Huynh Anh Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, has always been the hotel I’d book for my buddies whenever they come over to tour Vietnam. Located right in Saigon backpackers hostel area, they have very friendly staffs, a security guard based in the lobby for 24 hours a day and even security cameras on every level of the hotel. For US$25 per night at Huynh Anh Hotel, you’ll get cable TV, hot shower, a small fridge, free breakfast, WIFI, free access to the internet in the lobby and GREAT views of Saigon backpacker’s area if you can get the room with a balcony. Note that this is not the perfect hotel. If you want a flawless one, go to Sheraton or Hyatt My experience with them is that sometimes the battery for the air con remote goes flat. And sometimes the hot water gets too hot, or not at all. But at only US$25 with its location and facilities, you’ll find that it’s worth every dollar…

Beautiful Saigon Hotel is the new kid on the block in Saigon backpackers hostel area having been fully renovated less than 6 months ago. So you can expect all the advantage of a new hotel like a flat screen plasma TV, working water heater and new and clean beds (although they are on the hard side). Within this short period of their new set up, the Beautiful Saigon Hotel had already gathered lots of good reviews, particularly from TripAdvisor.com, one of the leading travel guide site. The only 2 negatives, from my personal experience and also from what’s read on TripAdvisor.com, is that the standard room (costing US$26/night) is very small and can be quite noisy (they are located opposite 2 big and very popular pubs in the Saigon’s backpacker’s area). If you can afford it, I suggest taking the deluxe room at US$45/night. The deluxe rooms are bigger and being located on higher level, the noise issue should get better.

There are actually 2 articles in this post. I’ll tell you about the type of room you can rent in a Phu My Hung hotel at Saigon’s district 7 in a while. But first, let me share how this post came about…

My 2 ‘old’ friends (they are in their 50s – sorry Song and Travis ) always swear by the Tan Hai Long 1 Hotel whenever they visit Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon. Together, they both have combined visits to Saigon for more than 10 times and they always stay there. Tan Hai Long 1 Hotel is a 3 star hotel and has just renovated the whole building at the beginning of this year. But even before the renovation, my 2 friends always comment about how clean the place is, not to mention now that the hotel is newer after the renovation…

People – throw away Hai Au and other let-you-&-me-down resorts in Mui Ne and allow me to introduce you to the spanking new Saigon Cali Resort, opened 10 months ago. Brand new, and understandably spotless, this will definitely be my next resort stay in Mui Ne. It’s located right next, and I mean really right next, to the Fairy Stream which flows by its walls. Price range US$35-45 (no breakfast included – a pity). However, it’s near Kim Loan Restaurant so that is indeed a real comfort…

My encounter with the Binh An Village Resort in Vung Tau came in August this year. My buddy asked me to recommend a nice beach resort in Vung Tau to pamper his girlfriend for a short trip. I flipped through my faithful Lonely Planet and Binh An Village came highly recommended. Called the resort to make a booking and even though I thought the listed price of US$200 was reasonable for a boutique resort along the seafront, I asked for a discount and the lady manager gave us a 20% discount taking into consideration it was a weekday stay. Cool!

Stayed at Thuy Duong Hotel in Vung Tau 2 months back (Oct 09). Thuy Duong Hotel is along the ‘back beach’, further down the road away from the main actions meaning it is quiet which is one of their attractions for me. In fact, it was so quiet that my Vietnamese friend found it eerie

Vietnam720: Jon from Connections Vietnam recently visited Phu Quoc and returned with a general list of recommendation on Phu Quoc Hotels…

Vietnam720: Bennett from Good Morning Vietnam gives us a review on Gia Linh Hotel of Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon.

Vietnam720: The Green Hotel Nha Trang is a 3 star hotel at 6 Hung Vuong Street, Nha Trang and Aimee from yVietnam gives us a review.