This was by far the worst hotel stay.

I stayed at Park Hyatt, Somerset Serviced Apartment, Hotel Equatorial, etc and Windsor Plaza Hotel would certainly rank at the bottom (I stayed there from 17-20 March 2008).

You will be greeted by a very dated-looking concierge on the ground floor when you first arrived. The real lobby is situated at 4th storey and it looked every bit like a busy information counter area with heavy traffic flow of people in and out of the adjacent shopping plaza and café.

I checked in at the 24th floor meant for Executive Floor's residents and I thought it was supposed to be more ‘high class’…. The check-in was fast, the receptionist was efficient and comprehensive in her instructions, free broadband internet, free two pieces laundry every day, good breakfast, free 'happy hour' snack at 24th floor, but wait…..

Upon entering my non-smoking Executive room, the bad smell from the decade-old carpet was terrible – it smelled like baby’s dried up urine. My colleague from another room got it really bad because she almost vomited and had to get the cleaner to go to her room to ‘refresh’ it with some chemicals.

The sound proofing was almost non existence. I could hear every single sound from my noisy neighbor next door (and they talked till 3am in the mroning!). Lying down on my bed one night, I could even feel the shaking effect of a bed from another room a few floors up!

There’s not much of a space in the room. I thought the free flow of food at the 24th storey meant for the Executive Club was good and reserved for ‘business executives’ until….it was ‘invaded’ by noisy tourists from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China!

Never attempt to take the lift in the morning and late evening with these tourists around because it will be a looooonnnng wait and you will be sandwicjed in between. I avoided them in the morning and took my breakfast (quite a good spread) at 8.30am (Ho Chi Minh time) - arranging all my meetings at 9.30am or later.

I was there on a business trip so I never checked out the pool and gym.

If you are a very budget conscious tourist, this hotel is ok for a day or two. If you are there on a business trip, there are better hotels elsewhere. After a long day and high level strategic meeting, you expect to go back to a calm, comfortable and soothing hotel. Windsor Plaza Hotel Saigon will disappoint – except for the buffet at the café.

It's surprising to me that some folks had a bad experience at this hotel. My wife and I and our 25 yr old son stayed here in March of 07 for 5 days while touring around the Saigon area. We really loved the hotel. It is in District 5 away from the hustle and bustle of District 1. It is very much an area where you can get a flavor for the way the local people live. Right next door is the An Dong Market complex. Walking through there is a real delightful experience. Back to the hotel. We stayed on one of the executive floors. It is definitely worth the few extra bucks. You have access to the executive lounge where there is a wonderful spread every evening with free beverages, alcoholic and non. The finger foods were really enough for a light dinner. The pool on the roof was small but great to cool off after a long day touring the city or countryside. The views from the roof are phenomenal. We had buffet breakfast included in our room rate. The buffet breakfast was one of the best we have had throughout our travels in Southeast Asia. Yes, I agree the elevators are slow and yes, you have to take a hotel provided shuttle to go downtown (which actually was quite convenient) which took about 30 minutes. But after spending one evening downtown, we wondered why anyone in their right mind would even want to go there? We went to Ben Than Market and quite frankly, the prices were better at the shopping mall on the first 4 floors below the Windsor Plaza. More local people shop there. So, in summary, our room at the Windsor Plaza was great (remember to get an executive room floor), the buffet breakfast was great, the pool was great and, if you don't like the overwhelming crowds downtown, then stay in District 5 at the Windsor Plaza. Check various Internet sites for the best price. We think the Windsor is a great value and would stay there again. During our travels abroad, we typically stay at 3 or 4 star hotels depending on the country and prices. We think the Windsor Plaza ranks right up there as one of the better 3 star hotels. PS. There is a tour desk at the Windsor which most travel guides say is too expensive. However, we booked 3 day tours there (City tour. Mekong Delta, and Cu Chi Tunnels) and found the guides to be great, very informative, spoke good English, nice air conditioned vans and only a little more expensive than what you can get on the street. Check it out.

Stayed for 2 nights at the end of a super tour through Vietnam.
This hotel is in the wrong location for the main sightseeing as it can take up to 1 hour to travel 1 mile at peak times. The hotel majors on tourists and at breakfast and early evening its chaos.
True the lifts are a nightmare - can take up to 8 mins waiting.
The rooms, though clean, are rather basic. The breakfast was poor - constantly running out of supplies and queuing for tea/coffee. In our opinion this hotel is best avoided.

The first impression is not good the hotel entrance is surrounded by lots of dirty shops. Reception is on the fourth floor which you get to by lift eventually. There are four lifts which service 25 floors and over 400 rooms. However if there is a wedding one of the lifts will be taken out of general use and used soley for the wedding party. You could wait at least 20 minutes to get into a lift and get to the floor that you want. This could take longer if you get out on the wrong floor. You have to use your key card in the lift and these do not always work.

The room was clean. Breakfast was good but if you want dinner and happen to stay on a Saturday or Sunday it seems that the whole of Ho Chi Minh comes to use the restaurant and you just cannot get in.

The area shopping round the hotel is very dirty and we saw several rats (not in the hotel). The pool is very tiny and was quite grubby. The walls are thin and you can hear your neighbours talking.