Mơ Stay Resort Da Lat Review: A Dreamy Getaway in the Pine Forest

Overall Experience

Villa and Guest Room

The villas and guest rooms at Mơ Stay have similar architectural design, but there are some differences in interior layout and features depending on the villa and floor. Some rooms on the upper floor come with a small balcony while ground-floor rooms may have patios. You can send a message to their official Facebook account for more photos and descriptions of each room type.

Most guest rooms are around 33 square meters (approximately 355 square feet), which is a decent size for a standard hotel stay. However, given the nature of Mơ Stay where you’re encouraged to slow down, stay in, and soak up the peaceful forest setting, we wished there were larger room categories in the 40–50 square meter range. Since more spacious rooms are not available, we settled for a grand deluxe king with a round jetted bathtub and a balcony on the second floor in the Villa of the Star.

Villa of the Star looked very inviting from the entrance with seating and a fire pit on its cozy front porch. Inside, it has three floors and the first floor features a spacious common area that includes a long dining table, a modern kitchen, and cozy lounge seating. I thought the vintage-style Smeg fridge looked kind of out of place against the villa’s more understated, nature-inspired tones. Then again, we’ve never been big fans of Smeg design, so that could just be personal bias.

On our first night, we had the villa entirely to ourselves so we spent some time in the living area and took full advantage of the quietness. There is a projector for movie nights though we found the screen was mounted a bit too high for comfortable viewing over an extended period.

Our room featured an all-wood interior design that exuded warmth from floor to ceiling. Large windows framed scenes of pine trees and filtered sunlight. The room had an undeniable charm like a cozy forest cabin. One of our favorite features was the built-in wooden bench that stretched along the window and invited long moments of quiet forest gazing. Sitting there with a book or just having a chat also felt incredibly peaceful.

The bed was large, but in terms of comfort, I wouldn’t say it met the standard of a four or five-star hotel. The mattress didn’t have a topper, so it felt a bit firm, and the pillows were on the smaller side. It wasn’t too uncomfortable and we still slept okay, but if you are particular about bedding quality, it may fall a little short of expectations.

There was a small balcony attached to the room with a table and a couple of chairs but we didn’t actually spend much time out there. Whenever we wanted some fresh air, we would simply slide open the glass door. All sliding doors and windows were fitted with a mosquito screen to prevent bugs from getting in.

The bathroom was spacious and designed to impress at first glance, with a large window offering forest views. However, it was not completely private and there was even a clear note reminding guests to close the curtains when using the bathroom. Once the curtains were drawn, the big windows didn’t really serve much purpose anymore, which was a bit of a shame. No soaking in the tub while looking out at the pine trees!

While the bathroom has a huge jetted bathtub, it does not have a separate walk-in shower and I think it is a big oversight in the design. Besides, visually, the bathroom fixtures looked sleek with their matte black finish, but on closer inspection, many of them had visible peeling or chipping. So while the bathroom had style and size going for it, some of the details could be better.

All in all, both the villa and the room are very stylish. One thing to note is the room does not have air conditioning. A portable heater is provided to use at night if necessary. They also provide a dehumidifier which we felt necessary to turn on after having shower to reduce moisture buildup. Another caveat here is that our room still picked up some faint traffic noise from the nearby road during the day.

Onsite Restaurants

Mơ Stay has two dining venues: The Edge, located right within the villa grounds, and Mơ Bistro (also known as Rừng Thông Mơ), about five minutes away by resort buggy. The Edge focuses on breakfast and Vietnamese-style lunch, while Mơ Bistro offers Western-fusion cuisine and serves lunch and dinner. Both spaces are designed to complement the natural surroundings, with rustic wooden accents and forest views. Overall, the food options should be enough for a stay of 2-3 days, but if you stay longer than that, it may start to feel repetitive.

Breakfast

Breakfast at Mơ Stay was buffet-style at The Edge restaurant, with sections for bread, cold cuts, fruits, yogurt and hot dishes including some Da Lat specialties like noodle soups, pork meatballs and mini banh can pancakes. It is not a huge spread, but the quantity of food was sufficient for the size of the resort.

The breakfast setting was lovely, located in bright glasshouses connected by low wooden bridges. However, carrying food like noodle bowls to some seating areas involved walking long distances, including stairs. Additionally, due to the forest setting, some food should be covered to protect it from insects.

Despite these drawbacks, breakfast was quite enjoyable overall for us as starting the day in the cool highland air, surrounded by pine trees was not something we could experience every day.

Lunch

During our stay, we chose to have all our lunches at The Edge. The restaurant has several set menus and some a la carte dishes. Each day, we tried a different set menu centered around a hot pot accompanied by crispy lotus root chips and a stir-fried vegetable dish.

Our favorite was the chicken hot pot with white basil leaves (lẩu gà lá é). The broth was fragrant and the meat was tender. We felt it was filling and perfect for Đà Lạt’s cool weather. Definitely give it a try if you don’t mind eating bone-in chicken. We also tried the sturgeon hot pot but it was just too sweet for our taste even though the fish quality was good. It lacked the balance of acidity and savory depth we were hoping for.

Dining in the Forest

Mo Bistro is the only dinner venue of Mo Stay and the resort buggy will take you there. We dined there on both evenings of our stay, sitting outdoors on the first night and indoors on the second. While the indoor space was cozy and softly lit, the outdoor setting was far more memorable.

Dining outdoors at Mơ Bistro was one of the most atmospheric moments of our stay. Tables are thoughtfully arranged on elevated wooden decks tucked beneath tall pine trees. At night, the whole space was so dreamy with crisp, fresh air and warm lighting glowing softly against the surrounding ferns and foliage. It felt like dining in the middle of an enchanted forest. We loved how the space embraced nature to create such a picturesque and peaceful setting.

If only the food had lived up to the setting, the experience would have been perfect. While it was clear that quality ingredients were used, the execution didn’t quite meet our expectations. It felt as if they were reaching for creativity beyond the kitchen’s current capability. They were not bad meals, but I could imagine if we stayed longer than 2-3 days, we might struggle with dinner options a bit.

Activities

Given its remote forest setting, it’s clear that Mơ Stay has put thoughtful effort into offering a variety of activities to keep guests entertained on the property. Unfortunately, there’s no gym or spa here, but the resort does provide a mix of indoor and outdoor activities designed to encourage creativity, relaxation, and connection with nature.

These experiences helped fill the day without requiring much effort. They weren’t necessarily must-do on their own, but together they made the time feel full and meaningful. We never found ourselves feeling bored during our stay.

Indoor Activities

Indoor activities are offered at their experience center, which they call The Seed House. It was a pretty charming space, filled with a variety of hands-on activities — especially craft-based ones. Kids can take part in activities like drawing or pizza making.

For adults, macrame is offered and complete beginners are welcome. The staff patiently guide you through the process, showing you how to knot and weave cotton cords to create small decorative pieces. We ended up making a custom bottle holder bag, which Long now use regularly. He had been looking for something similar, and it turned out I could just make it myself here. It was a fun and surprisingly satisfying project, and I think the finished product looks really nice.

We also booked a yoga lesson with the resort for a small fee. It turns out they partnered with Sivananda Yoga Center right next door to provide the lesson. We are beginners when it comes to yoga, so we can’t fully judge the quality, but we found it an enjoyable experience.

Outdoor Activities

For outdoor activities, Mo Stay designs several hiking options to make the most of its natural surroundings, none of which are physically demanding. If you are experienced in hiking, they may feel too easy for you. There’s also a large outdoor playground for kids.

On our first morning, Long joined the resort’s guided forest walk, a complimentary group activity. He ended up being the only participant that day, which made the experience feel quite personalized. He had a chance to chat with the guide throughout the walk, and learned more about the landscape as well as the guide’s background. He was originally from Can Tho, moved to Da Lat for a change of pace.

At the beginning of the walk, he gave Long a heads-up about the possibility of leeches and the damp conditions. This kind of information should have been shared earlier as it would have helped guests dress more appropriately. Still, he sprayed insect repellent on Long’s legs, and luckily, he didn’t end up with any bites.

According to the guide, much of the pine forest here was planted by the local government decades ago, which explains why the trees are uniformly straight and evenly spaced. He also pointed out a few of the older, native pine trees which were much larger but grew in more irregular shapes.

The trail itself was quite scenic and lovely. It only took about 25–30 minutes to reach the viewpoint. There were tables, benches, and even a small fire pit. The partial view of Tuyền Lâm Lake and the nearby resorts was peaceful and picturesque, not dramatic, but quietly satisfying. The breeze was cool and the air felt fresh.

For this walk, participants were accompanied by two dogs of the resort. At first, Long was a bit surprised and honestly a little uncomfortable because they weren’t leashed. The guide explained that their participation was part of the hiking experience. They walk ahead or alongside the guide and guests to sniff out any potential danger, such as wild animals or snakes.

The next morning, we joined the Farm Tour, another complimentary group activity. This time, the focus was on the farming side of things. We walked through areas where the resort raises chickens and grows various fruits and vegetables. The produce they grow here is used directly in their restaurants.

Service

Throughout the trip, even before we arrived, the resort had set up a Zalo account called “Mơ Stay Butler” for communication. Zalo is the Vietnamese version of Viber, by the way. This was the main channel for booking restaurants, activities, noting preferences, requesting cleaning, and basically handling any kind of service-related needs during the stay. We found it quite convenient. I could simply send a message through Zalo, and the team usually replied fairly quickly.

We especially enjoyed spending time doing macrame at The Seed House with the detailed instructions from the staff there. As we worked, we had a lovely conversation with the friendly staff about the resort and life in Đà Lạt. We also shared some feedback, both on what Mơ Stay is doing well and a few ideas on how the guest experience could be improved even further.

Final Thoughts