Equatorial Ho Chi Minh City — Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

We had a 2 night stay at the Equatorial which was a fabulous experience. Right from our arrival the reception staff, bell boys and restaurant staff were friendly, warm, accommodating, and could not do enough to help us. The Rooms are stunning, immaculately clean, well maintained and everything worked so well. TV's have international and english and Korean channels (which suited me), the wifi was super fast. Rooms were very quiet and luxurious to rest in. Bathrooms - wonderfully maintained, super clean and lots of accessories. Towels were clean, warm and thick so wonderful after a shower! Everything works perfectly right down to the added bonus of a proper sized kettle to make tea/coffee (supplied in every room). Each room has a fridge and free bottles of water. For tea/coffee lovers, the vending machines on floors 5 and 7 have a variety of drinks but most importantly they have proper fresh milk cartons that allow you to really enjoy your tea/coffee! Prices are very reasonably priced for a hotel and there are lots of stores nearby (including a mall) if you want to buy additional supplies for your room/fridge.

I took my niece (teenager) for a walk down the street (turn left after you leave hotel and a 10 minute walk straight down that street brings you to a roundabout and a mall that has a variety of stores but most importantly has some great restaurants and a playzone with claw machines, electronic games, basketball games, etc. to keep a teenager/child entertained. Not sure which of us had more fun but I won several prizes from the claw machine and my niece had so much fun there. Ground floor also has a bakery with very tasty treats which we brought back to our rooms!

Hotel is in the business district but lots of local stores all around so you still get the whole vibe of the city but with the luxury of the hotel to relax in after a busy day of touring in the area!.

Staff are really at the top of my list for their courtesy for foreigners, their ability to converse easily with English speaking guests and their absolute commitment to you enjoying the hotel and all the facilities it has to offer. The Chit Chat Restaurant has a brilliant menu that can satisfy adults and kids with everything from steak (which my niece had twice) to fish/chips, pizzas and a variety of other foods (local and Western tastes catered for). We also enjoyed breakfast which was amazing in terms of the wide verities to cater to every taste bud and nutritional needs. I had the best omelets and bacon as well as croissants (as good as France) and the freshest of local fruits. Cereals, Asian and India options were also well catered for - it would be impossible not to find something you like here. So well presented and catered! Hot tea, coffees, juices, etc. all available as part of the breakfast menu!. For the kids, there were waffles, pancakes, chocolate sauces, peanut butters and tons of other tastes that kids and teens want so you can't go wrong here if you're travelling with your family.

Highly recommend this hotel - its five star quality but tourist budget friendly. A beautiful establishment but one that also makes you feel you fit in while travelling as tourists who didn't back for posh-ness or for evening dining at a higher level. You felt comfortable and accepted in casual clothing!! Loved it - would feel very comfortable and safe in this area again...

We stayed at The Equatorial Ho Chi Minh for over a week and it has some highs and lows. With some minor and major adjustments this would be a 5-star stay. Here's a breakdown of our experience:

The lows: -Rooms are very poorly soundproofed. Every single noise from the hallway will enter your room. -Many families and specifically children stay at this hotel and you will likely hear poorly behaved children screaming and running up and down the hallways. -Sound from events being hosted at the hotel, including live bands will be heard well into the night inside the room. -Music plays in the hallways. This is a truly perplexing decision for the hotel as you can very clearly hear the music inside the room. They turn it off every night in the late evening, but it starts again every morning at 7AM. I had to call the manager no less than THREE times to beg them to turn it off. The best they would agree to do was turn it down, but every morning it would be turned back up to full volume. -Christmas music playing well after Christmas was over. And again it plays in the hallways and can be heard in the rooms. This continued with jingle bells, and Santa clause is coming playing still every day in the room even as late as December 28th. This was without a doubt the worst part of staying at this hotel.

The highs: -Service is excellent. The front desk staff, the bell boys, housekeeping, the sales staff (Fiona was really great!) were all amazing. -The pool area is really nice, but very busy. Those who don't mind sharing the pool with many others will enjoy this. -The beds are very comfortable.

Overall if you aren't a light sleeper or sensitive to sound, this hotel is an excellent choice and certainly better price than another more expensive hotel in the immediate area (hotel Nikko). However they really would need to do a better job of soundproofing the rooms for me to ever consider staying here again. And for crying out loud, stop with the...

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AUTISTIC CHILDREN!!!

This morning, as usual, I took my son here to swim. The pool only had 2 Indian guests, 1 regular member and the man in the picture (according to the pool manager, he is the hotel owner). My son jumped into the pool and climbed up and down several times in a row. The pool manager and the hotel owner told my son not to jump and I explained that my son is autistic and does not understand the surrounding speech. I was a bit surprised because the pool manager'd known my son well. They whispered to each other and then the pool manager came to me and said that my son would not be allowed to swim anymore. Then that man stood in the middle of the pool and spoke loudly in English to the 2 Indian guests, saying that my son was crazy and had mental problems 😡😡😡😡 thinking I didn't understand. The manager acted as if she had never met my son before, telling this staff to watch out for my son, then another staff, then used a yellow sign to block the stairs and explained that my son would not jump???? If they locked the stairs, he would jump even more right???? That's how they treat regular customers who have supported them for many years since 2018, since my son learned to swim, he often comes to this hotel to swim. From the manager, staff and members, everyone is familiar with my son. They know what my son's condition is like. My son has never caused trouble or caused any damage to the hotel 5-star hotel but the owner has a narrow mindset, so no wonder the hotel always looks dark and not much customers. "It takes months to find a customer...seconds...