Our Home Away From Home in Ho Chi Minh City

It's been a week since we got back from our Vietnam trip. I should have written this post way sooner. But it took me that long to get out of the "holiday" mode. ;-) Now that I'm in full gear, expect a series of Baguio entries (promised from before) and Ho Chi Minh entries in the coming days and weeks. That is, depending on how long it will take me to write them. But they're a comin'. ;-)

Jojo and I were in Ho Chi Minh from June 19 to 25. We didn't go through any travel agency or anything. Through research, we found that it actually ends up being cheaper to plan and book the trip yourself. Cebu Pacific had an online promo on air travel and from browsing hotel rates in HCMC, we found that they're actually way cheaper than Manila. The only challenge I had was figuring out which hotel to book. HCMC has a lot of hotels in every corner. In order to figure out which hotel to book, I literally had to list a criteria of some sort. What were we looking for in a hotel? What's most important?

Before getting into that, it's important to note that as travelers, Jojo and I don't exactly look for luxury. It would be nice if we had it, of course. But we would really rather splurge on the shopping. Anyway, from experience, we know that we only stay in the hotel to sleep. We don't spend much of our time there since we're often out getting a taste and exposure of the culture more than anything else. So from there, these are the criteria and requirements that we decided on in finding the perfect hotel for us:

1.) The hotel has to be near a landmark shopping destination. Think walking distance.
For Ho Chi Minh, we chose the Ben Thanh Market as our shopping destination. It's a great location since by foot, it's only 5-10 minutes away from the Dong Khoi area. Dong Khoi is where you can find the malls, high-end shops, and art galleries. It is also where the infamous Rex Hotel, Lam Son Square, Municipal Hall, and other attractions are. Perfect! ;-)

2.) The hotel rate has to be within our budget.
Using tripadvisor.com, I was able to get a sense of the hotel rates, services, and added perks for various hotels. From this I discovered that it's a norm in HCMC to get a mini-breakfast buffet spread along with your accommodation. You get to choose from pho (Vietnamese soup), baguette and eggs, fruits, spring rolls, toast, and fruits. I also discovered that most of the hotels have 2 or 3 computer stalls in the lobby which you can use to get online for free! Another thing that I found is that most, if not all the hotels offer airport pick up and transfer ranging from $15-20 per way. Airport pick-up is even free if you stay at that same hotel for 7 days.

Depending on the type and size of room, accommodation in these type of budget hotels cost no more than $50 USD. In fact, they can go as low as $20 USD/night! These $20 rooms are often in the Pham Ngu Lao area (backpacker's district) and have no elevators. Hotels in the Ben Thanh area generally start at $25. We went the middle road and made our budget $30-35/night.

3.) The hotel should have gotten a lot of good reviews online for their cleanliness and great service. Having hot/cold shower, cable TV, aircon, mini-fridge, and toiletries should be a given as well.
I did my share of research for this, visiting sites like Trip Advisor, Real Travel, Agoda, and the like. On Trip Advisor, Ha Hien Hotel came out being #27 out of 208 reviewed hotels. It's not bad. I checked out the other hotels that came before Ha Hien and they were either too posh and expensive (think Hyatt) or the rooms didn't look too appealing in pictures. Most of them weren't as close to Ben Thanh as I wanted them to be either. Based on the reviews and the criteria above, it seemed that Ha Hien Hotel was the best one for us.

So a couple of weeks before the trip, I decided to book and reserve at the hotel website. Before that, I noticed that the rates given at Agoda were a few dollars cheaper. I wasn't sure if Agoda is legit so just to be sure, I emailed Ha Hien through their website asking about it. I emailed them one evening and upon waking up the next day, I was pleased to get a quick response from them. They confirmed that they have a tie up with Agoda but encouraged us to book straight through to the hotel anyway. They matched Agoda's rates and even told us about their 20% off promo. I was all smiles when they told us that a standard room for two only costs $27! That's the one without a window. Perfect! After reading about the loud traffic noise in HCMC, we opted for no-window rooms during our stay. Wow. It's even way below our budget. ;-)

Since we were traveling late at night, we requested for airport pick up. They only charged an additional $18 for a four-seater car. All in all, our 6-night stay and one-way airport transfer cost $180 USD! How can you beat that? Unbelievably cheap. So for this price, how did Ha Hien Hotel fare? Let me start with the good. ;-)

1.) Online booking was at its most convenient.
I expected to have to leave them a credit card number to secure the booking. But everything was just done through email correspondence. We finalized the details two weeks before our arrival. I was a bit weary that the booking would be forgotten or lost so I emailed them the day before we left to give them a gentle reminder. I realized after that that was just completely unnecessary. They had everything under control and I didn't need to worry about a thing. I should've known that from the hotel's prompt email responses throughout our correspondence. I didn't need to wait more than five hours to get a response -- regardless of how early or late I emailed them. ;-)

2.) The airport pick up was prompt, service was good, and we were charged less than we should have been.
Our plane landed in HCMC at 12:30 am. Passing through customs and picking up our checked-in luggage took another ten minutes. Just to be sure, I told Ha Hien Hotel that our arrival would be between 12:30 and 1:30 am. Cebu Pacific, our carrier, is not exactly known for being on time so I expected the worst. But when we got out at 12:40, we were pleased to see a couple of smiling faces holding a sheet with my name in a huge computer-printed font. One was the designated driver and the other, we later realized, is the bell boy. ;-) The bell boy quickly took our luggage and through some Charades, told us that we had to wait for the van. It arrived after two minutes. Since neither of them spoke English, it was a quiet 20-minute ride all the way to the hotel.

I was quite surprised that they only charged us $18 for the pick up. From my correspondence with them, I know that we had a choice between a four-seater (in other words, a car) or a 7-seater (a van). I opted for the four-seater of course since there's only the two of us and a few luggage that could easily fit in the trunk. I guess the other one wasn't available so they charged us the rate of the 4-seater still. I thought that it was very honest of them to do that. I was liking them already. ;-) By the way, all payment was not made until check-out. Upon arriving, they didn't ask for a credit card number still. They will only ask for the passports of all the guests. And this is okay. Don't worry about giving them your passports. This is the standard in HCMC. To alleviate all the stress and worry that this could cause you, just make sure you have a photocopy of your passport on hand. ;-)

3.) You get way more than what you pay for at Ha Hien Hotel!
For the price, I was honestly expecting the worst. But upon seeing the room, Jojo and I were truly pleased! There's no denying that it is, indeed, a budget hotel. The furniture could definitely be more stylish and modern. Vietnam is known for their art. A more beautiful painting could be on display. The shower curtain could be updated too. Despite these minor things, it is obvious that Ha Hien Hotel does all that it can to provide a relaxing and hassle-free stay for all their guests.

First of, I was surprised to see them using card keys to open the rooms. There are a number of posher hotels in Manila that still use regular keys! Second, Jojo and I were very happy to see our room clean and pristine. The hotel's housekeeping obviously pay a lot of attention to detail when doing their job. Guiltily, Jojo and I left the room in such a mess everyday. But, everyday, when we got back, it would be as if nothing happened. ;-) Everything is still as how we first saw the room.
Another thing that really made me happy about the hotel is the shower's water pressure. ;-) I know. These are things that people hardly notice. But for someone who spends 20 minutes in the shower, this is definitely an added bonus. ;-) The water pressure was so strong that showering was like getting a massage! I LOVED it! Hot water was readily available too -- and it could get as hot as you could handle it. ;-) Yay!

There's also the mini-fridge stocked with interesting Vietnamese drinks (at reasonable prices too!), the comfortable split-type aircon, cable TV with a gazillion channels (specifically with the Travel and Living channel, Discovery, and AXN!), the cozy and clean bed linen, and the toiletries! Everyday, they stock the room up with a couple of toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, cream, Q-tips, cotton, and a razor. What else is there to look for? ;-)

4.) Ha Hien Hotel's location can't be beat.
Ben Thanh Market is open everyday from 7 am until 6 pm. After that, they have a night market that's open until 10, I think. Near Ben Thanh is the infamous Pho 2000 where Bill Clinton dined when he was in Vietnam. There are a number of restaurants, coffee houses, and shops in the area too. If you are willing to walk another five minutes from Ben Thanh, you'll get on that strip there that's synonymous to Hongkong's Nathan Road. There are grocery stores there, malls, art galleries, hotels, and trendy boutiques.

Ha Hien Hotel is literally just 2 minutes away from Ben Thanh. I say two minutes because it would probably take 30 seconds to walk it and another 90 seconds to cross the street! ;-) No, it's not because the streets in HCMC are wide. But HCMC is notorious for their motorcycles and crossing the street can definitely be a challenge. ;-)

5.) Their service is topnotch.
My husband is very particular about service. This could be due to his line of work. He has worked in the Marketing and Sales department at the bank for many years. Despite the language barrier, I was happy to see my husband to be very happy with the hotel's service. Everyone was just so attentive. On our third day and breakfast (!) at the hotel, the waitress offered to bring me Vietnamese iced coffee. I had ordered it twice before and that day, I had a sensitive stomach so I decided not to get it. But the waitress remembered and that was very sweet of her! The people at the front desk were very accommodating too. And believe me, I bothered them about a lot of things. And my questions were as random as they could get. How do you get to Sinh Cafe? How many minutes away is Cholon? Are there any fast food places that deliver at 11 pm? Do we have to pay tax at the airport? ;-) Yeah, I know. They probably knew me there as the girl with a ton of questions. ;-) But you know what? They were very patient with me. And they had an answer for all of my questions too. On our first day, they gave us a map of District 1 and were sincerely helpful. Upon stepping out of the hotel, there's hotel staff there waiting to hail a cab for us too. And each time they hailed a cab for us, they made sure it was one of the reliable companies -- VinaSun or Mai Linh. I know this because I've read about it in a travel guide book.

Okay. So that's the list of the good. As for the picky things that they could improve on, here it is:

1.) Apart from the pho and the baguette, most of the items in their breakfast spread were greasy and bland.
Jojo and I liked the soup and it was very good. The serving was quite hefty too. As for all the other items, they were okay but definitely could be better. The Vietnamese spring rolls are a staple in the spread. And sadly, they're consistently greasy too. We tried their meat buns and this dry noodle dish that looks similar to our pancit. Nothing to rave about, really. But on a good note, I loved their iced coffees! The pho does not disappoint as well. The other items could be more flavorful though, that's all.

2.) The beds are hard!
I read about this in Trip Advisor as well. It's not just Ha Hien Hotel that's guilty of providing those hard and stiff beds. Apparently, a lot of the hotels in HCMC have them too. They don't hurt your back or anything. I mean, you get used to it after a while. It's just uncomfortable at first. But a cushier bed would be nice. ;-)

3.) The water from the tub spills over to another drain by the toilet!
Bubble baths are out of the question, I guess. I just found it so odd that it did that. I mean, the tub itself, had a drain. But for some reason, there's another hole in the tub that directs water to another drain outside of it. It can get annoying because here I am with my 20-minute high-pressured showers. The drain is pretty efficient in that it doesn't flood the bathroom. It just creates a sloppy mess. Towels had to be placed all over the bathroom floor. It's a place that's kinda waiting for an accident like a slip or a fall.

Apart from these 3, this is it for the "bad" things that I can think of. Overall, Jojo and I had a pleasant stay at Ha Hien Hotel. We truly enjoyed their service and had a definite taste of Vietnamese hospitality. ;-) If you're asking me whether we will go back and stay there again, I'll say "For sure!" ;-) Even without its luxuries, Ha Hien Hotel was our, in a true sense of the word, home-away-from-home. We loved it there and this hotel comes highly recommended if you're in search of a budget hotel in HCMC.