La Siesta Classic Hang Thung

Check-in happens a minute's walk from Hoan Kiem Lake, on a street inside Hanoi's Old Quarter that still runs to street food stalls and the Water Puppet theatre. The hotel is a 12-storey block among the low rooflines of the old town, holding up to 70 rooms across a run of layouts, from Deluxe rooms to La Siesta Suites with private terraces. Many rooms face the Red River and Long Bien Bridge. Double-glazed windows keep the street noise out. Rattan and ceramic pieces run through the interiors, a nod to Vietnamese craft rather than a themed overlay. The restaurant, Red Bean Central, sits on the 11th floor and seats up to 100, with a private dining room and views over the rooftops below. A pool occupies the ground floor, and a spa branch operates on site under the La Spa name, part of a small group with branches across the Old Quarter. You can walk to Ta Hien Street for the evening beer crowd, or stay in for a massage after a day of temple visits. Airport and city transfers run through the hotel on request, useful given Hanoi's traffic. It is a compact, vertical stay built for a city break rather than a long stay, with the Old Quarter's lake, markets and lanes on the doorstep.