It's our first trip to Vietnam (March) and we're still finalizing our choices for hotels. In Hoian we thought we were going for the Hoian Riverside, however we have a Vietnam based travel agent who recommends either the Golden Sand or Palm Garden. We've also been scared off a bit of the Riverside as we just read a review that mentions bed-bugs (or fleas). We wondered if anyone has been there lately and can comment about it or the other two hotels.
Also does anyone have any comments about a Hoian riverside vs beach front hotel in general?
In Hanoi everyone raves about the Metropole, however it could be outside our budget. The travel agent recommended the Sheraton, but we have doubts about the location (we're only there for 3 days and thought being closer to center is smarter). Is the Metropole really worth spending the extra for (especially since I read that the quietest rooms are in the new Opera wing).
Any recommendations about which way to go?

HI I traveled to Vietnam mid last year and loved it!!!

Hanoi is great city with amazing sites, people and shopping. Vung Tau is also an amazing city!!

We stayed at the zephyr hotel which was $80 a night. Across the street was a lake with a nice walkway around and many shops. THe hotel was great - good service and complimentary breakfast which was very good.

If you want contact info

phone 04 934 1256

4-6 Ba Trieu St
Ha Noi Ha Noi 04
Vietnam

Just wanted to add the Zephyr is very central location

Metropole excellent and a special experience but, stay in the Opera Wing. Less expensive and the rooms in the the heritage section tiny. We had rooms there and changed to the new section which we liked much better. Best breakfasts in Viet Nam.

In Hoi An we stayed at Victoria which we absolutely recommend. Very nice rooms, great service, lovely beach and pool. Disappointed with Hoi An...charm gone in maze of "made to measure" shops. We did the made to measure and was sucessful but leave time for multiple fittings. A Dong Silk di very good job on expensive stuff (stunning silk lined jacket, man's suit) worth the extra money. 50 le loi fine for less special stuff including the wool jackets seen in every shop and thin silk blouses. 50 le loi recommended on this board. Fyi.. it is notyet 5am and I have been up for an hour and it is our 4th day home.

loverockies, thanks for the tip, I checked out the website and the location does seem ideal. We were thinking about taking advantage and paying a bit more, as in asia it will usually buy you more then in the west. However will keep the Zephyr in mind.

Elainee, you're note confirms everything I've heard and makes me think we should pay the extra for the Metropole.
Thanks for the info on the 'made to measure' in Hoian.

Can you give me any kind of a feel for the beach front vs river front hotel?

The Metropole is worth the money...we stayed in the older wing and loved it! You could be anywhere in the new wing. Check out the Life Resort in Hoi An...beautiful rooms, great location on the river and walking distance to town!

I'm hoping you guys can help clarify something on the Metropole for me. We're definitely sold on staying there for our upcoming trip, but I'm still a bit confused about the difference between the newer Opera Wing and the older Historic Rooms.

From everything I've read on here, the older rooms are more recommended. But going to the Metropole website and looking at their photo slideshow (which feature the newer rooms) and the virtual tour (which feature the older rooms), the older rooms definitely look...well, outdated. The newer Opera rooms look spacious and a bit more visually appeasing. I'm sure it's just a matter of taste, but I'm still curious to know.

Why do people like the older wing so much (aside from the history, which I completely respect and get.) Is it just that--the history?...or are the older rooms nicer?

New rooms are larger which was important to me. I felt very closed-in in the historic room we had. Plus the bathroom, while cute, did not have separate shower. Take a walk thru, or ask to see historic rooms, and save money and get space in the new wing.

Also, beach fron hotels have the beach and good swimming. By the way, it is China Beach of "war" days. Of course you can go to "public beach" but it is good that the Victoria had watchers/life guards on the beach. There may be big rocks on some of the beaches.

Elainee's suggestion of the walk through is a good one. I think we'll book in the newer and check out the older section. tmarchLA I've heard that the older section can be noisy, what was your experiance? (I'm a light sleeper)
As far as the beach, are the public beaches really unpleasant?
We're still caught between a room on the beach or the river. Both sound attractive, but it's really a difficult choice as it sounds like chosing between apples and oranges. Btw, tmarcLA, I read some reviews on the Life Resort that said that you get people walking by your room if you're river front. Any pointers here?

I am going to Vietnam in middle February... staying in Nam Hai in HoiAn, I believe it is brand new. Anyone been there yet? Looks like a whole other level of hotel for this area. Website is thenamhai.com. Thanks!

Diane, I do know about this hotel...a friend of mine who lives in asia suggested it (she's a big fan of this chain). I'd love to stay there, but at 300$ per night for there most modest villa it would really blow our budget. (Unless there are other rooms I haven't seen on the website.) Enjoy your stay, I'm sure it's going to be fabulous.

I just answered another post about Hoi An Hotels. I did not see the riverside but if you are not going to be in town then I would suggust staying at the beach. The public beach is O.K., but it has a lot of vendors and looked a little scruffy in comparison to the hotel beaches.
Dianne I did not look at the Nam Hai. I thought it may be to far from town, but if it is only 15 minutes it looks great.

I stayed in the classic wing at the Metropole and the rooms are tiny. Our bathroom was very large however. I think the rooms in the classic wing vary a lot. We had a courtyard room so noise was not a problem. The new wing may have been updated for Apec, since most of the city was. It is worth a look.

Sally

Am I looking at the right rooms here (The Metropole)? The "new" rooms have the hardwood floors and the hardwood headboards, right? And the "old" rooms have carpet (or at least it looks like it) and no headboards?

Just want to make sure I've got these room types matched up to their respective online pics correctly.

ttt

filmwill, as you move through the photos of the Metropole rooms, the only one that seems to be the "new wing" room is the second. It has a floral backing to the wooden headboard, amd white panelled walls. I stayed recently in two different rooms in that wing and liked them very much. Be aware however that they were differently configured; the second was quite a bit roomier than the first. If possible, ask to take a look at a couple of choices.

As for Hoi An, I am glad we chose to stay at the Life Resort because it was easy walking distance to the entire town. All the beach resorts are quite some distance and would require transportation each way. The Life was very pleasant; no elevators however, in case you have a problem with that, and there are 3 floors. The other issue I should mention is that the walkways on each floor of the garden wings require guests to walk past other rooms. Since each room has a small sitting area in front of the room entrance and on the walkway, these terraces are not private. When the room lights are on, the rooms aren't either, so we tended to keep the shutters closed. Since the view from our room was across the "garden" to the other building, we didn't lose much.

shellio, gotcha...if you continue on and check out the 3rd pic on their site (the room with the wood headboard) is that a new wing room as well?

Last year we stayed in both Hanoi and Hoi An. In Hanoi we styed at the Metropole and were extremely disappointed with both the size of the room and more importantly the service which was simply awful (but maybe we were just unlucky
Maybe we were unlucky but I would not stay at the Met again!

In Hoi An the situation was completely different. Here we stayed at the Vinh Hung Merchants House an old chinese hotel which is the only hotel situated actually in the Old Town. We had one of the signature rooms on the 1st Floor which was stuffed full of antiques (allegedly, Michael Caine used this room as his dressing room in The Quiet American). It could not be described as luxurious and has no restaurant or bar but is right in the town about 50m from the Japanese bridge so there are loads of places to eat and drink on your doorstep and you could hire a bike to get to the beach (20 mins)and the staff were really friendly and helpful - highly recommended.

>>the 3rd pic on their site (the room with the wood headboard) is that a new wing room as well?<<

I don't think so. I think the new wing rooms are all paneled and have the light fixtures shown in the 2nd photo, but obviously I haven't seen them all.