Family Balcony City View Room
Vietnamese style hotels, the iconic, skinny, and several stories buildings, are plentiful in Hanoi’s historic Old Quarter. Shouldered in between shops, restaurants, travel agents and other businesses, they range from the simple no fuss to the ornately elegant. The Hanoi Lotus Boutique, a stylish, modern option set back on a quiet street, offers a personal service feel and comfortable R&R.
Shouldered between businesses on a quiet street
I picked this hotel out of the wealth of options because of its Family Balcony room that included breakfast. Traveling with my 14 year-old son narrowed down room choices since two beds was a requisite. Family style rooms guaranteed one of us wouldn’t be sleeping on the floor. When we arrived in Hanoi after a two-day, one night trip to Halong Bay, we picked up luggage we had left after our three-night stay at the Hanoi City Palace hotel and walked the few blocks to our new digs.
The Hanoi City Palace was a fine stay, but for our last three nights in Hanoi, I thought we’d try out another hotel for comparison. Fellow travelers, one man and two women not related to each other that we met on the Halong Bay trip, were glad we did. They had arrived in Hanoi without reservations. I suggested they try Hanoi City Palace because of the huge room my son and I had enjoyed. That hotel was booked. Fortunately two rooms were left at the Hanoi Lotus Boutique. The one double bed room and one with two twins were just what they needed.
Upon arrival, we discovered just how accommodating and helpful the Lotus Boutique personnel can be. I discovered that in the get-off-the- tour bus quick flurry, I had left a plastic bag with my son’s sneakers tucked into the overhead rack. He wears size-14–not one easily found anywhere. The hotel receptionist called the tour company who assured that they’d look for the bag. Sure enough, several hours later after we came back from dinner out, the receptionist handed me the shoes. Relief.
Helpful staff that offers help 24/7
Relief was offered several more times over the course of our three-night stay. There was relief from Vietnam’s blazing summer heat thanks to our room’s stellar air conditioning, and relief thanks to the directions the staff gave us every time we headed out to explore this busy city. When I needed to exchange money and didn’t have time to go to a money changer, staff helped with that too.
A room with a view of Hanoi’s Old Quarter
We were also allowed to check out a couple hours late on our last day which gave us enough time to visit Uncle Ho’s mausoleum and Craft Link, the two places left on our to-do list. One other day when we needed to leave early for a trip to Thanh Hoa, a province a few hours away, we were able to get our breakfast before we headed out even though it was a half hour before breakfast was officially served.
A sleek, modern feel
Along with the accommodating, friendly service, the Hanoi Lotus Boutique hotel is one I’d recommend for anyone who likes a sleek, tasteful modern feel just a block away from the busy Hang Bong Street in the midst of the Old Quarter’s buzz. Our balcony room had a great view of the city and was a perfect spot for a morning cup of coffee or an evening glass of wine.
Also pleasing were the comfortable beds, the refrigerator, LCD TV, complimentary WiFi, complimentary two bottles of water each day, and the tea and coffee. Along with the tea and coffee in the room, coffee is served in the lobby 24/7. The large Jacuzzi bathtub was another pleasant touch.
An assortment of items offer a tasty breakfast
Instead of the order off the menu breakfast of the Hanoi Palace, the Hanoi Lotus Boutique breakfast is an extensive continental breakfast with several fruit, bread, pudding and pastry options.
I booked this hotel at Hotels.com for a deep discount. Our three-day total was roughly $134. Not bad at all. You can also book directly with the hotel.
Post and photos by Jamie Rhein
