Know Before You Go

Ask for a room with a window when booking, and confirm it by message a few days before arrival. The windowless family rooms are the most common source of disappointment in reviews, and the difference in comfort is substantial when outside temperature reaches thirty five degrees with full humidity.

Book the spa in the morning for the evening. The small spa has limited therapists, and slots after eighteen o'clock go quickly when guests return from sightseeing. A foot massage after a day on Hanoi pavements is the best investment of the trip.

About the weekend: from Friday evening to Sunday night the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake close to traffic and become a large pedestrian zone with music, games and street performers. It is a wonderful atmosphere for a walk, but taxis and airport transfers must stop outside the zone, so plan arrivals and departures on those evenings with some extra minutes on foot.

For breakfast one morning, forget the hotel and walk to Phở Bát Đàn before seven, then continue to the lake for coffee. Egg coffee, the Hanoi speciality made with whipped yolk and condensed milk, is served in several old cafés near the lake, some of them reached through narrow corridors and stairs that are easy to miss.

Grab is the best defence against taxi overcharging. Install the application before arrival, link a card or use cash, and always check that the licence plate matches. The same application delivers food, which is useful on rainy evenings.

Check out is at noon, later than in many Asian cities, and reception keeps luggage afterwards. Guests with evening flights can use the last afternoon for the Temple of Literature or a final massage and then take the transfer directly from the lobby, leaving at least one hour for the airport during rush hour.