You can’t fault the location of the Indochina. It’s so close to the lake, and in a cute area, less frenetic than the Old Quarter. The hotel is new, and has some major hiccups to address. We were given rooms on a floor that had just had the corridor painted. We asked to move because of the smell, but there were no other rooms available. The bathrooms were terrible – they leaked, the drain was raised, the towels were old and the roof of the shower hadn’t been finished. The rooms were fairly comfortable, but small. Not having a window didn’t help. Breakfast was an interesting affair – not enough seats for guests, served fairly late (7:30) and the food was not replenished often enough. The staff should do a crash course in customer service. They are pleasant, but they didn’t seem to have much idea of how to run a hotel. Despite this, you don’t end up spending much time in your hotel while in Hanoi, so it doesn’t really matter!

I stayed at Indochina Hotel in December. I initially booked a deluxe room for USD50. When I arrived I was given a room on the 5th floor and the floor was dusty. Seemed like a room that they haven't used for a while. And from what I understand high floors are usually cheaper so it doesn't feel like a deluxe room to me. I felt a lack of honesty then. Checked out after 2 days to make my way to Halong Bay. One thing that really stood out was how friendly the staff there were.

After Halong Bay we had a nightmare with the hotel that we came back to so I went back to Indochina Hotel as the staff there were really friendly and we really needed a place where there were lots of smiles. Indochina has got lots of that.

This time we booked into suite that should cost USD68. They gave it to us for USD50. The suite was huge with 2 king sized beds, clean and comfy. That kind of made up for the first 2 nights when we were placed in an over priced room.

However, the suite wasn't available for the full duration of our stay as there was a booking for it for our final night there. Therefore, we were moved to another room for our final nights stay. The room was still nicely decorated but there was a stink that was prevalent in the room. I think it came from the sliding window at the back that was not air tight. The room has its own water feature right outside the sliding window. I guess the water in it hasn't been changed for a while so the smell came in through the sliding windows.

Overall, the rooms were a hit and miss. So if you do book into this hotel you have to get very precise written confirmation on what sort of room you are having. For example, which floor and which wing (they have 2 wings - one with elevator and one without elevator), the bed configuration, any bad smell coming from the outside, etc.

I can't fault the service as all the staff were really friendly and helpful but the rooms you get is like a round of russian roulette.

The Indochina Hotel has only been open a few months. It is centrally located in a great tourist area a block behind the Catholic Church in the Hoan Kiem district. Due to its location it will always be a popular tourist hotel.

The hotel itself is only a few months old but is beginning to show problems due to poor construction and maintenance. The laminated wood floor was not installed properly and is beginning to pop up and buckle. Also, unlike older buildings in Hanoi this modern building is air tight. In the warm, damp climate of Vietnam the buildings either need to be open to air or closed and air conditioned. The Indochina has chosen to only run the air conditioning when guests are in their room, which makes sense from an energy saving perspective, but the result is the rooms become dank and moldy smelling.

We found the breakfast to be substandard compared to other similarly priced hotels in Hanoi. The breakfast is served in the lobby and was very sparse. Rather then buying cheap, fresh, tasty local bread they served "western" manufactured white bread that was old and stale. They also didn't even provide a toaster. The tea was made in a large pitcher with bags that stayed in the container and new hot water was poured over the old bags when the tea began to run out. The result was a bitter brew of undrinkable tea.

On the positive side the staff was exceedingly friendly and eager to help. They are trying to run a western hotel and charge relatively steep prices but just don't know how to run the hotel. I certainly hope they learn quickly before the facility is run down and they spoil their reputation.

I stayed there on december 2007. Room was quiet big, but our neighbours room window was in our hall way. So when they watched television we could hear every word spoken. In general the staff was friendly, but started already during breakfast to sell their tourist tours, which is quiet anoying. Breakfast room is very small and the selection is not really good.

The location is central and everything can be reached by walking.

Our room had a own computer and a free internet connection and TV with satelitte programs.