My husband and I will be iin HCM for three nights in October and I need help with a place to stay. We've been told to stay in District 1 but not in the backpacker area. However, all the places I can find seem to be IN the backpacker area.

We'd like to spend less than $35 for the night and would like to be in a comfortable place but don't need anything fancy.

thanks for any suggestions.

We stayed in Pham Ngu Lao which, I suppose is the backpacker area and found it to be fine. Not sure why you were told not to stay there. Our guest house Ngoc Son was not luxurious but clean , comfortable with aircon and hotwater. The owner spoke great english and he and his family were exceptionally friendly and helpful. It was probably a 15-20min walk to the main central areas and there were loads of good local restaurants in the vicinity. www.hostelworld.com and www.hostelbookers.com are good resources.

Also, check out http://www.travelfish.org/accommodat..._minh_city/all for more info.

I think $35 can be a bit tough to find in the central part of D1. Personally I don't care for PNL. Too many touts for me. My wife and I only visited there twice. Just not our scene.

That being said, I have heard many great reviews of the Bich Duyen hotel in PNL. Indochine used to be a good place in a great location on Hai Ba Trung, but recent construction next door made it quite noisy. Not sure if it's been completed or not. Excellent Thai restaurant next door though.

I stayed at the Hong Vy one time for only about $50 a night ( think they had some cheaper rooms for ~$40). It was only 2 blocks from District 1. It was nothing fancy but the rooms were huge and the A/C worked well. Nice scenic park across the street. No backpackers in sight.

Walked by the Indochine last night. Construction has finished.

http://www.indochinehotel.com/home