APT 2BR/Rooftop/elevator/150m to Hoan Kiem Lake

Điểm cộng: Location is the only thing going for this rat hole. It is not a homestay as not adjacent, contiguous, or near a home. Listed as such to avoid Government regulations and inspection required by hotels and guesthouses.
Any positive reviews are either from bots or people with incredibly low standards.

Đánh giá: Note: Due to a cancellation from the side of the host 2 days before the arrival, i am not able to rate this property but an alternative apartment that was offered by the same host to substitute the cancelled accommodation.

I will be honest about the house and i hope that the owner can understand the critics about it.

The pros:
friendly and ready-to-help host, attentive to messages and fast to solve or offer solutions for any eventual problem.
The new offered house (garret house homestay )was very well located, close to the cathedral, surrounded by cafes, restaurants, shops and convenience stores. It’s very central and easy to walk to any part of the old quarter.
The bed was comfortable. The house has a big sleeping room on top floor, that can accommodate 4 people. Good if you are traveling with your family.
Even being so central, the flat is not affected by the noise from the street traffic, so no worries about honkings from bikes or screams from people outside. It’s quiet during night. It’s very nice.

The cons:
Unfortunately, we were more than disappointed with the alternative accommodation that was offered. The pictures seems quite nice, but the house in the end, was far from being enjoyable.
The water pump is extremely loud and annoying, and to use the water at any time, you need to turn it on and deal with the noise.
There are 2 small windows in the house, so it’s not enough to ventilate it properly and there is no light coming in. So expect to see molds on the wall, and if you are sensitive with smell, maybe this can be a big problem for you.
The toilet was also not cleaned when we arrived, but to be fair, our request for a new cleaning was very fast solved by the attentiive host that was trying to compensate the issues of the house.

The general feeling is:
When you book something online based on pictures and reviews, specially for a price that is not the cheapest option in town, you are expecting some relative nice standards.
The idea of our booking the listed house was to have access to a accommodation with the balcony, with a view, with fresh air, with a nice decoration like the ones you see displayed here, but instead, we were relocated to a house that was not offering that at all.
As soon as we arrived the place, we were rushed to check the house and pay for it right away.
And the same amount of money from the original house.
(To be fair:
1. we got a 115k vdn (4,5 dollars) discount on the price to compensate the change

2. we could have said “no” and just leave without staying there and search for another accommodation

3. the offered house is bigger than the one that was cancelled (that was the argument used to justify the same price) but, we, travelling as a couple, do not need a bigger house with 2 beds. And some of the problems of the house was only noted after staying in the house for a bit, not noticed on the first 5 minutes of impression, when we already had to pay it.


In the end, i definitely regret about not paying more and staying somewhere else that has more quality, or just booking a bed in a hostel, that in the end, at least would have been economical and could offer use some social advantages.
We considered leaving the house after the first night, but in the end, we didn’t want to risk to go somewhere else and spend even more money.

I honestly think the host is a nice person and is trying to do an honest business about the house, but our experience there was bad and we definitely do not recommend it for travelers that are looking for a relaxing time after spending the days walking around hanoi. It’s not worth the money. You need to be very tolerant to enjoy the stay. I hope the host don’t take any of these notes personally, and we sincerely wish all the best and the luck for the future.

Điểm cộng: Great central location with private terrace and kitchen area. Good air con and comfortable bed. Nice cafe downstairs with great coffee and cake.

Điểm cộng: Lovely terrace and great location. Cosy atmosphere and home decor. There is a coffee shop one floor down

Điểm cộng: Great location within walking distance of the old quarter

Điểm cộng: Fantastic. Second stay. Very comfortable.

Điểm cộng: Check in was easy. I forgot to pay on the first day and staff were very understanding and was able to fix it up the next day.
Property is located on walking street so the weekend was nice walking around.
Rooms comfortable.
Cafe downstairs which is convenient.
Easy walk to attractions.

Điểm cộng: The most amazing aspect was how accommodating the host was with early checkin. We arrived by overnight bus so was very early and the host allowed us to checkin as soon as reception was possible to collect the keys from the cafe in the building. Thank you so much !

Điểm cộng: It is one of the cosiest places I have ever been. Only one apartments on the floor consisting of 2 rooms, bathroom and space and beautiful terrace. It was really nice to live!

Điểm cộng: Perpect location, Clean room