Hanoi Hilton Opera, Hanoi, Vietnam

This was my first trip to Vietnam and, as you’ve probably already guessed if you’ve looked at the other hotel reviews here, I don’t do backpacker type accommodation. Yep, I’m a 4 or 5 star traveller.

For my digs in Hanoi I chose to stay at the Hanoi Hilton Opera which, as the name suggests, is right next to the Hanoi Opera House. Interesting, the hotel was not named Hanoi Hilton as that name has associations with a prison from the Vietnam War.

Hanoi Hilton Opera, Hanoi, Vietnam

The location of the hotel was relatively central and if you couldn’t walk to what you wanted to see then it just took a couple of dollars in a taxi to get there. On that, the taxis I used during my stay were very clean and the drivers took the most direct routes. The fares were always in the ballpark of the estimate that I’d asked from the hotel concierge before I set out.

First impression of the hotel was the magnificently clean and voluminous foyer that extended up for 3 stories that’s surrounded on the higher floors by restaurants, bars and conference facilities. Above this was 7 or 8 accommodation floors contain quite large rooms.

I must say here that, while the hotel generally looked good, it did have a tired feel to it in my room a little, especially the bathroom which look very much ~14 years old (I believe the hotel was built around 1999) as did the outside area of the Ba Mien restaurant where breakfast was served.

My room itself was probably one of the largest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in. You won’t feel crowded in the room, in fact, you could you could have had a party in there!

Great, large bed. Large TV with all the cable/satellite TV channels you expect (and no censorship blackouts like you get in China!).

The bathroom, with separate bath and shower was also very spacious.

The air conditioner in my room was a little bit of a pain to set on a comfortable temperature, but once set worked like a charm for the remainder of my stay.

The hotel supplied Internet across the whole property, in your room (wired and wifi) and public areas (wifi). Internet was complimentary (but I can’t remember if that’s because of the rate I paid or whether everyone gets free Internet).

I had breakfast included in my room rate at the Ba Mien Vietnamese restaurant. Breakfast was buffet style with a quite good selection of Vietnamese, Asian and Western food options to suit all tastes. And because of the colonial French influence in Vietnam the pastries were a highlight.

I used two of the bars / lounges during my stay. The Cafe Opera next to hotel reception was a good informal area for a local beer and a pho after your sightseeing. I also had a quiet beer and a feed at JJ’s Sports Bar a couple of times, though it didn’t seem to be all that well patronised (maybe when a major sports event is on patronage picks up).

Overall, Hilton Hanoi Opera was a very good, relatively well priced hotel to base yourself at in Hanoi.