Ha Long Plaza Hotel****
Our brief comments:
 The twelve-storey Halong Plaza hotel is about a ten minute walk from Bai Chay Beach, the main tourist area of Ha Long City. When first built, it was something of an eyesore dominating the Bai Chay landscape, but the subsequent proliferation of architectural misadventures further up the coast has softened its image.
The hotel was substantially renovated in 2002 when 80 rooms were added.
Most of the 185 rooms have angled windows allowing a view of half the bay - the exceptions are the suites which have panoramic views. Superior rooms are located on the lower floors. Together with the top of Poem mountain in the commercial area of Ha Long City and the Saigon-Halong tower block, the Plaza's upper floors offer the finest mainland views of the World Heritage Area.
The rooms are markedly above average floor area, well furnished and remarkably well-maintained - the decor looks as good as new. Corridors are exceptionally wide, giving a feeling of space and airiness
 The single restaurant on the ground floor seats 250 diners and serves Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and Western cuisines, each with a specialist chef. It's attractive, and has a good wine list. However, when sampling lunch we were served a decidedly mediocre pork cordon bleu, badly cooked and poorly presented - hopefully we dined on an off-day!
The Plaza is easily one the best hotels in Ha Long, and would have been our featured hotel if there wasn't a slight question mark over the food.
Inspected November 2004
Room facilities:
Room Categories |
Superior |
Deluxe |
Junior Suite |
Executive Suite |
Plaza Suite |
| Number of rooms |
143 |
27 |
4 |
4 |
7 |
Air-conditioner |
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Satellite television |
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Shower or bath |
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Bath with shower |
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| Bath + separate shower |
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Personal safety box |
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Coffee and tea facilities |
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| Laptop connection |
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| Free broadband access |
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Extra bed |
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Child's cot |
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Room size (m2) |
35 |
38 |
72 |
74 |
103 |
View |
sea |
sea |
sea |
sea |
sea |
Additional room facilities: complimentary fruit and flowers (Europeans only), Deluxe, Junior Suites and Plaza Suites have spa showers and corner baths, Executive Suites have a dressing room (three rooms + bathroom with corner bath) and panoramic windows
Hotel facilities:
Outdoor pool |
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Non-smoking floor(s) |
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Pool bar |
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Non-smoking rooms only |
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Fitness/health centre |
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Vietnamese/Asian restaurant |
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Sauna |
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International restaurant |
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Massage |
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Patisserie/coffee shop/cafe |
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Jacuzzi |
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Business centre |
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Additional hotel facilities: babysitting, facilities for disabled people, tennis court, non-smoking rooms, children's swimming pool, upper three floors are all non-smoking, traditional music in the lobby during the evening
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