There is plenty of good nightlife in Saigon. Guess it depends on what you consider "nightlife"??

And where are these newly built 5-star hotels that are cheap?

Intercontinental for $197/day is "cheap" compared to Park Hyatt for $379 :)

Then you have 2-bedroom apartments for $80/day.

Cheap is definitely subjective, as is value and "nightlife"

(I wonder if all this banter is answering OP's question at all)

Stayed at the Nikko for 120 USD/night. I guess that is technically a 4 star property but it was quite nice. Opened in 2012 I believe?

I went to a few of the major clubs and they didn't seem like anything unique compared to anywhere else in SEA. Perhaps there are better venues that I didn't go to but I checked around various resources and didn't see much.

By nightlife I mean clubs with a good vibe and good music. Of course, the other kind of "nightlife" is much in abundance also but I wouldn't call myself an expert in that area. I will say it is less in your face than in BKK or China.

I've heard good things about the Nikko. Great value for $120, but I don't care for the location in D5 (I always stay at the Sheraton). And yes, it did just open last year.

I would agree that the clubs don't really offer anything unique compared to other SEA cities, but there are quite a few of them, as well as many good watering holes to enjoy and adult beverage or two. It's a lot better in Saigon than it was 10 years ago (and only getting better).

It helps.

In all seriousness though, it really would help the rest of us if we knew what you liked while traveling or what kind of traveler or personality you are. Otherwise, all we can offer you is banter and general guidelines.

It's actually on the edge of D1. Location is only a minor annoyance, they always have cabs and it's a 10 minute $2-3 taxi ride to downtown. They even run a shuttle bus to the major attractions during the day.

Yes, it's just past PNL. Just barely into D5. I like to walk everywhere in this town, so that's why I like staying at the Sheraton.

I like seeing the world. I've done both the Asia and Africa overland routes (although neither all the way to London.) She insists on something more in the way of creature comforts although neither of us find fancy hotels worth the price. She loves old buildings, especially Buddhist temples. She's definitely not into anything that requires too much walking.

Neither of us have any interest in nightlife type things, nor would we choose to use travel time on something that's going be similar to home anyway. We go places to see who or what's there.

We to Hanoi in February. The highlight was going to Halong Bay (3 - 4 hours away) for a 2 night cruise. Stunning scenery and great experience on the "junk". Hanoi didn't have as much architectural charm as I thought it might. Not much of the old stuff remaining and what is there isn't well maintained. But in all, it was an interesting culture and the food was much better than I was expecting. Get good restuarant recommendations and you'll eat quite well.

Thanks that helps. One last question: are you American? This is relevant because of perspective, and there are a couple of things that would be really interesting to Americans that might be lost in others, relating to the Vietnam War, or as I believe they call it, the War Against American Aggression.

Or more usually "The American War", which of course did involved the loss of lives of more nationals than just Americans.

We're both US citizens, she's China-born.

I was there December a year ago. Lots and lots of Buddhist temples and so forth. I'd recommend Hue and Hoi An. We stayed at the Victoria on the beach in Hoi An. There's a shuttle into town and lots of good restaurants. Hue has a lot of old buildings and it seems a bit smaller. It rained buckets when we were there and so we didn't get out there as much as in Hoi An. We did some bike trips down the Mekong which was not what I had expected. We booked through a TA in Vietnam which did a great job for us. If you PM me, I can send you the contact info. We found the TA through FT.

They were building a lot of beach resorts in Danang while we were there. It's about half way between Hue and Hoi An.

There are 2 types of people who visit Vietnam - those who like the North, and those that like the South! I personally find Hanoi far far more interesting and exotic than Saigon. Hanoi is the capital and cultural center, while HCMC is the business center of VN.

I've made 5 trips to Vietnam in 4 years, and find the Vietnamese people to be the friendliest of all Asians (certainly the most outgoing). Most Westerners think VN is still concerned with the American War - nothing could be further from the truth, and today, Americans are very welcome here. Visitors to this country will do well to do their research prior to attempting travel here - there are a number of scams aimed at tourists that could ruin the experience for you, but are easily overcome with the knowledge of them.

Vietnam is considerably poorer than China, but it is no longer backward. If you insist on squeaky clean and modern convenience, you will probably hate it. The best way to experience this country is by staying in the smaller, middle of the road accommodations, and just hanging out with the locals (I suggest booking the wonderful and free student tours available in Hanoi, Saigon and the Danang/Hoi An areas: Hanoikids, Saigonhotpot and Danangkids - send them an email a month prior to travel).

You would do well not to flaunt your wealth here - Vietnam is very friendly and very casual - leave your gold watch at home, and be very mindful of an expensive camera.

You will love it as I do - the people are the reason I keep coming back!