Harmony Hotel, Ho Chi Minh
Pros:
- Location. This hotel was in District 1 so it was conveniently located. The Banh Markets were about a 10 minute walk away. The Zen Plaza, and many restaurants were also nearby.
- Staff. The staff were friendly and the doormen opened the door for us every single time, no matter what time of the day/night.
- Spa. It had a nice spa that offered happy hour (50% off) everyday until 4pm, so the 60 minute massages were only 300,000 VND.
- Air-Conditioned Rooms. The rooms were air-conditioned, which sounds like a standard thing, but I very much appreciated air-conditioning when I had it.
- Restaurant. The restaurant had great views of Ho Chi Ming and a wide variety of food for breakfast.
Cons:
- Small room. The room was small for 3 people. We were told we had received an upgrade, so I would love to know how small our original room was. The rooms were also dated and tired-looking
- False description. The description said city views. The only views we had was of the concrete wall of the building next door.
- Noisy. There was construction happening on quite a few of our nights there and it would start at all hours of the night.
- Uncomfortable beds. The beds may have been large but they were quite hard. I would wake up sore and stiff in the morning and I felt the need a massage. Maybe this was a ploy to get guests to buy massages ….. hmmm.
- Late night calls. The thing that frustrated me the most was when we booked the hotel car to the airport to pick someone up. We advised that she does not arrive until 9.00am, but by the time she gets her suitcases and goes through customs, it will be 9.30am so we will leave the hotel at 9.00am to arrive around the same time as she comes through the arrival lounge. But they rung the room 3 times, one of those times was at some ridiculous hour in the night, to advise us that she arrives at 9am and we are leaving at 9am so we won’t arrive in time. I calmly explained myself again, but I was losing my patience.
- Over-priced. I think this hotel was overpriced compared to the Golden Central Hotel below. But it was still a nice hotel.
Golden Central Saigon Hotel, Ho Chi Minh
Pros
- Comfortable beds. I didn’t think comfortable beds existed in Vietnam until I arrived at this hotel. They were also quite large beds.
- Decor. The decor in the rooms was nice and tasteful.
- City views. The rooms actually had great city views. Not a view of the concrete wall next door.
- Pool. The hotel had a roof top swimming pool so sunbathing was an option.
- Affordable. The rooms was very reasonably priced (approx 1,800,000 VND per night)
- Location. Again this hotel was located in District 1, but was only a 2min walk to the Banh Markets
- Upgrade. The air con on the entire floor was faulty, so they upgraded me.
- Spa. The spa was very nice and I received the best massage during my stay in Vietnam.
Cons
- Concierge. I’m only comparing this to the Harmony Hotel, but the concierge/doormen weren’t as helpful. When I showed up at the hotel with two heavy suitcases and, like most hotels in Ho Chi Minh, there are about 10 steps to walk up to get inside. I stood there trying to sort myself out. After a few minutes, the guy finally saw me and came out to help.
- Layout. The restaurant where they serve breakfast and dinner is different and it had me confused. Both are on the top level, but they serve breakfast up one more level of stairs.
Little Hoi An Central Boutique Hotel and Spa, Hoi An
First thing to note is there are two Little Hoi An Boutique Hotels and Spa’s. The only difference is one contains the word ‘Central’. We found this out the hard way when we arrived at the wrong hotel. They kindly paid for our taxi to the correct hotel which was only a few minutes away.
Pros
- Staff. The staff at the front desk and at the front door were so friendly and welcoming. We met a lovely girl called Kate who would always ensure that we were happy and looked after and she would always come and chat to us. She was the best receptionist out of all of the hotels. The restaurant staff weren’t as friendly, except for one nice young guy.
- Pool. The pool was amazing. It had deck chairs around the pool, even in the shallow waters. So it was nice to lounge about in the sun, drinking and eating.
- Room. The room was the largest room during our stay in Vietnam. The room also had a balcony, although the sights weren’t much.
- Decor. The bathrooms decor was amazing. It had a stone bath, which sadly I never even used.
- Location. Hoi An is a small town so you could walk to the ancient town in about 10-15 minutes.
- Private beach. The hotel has its own private beach, which a shuttle does numerous daily runs between the hotel and the beach. The hotel provide towels and bottles of water. One time the shuttle van was full, so the hotel paid for our taxi.
Cons
- Spa prices. The prices of the spa here weren’t as great.
- Location. I really can’t think of many more cons other than the location is not central.