Reviewed: Acoustic Hotel & Spa in Hanoi Old Quarter
Hanoi was the first stop on our itinerary from north to south Vietnam and we had just three nights to explore the capital. Finding a hotel in the city’s Old Quarter so we were in easy reach of the main sites was high on my wish list. This is how I found the delightful Acoustic Hotel & Spa.
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Nestled in a quiet one way street not far from Hanoi’s famous Train Street and a short walk or even shorter Grab taxi ride from Hoan Kiem Lake, Acoustic Hotel and Spa is a four star hotel with family rooms, a restaurant overlooking the city and a sky bar with great sunset views.
The hotel team arranged our transfer from Noi Bai International Airport and greeted us with juice and a plate of cut fruits in the beautiful lobby complete with grand piano. Dark wood furnishings and bold floral tiles were a theme in most of the hotels we stayed in during our Vietnam trip.
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Our family room at Acoustic Hotel & Spa
Our family room was compact but nicely decorated. Outside we had a sliver of a balcony overlooking the terracotta tiled and corrugated roof tops of the buildings around us.
We had two comfy double beds and the toiletries provided by the hotel smelt delicious.
On the downside, there wasn’t much room for our luggage. The single wardrobe had a few small hangers (think child-sized), so we had to live out of our suitcases which stood at the end of our beds. This room wouldn’t be ideal for families with teenage children as you’d be falling over each other.
For the price we paid it was a good base for exploring – we had no intension of hanging out in our room for long.
Food and drinks
A buffet breakfast was included in our room rate and was served in the panoramic restaurant on floor 10. There was a great choice of hot and cold food including pho and eggs cooked to order.
We also ate dinner here on our first evening and enjoyed sticky ribs, beef noodle soup and less adventurous ham and cheese toasted sandwiches for the kids.
The staff were all very friendly and helpful, and spoke great English putting us to shame with our broken ‘hellos’ and ‘thank yous’ in Vietnamese.
The spa at Acoustic Hotel
During our short stay in Hanoi we found a couple of spare hours to indulge in the hotel’s spa. Treatment prices in Vietnam are a fraction of what we would pay where we live in pricey Muscat in Oman.
I know we paid above the odds in our hotel compared to prices at the many local street spas but with massage prices starting at 590,000 VND (about £18.50) for a one hour full body treatment and 200,000 VND (about £6.25) for a manicure we didn’t feel seen off at all.
Plus we could all have treatments together and take the lift to the sky bar afterwards to continue the fuzzy relaxed vibe with a cold beer (soft drinks for the kids). You can even have a dip in the hot tubs here.
If I’ve tempted you, check rates and availability* for Acoustic Hotel & Spa.
Acoustic Hotel & Spa location in Old Quarter
The hotel is a hour drive from Noi Bai International Airport, a 15 minute walk from Hoan Kiem Lake and 10 minute drive from the Presidential Palace.
Things to do in Hanoi
We had two full days in Hanoi and decided to split our time between a guided street food tour* and exploring on our own.
The hotel can arrange a range of tours for you and sends plenty of information at the time you book. However we found similar tours for half the price by doing a quick search on Get Your Guide*.
Hanoi street food tour
We took our private street food tour on the first morning of our stay.
It gave us a brilliant introduction to the city and Vietnam as well as ticking off a big bucket list experience for our kids – seeing the train from Hanoi whistle past our noses at a cafe on Train Street.
Find out more in my post about visiting Hanoi’s Train Street including the ways to do it, safety and what it’s like with kids.
We loved being introduced to Vietnamese staples like Bánh Mì, Pho and egg coffee by our local guide.
Check prices for Hanoi street food tours*.
Attractions and sightseeing
On our second day we ordered a Grab and headed towards the Ho Ch Minh Mausoleum and explored the gardens around the Presidential Palace which include the serene One Pillar Pagoda and Ho Chi Minh’s simple stilt house.
It’s free to visit the Mausoleum and 400,000 VND for the rest of the complex which is a bit more interesting (and shady) for kids.
The Military Museum had been next on our list of places to visit. But after sitting outside for a bite to eat and seeing a few families walk in and back out 10 minutes later we checked some online reviews. They said a lot of the displays had been removed recently so we decided to give it a miss.
Instead we came back to the Old Quarter to browse the shops, visit the Ngoc Son Temple and wander around Hoan Kiem Lake where we enjoyed more of the food and drinks we’d discovered the previous day.
Our friends at Travelynn Family visited not long after us. Here’s their guide to things to do in Hanoi with kids.
Summing up our stay at Acoustic Hotel in Hanoi
We were really happy with our booking and would definitely recommend Acoustic Hotel & Spa for families with younger children.
The room suited our needs, as we didn’t plan to spend much time in it, and we could hang out at the roof bar if we wanted extra space.
What’s ideal about this hotel is its location. Even in the humidity of August, we were able to walk to a lot of the places we wanted to go around Hoan Kiem Lake.
Find out more about Acoustic Hotel & Spa and check rates and availability on booking.com*.
More reading about Vietnam travel
Our next stop on our 14 day Vietnam itinerary was a Ha Long Bay cruise. From here we returned to Hanoi and flew to Da Nang for two days in Hoi An.
After Hoi An we flew to Ho Chi Minh City where we spent three says sightseeing in and around Vietnam’s largest city including a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mykong Delta.
Our final stop was New World Phu Quoc Resort – a family-friendly villa resort on Vietnam’s largestisland.
You can catch up with the rest of our trip by checking out my Instagram account where there are three Stories about our two weeks in Vietnam.
Usually I’d also recommend the Lonely Planet’s destination guide to help you plan your trip, but I bought the Vietnam 2023 edition and was a bit disappointed. A lot of the information was generic and I spotted several mistakes.
I’d suggest trying the Rough Guide* or Eyewitness travel guide* instead.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links marked with *. If you click on one of these and make a purchase I may earn some commission. This does not affect the price you pay.
