We stayed in the Elegance 2 on our way to Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, and on our return.

The stay at the Elegance 2 became a wonderful surprise. The staff were very gracious and helpful. When we enquired about tickets to the Water Puppet theatre, they didn't just advise us, they arranged the tickets to best suit our schedule. In fact, in any aspect that we enquired about from a restaurant to a spa, they facilitated the matter.

The room was lovely, providing not only a place - the balcony - to watch and participate in the surging street life of the Old Quarter, but but a great place to retreat and recharge - the jacuzzi. We could walk to everything we wanted to see or do in our short stay, and get a cyclo tour from the front door.

So if you are looking for a place to stay in Hanoi in the Old Quarter, and want to stay with good friends, I recommend the Elegance 2 and its great staff.

We have been for a month in Vietnam and we have stay in this hotel for 6 non coutinuous nights between march 11th and march 20th because we had planned some excursions with them for 4 days. The booking has been made in december. The first two days was on a superior room which is OK. We made an excursion to Sapa which we booked with them. The night of the departure, we asked twice the train tickets to the guy at the reception but he told us he would give the tickets to the groom who would accompany us to the train station for the train check-in. We appreciated this attention. But, when we arrive at the station, the groom didn't have the tickets. It was 45 minutes before the departure. He returned to the hotel and came back witout the tickets telling that we had the tickets. We were stressed because it was 20 minutes before the departure. We asked him to call the hotel and they said the tickets were coming by taxi. Finally, we get in the train 5 minutes before the departure. This experience was stressfull because we were supposed to be on the train half and hour before the departure. Not the best way to begin a night on the train for an excursion! By the way, we saw that the ticket price the hotel sold us was 14$ more than at the train station.
After the first excursion to Sapa, we have booked a standard room which is realy too small for two persons : no place to put the luggage, no place to sit, no place to move and over all, no air... Both the superior and the standard rooms were clean and had a computer in the room. For the last part of our stay, after the second excursion to Halong, we had reserved a superior room. When we came back from Halong, tired from two consecutive trips, we were happy to have booked a superior room for our two last nights in Vietnam. At the reception, we were told that the superior room was not available for those nights. We argued hardly with them to get at least the superior for the last night, what we obtained. Another stressfull experience.
An other thing concern the breakfast which is very ordinary for the price we pay for this hotel. The meal are not cooked enough : bad and not really hot coffee, white toasts, warm crude bacon and service excessively slow. If you have an excursion and if you want to have a breakfast there, be sure to be there very much in advance because they are really not organised to served much people at a time. The last morning, we had our breakfast at a restaurant nearby because we would have missed our flight.
Despite all this, the staff is really kind and they are "so sorry" when things get bad. But it doesn't arrange your situation. For all those reasons, we really don't think Hanoi Elegance 2 (85 Ma May street) doesn't deserve the first rating above all hotels in Hanoi and that it is not the best quality / price ratio. If you go to Hue and try the Orchid Hotel which is the first rating for this city on Trip Advisor, you will know what is a really good quality/price ratio and what should be a first place rating on Trip Advisor. We have stayed in many hotels in Vietnam and Hanoi Elegance 2 is surely not our best hotel.

M. Drouin, Quebec, Canada

After reading all the glowing reviews, I decided to book directly with the Hotel through E-mail. The ease and quality of the communication gave preview to what was to be one of my most enjoyable travel experiences ever.

The Hotel arranged for our late night airport pick up, and we were pleased that our driver was waiting after a very full travel day from San Francisco.

Although we had been told that the first 2 nights of our stay would be at the original Hanoi Elegance, we were pleased to learn that we booked for the full stay at the Elegance 2.

It is hard to believe that my high expectations for our stay could be matched, but they were, in fact, exceeded! Mr. Do Van Dan's staff is every bit as friendly and helpful as we were led to believe. Michael, the manager, personally saw to it that every detail of our stay was satisfactory, and we cannot thank him enough.

We arranged for two nights on Halong Bay through the Hotel, and the whole experience, including the quality of the boat and crew, was superior! My son and I couldn't have been more pleased and impressed. If there was any "surcharge" involved in the Hotel arranging the trip, I was MORE than happy to pay it. From Day 1 of our 8 day trip, I put my trust into the staff of the Hanoi Elegance 2, and I never once regretted the decision. I never had to question a recommendation or referral. They arranged cab rides, made dinner reservations..... These folks had to be the most service oriented staff I have EVER encountered. Just wonderful.

After our Halong Bay experience, we returned to the Elegance 2 and were moved to a higher floor and into a room with a view from the rear. And while our room for the first two nights was more than acceptable, our new room was even brighter and quieter. I should add that the Elegance 2 has to be one of the quietest hotels in the Old Quarter. As others have said, after a hectic day in the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, a return to the Elegance 2 was like a return to a quiet, welcoming sanctuary. On our last day, the Hotel even arranged for a private car tour, complete with a driver and guide. Our visit to the Hoa Loa prison (the Hanoi Hilton) was a sobering highlight.

The value offered by this Hotel is fabulous. In addition to the wonderful staff, having a high speed computer in the room, fresh fruit every morning, and a cooked-to-order breakfast available all as part of the rate, was hard to beat.

If I sound like I am uncategorically recommending the Hanoi Elegance 2 for anyone looking for fantastic Hanoi experience, it is only because such an experience is so rare.

So few Americans have had the opportunity to visit Vietnam in this time of peace and "opening up." Most would be very surprised at the friendliness expressed by the people of North Vietnam. No where is this more in evidence for the first (or fiftieth) time visitor than at the wonderful Hanoi Elegance 2.

My family (2 ad, 2ch) and my parents aged 74 spent 4 nights at HE2 in Feb 08. After reading reviews on this website I had farily high expectations and I must say they were surpassed. The rooms were clean, quiet (if such a thing is possible in Hanoi) and big enough for a family of four.
The staff provided an absolutley outstanding service from the initial booking over the net which included not only accomodation but also trip to Halong bay and domestic air tickets. At the hotel itself we were very proffessionaly and courteously treated at all times without beeing hassled to buy extra tours etc. To top it all off, when we managed to forget a digital camera in the room upon checking out, HE2 contacted us at our next location before us even noticing it missing, and then arranged for it to be couriered to us free of charge!
To sum it up - a lovely hotel with even lovlier staff!
Gosta Ehrnst, Airlie Beach, Australia