Calypso Premier Hotel

The Calypso Grand Hotel is small and charming. Bright red colors pop against a white base throughout, making the hotel sparkle. The inviting lobby has plush red couches and white wainscoted walls, with the hotel's insignia written in gold on a red lacquer board at the back of the space. Behind this, the small white-on-white breakfast room has stylish chandeliers hanging overhead. Both rooms and hallways here have nostalgic black-and-white photos of old Hanoi street life, and everything looks polished and immaculately clean. There is an air of professionalism throughout, from the management down to the extremely hospitable and informative staff. The hotel is perfect for a quiet and pleasant stay in old Hanoi, and it draws a nice mix of tourists, including couples and families.

The Calypso Grand Hotel is in a great location, right at the edge of the Old Quarter, an atmospheric and traditional slice of Hanoi. While many hotels here sit in tiny alleys or on streets with no sidewalk access, there is actually space here on Cua Dong Street to avoid the traffic. The hotel is in a neighborhood with hundreds of restaurants, bars, and shops, and famous Hoan Kien Lake is less than a 10-minute stroll from the hotel. The international airport is about 40 minutes to an hour's drive away, depending on traffic. The hotel is convenient for all sights and services, and it's spot on a slightly wider street makes its surroundings feel far less chaotic than many other nearby hotels.

There are only 17 rooms at the Calypso, and they are some of the nicest and most spacious rooms to be found at this price in the Old Quarter. Even standard Superior Rooms are large, and each includes a writing desk as well as a chair-and-table set. All rooms have a simple French style, with shuttered closets, oak laminate floors, and a snazzy red-and-white motif. Old black-and-white photographs of Hanoi adorn the walls. All rooms come with free computers for guests to use, as well as free Wi-Fi, plus stocked minibars, air-conditioning, flat-screen TVs with cable, safes, electric kettles, alarm clocks, and hairdryers. Clean tile bathrooms are equipped with small showers with rainfall showerheads, while the Superior Rooms, Junior Suites, and Family Suites all having shower/tub combos and toiletries. Superior Rooms, for some odd reason, have DVD players, whereas the higher category rooms do not. The Family Suites have balconies looking out over the Old Quarter, plus an extra settee in each suite for lounging.

This hotel doesn't have much in the way of features, as is the case with most hotels in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. There is just one small restaurant which serves free breakfast to guests, and then closes for the day. Guests need to go out to eat lunch or dinner, but this isn't a problem with so many restaurants nearby, and the staff excel in pointing guests in the right direction, even giving out free maps with local favorites marked on them. The staff also speak English fluently, and go out of their way to assist in setting up tours and transfers, and make bookings for anything that guests might require. The building does have an elevator and laundry services can be arranged.