Hello from sunny Singapore! I’m finally back home and feeling pretty recharged from our recent trip to Vietnam. After all the hotel stays, long bus rides, day trips to nearby cities, trekking with Hmong tribes in Sapa and a wonderful cruise in Halong Bay, it’s time to write about the places we’ve stayed in.
In this first edition of my travel tales in Vietnam, I’ll be reviewing the first hotel we stayed in the city – Hanoi Pearl Hotel.
Cute colonial-looking sleeping area, I’d say!
At the moment, this hotel is ranked by Tripadvisor as #124 of 521 hotels in Hanoi and has a certificate of excellence under its belt. We booked this hotel via Expedia and had no problems with checking in.
Location
The hotel can be found at Number 6, Bao Khanh Lane | Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi 844, Vietnam. It’s located in the charming Old Quarter of Hanoi, not far from Hoan Kiem Lake. Price-wise, it’s pretty affordable and location-wise, it’s very convenient for exploring the area.
Room
Our room was a superior room, and its size suited two people just nice. The room was clean and neat, and had everything that I needed as a guest. However, one thing struck me as odd: We didn’t have any windows!
Lovely little work desk.
Tidy bathroom. You can see the little window that opens at the bottom.
Basin area, which fits one person nicely and two people a bit snugly.
Some necessities provided by the hotel. So thankful for the cotton buds!
The sleeping area once again.
The only window we had was a small one in the bathroom, which opened up to the wall of the neighbouring building, which was about 50cm away. So although you don’t see much from there, at least you’ll know if it’s raining or not.
Service
The service in general was good. The receptionists and manager on duty were always smiling, seemed relaxed and happy, and were up for a little chat when they weren’t too busy. They have umbrellas in the lobby that you can borrow, and how awesome that was, for on our second day in Hanoi, it rained. That same evening, as we waited (again, in the lobby) for our pick-up to arrive to send us to the train station, I requested for the receptionist to call our tour company to confirm that they were on their way to get us. It all went ahead without a glitch.
Overall & Price
The first thing you’ll notice about the hotel is the musky scent the moment you enter. While it might not suit some people, I didn’t really have a problem with it. Breakfast was decent as well, though nothing absolutely fancy. There’s the traditional Asian porridge if you’re craving for some hot food in the morning but you’ll have to add some garnishing to it (these are also provided and placed beside the porridge).
The overall ambience of this hotel is relaxing, welcoming and pretty chill. I’ll let you decide if you’d like to reserve a room at this hotel, but if you’re not fussy and are just staying in town for the night, this hotel serves its purpose. At S$80 a night for a superior room, which includes free wifi and a buffet breakfast, I’d say it is generally all right if you’re not picky about the view.
Never lose sight of the explorer within you,
Roxanne