Sunway Hotel****

Our brief comments:
The Sunway is situated on Pham Dinh Ho, a quiet street about 15 minutes walk from the city centre. It's an attractive building in what was once a French residential area. The hotel is well regarded by our clients - the only quibble is the distance from the city centre.

Entering the building, we're always impressed by the exotic orchids in the reception, lounge and bar area. It has a cosy ambiance with plenty of high-quality woodwork, stylish furniture and intelligent use of lighting.

Rooms are comfortable and international standard. All are triple glazed to ensure peaceful nights - in Vietnam there's plenty of traffic noise even in quiet streets! The upper rooms have good views of the city.

We're impressed by the Sunway's commitment to meeting customers' needs. Recognising that the majority of their guests are short-stay visitors on tours who rarely bother with lazing in the suds, the Superior and Club Classic rooms have standing showers in impressive cabinets instead of the conventional bath + shower attachment. Oddly, Junior Suites have only a bathtub in a small bathroom.

All rooms have a small control panel that operates all the room's lighting, air-conditioning and other functions - no stumbling around in the dark trying to find the light switch. On the same theme, all the hotel services can be accessed with a single button. Another unusual feature is a potable water supply, so visitors can drink the tap water without risk.

Pale limed wood panelling and furniture, large windows and more orchids lends the Allanté restaurant a light and airy feel. It's elegant without being overstated. The menu includes international and Vietnamese cuisines, and there's a decent wine list.

The fitness centre also deserves recognition. Although comparatively small, there's a good range of state-of-the-art exercise machines as well as separate male and female wet and dry saunas.

Service is friendly and efficient.

The Sunway is a comfortable, well-managed establishment with a refreshing approach to customer satisfaction. The hotel not only encourages its guests to complete a comprehensive feedback questionnaire, but also uses the results to take action. Giving the customers what they want instead of what the hotel thinks they want is still a rarity in the hospitality industry!

Inspected February 2005.

Room facilities:

Room Categories	Superior	Club Classic	Junior Suite
Number of rooms	72	63	8
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)	28	30	33
View	city	city	city

Additional room facilities: separate Internet connection with dedicated power socket

Hotel facilities:

Outdoor pool		Non-smoking floor(s)	4
Pool bar		Non-smoking rooms only	n/a
Fitness/health centre		Vietnamese/Asian restaurant
Sauna		International restaurant
Massage		Patisserie/coffee shop/cafe
Jacuzzi		Business centre

Additional hotel facilities: