Of course, historic Hoi An is another world, and walking it's pedestrian-only streets with picturesque shops, residences and historic buildings, you are transported from the hurly-burly of modern Viet Nam and its traffic to a different, slower time. The Lotus Hotel fit in with this ambiance perfectly. With it's shuttered windows, winding pathways lined with flowers, and small intimate pool, and lobby, I felt as if I'd been transported to a scene in an old novel, written in French. It is neither grand nor ritzy nor expensive, but of the many 3-to-4-star hotels I stayed in throughout Viet Nam and Cambodia, this was my favorite.

My friend Kristie and I stayed here for only one night, sadly, in early January 2011 and we LOVED it. We have been ranting and raving about how beautiful it is, how well priced and how nicely situated a bit out of town on the river, to everyone who will listed. We both were devastated that we had only booked in to Hoi An for one night as we also loved the town itself, had some amazing pagoda tours, great success at the markets with a pair of custom shoes for me and a great, well-priced, FAST suit for Kristie, and some beautiful food. We would particularly recommend a restaurant called 'Son', which specialises in slow food, it is walking distance from Lotus. We went for dinner and were the only ones there but it was just beautiful, we sat on an open-air balcony overlooking the water and the food was wonderful. We also wandered down to a bar/hotel down the road which had a great coverband on.

I just can't wax lyrical enough about how impressed we were with this hotel, the rooms were decorated in a lovely, very calming traditional Asian spa style, the pool looked beautiful (it was a bit too cold when we were there plus we were so busy rushing around town we didn't get time!) and there was a lovely garden setting which I've featured in my photos. The staff were also very helpful and booked us in for our bus to Hue without drama, and recommended great market stops and a lunch place.

Overall I would definitely love to go back to Hoi An for an extended stay and wouldn't consider staying anywhere else. It would also be a lovely spot for a romantic getaway as it's situated just the right distance out of town.

A little further out of town than useful, and it could use a lift/elevator.

The room was mostly comfortable but there were a few problems with the shower, water leaking from the shower hose leading to low pressure from the shower and some extra mildew type stains. Also, the wifi is more theoretical than real since it moves at a crawl. However, there are some more speedy computers available in the lobby. The dinner was just ok, but the breakfast was quite good. One problem: the neighbor's rooster had me imagining a good Vietnamese chicken dish in the morning! I'd say that it's a pretty good deal for the price but not outstanding.