expect but just with people talking, doors opening and closing, loud TVs etc. Vietnam is a loud country! However it was quite quiet during the night and there were no street noises (rare for Vietnam as I learned in Da Nang).
b) There were also some of the sounds you might expect from a love hotel. I didn’t think it was too bad – I have heard worse/more in regular hotels. But if this is something that would bother you – again it isn’t the right hotel for you. And of course how loud it gets will depend on the other guests staying there at the time. I think I got kind of lucky as I really didn’t hear that much.
Want to stay at a Love Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City but Pynt Hotel 6 is full or the themes are not to your taste? Check out these other similar hotels that I had also considered: Haven Hotel (theme looks like a mix of Sci-Fi and French Castle) and Secret Garden Hotel (the theme is a bit less clear but some rooms have amazing tubs).
Would I book a love hotel again?
Absolutely! For a layover or short one night stay Pynt Hotel 6 was ideal. It was one of the best hotel stays I have had – and at a great price! This was especially welcome as I was exhausted and the weather was bad so I skipped exploring Ho Chi Minh City in favour of just relaxing at my hotel.
In general, the entire suite looked very clean and well thought out. I wish more hotels had that level of cleanliness and attention to detail. There were plenty of amenities: free water, various snacks for sale, a mini-fridge, a hot water cooker, and even toothpaste.
On my next trip I would probably book one of the less expensive regular rooms as I didn’t use sauna and tub as much as I had imagined. But the suite did make me feel very pampered!
I would not recommend staying at a love hotel for longer than one or two nights. As that is not their intended use there is little storage and no desk. But for a short visit they offer great comfort and even luxury for a budget price (as long as you are prepared for the possible sound track)!
