She may be the Grand Old Dame of Saigon but she aint what she used to be....

The history and architecture of the hotel is the essence of old Saigon and a far cry from the modern city that is now Ho Chi Minh although the hotel has some modern features.

The restaurants serve qeeuality food but at a price that would make a local cringe.

Rooms are very ordinary and like other reviewers found the hallways dark and dingy and the electricity supply intermittent.

About the only good thing I can say about the hotel is its location in the very heart of District 1.

I won't be returning to this hotel. (Check out my review of nearby Liberty Central Riverside)

Had no idea what to expect as the reviews were quite good, but found an extremely average hotel for our first visit to Ho Chi Minh . We had a suite that overlooked the opera house with a balcony which was nice, but also extremely noisy. The smell upon entering the room was damp & that lovely carpet smell that you get when it should have been replaced last century. The bathroom was small (tiny) and old. The reception service was poor to the point where we thought that we were annoying them just by checking in. The service in the restaurant in the morning was excellent, almost to the point of being ridiculous. We were a group of three but the tables were only set up for two or four so this was an extremely difficult task for them each morning to set another place. When we booked this hotel we also added extras, eg a massage at the hotel, which we had paid for previously, but trying to explain that it had already been paid for even with a receipt was another difficult task. We were also located above the courtyard where they have weddings on weekends..yay for us no sleep. Overall it was a little faulty towers ish. Strangest part as we were leaving at 5am for our flight to hanoi the reception man was basically slapping the doorman to wake him up to open the door for us, as he was sleeping, he then put on his shoes & socks so he could open the door for us... We were saying its ok don't worry.... Very strange. Great location that would be the only good response I'd have.

The rooms oozes of old colonial charm, high cielings, spacious rooms, french balcionies, if your room faces the opera house, which is preferred. The bathroom in my suite was a bit run down but it was functional. Beds are big and comfy. breakfask in the courtyard is great, superb coffee, by the way. The only drawback was that the hotel had problem with the creditcard connection, nearly missed our flight, even though we tried to check out 4 hours before our flight. Had to call the bank so the hotel were sure to get paid, not a very nice ending to a lovely stay. It should not be a guests problem if the hotel has a problem with their payment terminal, as they do sweep your card upon check-in. Otherwise all good, and I recommend this place. PS we just got in time foe our flight.