Noble Swan Hotel - Ha Noi

Months out from my trip, I've already booked this hotel but due to an emergency I had to make changes but luckily I was still able to make use of their generous discount. I booked to stay for 14 nights and the total came to just under $600 (was just above $500 at the time of booking but due to the massive currency influx during this period it went up as I chose to pay during check in).

Upon check in, the receptionist said that I've made many bookings with them but cancelled, which is true due to the changes I have to make as I was still planning my trip and then with the emergency trip I had to make another change. However it shouldn't be an issue as they should only be registering the confirmed bookings and discard the cancelled ones.

I was assigned to the highest floor of the hotel, on the 9th floor. There are 3 rooms on this floor, and I'm assuming this is the same on all floors. My room is the smallest out of the 3 since the other 2 I had a peek at while the door was left open are bigger in size and seem to be slightly better maintained.

My first impression of the room wasn't great but I couldn't complain as it was one of the cheapest accommodation in town, however I was expecting the basics to be at least done right and correctly. First issue I encountered was the blinds not being able to lift up, which I had a closer look and it wasn't connected to the wiring so it would be permanently down. This was not ideal as I will be staying for 2 weeks and a dark room is not my idea of how I want to spend my time inside this room and the odor was quite strong so having a window that can be opened is a great bonus, after they fixed the blinds that is. I had a look around the room and they provided a small safe box that was locked on the outside so there was no way for me to use it. There is a bathrobe hanging in their closet but the hanger pole was very loose so I didn't want to hang anything heavy on it, eventually it did break off after a few days even without hanging anything heavy.

They have presented 2 cups on a tray without anything else on it, I open the drawer of the cabinet and found loose tea leaves but upon turning the entire room upside down I couldn't find their kettle at all. I went to the reception to ask about it and she told me that they do not have kettle which was baffling as I have not heard of such thing for a hotel. The second day when the afternoon shift staff came to work, he helped open the safe box so I told him about the blinds and whether they provide a kettle, he took down the entire blinds and said someone will come work on it, and then went to get me a kettle. After getting the kettle and feeling excited for a nice hot tea, I open up to find a filthy mouldy kettle which I did not want to touch for another second longer. I took it down to the reception the next morning to the lady who worked the morning shift, who said they don't provide a kettle and showed it to her, so she told me she will get me another one when I get back. When I got back, the. blind was finally fixed and I could get my daily dose of sunshine and I check the kettle, unfortunately it wasn't any better, well there was no mould but there was yellowish floating seaweed kind of texture on the bottom and also same kind of dried out texture on the lip. I did not use it and waited until I could get some decent cleaning supplies to give it a good scrub before I even attempt to use it. On my next trip to the supermarket, I couldn't find cleaning supplies for some reason, but I saw that they sell kettles and after looking at the price, I decided to just get the cheapest one which cost me $15 and no risk of getting sick from whatever that is growing inside of that thing they gave me. The night light was not working but one day one of the bulbs decided to light up for a few minutes, the other times they were not functioning at all.

Over the next 2 weeks, there has been many people coming and going, some were families or groups of friends booking out the 2 remaining rooms on my floor which they did not respect the other guests (aka me) staying in the other room, they were being loud early in the morning and late at night, walls are fairly thin in this hotel also the doors needed a good amount of force to get it shut.

I've only requested cleaning several times during my stay, they mopped the floor during the 2nd day which was great, the rest of the time they only did minor cleaning and making of the bed, I had requested that the body wash liquid to be topped up but it wasn't done and I had to get another request in, they should be aware that I'm staying for quite a long duration so that should be something that they need to check every now and again especially since I don't require daily room service.

staff left their items right at the doorstep of the elevator

Towards the end of my 2 weeks, I asked for a slightly later checkout at 3pm as my flight doesn't leave until the evening, they were able to accommodate it. I've been noticing the shower flooding a few days before my check out and have called them to check on it, the first time it went away after a few minutes and never got them to come up to look, it wouldn't have been seen anyway because the drain was functioning normally after, this was the same case for the next 2 days so I just left it for a couple of minutes and the water drained normally after a few minutes of clogging. On the day of my check out, I was expecting it to do the same, but it didn't and the water flooded the rest of the toilet which fortunately there is another drain it could go off, I didn't have time to deal with it as I was about to check out to catch my flight, I informed the receptionist where the both of them were present at that time and there was not much of a response, so I didn't know if it's a reoccurring issue in this property or they just couldn't be bothered. It wouldn't be acceptable if I had paid more or if they are a higher rated star property, but I tolerate these shortcomings due to the very low price I paid for the 2 weeks stay so I kept my expectation fairly minimal.

If you're planning a trip to Ha Noi, this would be a good stay if you can get it at a low price, the location is conveniently within walking distance to many eateries and tourist attractions within old town, but if you're paying a higher rate, I would reconsider as there are many other choices nearby if you can afford it. While they claimed to be a 4 star hotel, the experience left me with a generous 2 star title. If you would like to check out my trip experience in Ha Noi, the post will be coming soon.