Vietnam forum

Mountain biking in Sapa Baguette and Chocolate Cafe Hotel

bksmith69

newbie
Posts: 1

Has anyone stayed here or eaten here? It is a place for the underprivelaged to start their careers and then move on to the larger hotles.
I want to stay there for this reason, but curious at the same time if anyone else has tried.

Has anyone been mountain biking in Sapa? We are going on our own and wanted to either rent/ join a group there in Sapa for a day or two. Any suggestions?
Any information on the terrain?

Thanks.

Kerri

#1 Posted: 29/7/2007 - 09:46
CatBa

adventurer
Posts: 349

Yes, a small hotel in the centre of town. Great food.

The staff bend over backwards to make you at feel at home.

#2 Posted: 1/8/2007 - 03:35
itchyfeet

backpacker
Posts: 19

Hi Kerri,

We did not stay at the Baguette and Chocolate Cafe but we did eat many times at both the one in Sapa and Hanoi and they were great. The staff try extremely hard and so I dare say you would have an enjoyable stay at the hotel. That said, when my partner and I were in Sapa in November '07, the best decision we made on our whole 3 month trip was to splurge and stay at the Topas Ecolodge. It's not cheap but I honestly would have to say that it was worth the money. You are able to enjoy the absolutely breathtaking scenery of that area without having it be somewhat ruined by the tourism industry that has overrun Sapa. It is, if I remember correctly, about 20km out of town. We were able to use mountain bikes provided by the Ecolodge (they have their own day bike tours but we couldn't really afford to do that in addition to stay there and we preferred to be on our own anyway) and we made the ride from the Ecolodge to Sapa. It's by far the most beautiful ride we've ever done. The roads are really quite good (only the last few kilometers to the Ecolodge were a bit rocky) but it was definitely a tough ride on the way up the mountain to Sapa; the ride back is a cinch.
Anyway, I hope that helps.

Enviously,

Meg

#3 Posted: 2/8/2007 - 08:48
itchyfeet

backpacker
Posts: 19

Hi Kerri,

We did not stay at the Baguette and Chocolate Cafe but we did eat many times at both the one in Sapa and Hanoi and they were great. The staff try extremely hard and so I dare say you would have an enjoyable stay at the hotel. That said, when my partner and I were in Sapa in November '07, the best decision we made on our whole 3 month trip was to splurge and stay at the Topas Ecolodge. It's not cheap but I honestly would have to say that it was worth the money. You are able to enjoy the absolutely breathtaking scenery of that area without having it be somewhat ruined by the tourism industry that has overrun Sapa. It is, if I remember correctly, about 20km out of town. We were able to use mountain bikes provided by the Ecolodge (they have their own day bike tours but we couldn't really afford to do that in addition to stay there and we preferred to be on our own anyway) and we made the ride from the Ecolodge to Sapa. It's by far the most beautiful ride we've ever done. The roads are really quite good (only the last few kilometers to the Ecolodge were a bit rocky) but it was definitely a tough ride on the way up the mountain to Sapa; the ride back is a cinch.
Anyway, I hope that helps.

Enviously,

Meg

#4 Posted: 2/8/2007 - 08:49
LaurenCD

newbie
Posts: 2

Posted from within Vietnam.

Hi!

I've just arrived in sapa and was also looking to do some mountain biking, as i'm a bit trekked out. so if you fancy linking up just let me know!

Lauren

#5 Posted: 5/8/2007 - 20:16