Camellia 4

The trick to staying in Hanoi is NOT to stay in a western chain, not to stay in the glitzy 5 star hotels but to embrace yourself in the local community. I found this hotel when I was starting Swinburne University in Vietnam and they had just opened. They were a little oasis when the alternative was a 5 star hotel, an army barricks or a local hotel. This hotel had a lift and a smile and right in the middle of the old hanoi area. I am about to book to go back and show my daughter what I did in Vietnam and have recommended friends to stay in this hotel and they agree, it is absolutely the way to go in Vietnam. It is clean, the bathrooms are clean, I read the towels were 'funky' hey go outside and buy a new towel for the equivalent of $2! I got malaria during one trip here and the staff hand feed me for three weeks. The noise, well if you want to immerse yourself in the real Hanoi then this is when you need to be. Straight out the door and you are in the thick of the old quarter, stroll around and somehow the locals know you are from this hotel and don't bother you half as much as those that are staying at the big hotels. You may have gathered that I love this hotel. When it was called the Phan Thai hotel we used to call it the 'fun time' hotel. When I asked my staff whether they wanted to stay here or in one of the new western 5 star hotels they voted for here. Sure the food is not 'cuisine' but it is home cooked Vietnamese food and for the price you pay and the standard and cleanliness is wonderful. I am so glad that 'Mrs Kerri' will be returning to the hotel that I called my second home for six years in the 90's and I am pleased that my son found the hotel fantastic. Embrace Hanoi and support local business.