Ninh Binh cave hotel room exposed as fake on Agoda: authorities

A hotel room with full amenities, located in a stone cave in Ninh Binh province and priced at VND97 million ($4,140) per night on Agoda's booking site, is completely fake, the provincial tourism authorities said Friday.

Pictures posted on the global online booking site Thursday showed amendities included a 25 square meter room with a big bed and seperate bathroom, all in a cave. The address advertised is Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province - a kingdom of natural caves in northern Vietnam.

The advertisement stirred controversy and curiosity on social media.

Bui Van Manh, director of Ninh Binh's Department of Tourism, said inspections at a facility named Passion Homestay and De Quy 135 in Xuan Ang Noi commune, Ninh Thuan ward, Hoa Lu district following social media coverage of the advertisement showed the facility was not operating, with its owner absent.

A person assigned to take care of the facility told inspectors the area had been decorated for photo taking, aiming to simply attract guests, and not host guests, Manh told local media.

The inspection team did not find the bed and bathroom in the cave, only some old things like a mirror and lights.

Manh said the inspectors had ordered the custodian of the site to inform the facility's owner of the request to take down all the photos posted on the booking site, so that people would not be misled that the living area is located within a natural cave.

The owner was also requested to contact the inspectors to clarify the case.

Currently, the booking information on the Agoda booking site has been deleted.