Stayed in Melia Hotel Hanoi a couple of times over the last year for business and while the hotel is fine for a work trip, it certainly wouldn't be my pick for a leisure break. The location is good, close to the Old Quarters, but the rooms are musty and dated and the bathroom very small. Much preferred Hotel Nikko, which is around the same rate but better maintained and with more professional service, or Mövenpick Hotel, a lovely boutique hotel with an equally good location.

We stayed here in December as part of our 12 days Vietnam and Cambodia tour.

This large hotel is in the middle of town, and about a block from the famous "Hotel Hilton" where American POW were held during the Vietname war. There are several shops and restaurants within walking distance. Other tourist areas are further away, but taxi is easily hailed and very cheap, so it does not matter much.

The receptionists were efficient, careful, friendly and provided many useful information. One thing I need to complain is that they charge US$12 per 24 hour period. So if you need to use internet a lot, it can be quite expensive. One saving grace is that the lobby coffee shop area provides free wifi. You will need to ask the front desk for the password.

The room is very good size with desk area. Bed was confortable, flat screen TV with many channels, including CNN, BBC, ESPN, HBO and other language channels such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and so on.

We enjoyed our stay!

My wife and I stayed here for 3 nights while we explored Hanoi and surrounding areas. This was the first leg of our 3 week honeymoon in Vietnam.
My first impression of the hotel was ‘mild disappointment’. This is based on our greeting/check-in and upon seeing our room.
The room was clean and a reasonable size but dominated by a LARGE executive desk. The bathroom was adequate. There was also no visible recognition that we were on honeymoon. i.e. Flowers/wine/fruit/note from management.
15 minutes after getting in the room we were brought a single lily stem in a vase…
However, after returning to our room on the first evening, we found a lovely green heart-shaped cake and a bottle of wine waiting for us.
Things were looking up.
The following morning we ventured down to breakfast, and even though it was towards the end of service, we found an amazing array of foods; Breads, cheeses, meats, fruit, yogurts, cereals, pastries, eggs, bacon, sausages etc. Also a variety of fresh juices and some smoothies.

On the second evening in the hotel we started to notice LOUD deep bass noise vibrating through our room.
It was the night club on the 3rd floor. (Bear in mind that we were on the 7th floor!!!)
This noise went on until 2am and apparently there was nothing reception/management could do about it!!!
I’d imagine that the only reason we didn’t hear this on the first night was because we were so exhausted after travelling in from London and walking around Hanoi for several hours.
The noise kept us awake for the second and third night.
We mentioned this on our customer satisfaction form, but no-one from the hotel has responded up to this point.

We found that the location is ideal for walking to the Hoan Kiem lake, old quarter and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

Good points: Location and Breakfast
Bad points: Lack of sleep/Noisy night club

The hotel is most definitely geared up for business travel guests and hosting conferences, but it’s location is a great draw.
I don’t think I’d stay here again if I was in Hanoi.

The Melia Hanoi is a hotel that meets all standards for business travel. The rooms have a decent size with modern, tasteful and practical funiture. The bath room has only a bath and the shape of the bath tub and the height of the shower head makes the shower position rather awkward for taller people. Best is to have a separate shower and bad like newer hotels have and if I have to choose I prefer a decent shower cabin.

Room is maintained well apart some minor dark spots between the tiles.

Unfortunately the Melia is no exception were it comes to pay for food, drinks and internet. All is expensive, especially considering the cost of things outside the hotel.

Staff is friendly and forthcoming.