:D :D :D ^ LOL

Thanks to masonic for the report on the Hanoi property. I will be there in January (not business) and was considering the Sheraton. You confirmed that the location sucks. The rest of the report did nothing to inspire me to book this hotel.
Back to the Hilton...unless there is a similiar story about the Hilton :eek: :eek:

According to what you are saying unless they book you in a room either ending in 06 or 08 the Club level benefits will automatically kick in. I spoke to someone there. If you decide to book just one night with the upgrade then taking the chances of them changing your rooms. Its a 50/50 chance of that. Hope that helps.

Airport to Hotel
 

How did you get from the airport to the hotel? If by taxi, did you "buy" a voucher at the airpport? In local currency, or USD??

[QUOTE=ak47]

I stayed at this hotel in August, and I liked it.
As a Platinam member I got free full buffet beakfast every morning.
Also, I got a suite upgrade, but I rejected since I didn't need that big room just for me. Instead, I asked a highest floor room and nicer biew room.
They also gave me breakfast box on the day I left early morning.

[QUOTE=BKKLEE]How did you get from the airport to the hotel? If by taxi, did you "buy" a voucher at the airpport? In local currency, or USD??

I stayed there in September. I sent an email to the hotel with my flight details and they had someone at the airport waiting to pick me up. Very easy, and didnt have to think twice about it.

Hanoi Sheraton and Saigon Sheraton Reviews
 

Just got back from a 1 month trip of Vietnam/Cambodia.

We started in Hanoi and worked our way to HCMC (Saigon) and then did a 5 day trip to Siem Reap to visit the Angkor temples.

I used my SPG points for both the properties.

Hanoi Sheraton (4000 points a night). Excellent hotel, recognized me as a plat and escorted me and Mrs Magiclamp to the exec lounge while they checked us in. While having our breakfast they brought us the room key - a room on the 17th floor with a view of the lake. The room was really well furnished with a pretty big bathroom and good bath products. The bed was the Sheraton sweet sleeper. The hotel exudes richness and you feel like you are in a big luxury hotel. The staff were very personable and the lounge staff looked after us very well. The lounge is open all day with a full hot breakfast (Western+Vietnamese food) in the morning, tea/coffee/drinks through the day and evening appetizers (Western+Viet). This is the best SPG or Marriott lounge I have ever been to. Mr Dat is the lounge manager and is very efficient.
It was not warm enough for us to use the pool so no comments there, the wife used the spa for a massage ($25) and she loved it. There is a good sized gym but again we didnt use it.
The hotel has a slightly pricey travel/tour organizer who are very efficent and professional, we used them to get our Cambodian visas done. We did not book any tours through them as they were about 30-40% more expensive than the tours in town.
Other details: The hotel is about 5-6 KM outside the old quarter of Hanoi. You have to take a taxi to get to and from the hotel (approx 40,000-45,000 VND). Few restaurants near the hotel. To get to the hotel from the airport the standard taxi fare is USD 10.00

Saigon Sheraton (5000 points a night when I booked the hotel, it's 7000 points/night now). Recognized me as a plat and gave me a suite on the 15th floor - very nice. Again escorted us to the lounge, while the check in process happened in the background. The lounge is 3 floors here and is similar to the Hanoi Sheraton lounge in terms of food variety and timings. The only difference is that the Saigon Sheraton is a busier hotel so you don't get the high level of personal service like Hanoi but the service level is still very impressive.
This is a huge hotel with a humungus lobby with traditional Viet music in the evenings followed by a piano dude.
The hotel has a huge pool. It being warm in December I used the pool every day - recommended. The wife and I got a massage in the spa - highly recommended.
Other details: The hotel is in the middle of all the action in the Dong Khoi area. Lots of restaurants nearby. Taxi fare to/from airport not more than 65,000 VND.
Unique feature of this hotel: They allow you to use SPG points for anything and everything (we used 4500 points for a 90 min massage) from Moet champagne bottles to Cu Chi tunnels tour to taxi ride to the airport.

We immensely enjoyed our stay in both the Sheraton properties.

Let me know if there are any questions.

Our itinerary if you are interested: 4 nights in Hanoi, 3 nights on Cat Ba island (Princes Hotel) in the Halong Bay, train to Hue - 3 nights in Hue (Saigon Morin Hotel), bus to Hoi An - 3 nights in Hoi An (Ha An Hotel), flight Da Nang to HCMC to Siem Reap - 5 nights in Siem Reap (Prince d'Angkor Hotel), bus to Phnom Penh - 1 night in PP (Imperial Garden), Ferry to Chau Doc, Vietnam; bus to Can Tho - 3 nights in Can Tho(Ninh Kieu Hotel), bus to HCMC - 4 nights in HCMC.

Bump!

How much did the hotel charge for it?

I'm going to Saigon for the first time next month, and my flight into SGN arrives just before 11pm. So it'll be quite a late night trip from the airport to the hotel. Would it be best / safest to book the hotel transfer or is the pre-paid taxi from the airport reliable enough?


Also, I'm facing a choice between a rate of US$150 at the Sheraton (with Plat status for club benefits, breakfast etc.) versus the Park Hyatt at US$162 (no status, but rate includes upgrade, breakfast and 1 free lunch during stay.)

Any recommendations greatly appreciated!

TIA!

I'm in Vietnam right now. No reason at all to book ahead. A taxi into the city is $5. Either exit the airport doors and there are tons of taxis, or walk to the taxi counter right before exiting the airport, pay your $5 there and the girl will escort you out to the taxi and past all the crowds. I also arrived on the 10:xx p.m. flight; the airport (and taxis) are still equally busy at that hour.

Enjoy Vietnam, I love it!
SEA2BA

Depends on what you want. A $5 cab ride will get you there. I think we paid about $40 for the Sheraton to pick us up in a Mercedes. They sent two people, a driver and someone to handle the luggage. Also, because they knew who we were and when we would arrive, there were about 5 people waiting when we stepped out of the car, everyone called us by name, they had refreshments prepared and our registration was all set-up. Neccessary, no? Nice greeting after a long trip? Yes.

BTW, have never stayed at the Hyatt, but I have only good things to say about the Sheraton.

I am also interested in comparisons with the Park Hyatt. I am a Platinum/Diamond, and rates are comparable (much higher than the rates mentioned above :().

The Sheraton Hanoi has to be the stingiest SPG property in Asia, when it comes to suite upgrades.
I get suites at the Westins and Sheratons in Taipei,Tokyo, KL, Singapore, Osaka , Sydney and others.
After close to 10 stays in Hanoi, I never got a suite there.

There are numerous threads in the Hyatt forum regarding the Park Hyatt, but overall, the Park Hyatt is a smaller, more intimate hotel and has less of a busy atmosphere. No club lounge at the Park Hyatt, but not really needed either. Beautiful pool at Park Hyatt. Given equal dollars (insane at today's rates), I prefer the Park Hyatt. Sheraton also just opened a new luxury tower with higher rates, but I have not seen a reason to spend the money.

Are Plats upgraded to suites in the luxury tower?

In my experience, no.