This hotel is incredible, mostly because the people who work here will stop at nothing to ensure that their guests are happy. We had a slight problem with our air-conditioner in our first room, and the manager happily moved us to a second room, which, as it turned out, had been sprayed with an air freshener I was allergic to. They moved us a second time, very kindly, and to make up for the hassles, they brought us a little treat of hot ginger tea with honey and cookies in our room the night we settled in. Everyone was just so wonderful and took any concern we had as their own, worked until they got it right, and so much was right to begin with: comfortable beds, great location on the weekend walking street and near the lake, excellent made-to-order breakfast along with scrumptious buffet, help with all of our outings, from a night on the town to a trip to Sa Pa. It's a great hotel. Some of the rooms in the older half are a little musty (hence the spray, and much of Hanoi is a bit damp, so I imagine you will run into this in a lot of places) but this can be fixed by telling them at booking that you're sensitive and they'll put you in a newer room. They will take your worries very seriously and do anything to make you happy. We liked this hotel so much we used it as a home base throughout our several weeks in northern Vietnam and stayed in its sister hotels when we could. Do not hesitate to book!