Hanoi Century Hotel — Hotel in Hà Nội

I was hesitant about staying in Hanoi Century hotel because we had used some airline points to book the hotel and it is what I would class as a 'budget hotel' but as we decided to save some money on this part of our trip I decided to go with my husband's suggestion.||||We had a few similar hotels to choose from with our points and I think we made a great choice!||||We have been to Hanoi before and stayed further out, this hotel is in a great location - not in the noisy backpacker area with late night bars but close to everything - we walked everywhere from this hotel. ||||As we arrived from India into Hanoi and both suffering from a severe bout of Delhi belly I was not looking forward to what I perceived to be the cheapest and most basic hotel of our 7 hotel trip around India and Vietnam. Yes, it's not fancy but they have a lift, our room on the 4th floor was clean, quiet and tidy. The complimentary fruit and water daily is better service than what we have received before in 4 and 5 star hotels.||||As we were both suffering from the dreaded Dehli belly we only ate eggs on toast at breakfast which was just fine - no complaints.||||We liked;|| - the free map with suggested walks, great for just ambling around soaking up the atmosphere of Hanoi. ||- the late check out (5pm) at a cost of $11 and the prompt taxi back to the airport arranged by the hotel.||- really friendly staff at breakfast, reception desk and tour desk.||- complimentary water and fresh fruit daily plus tea & coffee making facilities.||- ask for a high floor and a room at the back||- watching the locals from our window singing at 6am and doing tai chi (we were jet-lagged)||- Free PC in our room - brilliant idea!||||We didn't like;||||- the bath did not quite fit the space provided - little gap at the end but so nice to have a bath with a shower.||- Ohps - I pulled the window out of the frame trying to shut the window so the maintenance might not be great but not dangerous.||||All in all, as I don't normally stay in hotels like this so I maybe set my expectations low but I have nothing negative to say about the hotel. The location, price, safe environment and friendliness of the staff means I would book and...

I had been let down by another hotel which emailed me at the last minute to cancel and so on arrival al the bus station I asked a taxi driver to take me to a hotel in the Old Town and this is where he took me. The signage on the hotel still has its preveious name, "Smile Hotel". For $20 I had a large room with a good bathroom and even a balcony, admittedly with no kind of view. There were two computers in the lobby and even one in the room, although that was not connected to the Internet. The location is in the middle of the Old Town, about 10 minutes walk from the lake, but the noise of the old town did not penetrate to my 4th floor room. The receptionist on duty in the daytime spoke English fluently and was very helpful to me and to other travellers. Breakfast was not included but apparently there is a breakfast service for extra.||I do not know what connection, if any, the taxi driver had to the hotel or if they paid him commission, but his meter was running fast and when i pointed this out to him he promised me a "discount"! - on arrival at the hotel the meter was showing 20km and a price for that distance whereas the journey had been about 6km - I paid him appropriately for 6km which didn't please him but he eventually accepted it and went away.||This, and the fact that I notice that the hotel's website has been suspended does make me a little unsure of this hotel although my personal...

Despite our early check-in time, the staff were very accommodating and helpful. This continued throughout our stay - the staff were always smiling. There was free internet on 2 desktops at the reception area, great for catching up on emails. Breakfast wasn't too bad for the price of the room we were paying, which included breakfast. We took the family room which was huge and consisted of 3 single beds. The problem was it was on the 2nd floor and faced the front of the hotel, which was a busy street. We could hear honking for most parts of the early morning and night; closing the louvered windows did not help block out the noise. The room itself was ok, albeit a little dusty but the bathroom was run down - small leak in the ceiling and the bathtub leaks whenever you shower, which then made the entire bathroom dirty and wet; not pleasant! The hotel can do with some renovation as it looks run-down in some parts. Room rates are reasonable so I guess you can't expect too much - the friendly staff made up for it :). The hotel is in a great location - everything was within walking distance (restaurants, cathedral, lake, market, souvenirs and other shops). You also get the "local" scene of street vendors selling pho, fruits, vegetables, meat, bbq...