16 April 2010
Sen Viet Hotel, Saigon, Vietnam

Hotel
US$39
10°46'9.11"N
106°40'57.16"E
1 Room
Including Breakfast

April 2010 approx A$42.00
I truly think that we might have just stumbled upon the best value mid range hotel in the whole of Saigon - it's an officially rated 3 star hotel, well deserving on that and although not the cheapest in town, breakfast is magnificent and they are open to discounts for longer stays.

The hotel itself is only 3 months old as I write, but I get the feeling that it will be well maintained unlike a lot of others in Asia. The staff are great - they have the balance between formality and friendliness just right, which is never an easy thing to achieve. The hotel is officially rated 3 star (I'd actually give it an extra half a star).

The brand new bed was so comfortable, I didn't want to get up - the pillows were of similar quality. In fact, all linens in the hotel - sheets, bedding, napkins etc were better than average quality, and nice thick curtains kept the sun from waking us in the morning.

The wall mounted large screen LCD TV was fantastic and has enough cable channels to keep everybody happy.

The rooms were a good size with wooden floors, a couple of comfy chairs to sit on and the furniture and decorations were tasteful, modern and of good quality. Small touches like large and small oil paintings in both rooms and public areas made a big difference to the ambience of the hotel and there were fresh flowers everywhere. We never usually eat at restaurants in hotels, but the prices here were no different to those outside, so we were happy to eat without leaving the building, and as a bonus, the food was good.

We had the the choice of the indoor air conditioned restaurant or outdoor garden setting with a magnificent water wall feature on the photo opposite (the photo really doesn't do it justice) It's one of the best I've ever seen, and the the relaxing sounds of tinkling water as well as cooling the air a little was great. And the food was good as well as reasonably priced - very good in fact.

The gym is in the final stages of having various machines of torture installed for those interested in such persuits, and should be ready within a week - an update of this review will uploaded as soon as Peter tests out the gym, there is also a jacuzzi and sauna if it opens before we leave.

WiFi AND cable intenet connection in the room is always a bonus, especially if they're both accessible at the same time. A fast and stable connection, which it was, is even more of a bonus.

The location of the hotel is good - a 10-15 minutes stroll from the small day market, (you pass by a supermarke on the way), but there's nothing you can't buy within minute or two walk from local stalls and shops. Remember - they don't ALL try to rip you off - in fact, there are probably more honest traders than dishonest ones, it does tend to put you off buying things from small traders until you know the approximate price you should be charged. It's also close to the Saigon's Computer Streets if that kind of thing excites you - I was in heaven.

All in all, we will definitely be back to the Sen Viet whenever we return to Saigon (we've made our way down to the beach for the weekend heading back to town later today). For a hotel in this category and price bracket, I haven't come across one in Saigon which is, in my opinion, as good value for money as the Sen Viet. I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to anyone.

senviethotel@yahoo.com
www.senviethotel.com.vn
+84 (0) 3929 2233

33 Cao Thang, 2 Ward - District 3, Saigon