Our Hotel in Hue

"Welcome to Thanh Noi Hotel" the neon sign reads. We are located at this very fine local-style garden hotel in Hue, inside the walls of the old city that people in Vietnam call the citadel ("thanh" in Vietnamese). Xuan Anh is standing on the steps of the reception next to a very fancy looking Mercedes - great advertising for the place. No doubt it probably belongs to the Mayor or Vice-Mayor of the city since the hotel belongs to the City of Hue.

One of the great features of this little hotel is the very clean, small pool in the garden area. Here pictured are a couple of Italian kids who woke me up from my siesta screaming in Italian while doing cannonballs into the pool. Students are usually reading in the mid-day and resting after lectures, but the pool is a great and useful feature for the early morning or later in the evening. The staff at Thanh Noi Hotel know us well from last year, too, so there's no problem taking late-night dips.

Another nice feature of Thanh Noi is its garden-house style restaurant. Here under a very old Bodhi tree, breakfast is included free each morning, a great buffet of fresh tropical fruits, coffee & tea, some Asian breakfast dishes, and eggs cooked to order. During our stay here, there is a steady flow of European and American families and tourists passing through Hue. Its ideal, too, not having to clean a single dish during the program! In the far distance, you can just make out the wall surrounding the old, 19th century palace.

I didn't get a photo of the room in here yet, but its a standard room, fresh sheets changed daily, a fast laundry service, very clean floors, bathroom with shower or tub, and most important of all for us, a strong air conditioner. The rooms also come equipped with BBC, MTV, the Vietnamese broadcast channels, and a few European channels (Television Monde and a German channel). One thing we like here very much is the staff; they have all been working at the hotel for years and are relatively happy working there - so we feel secure there. They are constantly sweeping, cleaning floors and windows, and there day and night. This is relatively rare outside the five-star resorts, and I think it has to do with the management - esp. the Vice-Manager who is a graduate of the school that hosts us in Hue.