At 22:00, I took the Single Cabin (2nd floor) from Hanoi directly to Sapa without going through Lao Cai. 1. I changed my reservation time over the phone 3 days before using the bus. Communication was possible in English and changing the time was also easy. If you arrive 10 minutes before the bus departure time, you can comfortably receive a paper ticket. ++ 2. They say the bus sometimes comes late, but it came on time. 3. The facility was clean and odorless. I used the 2nd floor, and although the 1st floor has a slightly higher ceiling, I definitely recommend the 2nd floor because it is twice as expensive. + 4. The seat did not fully recline, but only went to about 160 degrees (there is space behind the seat back to place shoes, etc.). The length is not generous, so if you are taller than 175cm, you may need to bend your knees slightly. - 5. There was no bathroom, but we stopped at a rest area twice during the 5 hours to Sapa and were allowed to use the restroom. 6. Hand out a bottle of water to each person. WiFi was connected well. The biggest disappointment was that while going to Sapa, the power on the bus was cut off, so it was impossible to charge my phone even though there was a USB plug. I don't know what it's like during daytime hours. There's no TV, but that's okay since I didn't plan on watching it in the first place. - 7. A guide who could speak English took the bus with us and accompanied us to the final destination. They made announcements right before departure and arrival, and especially when we first got on, they even moved our seats to a slightly larger space (but they didn't move us to the first floor, where the price was different). +++ 8. Even though I rode on the second floor, I didn't feel much of a rattle while driving and I didn't get motion sick. There was a protection device to prevent the seat from rolling over while sleeping (each seat also had a curtain for privacy). + 9. Departure at 22:00 and arrival at 03:00 the next day, but they allowed me to sleep on the bus until 06:00. ++ The service was perfect, to the point where it was very, very disappointing that this was a bus company that only operated during the day. Since the bus company (Sao Viet) returning from Sapa to Hanoi was the worst, it may look better, but if I go to Sapa in the future, I think I will check the timetable of this bus company (Sapa Express) first.

Excellent, comfortable bus journey - works definitely recommend. Contact from bus conductor was perfect, and when he came to meet me personally at the pickup spot he had my details which was reassuring. He also gave plenty of advance warning of the final stop in Sa Pa so passengers could be ready to depart, and was clear about how long we had at rest stops - he really was great. I have only 2 criticisms - and as far as I understand, they was not the fault of the bus company or conductor, rather because of the ticket I booked through Vexere - the pickup time I was given was 45 minutes before official departure (as is normal), but we actually passed by the exact same place and picked up more passengers around an hour later, having gone all the way around Ha Giang! It wasn't a big deal and I was comfortable (and I knew we'd be collecting more people after me because of my pickup time, just not that we'd be going part my exact stop again).. but who really wants an extra hour sitting on a bus for no reason? Also, when booking my seat the configuration on the app was incorrect so although the seat number I hadwas correct, it was not in the place I expected (opposite side of the bus, and a top bunk instead of bottom!) - it could have been user error on my part but if so it wasn't clear on the site, so be super-careful when selecting seats! Again, not the bus company's fault at all - everything about my journey was perfect.