Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [254]
Melia 44b Ly Thuong Kiet 04/3934 3343, www.solmelia.com. While this high-rise hotel is pitched at the executive traveller, it’s worth checking out the online deals. Luxurious rooms have an appealingly funky design, but bathrooms at the cheaper end are small considering the price tag. There’s an elevated open-air swimming pool, as well as a gym and a choice of restaurants. US$151 and over
Mövenpick 83a Ly Thuong Kiet 04/3822 2800, www.moevenpick-hotels.com. Standard-setting business hotel housed in a colonial-style building near the train station. Rooms are tastefully decorated and equipped with flatscreen TVs, but the hotel’s most distinctive feature is a female-only floor, which has slightly different rooms and direct access to the excellent fitness centre. US$151 and over
Nikko 84 Tran Nhan Tong 04/3822 3535, www.hotelnikkohanoi.com.vn. See "Hanoi". A luxurious hotel on the French Quarter’s southern fringes, where well-appointed rooms feature comprehensive five-star facilities. Its Japanese ownership is apparent in its distinct, minimalist feel, and it is home to the excellent Benkay restaurant. Other facilities include a business centre, health club and outdoor swimming pool. US$76–150
Sofitel Metropole 15 Ngo Quyen 04/3826 6919, www.accorhotels.com/asia. Opened in 1901 since when It has hosted numerous Illustrious guests, the Metropole remains one of the most sought-after hotels in Hanoi despite increasingly fierce competition. Though rooms in the modern Opera Wing exude international-class luxury, they lack the old-world charm of the original building, with its wooden floorboards and louvred shutters. In-house services include a business centre, a small open-air swimming pool, fitness centre and a choice of bars and restaurants, notably Spices Garden, serving upmarket Vietnamese fare. US$151 and over
Somerset Grand Hanoi 49 Hai Ba Trung 04/3934 2342, www.somersetgrandhanoi.com. These serviced apartments, with up to three bedrooms and fully equipped kitchens, can be rented by the night and make a more homely alternative to an upmarket hotel. They also represent surprisingly good value, including access to facilities such as an open-air pool, a gym and a crèche. Make sure you book well in advance. US$76–150
Sunway 19 Pham Dinh Ho 04/3971 3888, www.sunway-hotel.com. See "Hanoi". An award-winning, four-star boutique hotel where consistently high standards of service and comfortable rooms make up for a slightly inconvenient location. There’s an in-house restaurant and live music nightly in the lobby bar, not to mention the obligatory fitness centre. US$76–150
Zephyr 4-6 Ba Trieu 04/3934 1256, www.zephyrhotel.com.vn. This three-star place offers value for money with its forty tastefully decorated and fully equipped rooms in a prime location just a stone’s throw from Hoan Kiem Lake. US$76–150
Hanoi and around |
The City
Hanoi city centre comprises a compact area known as Hoan Kiem District, which is neatly bordered by the Red River embankment in the east and by the rail line to the north and west, while its southern extent is marked by the roads Nguyen Du, Le Van Huu and Han Thuyen. The district takes its name from its present-day hub and most obvious point of reference, Hoan Kiem Lake, which lies between the cramped and endlessly diverting Old Quarter in the north, and the tree-lined boulevards of the French Quarter, arranged in a rough grid system, to the south. West of this central district, across the rail tracks, some of Hanoi’s most impressive monuments occupy the wide open spaces of the former Imperial City, grouped around