Halong Bay / Hanoi / Hue

1, You may search for some sites and do some correspondences with them, sort out the one you trust and feel reliable. Shuttle owned by Emeraude is charged $35 per person round trip. If you pay a little more for private and comfort, try this link http://halongjunkcruise.com/vi-vn/from-hanoi-386/default.aspx
2, It is up to your style of travel and money in the pocket but if you expect a memorable stay, do the classic wing. If cost-saving target, let sticky with the Hilton or even give it a try to Zephyr of Hanova Maison de Hanoi which is only half a minute waking distance to the central lake.
3, If you looking for a relax, quiet stay in Hue, try the Pilgrimage, otherwise, La Residence or Morin is so good too.

Thanks so much for the response and link -- very much appreciated

I took the Emeraude one-night cruise; I booked with Exotissimo and the package included a private car from Hanoi. The driver made a number of "bathroom" stops that were actually shopping stops. There is probably no way to avoid these, but you can insist on keeping them brief if you wish. The drive took a couple of hours and is not great scenically; expect lots of traffic.

I stayed at the Hilton and thought it was quite a good hotel.

Pilgrimage Village is lovely but it is quite far from the city. La Residence, where I stayed, is an excellent hotel and is worth a look for the architecture even if you do not stay there. I would not spend extra for the river view there, however.

Feel free to ask any questions; I did a trip report (2008).


http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/solo-in-bangkok-laos-and-vietnam-108-ekscrunchy-abridged-trip-report.cfm

For Hue, unless you are there for 3-4 nights or so, I would agree that Pilgrimage Village is too far our of town. At La Residence, you can walk (or bike) to most everything. I actually WOULD suggest a deluxe river view room over a superior room , in the first place they are larger (322 square feet versus 280 square feet), and in the second they have lovely balconies on the river, you can see the flag pole, the walls of the citadel and the mountains in the distance to the east. What I would not recoco paying for are the deluxe colonial rooms or the suites, which IMO don’t have good views or locations, although they are very large and well-appointed.

I did not see those balconied rooms, so I would heed Cicerone's advice on La Residence.
I only saw two room types. I was given a choice of "river-view" or not, probably in the less expensive categories, and I did not think the extra charge was worth it. My room was quite small and the room was in the building furthest from the river so was too far away to actually see any river activity. Nevertheless, the renovation is spectacular and I liked the hotel very much.

In Hues, we stayed at la Residence in the deluxe riverview as described by cicerone and loved it. The balcony was massive with great views and the public areas are in a very elegant Art Deco style. It is a littl way out of the centre of things but only a 5/10 min walk to the main bridges across the river to the citadel etc. The Saigon Morin was looking a bit tired last time we were there. Don't know the other two you mention.

In Hanoi we stayed at the Sofitel and were dissappointed. The hotel was pleasant enough although the room was a bit small and bland but the service and food was just not up to a 5* standard. IMHO just not good VFM