Located in the heart of the Old Quarter and a few blocks from Hoam Kiem Lake, this hotel is close to tourist shops, travel agencies, and cheap kitchen stalls. I got the deluxe room in the back of the hotel, so it was nice and quiet. Only fault I saw was not having an enclosed shower in the bathroom (so water was splashed everywhere, and the floorboards in the bathroom were soaked with water that wouldn't dry up). Breakfast was good with several options to choose from (eggs w/ bacon, pho bo, baguette w/ jams) and made to order for you. Staff is very hospitable and always ready to help you book a tour, taxi, etc. There was some trouble communicating with the staff in English, but the owner spoke great English, and I think his wife is American. There were no elevator, so it's a bit of a workout to get to the higher floors.

There is no more free airport pickup. When I had booked, on the website, free airport pickup was offered, but not anymore, but at US$12, it was not much to pay.

This place definitely fills up especially on the weekends, so make your reservations in advance. We tried to stay there another night when our plans changed all of a sudden, but it was already booked, and the place that we found around the corner from there paled in comparison to this place in terms of amenities and cleanliness.

This hotel is quite a good 2/ /3 star hotel, although i have stayed in better.

I was put on the 6th floor which was OK - good exercise but wouldn't be good for people who are very unfit. The room itself is ok. VERY hard bed which I quite like but others might not. The thing that puzzled me was that there were some things in the room that could be changed for very little money, but it seems the owners don't quite care enough. For example a moldy shower curtain. A bedside lap which doesn't work and is plugged in behind the bed which is difficult to get to, a shower head which is very old and sprays water all over the bathroom. If you look at the picture I put up, you will see that the bath has a large black "counter" around it and when you put the shower on and water sprays all over it and the water pools there and eventually soaks the floor. A good shower head would solve this problem. These are little things but when you are in the room it leaves a bad impression.

The roof also started to leak as we had quite heavy rain one night, but the staff were very good at moving to the same room one floor down (which was a nicer room anyway). You might not want to stay on the top floor in the wet season.

The breakfast is adequite. The staff are very nice and helpful. Good to have computer access. The hotel is in a very good location. One other annoying thing was that often there weren't enough safes for guest to lock away their valuables.

Overall, I wouldn't stay here again as I believe there would be places of a similar price but make a bit more of an effort with the rooms.

Great location, helpful staff who speak very good English.
Clean and rooms are nicely decorated.
No lifts so you need to be quite fit to walk up the stairs, if you are elderly or cannot walk far it would be worth checking out with the hotel that you can get a room on a lower floor i.e the 1st floor.
Fantastic value for money £30 dollars for a 2 of us in a twin room. Airport pick up good value.
Nice tasty breakfast.

Lying... A poor business ethics.

On a trip to north VN to visit my relatives, my original American Airline flight was canceled. I contacted my nephew in Hanoi to rebook a hotel room with same airport pick up service. My new flight arrived in Noi Bai Airport at 10:30 pm.; I came out to the front lobby at about 11 pm…. And walked back and forth… waiting for the Rising Dragon Hotel’s transport service to pick me up. A few minutes after 12 midnight, I became panicking… I borrowed a phone and made a phone call to the hotel. A guy answered the phone. He said the driver was at the airport looking for me at 12. It was a big LIE. There was no one looking for me, nor anyone with a board with my name on it –As I was told). So I asked if he would send someone to pick me up. He blankly replied: “No”…. and I was told to get a taxi myself.

The taxi took me through several dark streets. I was so worried for my life (also for having a lot of cash in US$). Finally, we came to the hotel. It was on an extremely dark street. No light in front of the hotel. A garage-like metal door pulled down. I knocked on the metal door… Opened. I came inside and saw my nephew awaiting for me at the internet/computer tables. So, they knew I was coming, but did not bother to go to the airport to pick me up as agreed.

I would not go to this hotel again, and I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.