Diamond Hotel Dalat

Rooms and decor

Diamond Hotel Dalat is a small, compact budget hotel, and the rooms are where that 9.8 guest score starts to make sense. The Superior rooms run around 22 sqm with a simple, clean design — a flat-screen TV, fridges in many rooms, bottled water topped up daily, and a small minibar in some. The bedding is better than you'd expect at this price, the towels are thick and soft, and the bathroom is spotless with a strong, fast water heater. None of these are headline features on their own, but together they're exactly the small details that pushed the score to 9.8 on Trip.com and 9.5 on Agoda.

Food and amenities

There's no big restaurant and no spa here — this is a sleep-and-go hotel, but the basics are all covered and they're quick. You get express check-in and check-out, luggage storage at the counter from early morning before your room is ready, free Wi-Fi with a strong signal, and free on-site parking, which matters a lot in a market district where finding a space is otherwise a chore. The staff are friendly and will help arrange a Lang Biang tour or a trip to Datanla Falls at local prices. It's no surprise guests scored cleanliness, service and value right up near 9.8 to 9.9.

Location and getting there

The hotel sits on Hoa Binh Street in the Dalat Market district, just about 0.2 km — a three-minute walk — from Dalat Market and the night market, making it the closest stay to the market on this list. Xuan Huong Lake is roughly 0.7 km away and Dalat Cathedral about 0.5 km. Guests love being able to roll out of bed, walk a few steps and have a hot bowl of pho at the market, then pick up artichokes, strawberries and avocados straight from the Dalat growers selling there. Lien Khuong Airport is about 28 km out.

Things to know before booking

This is a small hotel with basic facilities, so set your expectations to a clean, comfortable room rather than a full-service stay. Sitting right next to the market, it can get noisy during the day — if you're a light sleeper, ask for a room set back from the main street. There's no pool and no gym, and no large restaurant or spa on site, so anything beyond the essentials means walking out the door (which, given the location, is hardly a hardship). The high score also means rooms book up fast, so reserve well ahead.

Our take

Diamond Hotel Dalat suits budget travellers, backpackers and couples who want a high-scoring room in a market-side location for under about $21 a night. We'd call it the front-runner for anyone who treats a hotel as just a place to sleep — a 9.8 at this price in Dalat is genuinely hard to find anywhere else.