We arrived at the Jasmine Hotel at 9:30 AM. The receptionist said the following.

“We hope you enjoy your home while you are here in Hanoi. We can offer you breakfast this morning even though your reservation isn’t until tonight.”

We hope you enjoy your home.

That is the first person who used those words in one and a half years of travel.

It reminded me of when we got to Panama to stay at Dave and Cora’s Casita in November 2009, and Cora came running out the door (having never met us – only seen our website), and gave me a big hug as if we were the oldest of friends.

That was the most welcoming reception I have received up to this point anywhere.

And now we feel like we are the longest and best of friends.

Staying with Vic in Singapore was also a “welcome home”, as was staying with David in Hong Kong, and Dan in Panama.

That the Jasmine Hotel would welcome me to my home in Hanoi (even though I was staying at a hotel in the middle of a big city) really felt nice.

Taking the Jasmine Hotel receptionist up on her offer, I enjoyed a cook-to-order breakfast as well as some nicely prepared fruit, and an excellent cup of coffee. I doubt I will ever make coffee for myself at home, but it’s something I’ve learned to appreciate while staying at hotels in coffee producing regions in our travels.

Vietnamese coffee is quite nice. (Vietnam is the world’s #2 exporter of coffee.)

We stayed on the 7th floor of the Jasmine Hotel, in a room that wasn’t on the front of the hotel.

If traffic noise bothers you (it bothers me), we recommend requesting a room that’s not at the front of the Jasmine hotel. Though they do a great job with the rooms, they would have a very hard time blocking the city noises of Hanoi from the street to any of the rooms on the front of the hotel.

At the Jasmine Hotel, our room was small but nice, and because it was quite cold the 2 nights we were there, they gave us an extra comforter.

The bed could have been a little more comfy, but the comforter made up for it because we could snuggle down and pretend we were experiencing Colorado winter (which is much nicer than the South Island New Zealand winter we went through in 2010).

Our only suggestion for improvement for the Jasmine Hotel Hanoi would be to clean the corners of the shower a bit more thoroughly, which appear to need some bleaching in order to be more clean. That might just be the room that we were in, however.

Overall, we enjoyed our home in Hanoi, and much moreso we enjoyed the staff that cared for us by arranging for our train tickets onward, transporting us to the train station, and making our cook-to-order breakfast each morning, (plus one morning’s meal – extra – for free).

At $43/night, the price is hard to beat if you’re looking for a private room in a quiet and affordable hotel in the heart of many of Hanoi’s most interesting sights.

Take a look at the Jasmine Hotel when in Hanoi. We think you’ll be pleased with their level of service.