Beautiful hotel, but extremely disappointing service
I recently stayed at Hotel de la Coupole – MGallery Sapa, and while the interior and décor are undeniably exceptional, the overall experience was unfortunately overshadowed by the poor service and lack of hospitality—something I did not expect from a five-star property.
From the moment I arrived, I faced issues that the hotel staff showed little willingness to help with. I arrived by sleeping bus and the bus company forgot to unload my painting, which was stored in the luggage compartment. Since I was traveling without international roaming, I kindly asked the hotel to help contact the bus company. Shockingly, they responded that they couldn’t assist. For a luxury hotel, this level of uncooperativeness was very disappointing.
A similar issue happened the next day when I needed help booking transport back to Hanoi. I called the reception in the morning asking for assistance, but again was told to book it myself on the website. When the company wasn’t responding, I went down and asked the receptionist to help call them. She seemed uninterested and not friendly at all. Instead of searching for the number herself (she had a computer in front of her), she asked me to Google it and bring it to her. She made one call, said the line was busy, and didn’t even attempt to call again until I insisted. There was no sense of going above and beyond for guests, which is the minimum I expect at a hotel of this caliber.
Other service issues continued during the stay:
• It often took a long time for the staff to pick up the phone.
• The bellboy took quite some time to come for our luggage (though he eventually did).
• The café staff were not friendly, and service felt cold and rushed.
• Despite listing turndown service, on multiple nights we returned to a room that had no turndown at all.
I’ve experienced outstanding hospitality throughout Asia—especially in Thailand—so this stay was genuinely surprising. The hotel itself is stunning, but service is the heart of hospitality, and unfortunately, the level of care, warmth, and willingness to assist was far below five-star standards.
I truly hope management addresses these issues, because the property has so much potential, but the service does not currently match the luxury experience it promises.