Topas Ecolodge
One of National Geographic’s chosen Unique Lodges of the World, and Places to Stay if you care about the Earth, Topas Ecolodge is the best lodge in Sapa. Hands down.
There are definitely more personal, cozy, and valued homestay and lodging options in the area, but for that luxurious, comfortable, and dependable vibe, Topas has the other options beat.
Other generally higher end lodging starts at around $50/night in the Sapa area, but Topas is run by an international company and charges $200+ a night. What makes this unflattering price tag worth?
Topas Ecolodge is about 1–1.5 hours drive out from the small town of Sapa. The land around the lodge is mostly all farmland, which provides guests with an amazing view without having to leave their room.
You either get picked up in Hanoi (extra fee) or Sapa to get to the lodge. The van is luxurious! (but a much worse quality van takes you back to the city)
After an hour or so ride with views of rice paddies and local homes, you arrive at the lodge. In the welcome bungalow with floor to ceiling windows that immediately strikes awe, you are served a chilled cup of cinnamon tea and brought a hot towel for your hands. Then you walk on over — while someone carts over your bags for you — to the bungalows. First you pass the spa rooms, where you can soak or get a massage with an amazing view. Costs roughly how much it would cost in an average American city for services.
Past the spa rooms, you see the one of the main attractions for the lodge — the infinity pool. The photos definitely make the pool a lot more cool looking — since the pool isn’t quite as large or high up. The pool area has showers, bathrooms, a bar, and gives you anywhere from complete fog to the best summer day weather.
Next you come to the main lobby building. This has the cafeteria, another bar, and the main desk. All meals are served here (with the exception of some dinners served at the patio on top of the hill). You check in here and receive a few trinkets like post cards and handmade local goods. An interesting thing was also a water bottle that you are to use for potable water instead of single use water bottles! and this is for you to keep — super cool.
The lodge has free range chickens and goats, locals working on the rice paddies on site, and local sources for all of their ingredients.
With your key, you head on over to the rooms. Each of the rooms is formed like a bungalow — so no next door neighbors to complain about. They have huge doors and balconies from which you can enjoy the view.
To protect guests from any mosquitos or bugs that might venture in through the cracks, the bed comes with a full net protection as well as all the other regular hotel amenities you would expect.
You can borrow and read some books in the lounge, sit on the many patios to enjoy the view, walk around on your own, or rent a bike for free to see the rice paddies from up close. The lodge will also plan more extensive hikes with guides to visit the towns nearby. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the tours, so I opted to bike around myself, which was good! Though the short route that I had time and energy to take did not reward me with the iconic picture opportunities that I hoped for (This might be better suited for Mu Cang Chai area rather than Sapa). If you want a more in depth and longer route, I suggest hiring a guide. I wish I had more time in Sapa to do a multi-day hike and fit in a homestay on the way.
The breakfast is a combo of western and Vietnamese dishes — from eggs to pho to cheese to pastries to dragon fruit!
Sapa is overriden with town women trying to sell stuff to you (and they always start the convo by asking where you are from) and the area right outside the lodge is no different, but this is just one block. Past that, you will rarely run into any tourists — just a lot of water buffalos and locals!
The weather in this area is crazy though — when I arrived the weather was stellar, then in an hour it rained, and later that night it thunderstormed so violently that I woke up in the middle of the night. Due to this, at times the hikes might not run exactly as planned since the walkways might be too muddy.
The level of attention to detail and care was extraordinary and would recommend!
Though one rough point I had was — in Sapa when I put in the address of the pick up point, Google maps led me to a different location down the street due to there being a STALL with that number. Make sure to look for the Topas Ecolodge office in the town instead of using the address. When I called the Topas Ecolodge, they said that I had missed the shuttle. I told them that I was at the given address (the store I was standing by had the correct unit number and it was the correct street) so I was upset, tired, and confused. So I asked what cross streets I was supposed to see, and what is across the street — this is not an absurd question since the whole town is like 2 miles long. The English proficiency of the one on the phone must have been lacking — because she could not tell me where I was supposed to be, what cross streets, or what I was supposed to be seeing. She was absolutely no help! So I got to Sapa at 4am to get on the 9am shuttle, but had to take the next one at 1pm or take an expensive taxi. At this point I was super disappointed at the lodge, since the address (clearly ambiguous) pointed me elsewhere on the map and made me miss the shuttle, and the front desk person seemed not at all worried for me. For the relative amount I was paying and the prestige of the lodge, I had expected at least some level of feigned empathy.
That’s just my spoiled butt ranting, but later I googled for Topas Ecolodge, Sapa, and Google maps had found the correct location, and I made it there alive and well.
