The Banana Tree Hostel

Sadly, the beg bug situation. I took videos and photos that I sent to the staff. I’m not 100% sure it was bedbugs and did not get any bites, but they did act very quickly to solve this situation. Upon looking at other reviews. I did see that some mentioned bedbugs

Lovely hostel in a good location, with great rooms and decent bathrooms. The beds were big, with fans and sockets. The whole hostel was very clean and pretty. Staff were so lovely, super helpful and spoke amazing English. Food was really nice and decent activities. We rented both motorbikes and pedal bikes from them too at a decent price. Beds had a plastic cover on the mattress which felt a bit weird, but butter than bed bugs and dirty mattresses I guess. Having stairs was nice. Get desserts!!

Don’t stay here! Hostel would be sooo good but they have bed bugs! All 3 of us in different beds woke up covered in bites & spoke to others who had the same but when they had told staff they blamed mosquitoes. Not mosquito bites. Shame because the hostel is lovely , bathrooms are lovely and it would be perfect if they sorted the bed bug situation which apparently has been going on for months after reading further reviews.

No estuvimos alojadas en el hostel pero fuimos a tomar algo en las zonas del bar donde está la piscina (monísimo por cierto) y tras leer reseñas sobre chinches estábamos preocupadas al sentarnos en las butacas. Al volver a casa vi que había una chinche en la toalla, desde luego tienen un problema con la plaga, no me alojaría allí hasta que lo traten

I was a bit worried about the bed bug situation mentioned here but I had no issues staying in a 4-bed dorm for 2 nights. Facilities are super clean, location is great, and the pool was very nice too.

Let me brief it for you.. Pros: Convenient express bike rental, 24-hour reception, friendly staff, and a great poolside social area. The food was tasty too. Cons: Overpriced for what it offers. Despite claims of resolved bed bug issues, I got scabies all over my back, neck, and face—clear hygiene failure. AC is turned off from 11 AM–5 PM, making midday rest uncomfortable. Worse, they mishandled our 200k deposit—telling me my friend would get it, then telling him I had taken it! No response on WhatsApp afterward, though they were quick to reply while we were guests. Decent stay if not for the scabies, deposit scam, and poor communication. Wouldn’t recommend unless major improvements are made.

Woke up covered in bed bug bites. Staff says they searched for it and did not find any, which obviously is a lie and the bites on me should have been confirmation enough. Refused to refund me, were really rude in handling the whole situation and even tried to tell me that „maybe the marks come from an allergic reaction to seawater“. The strawberry daiquiris are really good though

Overhyped, not a nice vibe, too expensive for what you get. My 2 male roommates shaved and left their hair everywhere, also pee on the toilet seat! Woke up after the first night with bites on my body. They had a bedbug situation and just wrapped the mattresses in plastic which does not work with bed bugs. Staff would not take it seriously and said it’s probably from the ocean even though I did not go to the ocean. Was reading some reviews and saw that the same thing happened to other people.

Overall, this hostel is just okay. The pool area is pretty nice (pool is clean) and the menu offering at the pool restaurant is very good. The food is good quality and the location is perfect. But that's about it. The rooms are very small and i did overhear people checking out early due to bed bugs. Even though these people were in my room, I wasn't notified or reassured by staff. The water is really bad by Vietnamese standards - it noticeably smells when you run the taps. The restaurant/bar is pretty expensive, though food is good. For the price, you'd expect more services included, like in other hostels. Breakfast is not included which is unusual at this nightly rate. There is no shower gel/shampoo offered in the shower (again is fine if hostel charges a lower rate). Bicycles are not included (this is also okay but other places with lower rates offer this). Beers are much more expensive than outside the hostel. It is tricky to socialise if you are not an 18yr old single on the pull, haha. I stayed at this hotel by word-of-mouth recommendation, despite it's poor reviews of late. However, should have given it a miss.

Its okay. - feels like this place used to be good, hence all the older good reviews.  But perhaps they have got a bit big for their boots after feeling like they are 'the best in town'. - Dorms are pretty dirty compared to other places, especially ones charging a premium.  Our floor was not cleaned in our whole stay, with dirt everywhere. - Still has bed bug issue, bespite staff claiming to have handled it.  We believe they have to say that, if they acknowledge it, they probably have to empty the place again and handle the issue.  If you check other reviews, they have given several conflicting reports on how they have handled it... makes me think there is a little bit of reciew washing going on there. - breakfast not included, which for the premium price is unusual in vietnam in general. Overall: - good food, - ok staff (like anywhere, good and bad) - good deals, - bad value for money, - events seem good, - pool area and seating is very good, - ok cleanliness, - great location. - good pillow - not great socially unless you already know people, - mattress in plastic (wonder why lol *bugs*)

Woke up covered in bed bug bites, staff refused to admit it and would not refund me. Very rude handling of the situation, had to leave an get another hostel

Nice hostel however I am covered in bed bug bites now 🙃

We stayed at this hostel after hearing great things about it, but our experience was extremely disappointing due to a serious bed bug infestation that the management chose to downplay and mishandle entirely. On our second night at the hostel, we heard through word of mouth that the hostel had a bed bug issue the previous week and had closed off some dorms. Staff later openly admitted that “one dorm” had a bed bug problem, but they were replacing mattresses in 11 dorm rooms, which clearly indicates a much larger issue. This also explains why the hostel had hundreds of mattresses wrapped in plastic bags stored in plain sight and why we were put in a 4-bed “VIP” dorm despite booking a 6-bed dorm, because they had to close non-VIP dorms. At no point before check-in were we warned about any of this, which is both irresponsible and deceptive. It’s appalling that a hostel of this popularity would hide such a serious health issue from incoming guests. While Booking.com showed no warning, we later found Google reviews from four months ago referencing bed bugs — so this is not a new problem. When we reported our bites — over 30 each, many of which were blistered — the hostel refused to take accountability. They told us the bites “might not be from bed bugs” and that they could only confirm it if a bug was found by housekeeping while we were present — a completely unrealistic and dismissive approach. They even claimed that if bed bugs were the cause, the bites would’ve shown up immediately after the first night, and bugs would be visible on the mattress. These statements are factually false and misleading. As you can see in the images, the mattress was covered with black / red spots, this and the bites should have been adequate evidence for the hostel to act.

Extremely Disappointing Experience – Bed Bug Infestation Ignored We stayed at this hostel after hearing great things about it, but our experience was extremely disappointing due to a serious bed bug infestation that the management chose to downplay and mishandle entirely. On our second night at the hostel, we heard through word of mouth that the hostel had a bed bug issue the previous week and had closed off some dorms. Staff later openly admitted that “one dorm” had a bed bug problem, but they were replacing mattresses in 11 dorm rooms, which clearly indicates a much larger issue. This also explains why the hostel had hundreds of mattresses wrapped in plastic bags stored in plain sight and why we were put in a 4-bed “VIP” dorm despite booking a 6-bed dorm, because they had to close non-VIP dorms. At no point before check-in were we warned about any of this, which is both irresponsible and deceptive. It’s appalling that a hostel of this popularity would hide such a serious health issue from incoming guests. While Booking.com showed no warning, we later found Google reviews from four months ago referencing bed bugs — so this is not a new problem. When we reported our bites — over 30 each, many of which were blistered — the hostel refused to take accountability. They told us the bites “might not be from bed bugs” and that they could only confirm it if a bug was found by housekeeping while we were present — a completely unrealistic and dismissive approach. They even claimed that if bed bugs were the cause, the bites would’ve shown up immediately after the first night, and bugs would be visible on the mattress. These statements are factually false and misleading. As you can see in the images, there were small black / red speckles all over the mattress, this and the bites should have been enough evidence for the Hostel to act. We asked for a full refund, not only for the stay but to cover the cost of medication, laundry (all of our clothes had to be washed at 60°C and tumble dried, ruining several items), and most importantly, for not being warned ahead of time. The only compensation offered was free laundry, a small tube of anti-itch cream and a refund for the last night — which they only agreed to after we refused to stay any longer. This is not just about comfort — bed bugs are a serious health and hygiene issue, and the hostel is treating it with shocking negligence. Their response showed a clear prioritisation of profit over guest safety and well-being. I would strongly advise against staying here until the issue is properly addressed and the management takes full responsibility for guest safety and transparency.

BED BUGS IN THIS HOSTEL DO NOT STAY HERE! I don’t normally leave negative reviews, but I feel obligated to warn future travelers. My sister and I stayed at this hostel and ended up leaving with bed bug bites and lots of them which have since got infected and can be a serious issue. From word of mouth we were told that they had bed bugs in the previous weeks however we assumed this issue was resolved as we did not get warned by the hostel itself when we were checking in. This is very irresponsible and unsafe for costumers. We informed the staff of the bed bug issue which they downplayed and were unable to acknowledge their mistakes, their response was far from reassuring or proactive. They only did the bare minimum of washing our clothes for free and refunded us for the last night because we stated we would not be able to stay for the last night we had booked for obvious reason!!!! I strongly advise against staying here until they address their hygiene and pest control issues after reading other reviews on Google I have seen that this is a reoccurring issue the hostel needs to take responsibility.

Nice hostel and staff very friendly in a good location. However two of our group left this hostel with bed bug bites! This situation needs to be resolved as it will ruin this hostel!

Such a nice social vibe here, I loved the layout of pool/ bar area, felt more like a resort. They hosted a family meal for reunification day which was a nice way to meet people as otherwise people stuck to their groups. Rooms didn’t lock so felt quite unsafe, and a girl in my room had bed bugs. They told her it was just mosquitos and moved her to another bed, which makes me think the next person in that bed would just have the same.

I loved this hostel but I think they have BEDBUGS. I got red little bites all over my body since staying here and now I see more people wrote about bedbugs. I stayed in a 4 people female dorm with bathroom. I loved everything else about this hostel.

Lovely social area, in bedroom bathrooms and great laundry service! However me and my friend both woke up with spots all over our legs, there were definitely bed bugs in our room which brings our rating down, very sad as apart from that it was a fab hostel!

Got food poisoning, bed bugs also I have marks all over my body

This place has bedbugs. Best to avoid if you're looking to spend Ninh Binh without little red bite marks all over you.

Recently visited here and was excited to stay due to all the positive reviews. Unfortunately after staying one night my friend and I both woke up covered in bed bug bites. After speaking to the reception staff the first time they ignored the issue and just changed the sheets which wouldn’t solve the problem as the mattress was infested. After speaking to reception again they were very reluctant to believe us and instead said we had had an allergic reaction to the air. They changed the sheets again or said they would give us a refund and we would have to find another place. As two female traveler's we were appalled as trying to find new accommodation at 8-9pm was ridiculous, especially as we had booked months in advance.

Was a lovely place but had bed bugs. When I told the staff they tried to tell me that my bites were from the air. They did deep clean the bed but this was after asking twice and being told it was not bed bugs multiple times. My friend was also bitten and they refused to pay for her washing from the bed bugs. I had about 40 bites.

This is such a popular hostel and it’s hard to book last minute. Views, location, and facilities are so great! Staff super helpful and friendly. Unfortunately I got bedbug bites from my one night stay there.

The Hostel looks very nice, the staff is very sweet. Unfortunately we had bedbugs in our room, so we left. The staff did everything the could, they cleaned the room immediately, offered us another room (which also had bedbugs) and refunded our money. I doubted if I would wanted to write this review because bedbugs can happen and they way they handled it was great, but I do think that I would have wanted to read it in the reviews while booking a place to stay. But, the hostel itself is perfect

Social hostel with good location. But i got bed bugs here, and the staff didn’t really care.

Beautiful hostel along the river with a nice common area. Food was a bit expensive, but very tasty. Vibe at night was good. Only negative is my friend getting bed bugs.