Though moderate by Western standards, this hotel gets 4 stars from me.

A number of things differentiate it from others in the category:

1) It’s in the Hoan Kiem District, where you want to be.

2) Rooms are huge , with balconies where you can reap sights and sounds of Hanoi any time.

3) They have DSL connections in the rooms!! Trust me on this one, this is luxury. No laptop? Then run to the lobby for checking email.

4) They serve the best free breakfast of any "moderate" hotel from 6am to 10am. Choose from baguettes, Vache Qui Rit cheese (the cow is big in Vietnam, a present from the French), omelettes, fried eggs with bacon and sausage, pancakes (these are exquisitely thin French crepes served with lemon and honey or sugar), cornflakes, poached or boiled eggs, baked beans on toast, or the traditional Vietnamese pho - the divine noodle soup derived from the French consommé. Juice, tea or coffee crowns the offerings.

5) They do laundry on the premises, for a song!! Luckily for me, I also found an extremely capable seamstress who altered four garments for me for $3.50. If you hand in clothes in the morning, they have them back to you the same day around 5pm.

6) Daily supply of fruit (usually bananas), hot tea, and sweet wafers.

The bathroom, by all criteria, is modern and spacious; there is no such thing as conditioner in Vietnam, so bring your own. However, every hotel supplies you with toothbrush, toothpaste, cotton swabs, soaps, shampoo, bath gel, and perhaps a comb. So, even though American hotels are very pleased to oblige you with these amenities, should you have forgotten them, the Vietnamese are ahead: the stuff is already in your room.

Furnishings are laden with lacquered cherry wood which underlines the Chinese influence present in so many things Vietnamese. Our deluxe room had a king-size bed and a lovely mirrored desk with wood carvings that continued onto the armchairs. An immense armoire with shelving and hanging space balanced the arrangement.

A moderate-sized refrigerator is standard in most rooms and always filled with a minimum of two bottles of water, usually the La Vie brand. Since beer is cheaper than water here, there will be four cans of it, and Coke, 7-Up, Orangina, and ginger ale make up the balance. The charges for each are so nominal, but water is even cheaper on the streets. Beware of rebottled water and never drink tap water. The cable TV has some of the best programming, including BBC, TV5 from France, and CNN World