went Hanoi from 24th Nov till 1st Dec....so much fun! esp Sapa.... Hanoi Emperor Hotel is highly recommended by me....few of the staff can speak English, some quite fluent....and they are quite helpful even if you have many questions....one of them even speak a little of Chinese, and worked in 5 star hotel before.... 2 sets of toiletries are available, including towels, slippers, small satchets of shampoo, toothbrush etc, but we brought our own, so did not use them....but the showers....water pressure kinda low, cant do anythg to it.... and it's too hot for comfort, had to keep adjusting........shower at Sapa Summit hotel, similiar situation as well.....wonder if this is the norm in Hanoi? but it's not big deal, so never complain anything.... overall reviews of hotel is one of the best at hostelworld.com, the other good one being Hanoi Legend hotel....from all the reviews i read... we actually went to one of the imitations tour agency, but still, everything went smoothly, except that bus is a late ( about 15-30 mins ) in picking us up for Halong Bay tour, and to train station.... below are pictures of Hanoi Legend hotel in Hanoi...maybe 15-20 mins? walking distance to Hoan Kiem lake provided you know directions already.....friend been to Hanoi before, and speak a bit of Vietnamese, so he know the streets a little.... Noi Bai airport in Hanoi has NO free tourist maps given out, unlike Tan Son Nhat Int'l airport of Ho Chi Minh, so bring your own copy, or buy it at local bookstores for only 10-15K vnd.....there is wi-fi at the airport, but you need to go to 4th floor....where LUCKY cafe, LUCKY restaurant are situated......it's free....there are also internet terminals at LUCKY cafe, but that is chargeable.... we took evening flight...ard 6+pm....Tiger Airways ( the ONLY budget airline that flies to Hanoi ), took about 3 1/2 hrs....return ticket was about $265, with 15kg check in limit for both ways... total amt i spent is about $700+, 800+...detailed as below airfare - SGD $265 room - USD $75, about USD$25 per night, 2 single beds in one room...if you want just the breakfast without staying at hotel, it be USD$2 / pax....room rates starts from USD$10/nite, according to hostelworld.com expenditure - about SGD $200+, 300+.....including food, transport, souvenirs, coffee, instant noodle, and 2 pairs of guy shoes at SGD$95 ( nike, adidas ). the amt also includes tips given to our guide for Sapa trekking ( est abt 15km ), and hotel staff. we have 4 pax total...gave about 600k vnd to the guide for Sapa trekking.....coz we think she deserves it...for the few days, she treks with us, shares the village stories, answer your questions....and also cook all your meals.....500k vnd is less than SGD$50.....tips if of coz optional, but it be a real as*hol* of someone not to give when the guide done so much for you !!! just my opinion.... there are other village guides that will also follow you, together with the main english speaking guide......they will ask you to buy souvenir items from them, prices from 80K and above.... be sure to buy a few items from them, as it is their livelihood selling those souvenir items.......you will need their help wile trekking, esp when it comes to slippery terrain etc, so treat this as a way of repaying them...........and if you really do not wish to buy, or have already bought, it be a nice gesture to give small tips of 50k, 100k ( optional, up to your own generosity ).......100k vnd is less than SGD$8 !!! they trek up to 25-30km everyday with tourists, n to the mkt in town, to earn $$$, so please buy from them !!! tours - USD$18 per pax for Halong Bay 1 day, USD$100/pax for 4N3D Sapa trekking...taking night train to go Sapa....one night in hotel, one night of homestay ( stay at villagers hse ), and one more night on train to go back Hanoi. We book through Evietnamtrips Company ( www.evietnamtrips.com ) hotel staff said this tour can be available for USD$85, but the price differences could be due to hotel costs...he is not sure, but nevertheless, whole tour went smoothly........ ITINERY Day 1 - reach Hanoi abt 8+, 9+pm....dinner then sleep. Tiger Airways had no early flights. Day 2 - Hanoi Day 3_ Halong Bay. bus was late and picked us up at hotel ard 8.30am, takes abt 3-4 hrs on bus. Day 4 - Hanoi. night train to Sapa, bus was late and picked us up at hotel ard 6.30pm, we still in time for train though. train takes abt 7-8 hrs, arriving abt 4,5am.... Day 5 - Sapa Day 6 - Sapa Day 7 - Sapa. night train back to Hanoi. Day 8 - Hanoi. night flight back to Singapore, 3 1/2 hrs flight...reached ard 12.30am ( Day 9 )... we went to museum of ethnology on the last day, and we booked cab with them for 350,000 vnd, go museum, then later.....a bigger and more comfortable car later fetch us from the museum to the airport, which brough us our luggage from the hotel. we left them at hotel, so that we do not need to carry ard at museum........only 350,000 vnd, and no more other charges...we think it is very worth it !!! .....no luggage was lost....hotel is trustworthy.... we even gave the staff $10 SGD tips..coz we had no more vnd left.....he was beaming with smile....i guess coz SGD$10 is at least 1,2 days? of his wages...

We stayed in this branch new hotel for 3 nights after recommendation from staff at Waterland Hotel in Hue. You won't find this hotel in any guide book as it is just open for few weeks. We paid 20 usd for a big room with 2 king size bed on the 4th floor. For Hanoi this room rate is very good ( but i am not sure if this rate is for long, maybe just because of newly open, anyway, we are so happy) Staff are very friendly, free pick up from the train station even when our train was some 2 hours late, they were still at the train station when we arrived. A basic standard of Vietnam hotels is breakfast &internet included and the Emperor Hotel is no exception. Fast internet and good breakfast with Noddle Pho, fruit and drinks. Location is good, not far from Hoan Kiem lake and very closed to night market. This is one of the hotels that we recommend