We chose the Continental because of its central location and the charm of yesteryear. Large airy rooms with high ceilings. Only 3 floors means you can use the stairs instead of the lift. Loved the breakfast in the central courtyard under the trees in the relative cool of the morning. Good customer service - I needed some prescription glasses collected from a nearby retailer - no problems! Showing her age a little bit but if you're like us and spend most of your time out and about this hotel will fit the bill.

This hotel got a bum rap in Lonely Planet and Frommers, but it's a nice hotel with a vintage feel to it. The complimentary breakfast buffet has good western food, including omelets. It's in a perfect location for exploring the tourist and shopping area of Saigon, District One. It's right next to the opera house, so it's easy to tell cabbies where to go if you just tell them "opera house." The rooms were clean and plush with good A/C and most of them have a view of the street and opera house. There's also a nice shaded courtyard in the middle of the hotel.

I think the main complaint from the guidebooks is that it's overpriced. We went at the end of the high season in May and got a room for $100 on Agoda, so we felt like we got a good deal. If we spent a whole lot more than that, then it probably would have been overpriced, but no matter what you pay it's a good, clean establishment in a great location and it has a charming war-era feel to it.

Graham Greene stayed here. As did various other luminaries. The Continental has a storied past, which is evident in the photos that dot the walls of the lobby. Although clean, imposing and perfectly serviceable, it is clear that the hotel survives to a great extent on its past – there is a kind of mildly shabby gentility about it from the roughly fraying carpets to the chipped furniture in the lobby. We were upgraded to a suite and so had the run of an enormous room with views of the Central Courtyard. It tended to get noisy during lunch and dinner time but it was pleasant to glance out of the window and see locals trooping in for their cuppa. The hotel is very centrally located and makes it a perfect place to explore the city. The staff was friendly.

This hotel would pass as a 3 star hotel in most cities. While the location is very good in the heart of the upmarket district and most of the staff speak English, the building and rooms are very tired, looking a bit like something from the 1970's.

On the plus side, the rooms are very large, with the basic room holding two beds and a sitting area - much larger than modern hotel rooms. The staff are friendly and competent. The buffet breakfast is acceptable at a 3 star level, but nothing to write home about. The place is kept very clean and the room maid service is good.

The negative side is that this building is very old and it shows in the rooms. The bathrooms, in particular, are very basic and the furniture looks like it has been in the rooms since the 1970's. The other downside is the noise from outside - scooters and traffic noise go 24 hours a day (a band in the adjacent hall started at 6.45AM for a graduation ceremony!), but this is pretty much standard for wherever you are going to stay in Ho Chi Minh City.

All of this would be fine in a 3 star hotel, priced accordingly. You would get clean, comfortable accomodation at a reasonable price. However, calling this a 4 or 5 star hotel is a complete stretch and for USD 115 per night in other Asian cities I can get a genuine 4 star or 5 star hotel (e.g. Bangkok). I have never been to a 5 star hotel that did not have a pool or a gym! I guess the fact that this is a government hotel rated by a government tourist agency helps the star ranking along!

All in all, you get a comfortable stay in a well-located hotel. But come expecting 3 stars, rather than the advertised 5, and accept that you are going to have to pay for the higher rating.