Location
The Hilton’s best feature is its location - right by the Opera House. Trang Tien St, Hoan Kiem Lake and the Metropole Hotel are a short walk away. The Old Quarter is around 15 minutes away on foot.
Design, ambience and people
The Hanoi Hilton Opera is located right next to Hanoi’s historic Opera House - one of the city’s most spectacular colonial era buildings. It’s a surprisingly successful architectural companion. The architecture is less impressive on the other less visible side and less impressive again inside - starting with the large shopping mall style lobby.
Room interiors are tired. We wrote that back in 2011 and nothing much has changed in 2015. There are rumours that a comprehensive renovation is coming - and it can’t come fast enough.
Room interiors were always ambitious, with some very strong colour combinations - deep reds and greens. The heavy 1990s TV cabinets have been removed - but the space is looking distinctly vacant right now.
Staff are very good as you’d expect from a Hilton - they’re the hotel’s other big strength.
The pool looks over the Opera House. It's on the small side and the water can be quite warm on Hanoi's hottest days.
The hotel's awkward naming results from confusion created by the nearby former prison for US POWs - dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton" back in the 1960s.
We're looking forward to hearing of an upgrade to the interiors so that Hanoi Hilton Opera can be a hotel that matches its location and branding.
Facilities
Pool, free wifi, fitness centre, restaurants, sports pub.
Disclosure
Rusty Compass reviews and listings are always independent. We research hotels, photograph them, stay in some of them - and list the ones we think are worth knowing about. That’s it. No inducement was received, financial or otherwise, for this listing.
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