We stayed at the Hanoi Topaz for one night before heading off to Halong Bay on the Paloma Cruise. The hotel is located in the Old Quarter, about 7-10 minutes walk from the big lake which has a lot of shops and restaurants dotted around. At first, we were a bit shocked to see the hotel in such a location but after walking the city we realized that Hanoi is just a huge mix of old and new. We enjoyed the city very much and the city map that you can get from the reception will be a huge help in getting you around the city.
The room we had was small, neat and well prepared. There was also a computer in the room which worked very well. The staff were very polite, attentive and very eager to help. There is a restaurant in the basement floor however we did not try it out.
The taxi that we got from the airport to the hotel was a little amusing... just when we reached the Old Quarter area the taxi pulled over and a random man from the street (dressed nicely) opened the door and told us our hotel was booked out and we would have to stay at a sister hotel. We argued to be taken to our hotel as the place the taxi driver had stopped us was not outside Hanoi Topaz. After just few minutes, the man gave up and said, okay you go... and then we ended up at our hotel.
