Majestic Salute Hotel***

Our brief comments:
The curiously-named Majestic Salute Hotel is situated between two roads in the centre of the Old Quarter of Hanoi and therefore has two main entrances. It's a five-storey building that opened in 2004.

Apart from its name, the Majestic Salute is also unusual for its location - all other hotels in the Old Quarter are 'Local' standard and aimed at the budget/backpacker market.

Because the hotel straddles a city block, all the Deluxe rooms have a small window that lets on to a narrow shaft - hence no view. Apart from that, and being on the small side, they are well-appointed and well designed although a few rooms have an inconvenient pillar in the centre of the floor next to the bed.

The suites are a better bet. These overlook the narrow streets and busy shops of the city's ancient commercial area. Fortunately, the windows are double glazed. The City View Suites are still comparatively small, but the windows are large enough to make the room feel reasonably spacious.

There's a good restaurant with a decent menu combining international and Asian dishes, and a pleasant bar and lounge area on the ground floor.

Most of an entire floor is given over to a series of massage rooms with nearby male and female Jacuzzi and saunas, presumably to attract Asian visitors. The corridor is lit by bright blue fluorescent tubes - the result resembles the Star Ship Enterprise.

The accommodation is comparatively expensive for a three-star establishment, a reflection of the sky-high land prices in central Hanoi. At the time of inspection, the hotel was pricing rooms for single occupancy and adding a surcharge for couples. We have pointed out that the practice is misleading - hopefully the management will revert to standard practice.

Nevertheless, the high prices and viewless Superior rooms are partly compensated by being able to stay in a hotel with modern facilities in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter! If you want to be in the thick of the hustle and bustle of Vietnamese life without sacrificing your comfort, it's about as close as you can get.

Room facilities:

Room Categories	Deluxe	City View Suite	Majestic Salute Suite
Number of rooms	28	8	2
Air-conditioner
Satellite television
Shower or bath
Bath with shower
Bath + separate shower
Personal safety box
Coffee and tea facilities
Laptop connection
Free broadband access
Extra bed
Child's cot
Room size (m2)	20	30	55
View	no view	city	city

Additional room facilities:

Hotel facilities:

Outdoor pool		Non-smoking floor(s)
Pool bar		Non-smoking rooms only
Fitness/health centre		Vietnamese/Asian restaurant
Sauna		International restaurant
Massage		Patisserie/coffee shop/cafe
Jacuzzi		Business centre

Additional hotel facilities: