vannyc

My mom and I are visiting Vietnam in August. I have noticed that the site vietnamstay.com tends to have pretty good prices on hotel rooms. Has anyone booked through this site? I just want to make sure they are relaible before booking. Any other suggestions? We are planning on staying at one high end place and three or four mid-end places. Thanks!

Kathie

I used asia-hotels.com and got good prices. I've had several years of very good experiences with their service.

Lyndie

We've used vietnamstay twice-in July & Dec last year. They are brilliant. Not one complaint after at least 6 air tickets, several nights accom & two train tickets. You pay when you arrive or give them a card number which is not charged until you arrive. Never had one iota of trouble with any arrangements they made on our behalf. Check out the Salute Hotel in Hanoi for an authentic taste of Viet/French boutique hospitality at a fraction of the big chains price. Also directrooms.com may be cheaper for some 4-5 star accom. Do a comparison.

SD3

I've also used vietnamstay.com without any problems. However, as mentioned above, asiahotels.com is also great and in my experience, slightly cheaper. Check both. This forum has lots of suggestions for hotels - do a search. De Syloia in Hanoi was lovely for $55.

Sameera_Anand

I stayed at de Syloia in Feb and found it charming. I mailed the hotel direct and negotiated a bit and got a rate of US$50 a night incl b'fast. U could also consider The Chesterton Apts( Chesterton Petty Vietnam 84 4 934 6000) which are highly spoken of service apts right near the lake in Hoan Kiem Dist. Mail them on [email protected]. No min stay.

red088

Hi, my mother and I are going to Ho Chin Minh for a few days. Where's a good place to stay, reasonably priced? We just want clean basic rooms, airconditioned, with attached toilets and near to key attractions?

Also, is it better to bring US to change Dong in Vietnam or bring Dong into Vietnam? Thanks.

USNR

My wife and I went to Vietnam not long ago and highly recommend a couple hotels for their rooms, meals, location, cleanliness, and service. In Hanoi there are two we particularly liked: the Horison (yes, that's how they spell it) and the Galaxy. In Hue, we loved the Morin. In Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) I think its name was the Victoria, an older, French-style place that had recently been renovated and was right in the heart of things. We stayed out on the beach at Hoi An -- very nice place, think it was the Hoi An Beach Resort. As for exchanging money, we did not find any ATMs, but there may be some now. Otherwise, we used U.S. cash and picked up dong at mom-and-pop currency exchanges; better rate than at banks.

Kathie

As far as currency is concerned... Technically, it is illegal to take dong out of the country, so you really can't bring dong into the country unless you buy from a recent traveler who brough some out. You won't find Dong at official currency exchanges outside of VN.

There are now ATMs in all the major cities. I used them in Hanoi without problems. Usually, the largest sum you can withdraw per transation is 2 million dong, something like US $125. You can also easily exchange US cash for dong.

Neil_Oz

vannyc, check the thread a few days ago entitled "ATMs in Vietnam". I gave a website for ANZ Bank ATM locations in several cities, and another poster mentioned that the official Vietcombank has plenty of ATMs. If you're going somewhere out-of-the-way you should ensure that you have adequate cash on hand.

red088

Hi,

I was surfing www.asiatravel.com and noted the following hotels :.. Any comments?

a) Palace Hotel
b) Que Huong - Liberty 6
c) Windsor Saigon Hotel

Thanks..