Forest Floor Lodge

This could be a lovely place to stay but like other reviews we found it needing more care and attention. Our bathroom was dirty - the toilet disgusting (no exaggeration!) and we changed tents. We have stayed in many tented camps in Asia and Africa and this has quite a lot of work to do to get to those sort of standards. On a plus side, the staff were lovely and hard working but need some training and supervision which was completely lacking when we stayed. The food is good and comes in large portions. Cat Tien park is worth seeing and the lodge is very well positioned for this - though be aware that the park gets very busy at the weekends with local tourists.

We had 2 nights/days in this location and enjoyed it a lot. If you go, you have to be active in nature. We did an amazing Gibbon Walk and a beautiful hike to the Crocodile Lake. The staff and the owners of the lodge are wonderful people. The spot as such is great - you have to be aware that you are in nature.

I feel a bit mean giving only 3 stars as we loved our time in Cat Tien and found the staff very nice. But as a couple of reviewers have pointed out, it is way overdue for a serious clean-up. The restaurant area is ok, but everything is a little battered. I know this is an open-air lodge in a tropical national park, not a hermetically sealed city hotel, but dusty cobwebs festooning lights that don't work are simple things to fix. Construction rubbish being dumped below the deck in view of the restaurant tables is unforgivable though - as is dumping rubbish anywhere, but especially in a national park. But the biggest disappointment was the rooms. I've slept in beds in India, Africa, China and South America. With the exception of a remote outback Australian pub 'donga', this was the most uncomfortable bed I have ever slept in. My wife had to flip her mattress after a loose spring scratched her leg. Some of the dusty, cobwebbed lights did not work, the shower outlet was blocked, and light could be seen through many holes in the rattan ceiling - I wonder what happens when it rains? The mosquito netting was functional though, and we got no bites. Nor did I mind the frog that lived in our toilet and frantically paddled then leapt out every time we flushed. The sad thing is that this place has such potential. Some people may not mind the present condition - you're there for the animals, which are everywhere - but it is advertised as quite an upmarket lodge, given its location. It may have been once, but not now. So go not expecting much, and you'll be ok. It is about the wildlife. As a note, the only way we could see the rapids was from the observation deck, which is great. I don't see how any of the huts could have a view. I didn't see the tents as they must be a little way off, so they may have a view.

We stayed in one of the tent-style rooms with a nice view towards the river, the porch was perfect to enjoy sunrise/sunset or simply enjoy the view and sounds of the jungle. The owner was very nice and had great tips for exploring the national park. Food was also nice and they were very flexible when my friend had a stomach ache and didn’t feel like eating anything off the menu.

Fantastic place run by great people. A perfect place to stay while exploring Cat Tien national park. The owners went out of their way to help us plan our stay in the park. The lodge itself cooks great food and is full of information relating the park

The location is lovely right in the national park. The owners are very friendly and willing. However the room did not live up to the website photos. My room was dark, the outside light did not work and both my room and the bathroom was dirty. The three light switches at the door to my room did not turn any lights on. The AC did not work and that was fixed after the first night but they did not provide a remote so I could not turn it on. The bed had mosquito netting but had gaps between the sections rather than overlapping.

The best days of this hotel appear to be in the past. There are no bed runners, crisp white sheets or duvets, nor decorative pillows as presented in the website photos. The current state of this hotel is comparable to an unkept budget hotel rather than a luxury lodge as it advertises and prices itself to be. We saw three rooms while we were there (tented and not tented). PROS - Food is quite tasty - James, one-half of the couple who run this hotel, is an extremely knowledgeable guide! - James' wife, Mai, was very lovely and always asking us about our wellbeing - Bicycles are on site to borrow, some with baby seats - Location - right inside the park and easy access to trails - Kind staff CONS - The wooden rails on the tented room platforms are rotting away and numerous parts of the rope fencing are missing - Linens in the rooms (including the curtains) are very basic with old fashioned patterns (again, not what you see in the photos) - No face or hand towels in the bathrooms, no bathroom toiletries except a small bottle of basic liquid soap and another room had basic bar hand soap - No minibar/fridge in any rooms - Unclean rooms. A used sheet was left hanging on the bed frame, the bathroom was filled with gecko poop and used shampoo packets. Mold film lined the shower. It was clear the bathroom had not been cleaned in quite some time. -The a/c was only turned on for a few hours in the evening rather than staggered throughout the day as advertised. The rooms are not insulated from the midday heat as advertised either - they are very hot. - The baby cots we expected to have did not include mattresses. Instead, we were given piles of thick duvets to put in the cots. These were ineffective as you could still feel the ribbing of the bed frame underneath. While a few of these cons would be acceptable at a budget hotel, they are unacceptable at a hotel that advertises itself as luxury.

Ce que nous avons retenu de notre séjour dans cet endroit : - très très vétuste - donc très onéreux pour la qualité - personnel sympathique - arnaque au taxi (3 fois le prix classique) Bref, à éviter vu tous les endroits chouettes existant dans ce pays