We’ve been in Hanoi for five days, not including the days we went on two day trips to Halong Bay and Sapa. The nights we spent in Hanoi, we stayed at Little Hanoi Hostel ($20 per night). It’s situated in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, in walking distance (10 minutes) of the Hoàn Kiếm Lake, the historical centre of the city.
We flew to Hanoi from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hostel arranged a car to pick us up at the airport for a decent price: $15 for a 45 minute drive. There are cheaper alternatives in the form of shuttle busses, but after spending a night at the airport for our early flight it was a relief to arrive and not have to worry about getting to the Old Quarter.
At Little Hanoi Hostel, we had a private double room with our own bathroom, complete with airconditioning (with remote) and a fan. The bathroom had a bath and shower in one, no soap dispenser, but little bars of soap. When we wanted our room cleaned, get some fresh towels and toilet paper, we just had to leave our key at the reception. They have a quite fast laundry service for $2 per kg. We handed our laundry in before noon and got it back in the evening.
The room had a fridge and good WiFi connection. Upon arrival we found complementary cookies in our room, together with two little bottles of water. We appreciated the cookies, they were quite tasty (especially the green ones) for being free of charge. Water is always appreciated as well of course.
A nice breakfast was included, better than the toast we were used to getting in other hostels up until now. We could choose from fried eggs, sausage, bacon, baguettes (wow, we missed real bread, other than toast), jam or a Vietnamese breakfast (with noodles for example).
The staff was really friendly, always very helpful. Upon arrival they gave us a map of Hanoi, together with some tips about where to eat and where to go. They have a range of tours in offer, from which we did two. The first tour we did was a two day trip to Halong Bay. The hostel works together with lots of different tour companies and will gladly explain the difference and recommend the best one for your specific needs. They have catalogues from all the tour companies, so you can study them yourself. The second tour we did was a two day trip to Sapa, organised by Little Hanoi Hostel itself. We got a small discount for booking both of those tours through them, so don’t be afraid to ask for it.
The hostel also has a little common bathroom available, with shower and toilet. They let you use it in between tours, if you like, and even offer fresh towels. This gesture was very much appreciated in the couple of hours between our return form Halong Bay and departure to Sapa. They have a storage room as well, where you can leave the largest part of your luggage, the things you don’t need on the tours.
We were very pleased with our stay at Little Hanoi Hostel in Hanoi. The staff was genuinely friendly and helpful at all times, the rooms were clean and the breakfast good. If you’re to stay in Little Hanoi Hostel, give our regards to Kim!