Hanoi Street View Hotel

TONY arranged our tour to HALONG BAY, and it was amazing. The hostel/hotel is small, with small rooms, but the beds are comfortable and the shower and toilet are in the room, so you don’t have to share. It’s right in central Hanoi, just one block from the street market, with lots of options nearby.

At the edge of the Old Quarter, it’s a great spot if you want to party, though bring earplugs if you’re not a night owl. The dorms are $5, but if you can manage $12, I’d go for a private room. They have AC, which helps a lot during Hanoi’s humid nights. Great place for the price.

Our room was above the downstairs bar, which has the same owner, and the noise was really loud. The bed sheet and duvet had been used by the previous guest and hadn’t been changed for us. Breakfast was included, but honestly inedible: the fried egg was swimming in oil, the coffee tasted like alcohol from the glass they used, and the knives and forks were filthy. All in all, it felt like the same sort of low fare accommodation you find anywhere in the world.

This was the worst experience of my three months traveling. The Wi-Fi didn’t work because of bad authorization with three devices, though it was working again in the morning. There was no water, either. The receptionist said it’d be fixed in an hour, but that wasn’t true. We had to buy bottled water to wash ourselves, got no further information on when it would be fixed, and there was still no water in the morning. Music from the neighboring bar was loud all night, so sleeping wasn’t possible. We also couldn’t find overnight motorbike parking. The receptionist didn’t know where to send us, sent us to the wrong place, then suggested parking at a hospital, and I wasn’t sure it was secure. We found a spot later, not far from the hotel. There are even cheaper hotels around, so go somewhere else.