Tam Tinh Vien Homestay

It's hard to say enough good about this homestay. The room was great, the breakfast was delicious, the hosts were super nice and your payment goes to support the orphanage on the grounds. Because we were staying longer than usual they did our laundry for us for free. If you want you can have lunch or dinner with them and experience tasty home cooking (also free if you eat at the regular time for them.) We had one or two meals there, other than breakfast, but also wanted to try restaurants in Hue. We met a lovely young woman whose name I don't know how to spell, but I think it's something like Hun. She grew up and lives nearby and is at Tam Tinh Vien quite often. She mentioned a pagoda in the hills nearby and offered to go there with us to show us around. Honestly, that visit to the pagoda and grounds ended up being the highlight of our trip. Thinking about all our interactions with the Vietnamese people, they do appreciate that our daughter is working in the country as a volunteer and perhaps that opens the door to some of the more authentic experiences like what we had here and elsewhere. Or perhaps our experience was typical, I can't know. There is also a local driver who grew up in the area that we hired several times to go into town, up to the pagoda, and finally for our drive to the Da Nang airport. After dropping us off he thanked us for helping him support his family.

My husband and I stayed here some years ago. It's often one of the places we always bring up in conversations. The property is nested in a small village just outside of Hue. The rooms were clean and beautifully decorated. It's run by wonderful hosts Jean and his wife. What I love about homestays is that you learn so much about the culture and history of the area from your local hosts. Jean and his wife were so welcoming. They shared many stories and showed us around the orphanage they run on their very own property. At the time, there were about 30 kids living in the house. Each room was shared by a few kids. They looked happy and waved hello as we toured the orphanage. If I remember correctly, the kids live there until about the age of 18 which then they will have the choice to go off on their own. Jean and his wife also runs a school nearby at the time we were there. They were so kind to take us there and gave us a tour of the school. It really warmed our hearts to see what Jean and his wife have done for these amazing kids. They were full of smiles as they greeted us. On the last day of our stay, Jean booked a private boat ride just for us! We took off on the river near the property and made a few stops to see local attractions. Jean even had lunch prepared for us on the boat! Back at the property, his wife made the most delicious meals whenever we ate at the property. This was truly a memorable experience my husband and I will never forget. It is so admirable what Jean and his wife have done for the orphans. The kids looked happy and were playful and kind given their unfortunate backgrounds. It really gives one new perspective on life. We look forward to bringing our daughter here when we plan our next trip. Thank you Jean and wife for your hospitality!