Golden Sun Villa Hotel

The Golden Sun Villa really is one of the Old Quarter's more unique and charming properties. Whereas most hotels in this pressed-for-space neighborhood are just narrow buildings rising off the street, the Golden Sun Villa hides, and is actually quite hard to spot, as there is just a small sign out front. From here, a narrow passageway that's painted with a colorful tree mural leads into the hotel. Once through the passage, there are a few plants outside of the hotel, another rarity in urban Hanoi. The lobby has large glass doors and gets plenty of light -- it's a cheerful place to sit that has a few comfortable, green velvet couches with clocks on the wall showing various times around the world. The restaurant adjoins this area, and has some colorful expressionistic paintings of Hanoi street life on the wall. The hotel's off-the-street location is a quiet escape from the city heat and noise -- it's no wonder it is one of the more popular Old Quarter choices amongst a range of tourist couples, families, and solo travelers. 

Located just a few blocks west of Hoan Kiem Lake at the edge of Hanoi's Old Quarter, the hotel is only a few minutes' walk to the happening lakeside, while the bustling and atmospheric sights Old Quarter are within a 10-minutes walk. The entire old town area is chaotic, narrow, and congested, but the entrance to the hotel is on one of the few streets that actually has a walkable sidewalk (most tend to be clogged with parked motorcycles). It's a 10-minute taxi ride from here to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum or the Temple of Literature, and the international airport is about 40 minutes to an hour away by car. The hotel is also in a very convenient neighborhood for eating, drinking, and shopping, with countless numbers of restaurants and shops just minutes from the front door.

There are just 29 rooms at the Golden Sun Villa Hotel, and all are charming, with fine wood floors, art deco-style carved wood cabinets, and attractive local wall art. Stylish dark accent walls pop against vintage-style floor lamps and purple padded headboards, and all rooms have large desks, plenty of cabinet space, and even kitchen-like areas with hot water kettles and minibars. Rooms here are far more spacious than at other Golden Sun properties throughout Hanoi, and are larger than other Old Quarter hotels in general, starting at 30 square meters (323 square feet). All rooms also have flat-screen TVs with cable channels, safes, air-conditioning, and free Wi-Fi. Bathrooms have shower units with rainfall showerheads as well as regular spigots. There are some slight variations within the same room category, though not much changes with upgrades. Deluxe Rooms on one side of the building have patterned love seats, while on the other side they don't, and the rooms have different furnishings in the kitchen areas. The Junior Suites are essentially Deluxe Rooms plus larger, more comfy desk chairs and small balconies, and the Family Rooms also have balconies and extra beds. 

Like most hotels in the Old Quarter area, the Golden Sun Villa doesn't have many extra features for guests. There is a small restaurant here -- a homey spot with just four tables -- that serves only the hotel's free breakfast, so guests need to go out for lunch and dinner. In the lobby there is a small travel desk where guests can book tours to Sapa and Halong Bay, make train and bus reservations, and get taxis and other transport arranged by the helpful staff. The front desk is staffed 24 hours a day and laundry services can be arranged.