After arriving by bus from Phnom Penh into Saigon I went on trip.com and found quite literally the nearest hotel to where I was standing – namely the Hoang Phi Hotel.
Quite simply it had location and price, with $24 getting me a room during Lunar New Yearone of the big celebrations in Vietnam.
Where is the Hoang Phi Hotel?
Hoang Phi Address
313 Đ. Phạm Ngũ Lão,
Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão,
Quận 1, Thành phố
Hồ Chí Minh
So, District 1 AKA Saigon and right where the Phnom Penh to Saigon bus drops you off.
It is also parallel with Walking Street and all the craziness that is the nightlife of downtown Ho Chi Minh City.
Why The Hoang Phi Hotel?
Well a small room is $20, but go expense and you get one for $24 with a king bed. The rooms are OK, they have a lift and your gets cleaned daily, so, so far all good.
They also follow the Saigon style of hotel in that you have a bottom floor, which invariably has a massage parlour, with the reception being on the 2nd, or 1st floor (up one stairs) depending on your take on things.
Facilities and service
There are no facilities save the passage parlour on the ground floor and the staff seem to care very little unless it gets to 12.05 and they start banging on your door. They do not do late checkouts at the Hoang Phi, nor really anywhere else in Vietnam.
Then there is the communal area, balcony on the reception floor. They managed not to clear it for 3 full days, although I will give them that it was Vietnamese (Chinese) New Year.
Said locale though did give is the chance to see the New Year fireworks and I have to say it was superb value for what I paid during such a big holidays.
Next stop the train.