Beautiful & relaxing
by TripAdvisor Member LRRP
The hotel is beautiful and the staff wonderful. After arriving on the overnight train from Hanoi La Residence was an oasis. We were given a welcome drink in the bar whilst the reception staff checked us in. The bedroom was superb (clean, comfortable, inviting) and the bathroom gorgeous. The staff were very helpful in arranging our onward travel (for a slight fee). Breakfast was excellent. The only downside would be it is slightly further to walk into town than other hotels.
perfect
by TripAdvisor Member dd43
La Residence is beyond compare.
On every trip where there is more than one hotel stayed in there is always one that stands out and this was it.
From the moment we stepped inside the hotel we were swept away into another world. one from long ago.
Every aspect of the hotel was outstanding and the eye for detail was evident everywhere.
Our 3 teenagers even enjoyed the place from the moment they woke up until the last snooker ball was sunk during our evening family attempts at togetherness.
We used the hotel as a base for a 3 day cycle through part of central Vietnam and it was an absolute haven after a day of hard cycling in torrential rain (a thing the kids didn't enjoy).
We also recommend caution when getting out of the shower
We thoroughly enjoyed every moment in the hotel and wished our 3 nights had been more
Almost Perfect Art Deco Glamour in Imperial Hue
by TripAdvisor Member jwsmd3
I love hotels that greet you at reception and have you sit down for the process and immediately bring a welcome drink. Starts the stay off right!
3 pleasant nights in January. The decor and renovation is stunning...a Deco masterpiece on a par with the best in South Beach. Materials, texture and lighting and attention to detail are everywhere.
The staff was outstanding, with good and improving English (in house teacher) willing to take the time and go the extra mile (they ran out at 7 PM to a Travel Agent to get my next day's flight changed). Breakfast very good but not spectacular. However Lunch and Dinner, though relatively at the very high end for VietNam were superb with terrific service. A "library" with plentiful fast Internet access like they have should be standard these days!
The Spa and workout room are great and a pressure point massage left me glowing for a couple of days (and financially painless compared to similar in US). Services set to expand I was told.
Minor quibbles: Nice bathroom amenities but how about a decent size bath soap (I always bring my own anyway). The room was average to slightly small in size but we upgraded to a nice terrace with view of river.
Bigger quibble: To us, very thick pillows that left my neck sore. The staff and general manager really went out of their way to do what they could but there were no alternatives. But the interaction showed that they really do care about all the little things and I suspect a few thin feather/ down pillows will be on hand in the future for someone like me. A gold star for the effort and attention.
Despite all the hype, an average hotel
by TripAdvisor Member Annick9
Our stay at La Residence started in a room for 2 people, where the second suitcase could not possibly be opened -- for lack of space.
After complaining, we were upgraded to a bigger and better room. Management reacted promptly faced with very unhappy travelers. In the new room, the stay was pleasant.
The decoration of the lobby is very charming in an old fashioned French style. The decoration in the rooms was not terribly pleasant, and I must say I did not appreciate those horrendous animal paintings we had in both rooms.
The spa came recommended and it was indeed a nice experience. The body massages we got were very good, but the facials a bit amateurish.
I do not share the enthusiasm of previous reviewers for this hotel. It was to me trying to be very hard what it definitely is not -- a bona fide 5 star hotel.
Great Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member MatthewRob
Stayed one night at La Residence. The pool is nice and peaceful with food and drink around it reasonably priced (although probably high for Vietnam). The rooms are on the small side but adequate and have a nice balcony/terrace area. The restaurant is very nice and the food and service good, although high priced for Vietnam. The hotel has a nice library with around 8 computers with internet usage, which is definitely a plus.
Art Deco/Indochine
by TripAdvisor Member Yendys
We were put off by some reviews and in fact booked a different hotel in Hue (The Morin, which turned out to be an average commercial type hotel) but moved to La Residence after recomendations by other travellers.
it is true the rooms were a bit small but the overall impression of the hotel was so good that many issues that were not 100% were overlooked.
The art deco renovation is so perfect that just hanging around the hotel is a pleasant experience with piped slow-foxtrot music running everywhere.
Breakfast and/or dinner on the terrace was lovely as were the grounds and pool. Agreat place for rest days with not much to do apart from a great relaxing river trip on the Perfumed River. Syd Kaye, Cape Town
By far the best hotel in Hue
by TripAdvisor Member LongWishList
Booked a March 2007 stay via Expedia, which offered the best price I found online at approx USD120. On (early) arrival we were greeted and seated in the lovely lobby lounge, with a chilled lemongrass drink (but without ice, acknowledging travelers' tummies' sensitivity to local water), to begin the check in process. Gracious. Staff had some problems finding my reservation, but I was able to log into the booking site from the internet lounge and emailed them the confirmation, which was then accepted. Because we arrived before check-in time, the front desk dispatched a cleaning crew to prep a room, which was ready in minutes. The room was quite small by Western standards and average by Viet standards, with a cozy bathroom, but was quite clean and featured a nice terrace overlooking the Perfume River. There is no internet connectivity in the rooms (wifi in the building lobbies), which could also use more electric plugs. There's also no ironing board or iron. When we requested such a setup, a unit intended for commercial use was delivered--perhaps ours was an unusual request? Best feature of this hotel is the lovely salted water pool overlooking the river. Very very peaceful and relaxing. Patio dining food was so so (and expensive, by Viet standards), but just as we found all over Viet Nam, the staff tried oh so hard to please. The hotel is on the "main street" of town, and adjoins a lovely riverside park running the length of the waterfront. It's a nice walk to the other end of the street to the more touristy end of town. Don't underestimate the length of the walk, however, which requires the "exciting" crossing of two major intersections (where the bridges are). There is no concierge, but there is an Exotissimo Tours desk adjacent to the lobby. Exotissimo is a deluxe tour operator who can also make some travel arrangement (e,g plane tickets to Hanoi, which the agent personally went to collect and deliver to us). For contrast, we took a very cheap group bus tour of Hue sights, but then booked very good private excursions for the rest of our stay through Exotissimo (for Hanoi-based excursions). Breakfast (included in our room rate) was OK, not spectacular and offered fewer choices, relatively, than luxe inns in Saigon and Hanoi. The hotel contracts for a private fleet of "Cyclo", which is a safer and much cleaner choice than the cyclo drivers constantly hounding you as you walk along the street. Regardless, avoid riding in cyclos after dark (they have no lights and are hard for other vehicles to see).
A little bit of luxury..
by TripAdvisor Member AussiegirlScot
I stayed at La Residence 4 times in 2006 while I lived in Vietnam and have just booked myself in for another 2 nights in April 2007. This is by far the best hotel in the Hue area. Every time I have stayed at this hotel, it has been a very pleasant experience. In September 2006 there was a large typhoon heading for the central coast and I evacuated our staff from Lang Co to La Residence for a few days to avoid the worst of the storm. During this time the management went out of their way to keep us occupied with complimentary shoulder massages, cocktail hours and guest activities while the weather kept us inside.
The rooms are not overly large, but they are decorated beautifully and everything is spotless. The bathrooms are quite large, although I do find that the shower heads are positioned a little too low for comfort. The grounds of the hotel are immaculate and the pool area is beautiful. I have enjoyed several afternoons there with a book and an endless supply of Mojito cocktails.
The restaurant serves the best breakfast in Central Vietnam (my opinion only) and the rest of the food on the menu is also very good. The staff are very courteous and really try to assist in every way possible. My company hosted a party at La Residence last year, and they really went out their way to make it perfect, even so far as letting us use the kitchen to make our favourite national dishes!
The hotel is close to the river and shopping area and the view across the river to the citadel is very nice. Overall, I cannot rate this hotel highly enough. I have stayed at some very disappointing hotels in Vietnam but I always look forward to returning to La Residence.
Sign in with Facebook
