An amazing operation. Stayed here for 4 nights total. Two nights in late February, then one night each time in March twice. Stayed in 123, next to 127. I wish Madame Cuc starts running hotels in Hanoi. I will only go back to Hanoi if there are Madame Cuc's hotels. Our room 203 was spotless, including the balcony. I do yoga and on the floor I found NOTHING. My white socks remained white. Breakfast was simple but available whenever we woke up. Dinner's spring rolls were delicious. When we returned for the third time the cook saw me on the staircase, dropped everything and gave me a big hug.... coming home was never so sweet. We left our luggages and went to the North. No problem. Last morning the cab did not come at 3:45 AM. But the ladies solved that problem too. They flagged a cab from the street, gave him money and off we went while the cook waived goodbye to us. I want to see her face again when I return... that was my thought. Very close to an incredible Vegetarian restaurant Dinyz, close to the Blind Massage and a market as well. Walking distance from the bus stop from the airport. Close to everything one may want. Internet in the room works great. It is fast. One does have to walk upstairs, no lift and one needs to take the shoes off. Bathrooms have no separate shower stalls but for $20 a night, I can not possibly complain about any of these.

We stayed at one of Madam Cuc's hotels. The room was basically windowless and extremely uninviting. The worst part though was how badly they ripped us off when helping with other arrangements. They added a huge surcharge (way worse that the ticketmaster ones that caused so much protest), and they misrepresented what they were delivering. The fast boat they booked us to Siem Reap was definitely one of the slowest options I heard of. Stay here if you are looking for a cheap clean option, but definitely book your own visas and tickets!

This place is an amazing deal, especially for long term travellers. Take in the breakfast and dinner if you really need to save some cash! You will likely be walking up several flights of stairs, so if you have a problem with this, book elsewhere!
The problem I have with this place is that they tried to rip us off badly when booking a bus and also a taxi to the airport. She tried to charge me 3 times what it actually costs to take a taxi to the airport (which I have done many times). When I told her that a metered taxi only cost $4.50, she said the extra was for the toll booth (which I have also paid many times, and it is 25 cents). I want to warn people about this because it is very common, and hopefully if enough people stick to their guns then they will stop doing this, because other than that it is a great place!!
ps. metered taxis charge by distance, not time, so no matter what time of day the drive should be the same price.

First, they tried to overcharge the taxi (15$) from the airport, saying they wouldn't book the room if we didn't take their taxi. Fortunately the pickup never came, and we paid 110 000 dong (less than 6 usd).
Second, the room (20$) is expensive for what it is: 10 sqm, no soap, and the room was never cleaned in 2 days.
Third, it's very, very, VERY noisy (and we live in Hanoi so we are used to the noise). If you're on the front street it's even worse! You will be sleeping in front of a big bar/night club.
Finally the service is very poor. The manager has a lot of energy and wants to make things OK, but her staff is just incompetent...
However the manager organized a nice buffet for the Tet 2011, she is an awesome cooker(but skip the daily breakfast which is just not good at all). In a nutshell, not worth the 20 $...go somewhere else for that price, seriously!