Champton Hanoi Hotel

We recommend the Champton to travellers who want a real 5★ without the Parisian rate, couples on city break, families with teens (the family rooms are spacious), solo business travellers looking for comfort and reliable connection. It is an address for those who prioritise central location and complete services (spa, pool, shuttle) rather than the prestige of an international brand. Hanoi regulars return for the value for money, rare at this level in the Old Quarter.

The Champton occupies a contemporary eight-storey building, vertical architecture typical of the Old Quarter where land is counted by the square metre. Narrow light-stone facade, ground-floor lobby with marble counter and indirect lighting. Clean Asian design interiors: lacquered wood, beige and taupe tones, a few touches of red lacquer. Rooms rise from the third to the seventh floor, the pool and spa crown the top level.

The Champton restaurant serves a Vietnamese and international menu, breakfast buffet included in most rates (pho, banh mi, eggs to order, tropical fruit). We tested dinner: correct dishes without being memorable, honest bun cha, crispy nem rán, limited wine list. Room service operates until 22h, handy after a day of sightseeing. For a real table, we head out: Cha Ca Thang Long five minutes on foot, or the Hang Be street stalls.

The Champton stands on Hang Bong, silk cushion street, 300 metres from Hoan Kiem lake and Ngoc Son temple. The 36 guilds district all around: lacquer shops, galleries, old-style cafés, dense traffic yet pedestrian in the evening. Dong Xuan market ten minutes on foot to the north, water puppet theatre five minutes to the south. No metro in Hanoi, yet the hotel arranges airport transfers and taxis are cheap. The quarter lives day and night, noisy on the street side (request a courtyard room).