Under NO circumstances should anyone EVER stay at Starfish Alley Hostel in Da Nang, Vietnam. The owner, TranThi Phuon Mai, is a sociopath, a rage-filled despot with a hair-trigger temper who flies into screaming fits nearly daily. Other people do not exist in her mind except as a source of profit. I lived there for 1-1/2 years, always paid in full on time & never caused problems.
In addition, I volunteered my services through two Tet holidays (working 40-50 hours per week for 5 weeks), and daily as-needed (2-6 hours per day for 1 year): staffed reception, translate for staff, stocked tourist info & maps, checked guests in & out & answered questions, stripped & made beds, washed & hung bedding, scrubbed shower & toilet drains of hair, sludge, & trash, restocked bathrooms, cleaned fans, cleaned up after guests in kitchen, swept benches & wiped legs, swept up alley trash, gathered recycling, & emptied 15 trash bins nightly. Yet Mai did not remember any of this & kicked me out at a moment's notice for disagreeing with her on a minor point. Further, she knew full-well I had NOWHERE to go b/c all hostels were on COVID-19 lockdown for 12 more days. She is devoid of humanity & loyalty. For example, a known thief checked back in after a year.
Within 24 hours a guest's wallet (with all his bank cards & cash) disappeared. I immediately warned another guest who had lived there over a year. Mai objected b/c she didn't want to get a bad rep. When I reminded her that she owed the long-term guest loyalty, she scoffed, "I don't owe anybody anything!" She refuses to protect guests in other ways too. The hotel I not clean. Black mold is growing in shower stalls, AC filters have not been changed or even cleaned in 2 years, fan blades are coated & dripping with dust & grime, the drinking water filters were only changed twice in 2 years.
Periodically, guests have required medical care for injuries (motorbike, burns, tendonitis) or illness but Mai refused to help them by directing them to a hospital, pharmacy, or even calling a grab bike for them. Instead, she completely ignored their pain. And during the COVID-19 contagion she refused to screen guests by checking their passports' former destinations, length of time in Danang, their temperatures, if they had been quarantined, requested medical certificates, etc. Instead, she accepted any & all guests (even from high-risk countries & even during the government-imposed a 2-week quarantine on admitting new guests) thereby putting other guests & staff at risk.
In her rapacious greed, guests are only a source of profit. She lets guests cook—for a fee. Guests leave half-eaten food on tables, counters, & piled in the sink with dirty dishes all night to attract mice & rats. Guests toss food onto full trash bins & when it falls on the floor, they don’t bother to pick it up so the floor is littered with garbage that attracts mice & rats. Guests store bags of rice & produce on the floor for mice & rats instead of in the metal lockers (which they cannot access). And not only does the owner NEVER clean up after them, she does not tell them to clean up after themselves so their filth rots, stinks, and attracts vermin.
Finally, she only enforces posted rules that protect her, like "Hostel is not responsible for guests' items." But ignores those that protect guests, like "Quiet hours: 2300-700," so many play loud music, drink, & shout until 2:00-3:00 AM EVERY night, disturbing other guests Her alcoholic husband pops his first beer of the day at 9:00 AM and polishes off 6-12 more before he passes out 12 hours later. The owner has made Starfish Alley Hostel a dangerous place to stay! Avoid it at all costs!
Starfish Alley Hostel Reviews
Under NO circumstances should anyone EVER stay at Starfish Alley Hostel in Da Nang, Vietnam. The owner, TranThi Phuon Mai, is a sociopath, a rage-filled despot with a hair-trigger temper who flies into screaming fits nearly daily. Other people do not exist in her mind except as a source of profit. I lived there for 1-1/2 years, always paid in full on time & never caused problems.
In addition, I volunteered my services through two Tet holidays (working 40-50 hours per week for 5 weeks), and daily as-needed (2-6 hours per day for 1 year): staffed reception, translate for staff, stocked tourist info & maps, checked guests in & out & answered questions, stripped & made beds, washed & hung bedding, scrubbed shower & toilet drains of hair, sludge, & trash, restocked bathrooms, cleaned fans, cleaned up after guests in kitchen, swept benches & wiped legs, swept up alley trash, gathered recycling, & emptied 15 trash bins nightly. Yet Mai did not remember any of this & kicked me out at a moment's notice for disagreeing with her on a minor point. Further, she knew full-well I had NOWHERE to go b/c all hostels were on COVID-19 lockdown for 12 more days. She is devoid of humanity & loyalty. For example, a known thief checked back in after a year.
Within 24 hours a guest's wallet (with all his bank cards & cash) disappeared. I immediately warned another guest who had lived there over a year. Mai objected b/c she didn't want to get a bad rep. When I reminded her that she owed the long-term guest loyalty, she scoffed, "I don't owe anybody anything!" She refuses to protect guests in other ways too. The hotel I not clean. Black mold is growing in shower stalls, AC filters have not been changed or even cleaned in 2 years, fan blades are coated & dripping with dust & grime, the drinking water filters were only changed twice in 2 years.
Periodically, guests have required medical care for injuries (motorbike, burns, tendonitis) or illness but Mai refused to help them by directing them to a hospital, pharmacy, or even calling a grab bike for them. Instead, she completely ignored their pain. And during the COVID-19 contagion she refused to screen guests by checking their passports' former destinations, length of time in Danang, their temperatures, if they had been quarantined, requested medical certificates, etc. Instead, she accepted any & all guests (even from high-risk countries & even during the government-imposed a 2-week quarantine on admitting new guests) thereby putting other guests & staff at risk.
In her rapacious greed, guests are only a source of profit. She lets guests cook—for a fee. Guests leave half-eaten food on tables, counters, & piled in the sink with dirty dishes all night to attract mice & rats. Guests toss food onto full trash bins & when it falls on the floor, they don’t bother to pick it up so the floor is littered with garbage that attracts mice & rats. Guests store bags of rice & produce on the floor for mice & rats instead of in the metal lockers (which they cannot access). And not only does the owner NEVER clean up after them, she does not tell them to clean up after themselves so their filth rots, stinks, and attracts vermin.
Finally, she only enforces posted rules that protect her, like "Hostel is not responsible for guests' items." But ignores those that protect guests, like "Quiet hours: 2300-700," so many play loud music, drink, & shout until 2:00-3:00 AM EVERY night, disturbing other guests Her alcoholic husband pops his first beer of the day at 9:00 AM and polishes off 6-12 more before he passes out 12 hours later. The owner has made Starfish Alley Hostel a dangerous place to stay! Avoid it at all costs!