Forest Floor Lodge

Where to begin... Previous reviews and articles of Forest Floor Lodge describe a lodge that was run by a British entomologist, nestled in the jungle, alongside rapids. Old photos show luxury rooms, clean linen, book rooms and a full restaurant. While the location is great (inside the National Park), the lodge has fallen into a state of disrepair. There is no clean linen, every surface is dusty or mouldy, and you will not see other guests (wiser than us I suppose). We booked a 'lodge' room. When we arrived, we were the only guests and were greeted by two chaps who couldn't speak any English. This was not a major issue, as they were hard workers. The problems arose once we saw the room. It was evident that people had not stayed in the room for weeks. Every surface was dusty, mosquito net had a thick layer of dead bugs, gecko poo and some mould. The bathroom lights did not work, and the doors did not seal. Offers of another room were made, but this was even worse. All communication with the owner (Mai) was via Whatsapp, as she was on holiday. We eventually moved to a tent room, which was marginally better. Such rooms would be acceptable if you were paying a rate that is lower than a hostel, but you are not. The rates are in line with premium accommodation and are certainly on the expensive side by Vietnamese standards. Clean, airconditioned rooms are available at the National Park headquarters for a fraction of the price. Cat Tien was a high priority site for us, so we stayed 4 nights. In this time, we saw numerous guests arrive, only to turn away when they saw the rooms. We should have done the same. In addition to overcharging for filthy rooms that are not fit to be described as accommodation, Mai will attempt to overcharge you for a long list of additional items. Here are some that we encountered: - tours. One of her tours is priced at ＞US$120 per couple to visit the national park museum. You can do this yourself and spend about US$10. Just go to the visitor centre. Presumably she will make the arrangement and pocket the difference. - bikes. The bikes provided are old and barely operate. Mai will charge twice what the national park charges for hire, and their bikes are new. - entrance fees. We were advised that we can pay Forest Floor Lodge for the walk to Crocodile Lake, but when we got to the trail head, we still had to pay. On the off chance that no-one is at the trail head, you could walk down for free, with Mai pocketing the fee. Fortunately, we did not pay for the tour, but did visit the museum ourselves. We also refused to pay for bike hire due to the quality. We also did not pay Mai for the trail fee. There was no resistance, which suggests Mai is well aware of what she is doing and will only take the money if no questions are asked. In short, this is among the worst accommodation we've stayed at in southeast Asia - even worse when you consider the premium price. Save yourself the trouble (and money!) and consider a new room near the Nati

We got a relative 'deal' by booking thru Agoda, but that was not cheap at 75 usd (quote via FB was 95!). This was for one of their nicest accom, a large two bed cabin. As regards value, i think staying at the Park accomodation presents waaay better value as this place is quite basic; we spent a number of nights in Park accom in the end. Staff were friendly, and willing to make us breakfast to be ready for us at 6am to go birding. Food varied from great, to plain bad. the place is generally pretty run down, and one evening after going nightlighting we returned and when i closed the gate behind me, it simply fell on me - a giant steel gate on rails came off ... if it had fallen on my wife, it would have seriously injured her. it left a huge lump on my head, and my shoulder was cut up pretty bad. owner saw my injury and said sorry. i think if you wanna stay on park side of river, use the Park accom - better value for accom and better food. that said, the lodge was totally quiet every evening whereas in the park you might hear karaoke till 10pm, or drunks at the restaurant (but quiet after 10).

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.

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.