I'd read the reviews on Trip Advisor about the Pacific Star and thought I was onto a winner when I booked it for three nights in September 2009. How wrong was I!

We were really disappointed. The staff were friendly but a little pushy about taking tours with them. I popped out to grab some chocolate for the kids and the people on the desk seemed put out that I hadn't raided the mini bar. When I explained there was no choclate in there they seemed to think it was ok then.

The hotel seemed to be in the heart of Hanoi’s florist, alcoholic spirit and tyre district. We were five floors up from the street and approaching midnight the horns were still honking.... and kept honking waking me up at 4.45 am.Not too good when booking the hotel I asked for a quiet room.

Now onto the room. The décor was an interesting blend: pine furniture from 1982 and soft furnishings from the same era, a dodgy bathroom renovation from 1994 and a computer with a pink monitor screen and slow as hell internet connection from 1997. The door on the balcony couldn’t be locked either.

We were still in a junk food fix (a week eating just Vietnamese food will mean the odd Western binge) so we ordered 'garlic french fries' from room service.' Sounded good I thought but gee was I wrong. I could've done better with a packet of frozen chips (which is what I think they were).

I’d tried to save a few bucks and was paying the price. I was up until almost midnight trying to find someone else to stay. I ended up finding the Asia Palace Hanoi 1 Hotel in the middle of the Old Quarter (better location), it seems to have been renovated this year and is in fantastic condition and would you believe it, for half the price of Pacific Star. Honestly, why would you bother?