Hanoi Elegance Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam

Comment by Julia Lim, Malaysia

April 2007

We just returned from a week in Hanoi, Vietnam, of which four nights were spent at the Hanoi Elegance 1 Hotel at 8 Hang Bac Street. Having been forewarned of shoddy hotels and shady tour operators, I was a little wary of what we might find. Instead, we were pleasantly surprised that most of what we experienced at the hotel. This, together with the warm welcome the staff gave us, more than made up for a couple of minor slipups that we encountered. I was impressed when the hotel even called me two days before we arrive, to confirm our flight number as I had requested earlier by email, for airport pickup. We were a fairly large group which included three children and two grandparents and had requested for two superior rooms and a three-bedded family room. In our first stay of three nights, we were given one middle room on the first floor and two rooms on the second floor (with traditional Vietnamese carved beds and furniture). Each floor has only three rooms. The wardrobe reminded me of the Wardrobe in the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia!" Having fresh fruit and flowers in our room daily was a thoughtful touch, and the breakfast choice each morning of either Vietnamese beef pho (noodle soup) or Western breakfast was more than sufficient. The kids were delighted that there was a PC with free internet access provided in every room! The location of the hotel was very convenient, about five to ten minutes' walk to Hoan Kiem Lake. The hotel purchased seats for us at the Water Puppet Theatre for no extra charge. We also went on a three-day, two-night Halong Bay junk cruise prebooked via email with the hotel. Upon arrival at the hotel, they recommended that we change to a different tour company and junk (Imperial Junk with Vietnam Open Tours) from what we had originally booked. They said they had received more favourable feedback regarding this cruise, and it was at the same price that we had booked at USD80 per person. Initially, I was a little wary, but after experiencing this tour, I have no complaints regarding this changeover and found it to be of good value. Upon our return from Halong Bay, we were given a superior room on the first floor for the grandparents, and a superior room and a large deluxe room with three single beds with modern furnishing on the fourth floor. Despite the hike up the stairs, the two rooms on the top floor were ideal, as they were the only two rooms on this level with more privacy. Perhaps the only minor slipups we encountered were laundry that we sent for washing came back still rather damp. This was probably because the weather was drizzling most of the time, and they did not use clothes dryers for drying. Upon checkout, the hotel added 10% to our bill for government tax, which was not mentioned earlier during our reservation emails or on their website. At first I didn't notice this, and paid it, but on the way to the airport (via their arranged transport) I saw it on our bill and called back to check with the hotel. At first they said it was clearly stated on their website that room rates were subject to government tax. But when I clarified that it was not mentioned in our reservation emails nor had I noticed it on their website (I found out after we got home, it was only mentioned on the website for their Hanoi Elegance 2 hotel), they agreed to refund the amount through the van driver which they did. I think this demonstrated the sincerity and integrity this hotel and their staff have towards their guests and their willingness to accommodate or rectify any situations that arose. We would not hesitate to recommend a stay for anyone at Hanoi Elegance 1.