Hotel cost me $152 a night, but the Wi-Fi was so bad I couldn't even check Facebook

Not long ago, I went on a business trip to a popular tourist city in Vietnam. I booked a hotel room that cost VND4 million per night, equivalent to four-to-five-star hotels in the country. I was drawn in by the attractive images and promises on booking platforms.

The hotel was advertised as offering top-tier amenities, stylish rooms, a quiet environment, and most importantly, high-speed internet, a crucial factor for me as my job depends heavily on a stable connection.

The room itself lived up to expectations at first. It was clean, tastefully decorated, and featured modern interior. My initial impression was overwhelmingly positive. I thought to myself: This is worth the price.

Unfortunately, that satisfaction did not last.

On the very first evening, I connected my phone and laptop to the hotel's Wi-Fi — and was immediately frustrated. The internet speed was painfully slow. Even loading a basic website took nearly 30 seconds. I tried to relax by scrolling through social media, but I could not even watch a short video on Facebook.

As someone working in digital content, I needed to upload a short 3-minute video, under 100MB, to my personal page. But due to the unstable internet, that simple task took nearly four hours. Throughout that time, I was frustrated, stressed, and frankly baffled that such a basic service could be so poor in a supposedly high-end hotel.

Even sending a simple email with an attachment took several minutes, something that would normally take seconds.

I tried everything: reconnecting, switching devices, and even calling the front desk. The receptionist was polite and assured me the issue would be checked. But the situation barely improved.

*Reader's opnions are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress' viewpoints.