10 Historic Hotels in Vietnam That Take You Back in Time

Vietnam's Historic Hotels at a Glance

Ten hotels made this list, spread across four cities that match a classic north to south itinerary. The table compares opening year, official star rating, Google score and a typical starting rate for a standard room. Ratings were checked on 16 September 2026; prices change with season and dates, so treat them as a guide.

How We Chose These Hotels

This is a shortlist put together by the Kampá Tour team, the local travel consultants who design private trips across Vietnam. Every hotel passed four tests: it still operates as a hotel, the original building dates from before 1960, its history is documented by the hotel, a public body such as Vietnam's national tourism board or a reliable publication, and some of that heritage is still visible to guests today. We left out new hotels built in a colonial style, however beautiful.

That last point matters more than it sounds. A few famous names have added modern wings or towers over the decades, so a booking in the "wrong" building can feel like any other business hotel. Where this applies, we tell you which part of the hotel to ask for.

Hanoi

1. Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

The Metropole is the most complete historic stay in Vietnam. Two French investors opened it in 1901, and its white facade and green shutters still face the Hanoi Opera House. The hotel counts Charlie Chaplin, Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene among past guests.

After independence, the building became the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Hotel, a government guest house for delegations and diplomats. In 2011, workers renovating the Bamboo Bar broke through a sealed ceiling and found a bomb shelter from the American War, where Joan Baez and Jane Fonda had taken cover during the 1972 bombing of Hanoi. Its restoration received an Honourable Mention in the 2013 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards. Guests can visit it on the free daily "Path of History" tour; sign up early in your stay rather than on the last day.

For the historic rooms, book the original Heritage Wing, not the 1996 Opera Wing, and ask for a higher floor if street noise bothers you. It is the most expensive hotel on this list. If a night does not fit the budget, afternoon tea still gets you inside, and Hoan Kiem Lake is a short walk away.

Hue

The French built their administrative quarter on the south bank of the Perfume River, opposite the Nguyen Dynasty's Citadel. Both of Hue's historic hotels stand on that bank.

2. Hotel Saigon Morin

Hotel Saigon Morin is often described as the first hotel in central Vietnam. Henri Bogaert, owner of the Long Tho brick and tile works, built it in 1901 as the Grand Hotel de Hue, according to the hotel's history page. The Morin brothers took over in 1907, and the name survived decades as a Hue University campus until Saigontourist reopened the hotel in 1997.

What remains is the scale of the place: 180 large rooms with dark wooden floors, wide corridors hung with photographs from the Morin era, and a courtyard garden where breakfast is served. Front rooms look towards Truong Tien Bridge but take the street noise, so light sleepers should choose the courtyard side. Some fittings show their age. In the evening, the riverside path starts at the front door, and a good bowl of bun bo Hue is never far away.

3. Azerai La Residence Hue

Azerai La Residence occupies a mansion built in 1930 as part of the residence of the French Résident Supérieur, the top colonial official in central Vietnam, as Azerai records. Its curved white facade and porthole windows are Streamline Moderne, the ship-inspired branch of Art Deco, and the gardens run down to the river facing the Hue Imperial City.

Two wings added in 2005 hold most of the 122 rooms. Only ten rooms and suites sit inside the original mansion, several with wide curved terraces over the garden, so request a Colonial Room or suite when you book. Of the ten hotels here, this is the strongest choice for a honeymoon.

Dalat

The French developed Dalat as a highland escape from Saigon's heat. Its two historic hotels share an owner and stand a few minutes apart on Tran Phu Street, but they suit different budgets.

4. Dalat Palace Heritage Hotel

Dalat Palace Heritage Hotel opened in 1922 as the Lang Bian Palace, built to draw Saigon's elite to the cool highlands. According to the hotel's own history, the town grew up around it. A restoration completed in 1995 brought back the chandeliers, cast-iron bathtubs, fireplaces and French doors that look over Xuan Huong Lake.

Local lore says Emperor Bao Dai met the future Empress Nam Phuong at a dance held here. Choose the 43-room Classic Zone; the 30-room Modern Zone is noticeably plainer. Afternoon tea on the verandah has been included in room rates, which is worth confirming when you book. Our Dalat travel guide covers the rest of the town.

5. Du Parc Hotel Dalat

Du Parc has taken guests since 1932 and belongs to the same company as Dalat Palace. You get high ceilings, wooden floors and a slow, still-working lift from the French period, along with the quirks of an old building: few power sockets, a basement breakfast room reached by stairs and some street noise at the front. It is one of the more affordable ways to sleep in a genuine 1930s building in Vietnam, and the night market is within walking distance.

Ho Chi Minh City

Three colonial hotels stand within a few minutes' walk of each other along Dong Khoi Street, known in French times as Rue Catinat.

6. Hotel Continental Saigon

Hotel Continental Saigon, opened by Pierre Cazeau in 1880, is the oldest hotel in Vietnam still operating. Rabindranath Tagore and André Malraux stayed here, Graham Greene lived in room 214 and used the hotel in The Quiet American, and, according to the hotel, it was a setting for the French film Indochine. In 2012, the city recognised the building as an architectural and artistic monument.

Journalists, politicians and traders swapped so much news in its café that Saigon nicknamed it "Radio Catinat". The history lives in the balconies, high ceilings and frangipani courtyard where breakfast is served; the rooms are simpler, mostly from a 1990s refit. It is a hotel to choose for its address rather than luxury. Ask for an Opera View room and give the hot water a minute or two. Ben Thanh Market is an easy walk.

7. Hotel Majestic Saigon

Hotel Majestic Saigon has stood on the corner of Dong Khoi Street and the Saigon River since 1925, when it was built for businessman Hui Bon Hoa with four floors and 44 rooms. Two more floors were added in 1968. According to Saigontourist, it later became the first five-star hotel in the city invested in and managed by Vietnamese owners.

Stained glass, chandeliers and polished wood keep the French atmosphere, and service and breakfast are consistently good. The river is the reason to pick the Majestic over its neighbours, so pay for a river-view room. The courtyard pool stays shaded for much of the day, welcome in the heat but no good for sunbathing.

8. Hotel Grand Saigon

Hotel Grand Saigon opened on Rue Catinat in 1930, from a licence granted in 1928 to French newspaper editor Henry de Lachevrotière. It was renamed the Saigon Palace in 1937 and fully restored by Saigontourist in 1997.

Its 251 rooms and suites are split between two buildings, and the difference matters. The Ancient Wing keeps the stained glass, grand staircases, parquet floors and a tiny working 1930s lift reserved for its guests. The Luxury Wing, opened in 2011, is modern and has the rooftop lounge. Some older rooms feel less comfortable than their price, but for colonial character with a pool, close to the sights of central Ho Chi Minh City, it is good value.

Two War-Era Landmarks in Saigon

The Rex and the Caravelle are not the hotels to choose for period architecture, since both have been rebuilt and extended. They are here because few buildings in Vietnam are more closely tied to how the Vietnam War was reported, and both still operate as five-star hotels in the city centre.

9. Rex Hotel

The Rex began in 1927 as a car showroom and garage for French businessman Bainier, then became an entertainment complex with cinemas and a dance hall, and from 1960 housed the American Cultural Center. During the war, the US military held its daily press briefings here, which reporters mocked as the "Five O'Clock Follies", as the Rex's own history notes.

After 1975 it became the Ben Thanh Hotel before taking back the Rex name. Decades of additions have left a mixed interior, so come for the story, the rooftop bar and the position at the top of Nguyen Hue Walking Street. Rooms facing Nguyen Hue can be noisy late at night, while West Wing rooms with an internal view are quieter. Around holidays such as 30 April, it fills with domestic travellers, so book ahead. The Independence Palace is within walking distance.

10. Caravelle Saigon

The Caravelle opened on Christmas Eve 1959 as Saigon's most modern hotel, designed by Vietnamese architect Nguyen Van Hoa. In 1960, eighteen political figures presented an open letter criticising President Ngo Dinh Diem here, remembered as the Caravelle Manifesto. Within a few years the building also housed the Australian and New Zealand embassies and the NBC, ABC and CBS bureaus.

Correspondents gathered at the rooftop Saigon Saigon Bar, then one of the highest points in the city, to watch events and compare notes. After 1975 the hotel was renamed Doc Lap (Independence), and the Caravelle name returned in 1998 with the 24-storey tower that now holds most rooms. It also stood in for the Continental in the 2002 film of The Quiet American. Expect a modern hotel with a historic rooftop, request a room overlooking the Opera House, and add the Cu Chi Tunnels as a half-day trip if you are following the war story.

What to Expect From a Historic Hotel in Vietnam

Historic hotels in Vietnam give you central addresses, high ceilings and real period details, but also older bathrooms, some street noise and renovations of uneven quality. Most have added modern wings, so the room category you book decides how much history you actually get.

For modern alternatives in the same cities, see our list of luxury hotels in Vietnam, and for couples, our honeymoon in Vietnam guide.

FAQ About Historic Hotels in Vietnam

What is the most famous hotel in Vietnam?

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is widely regarded as Vietnam's most famous hotel. Open since 1901, it has hosted writers, film stars and official delegations, and it still has its wartime bomb shelter. In Ho Chi Minh City, the best-known names are the Continental, Majestic, Rex and Caravelle.

What is the oldest hotel in Vietnam still operating?

Hotel Continental Saigon, opened in 1880, is the oldest hotel in Vietnam still welcoming guests. Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi and Hotel Saigon Morin in Hue both followed in 1901.

What was the most popular hotel in Saigon during the war?

It depended on who you were. Foreign correspondents worked from the Caravelle, home to US television bureaus and the Saigon Saigon rooftop bar, and met at the Continental across the square. US officials and reporters gathered at the Rex, where the military gave its daily press briefings.

Which part of Vietnam is best for staying in a historic hotel?

Ho Chi Minh City has the most choice, with five historic hotels within walking distance. Hanoi has the most complete single experience at the Metropole, Hue offers Art Deco by the river near the Citadel, and Dalat pairs colonial hotels with a cool highland climate. If you are torn between the two big cities, read Hanoi vs Ho Chi Minh City.

Are there budget-friendly historic hotels in Vietnam?

Yes. The Continental, Du Parc and, outside peak season, Dalat Palace are the most affordable hotels on this list. In Hanoi, the Hoa Binh Hotel (1926) is a cheaper heritage address, though its Google rating of 3.9 reflects mixed reviews about upkeep.