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Travelling in Vietnam was memorable for me partly because of the places I stayed at. Each hotel and resort had its uniqueness reflecting not just the vision of the management but also the culture and vibe of the town.
In total, I stayed at 10 different hotels/resorts during my 5-week trip! So I thought I would share my favourites as well as considerations for my future bookings.
And here are my top 4! (Drumrolls!)
No 1: Emeralda Tam Coc, Tam Coc, Ninh Binh
This resort is located at Tam Coc, right by the Tam Coc boat tour where we experienced the on-land Ha Long Bay scenery for almost 2 hours.
The lobby is beautifully decorated with pieces showing off Vietnamese culture—lotus, wooden furniture with elaborate carving, lanterns, pottery, and wooden arches.
The scenery of the area was serene and picturesque and could be viewed from most corners of the resort including the pool. Through our room’s windows and the back porch, we could view boats coming in and out at the entrance of the tours.
back porch toward the river where the boat tours were
The amenities were quite luxurious with a spa, two pools, bath tub, and a continental breakfast with both Vietnamese and western cuisine.
We only spent one night here but next time, I would consider staying here for one more night.
Brief review of Emeralda Tam Coc:
- 1 night at $60/night
- Great location next to the boat launch
- Clean with quick service
- Great amenities with a nice pool, spa, and breakfast
No 2: Memories Land of Hoi An Resort, Hoi An, Quang Nam
This resort gave a similar vibe as Emeralda Tam Coc. The resort was built on an island of Hoài River at Hoi An. The architecture of the buildings replicate that of Hoi An Old Town with red brick roofs and yellow outer walls.
We got a room on the first floor which came with a small porch looking directly out to the Hoài River. In the evening, we sat outside on the porch and enjoyed seeing the tour boats coming by and letting down the floating lanterns onto the water.
It was peaceful with a small-town vibe. The breeze from the river was cooling down the heat of the day. The location was close to the Old Quarter of Hoi An—about a 6-minute car ride—which was a plus.
We enjoyed the pools, the breakfast, and the free bike/bus rental service they provided. The staff at the pool was also very nice; they lent Morgan a pair of swimming goggles which she appreciated a lot.
On the island also locates a themed park called Hoi An Impression Park which hotel guests got free admission. The Park was literally a 3-minute walk from our rooms. It displayed the architecture, cuisine, and cultural performances from three main cultures that make up Hoi An—Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese. Hoi An is a melting pot of these different cultures as it used to be a busy port with merchants from all four corners of the world coming here for cloth and silk trade.
The Park is also famous for its Memories of Hoi An outdoor show which we got discounted tickets as hotel guests. Each night, people, mostly tourists, from all corners of Vietnam and Hoi An came to the Park for the mini shows and the show. Most seats of the show were filled the night we went—almost 1,000 attendees. The show was amazing; unfortunately, I had higher expectations for it which left me a bit disappointed.
Despite that disappointment of the show, the Memories Land of Hoi An is ranked 2nd on my list with lots of great extra experience from the Park, the show, and its full-serviced amenities.
Quick review of Memories of Hoi An or Ky Uc Hoi An resort:
- Price: $120 CAD/night for a Premier Room
- Spacious room with a private porch looking out to the Hoài River
- Clean with full amenities
- Two pools, breakfast, spa
- Free entry to the themed park, and discounts to the Memories of Hoi An show
- Close to Hoi An Old Quarter, in the middle of Hoài River
- Would definitely come back
No. 3: The Watson at Bai Chay, Ha Long Bay
I love the Watson as the hotel was clean, the room was spacious, and the biggest plus was the rooftop pool overlooking the bay. The experience of swimming at the rooftop pool at sunset in tunes with songs from Big Bang—my favourite boyband—was something I could not forget. The breakfast would be one of the best breakfasts I had at a resort, too! The view from our room was a view of the town from the 15th floor, which was marvelous.
This hotel is located 10-minutes away from the International Sun Port where we got to the cruise for Ha Long Bay. It is around 30 minutes from the Onsen Yoko Hot Spring.
We did not explore too much of Ha Long Bay except going to Lotteria for dinner as Josh and Morgan craved some Western food that night.
No. 4: Hôtel Perle d’Orient Cat Ba
This was the first hotel we stayed at right after we arrived in Vietnam. My cousin treated us to this special unplanned trip which I am very thankful for.
This hotel is right next to a beautiful beach which was convenient for Morgan’s daily dose of vitamin “sea”.
Quick review of Hotel Pearl d’Oriente:
- Beautiful lobby and ocean view from the porch
- Spacious and clean room
- Great breakfast, pool
- Private access to the beach (a huge plus!)
Honourable mention: Luxe Suite and Hotel and Suite 121 Trich Sai, Hanoi
This was the first suite I booked by myself. It was located conveniently on the bank of West Lake, about 15 minutes away from the Old Quarter. I booked this through Booking.com and it was around $60 CAD/night. It was very spacious, 75m2 with a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, a walk-in closet, and the bathroom. The wooden furniture and wall decorations were beautiful in French style. There was no breakfast as it was a suite with a full kitchen. The washer dryer was a plus, we used it once or twice.
This was such a unique experience for Josh. We could hear loud music at 5 am in the morning where the locals started their morning exercising dance. We could silently watch the traffic on the main road down below our room. We could stroll along the lake early in the morning, observe locals socializing in the Bird Social club, explore smaller inner village roads, and eat some awesome Vietnamese vegetarian food by the hotel.
Brief Review of Luxe Suite and Hotel and Suite 121 Trich Sai, Hanoi:
- Beautiful furniture and decorations with French architecture
- Location, not too great: Next to West Lake, 10-15 mins travel to Sword Lake and Old Quarter
- Cleanliness: 3/5 (needs improvement)
- Price is reasonable for such a big space ($60 CAD/night)
- No breakfast but suite comes with a kitchen and a washer dryer
- No bathtub in our unit but other units do come with bathtubs
Tips for booking hotels:
- Booking hotels and accommodations in Vietnam could be difficult, especially with online bookings as I was afraid of scam websites with false listings to steal my banking information. Therefore, I mostly went through an agent that made things a lot easier.
- Booking.com was very helpful and reliable, too. However, maybe an agent will be able to get you rooms at hotels that might not be available on Booking.com. I reserved the rooms and paid cash when I checked in. I was later told by a hotel I stayed at that booking through Booking.com was a bit more expensive as the site got a commission; I was advised to call and book directly with the hotels.
- Before confirming, verify your check-in and check-out dates
- Check locations and amenities:
- Breakfast
- Pool
- Check-in and check-out time
- Tubs
- Suite with laundry
- Walk to Beach
- I paid for hotels through a Vietnamese bank account or using cash. I did not try to use a foreign bank card as it costed extra fees and did not always work.
I hope this post helps!
HAVE FUN TRAVELLING IN VIETNAM 🙂
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