Madelise Central Hotel & Travel — Hotel in Hà Nội

I recently stayed here after a very uncomfortable experience at an Airbnb, and I’m so glad I made the switch. The location is incredibly convenient, close to the Old Quarter, where we spent most of our time. The hotel offers great hospitality, with staff members holding the door for you when you enter and exit, which is a nice touch, and they even help with luggage. Henry, the front desk receptionist, was very nice, he spoke fluent English and was very helpful, offering recommendations for local attractions and dining options. You can also contact them via WhatsApp for personalized suggestions, which I thought was a really thoughtful service. The rooms are clean, especially considering the price we paid (we booked through Trip.com). The hotel is small, and it’s common to see the receptionist helping with anything you need, such as providing extra toilet paper or linens, which are kept in hidden cabinets in the lobby. One downside is that the infrastructure and humidity in April, which is part of the wet season, can be challenging. You’ll likely notice mold in the bathroom, and it’s common to see it covered up with caulking. Unfortunately, there’s no window or vent for airflow, which doesn’t help. There’s also no hand soap provided, and conditioner is not included.

The hotel is located on a narrow street, so taxis or Grab cars may have difficulty getting directly to the hotel. Make sure to set your pickup location just outside the street, as drivers may cancel if they can’t access the area. However, if you need transportation to the airport, the hotel can arrange it at a better price than booking a regular taxi, which would be helpful for larger groups.

The highest floor (8th floor) has the nicest rooms—spacious, but without a balcony. The elevator does have a musty smell, likely due to humidity, and you might see air fresheners placed inside.

We experienced issues with the fridge and TV in our rooms. Each of us had one or both not working, but we didn’t mind since we were just happy to be staying at a much more comfortable place than our previous Airbnb. On our last night, it started raining heavily, and we noticed water leaking from the ceiling on the 7th floor. The hallway got soaked, and since the floors are carpeted, it took a while to dry. This likely contributed to the moldy smell too due to poor ventilation.

Also, the walls are thin, so you’ll hear everything from your neighbors, including conversations, footsteps, and even bathroom noises. Noise from the hallway feels like it’s coming from right next to you. Overall, while there were some issues, I appreciated the great service and the hotel’s prime location. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly stay with attentive staff and easy access to the Old Quarter, this place is definitely worth...

DO NOT GO HERE!||Arrival: upon arrival we couldnt find the hotel. After asking shopowners across they informed me which building the hotel is. There is a huge construction/renovation going on and there is no sign outside anymore with the hotel name. Once entering the lobby we noticed a group of 10 workers having lunch and beer in the lobby at a large table!? The day after checkout, we would go for a 1 night/2 days trip to Ha Long Bay. I asked the front office guy if there is a luggage storage room. Because of the construction there wasn’t he told me, but we could leave the luggage for two days in the lobby. The same lobby where construction workers are going in and out all day, have their lunch and where the luggage wouldnt be in a locked storage room. ||Check-in: the room wasn’t ready upon arrival (1pm) and we could check-in at 2pm (check-in time). We were assigned room 503. There was trash in elevator of the hotel. The walls in the room were wet (!!), the smell was horrible and after switching on the AC the air got worse. It seemed the AC was blowing in construction dust in the room as breathing became more difficult. The remote of the TV was broken in two pieces. After 20 minutes we decided we will not stay in this hotel. ||Check-out: 20 minuts after check-in, we checked out. When we came down to the lobby, there was a layer of water 1-2cm water in the entire lobby, no clue where it came from. This is the same lobby where we could leave our bags on the floor for two days, as suggested by the front office guy. The front office guy didnt seem surprised about us checking out and apologized. He offered me to refund the money, but he would need approval from the boss first. This would be only possible after 2 days (very strange why he couldnt call directly, also I paid in cash so he could just give the money back). The condition was that I would cancel my booking.com reservation, meaning I wouldnt be able to write this review anymore (smart move but I said no to this). Obviously I didnt get refunded, but thats worth the review and being able to warn others about this hotel (and the current state of it). ||The hotel is a construction site. It shouldnt be operating. Its worn out, dirty and unhealthy (wet walls, see photo attached). On top of that they try to trick an unhappy guest in canceling their booking so the bad reviews stay off the internet.||UPDATE: the hotel cancelled my booking on booking.com leaving me unable to write the review. Haha...

Poor service and hospitality, left with a very dissatisfied feeling.

It's a shame that this hotel had such a negative impact on our first two nights in Hanoi/Vietnam. Especially because we had booked this in order to relax after a long journey and flight.

The day before yesterday we were literally forced out of bed in the evening because “the neighbors were building a new door”. It would only last for a moment and then stop, which is okay and understandable. We had only slept 2 hours the night before because of our flight. The second morning, after 5 hours of sleep, at 06:30am, we were violently woken up again by the noise (constant tapping and hammering) on the other side of the wall. We are very tolerant but this was not ok… We couldn’t even have an normal conversation anymore because of the loud noise. I understand that they could not change a lot about the fact that there neighbors where renovating, but appropriate financial compensation would at least be appropriate. They said that they would come up with a suitable solution when checking out. At first this “suitable solution” was just “sorry”. Upon insistence, we could get €18 back or an upgrade to a new room, which we did not need because we are going to the north. Our proposal was, given the fact that it was really not the cheapest hotel as well, to get 1 of the two nights refunded. There was absolutely no room for this, we just had to accept it. Left with a bitter taste… Staff working behind the desk where nice, however, management could learn some proper hospitality.

We booked this place to charge up, the opposite happend, not worth the money.

Next time I would think twice before renting out this room during the renovation of your neighbors or at least...