Ms. Annie Ngo

As I promised, I wanted to give you some of my travel feedback to help you with clients in the future.

Hanoi:

I stayed at the Sofitel Metropole one night to treat myself, and also at the Hilton Hanoi Opera on points and the Sheraton Saigon, also on points.  They were all nice, as expected.  Though I would not do the Sofitel again - beautiful, but people should just go look.  The Sheraton is away from the center of town, but I quite liked that and enjoyed the relaxing evening.

I was most excited to see the Ho Chi Minh tomb & museum, but unfortunately showed up on a Friday, when both were closed.  Travelers should note some unusual hours so as not to miss these important visits.  I made it to the Hanoi Prison Museum, which I found to be underwhelming.  Interesting to drop by if you are in the area, but not something to go out of one's way to see.

I did go to a couple of lovely cafes that are great for tourists to just relax.  One is called Culi Cafe (western food, free wi-fi, cheap laundry service), and the other I can't remember now, but I will look up for you.  A few notable dining experiences:

• Pho 24 - very easy way for westerners to ease into the Vietnam dining experience
• KOTO - vietnamese non-profit restaurant that is staffed by teenagers taken off of the street and in training to have a career in restaurants.  very good food too.
• Vine - upscale restaurant near Sheraton.  excellent food and relaxed atmosphere
• Vietnamese restaurant at the Sofitel - very overpriced, but delicious

Halong:

I had organize my trip on the Indochina Sails junk.  As I told you, I thought it was wonderful, though a but of an older clientele.  You trade fun for luxury a bit.  I would have been fine with one step down, but I felt like I got a very good value.  If I had to do it again, I might organize my own transport to and from though.  I found that it was an awful lot of waiting around for pickups & arrivals with the group bus.

Hue:

I flew Vietnam Airways to Hue and got a cab to my hotel quite easily.  As you know, I stayed at the Camellia for $65.  I thought it was a very good value.  Very clean, decent sized room, welcome fruit basket, flat-screen tv, computer in the room, wireless internet throughout the place.  Great location.  East Asian-style service that could be a bit overbearing, but I would recommend the hotel for westerners on a budget who don't want to do too cheap.

I ate at La Carambole for dinner, which is one of the upscale places in town, and I had Vietnamese food that was delicious and well-priced, despite being upscale.  The next day, I ate at Mediterraneo Hue, which recently opened in Hue.  It is by the same owner as Mediterraneo in Hanoi, which is one of the city's top restaurants.  I skipped it in Hanoi because I only wanted to eat Vietnamese food, so I tried it here, and it was delicious.

Hoi-An:

As I told you, I stayed at the Ha An, which I thought was a terrific value for $50/night.  Small rooms, but very charming, comfortable, clean.  Great service throughout the hotel.  Very good breakfast.  I would stay there again.  Very good location, a little outside of the main center, so quiet, but very close so that you can walk everywhere.

I had excellent food throughout my stay in Hoi An.  Some highlights:

I had clothes made at two places where you tend to pay a little more, but you get quality.  Mr. Xe and Yaly.  The clothes from both were excellent and I was well taken care of, but I found the staff at Mr. Xe (except for Mr. Xe himself) to be immature, aggressive, and annoying. I did the tour out to My Son, as you know. It was fine, but underwhelming.  If I ever wanted to do it again, I would go on my own without a tour and make sure to go early morning before it gets hot. I also rented a motorbike and rode out to the beach, which was nice, but I don't think anything special.  It would have been nice to stay out there for a night just for a change in scenery.

Michael Wertheim

 

Asia Pacific, Australia Hotels, Sydney Hotels, Cambodia Hotels, Phnom Penh Hotels, China Hotels, Shanghai Hotels, India Hotels, New Delhi Hotels, Indonesia Hotels, Bali Hotels, Japan Hotels, Tokyo Hotels, Laos Hotels, Vientiane Hotels, Malaysia Hotels, Kuala Lumpur Hotels, Maldives Hotels, Myanmar Hotels, Yangon Hotels, Nepal Hotels, Kathmandu Hotels, New Zealand Hotels, Auckland Hotels, Philippines Hotels, Manila Hotels, Singapore Hotels, South Korea Hotels, Seoul Hotels, Sri Lanka Hotels, Colombo Hotels, Taiwan Hotels, Taipei Hotels, Thailand Hotels, Bangkok Hotels, Vietnam Hotels, Hanoi Hotels, Ho Chi Minh Hotels, Europe, Austria Hotels, Vienna Hotels, Czech Republic Hotels, Prague Hotels, Denmark Hotels, Copenhagen Hotels, Finland Hotels, Helsinki Hotels, France Hotels, Paris Hotels, Germany Hotels, Frankfurt Hotels, Greece Hotels, Athens Hotels, Ireland Hotels, Dublin Hotels, Italy Hotels, Rome Hotels, Netherlands Hotels, Amsterdam Hotels, Russia Hotels, Moscow Hotels, Spain Hotels, Barcelona Hotels, Sweden Hotels, Stockholm Hotels, Switzerland Hotels, Geneva Hotels, United Kingdom Hotels, London Hotels, Americas, Argentina Hotels, Buenos Aires Hotels, Brazil Hotels, Rio De Janeiro Hotels, Canada Hotels, Toronto Hotels, Vancouver Hotels, Mexico Hotels, Mexico City Hotels, United States Hotels, Las Vegas Hotels, New York Hotels, Venezuela Hotels, Caracas Hotels, Middle East, Bahrain Hotels, Israel Hotels, Jerusalem Hotels, United Arab Emirates, Dubai Hotels, Africa, Egypt Hotels, Cairo Hotels, Morocco Hotels, Marrakech Hotels, South Africa Hotels, Cape Town Hotels.