Delta journeys built around the stay
About
About Mekong Luxury: the stay first, the route after
Mekong Luxury plans private journeys of two to five nights in the Mekong Delta around the few stays there that we would call high-end. This page explains how we choose them, how we work, and what we do not do well.
What we do
We plan private journeys in the Mekong Delta that start from the hotel. Most delta itineraries are lists of sights with a bed underneath; ours begin with the question of where you will wake up, how many nights you will stay there, and what you will do with the afternoons. The boats, the drives and the visits are then arranged around that.
The reason is the delta itself. It has very few stays at the level our travellers ask for: the six on our comparison page, one of them with a caveat. A trip built from sights first ends up sleeping wherever the sights happen to be, which in most delta towns means an ordinary town hotel. A trip built from the stays first goes where the good rooms are, and visits the other towns as half days.
How we choose the stays
- A setting that earns the nights. On the river, on an island or on a hillside, with a reason to spend an afternoon there.
- Facts we can check. Each stay is described from its own published pages, with the date we read them. Where a hotel does not publish a room count, we say so.
- Honesty about change. When a hotel has changed its name, as the islet resort at Can Tho has, or its website looks out of date, as Mekong Lodge's does, we say so on the page and confirm before quoting.
- The case against. A hotel appears because it fits a journey, and the comparison says when each one is the wrong choice.
The comparison of stays is the result.
How we work
Everything runs through the enquiry form and email. You send a month, a party size and the nights you have; we reply with a draft that names each hotel, room category, guide day and boat, priced for the whole trip. You change it until it fits, and we confirm in writing before any payment. Written messages mean every detail is on record for both of us.
Prices are quoted on request. Our pricing page explains why, and lists the rates and fares that hotels and boat operators publish themselves, so that you can judge a quote against them.
We do not publish customer reviews or testimonials on this site. Reviews on a seller's own pages are hard to verify, and we would rather you judge us on the specifics: the hotels named, the sources dated, the cases where we tell you not to choose something.
What we do not do well
- Large groups. Our journeys are planned for one private party in one or two vehicles. Coach groups need a different kind of planner.
- Low budgets. The stays we build around cost several times an ordinary town hotel. If budget comes first, a simpler trip planned elsewhere will serve you better.
- Boats and homestays. We do not sell overnight boats, speedboat day trips or homestays.
- Saigon and Phu Quoc hotels. We arrange the connections and quote the hotels you choose there, but we do not compare or recommend hotels outside the delta.
- Languages other than English. We plan and write in English.
Facts and corrections
Facts on this site carry a source and the date we checked it, shown under each section. Hotels rebrand, boats change their schedules and fees go up. If you find something out of date, send it through the form and we will check it and correct the page.
Read next: the journeys, the destinations or how to book.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Are you a hotel booking site?
No. We plan whole journeys: the hotels, the car, the boats and the guide days, priced together.
Why only six stays?
Because that is how many we found in the delta at the level we plan for, and one of them carries a caveat. If a new stay opens and meets the same tests, we will add it.
Do you hold special rates at these hotels?
Naming a hotel does not mean we hold a contract or a special rate there. Your quote uses the rate available for your dates when we check.
Can you plan the rest of our Vietnam trip?
We plan the delta and its connections to Saigon, Phu Quoc and Phnom Penh. Beyond that, a planner who covers the whole country will serve you better.
Related
Read next
Planning · Where to stay
Where to stay
Six high-end delta stays compared: setting, rooms, boats, season, nights, when not to choose.
View this journey
Tours · How to book
How to book
The booking steps, from the enquiry form to a written confirmation.
View this journey
Tours · Pricing
Pricing
How quotes are built, published supplier rates, and what moves the price.
View this journey
Contact
Contact
How to reach us through the form, and what to put in a first message.
View this journey
Journeys
Tours
Four stay-led journeys of two to five nights, compared side by side.
View this journey
Planning · Value
When luxury is worth it
Where a high-end delta stay changes the trip, and where it does not.
View this journeyStart planning
Tell us about the delta trip you have in mind
A month, how many are travelling and the nights you have are enough to start. We reply by email with questions or a first draft that names every hotel and room category.