Cititel Central Saigon Hotel

Good value for the price, with a clean room, friendly staff, and a great shower. It’s a basic hotel without the amount of service you’d get somewhere more expensive. If you’re traveling and just want a clean room in a good location, without lots of staff around, it fits the bill. There’s also a great coffee and juice place across the street.

The hallway doors let through nearly every sound, from people passing by to noise from neighboring rooms, which made the stay unpleasant. The room problems were worse: our first room, booked as non-smoking, reeked of cigarettes, so we asked to move. The next room looked nice at first, but the shower was still wet, some soaps had been used, and there was a used slipper and dirty underwear on the floor. Staff spoke some English, but not enough for us to explain what we’d found. I wouldn’t stay here if you want decent accommodation.

The pool area had no lifeguard or flotation rings, so be careful if you can’t swim. I was also told some facilities from my itinerary weren’t available because the hotel had been taken over by A25 Hotels. The hotel calls itself four-star, but to me it felt closer to two. At checkout, watch for minibar items you didn’t use. When I challenged an item, they apologized and removed it. Breakfast included just one slice of bread, with each extra slice costing VND 60000. My room wasn’t cleaned unless I asked repeatedly. They fixed a broken mirror light while I was out, and there was no milk for tea unless I paid extra. The daily drinking water was only one 250 ml bottle.

The staff were very nice, but the rest of my stay fell far short of what I expected. I booked a non-smoking room and could smell cigarettes there and in the hallway, so I left two nights early. Expedia described it as four-star, though it’s actually three-star, and I’d rate it 1.5 stars myself. There was no breakfast. The bed was an uncomfortable, cheap spring mattress, and there were no spare tissue rolls in the washroom. The safe could be carried out of the room, and I couldn’t figure out how to use it because it wasn’t the standard type and came with no instructions. The building also wasn’t accessible at all.