An elegant contemporary resort featuring graceful, minimalist pavilions on a private island in the Mekong River…

Featuring minimalist décor & contemporary design, The Secret is a luxury resort on the beautiful & elegant seafront road on Côn Sơn Island…

In a prime location on the Hàn riverfront, Brilliant Hotel has large, spacious, comfortable rooms, good views, a rooftop bar & rates represent decent mid-range value…

With an immaculate rooftop infinity pool & sky bar with 360-degree views of the city & sea, Fusion Suites is set to become one of the most photographed places in Vung Tau…

Backpacker dorms, family homestays, boutique farmstays & luxurious lakeside bungalows: here’s my independent guide to accommodation in & around Phong Nha….

Vu Linh is a rural commune on the eastern shores of Thac Ba Lake, where several excellent homestays offer atmospheric lodgings & access to the lake & local community….

A timber, tile & rammed-earth structure encircling a stone courtyard surrounded by a stone wall with haunting limestone peaks looming all around, the Auberge de Meo Vac is a remarkably atmospheric place to stay in Vietnam’s northernmost province, Ha Giang….

Comfy, smart & luxurious but unpretentious, Elegant Suites is a great alternative to staying in the cramped streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Located in the well-to-do district of West Lake, it’s a chance to see a different, albeit more affluent, side of the capital. The facilities are fantastic & it’s perfect for families, couples, or business travellers….

At Ba Be Lake, limestone cliffs meet the placid water at right angles, creating a spectacular backdrop to Vietnam’s largest natural lake. On its southern shores, where the terrain is slightly less vertical, several dozen homestays offer cheap, atmospheric accommodation & excellent home-cooked food….

Sitting on the palm-studded banks of a narrow channel, Hoi An Waterway Resort boasts river views, superbly designed rooms, a low-key ambience, lush gardens & a good swimming pool. Low rates make Hoi An Waterway excellent value for money….

This gem of a hotel is located on a quiet yet central street in Hue, walking distance from the Perfume River & Royal Citadel. Drawing on modern, French colonial & Imperial Vietnamese decor & design, Villa Hue is superb value for money…

On the edge of Sapa town, Aira Boutique is a brightly-painted, alpine-style lodge affording spectacular vistas across the plunging, mist-filled valley, with the jagged peak of Mount Fansipan casting a long shadow over the scene. Aira is one of Sapa’s best higher-end accommodations…

In the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, a collection of bamboo & palm-thatch huts on wooden stilts above a sea of lotus flowers, offer a night in a hammock or on a futon under a mosquito net, just a few feet above the frogs, the fish & the flowers…

A comfortable & aesthetically pleasing synthesis of the exotic & the familiar, the modern & the traditional, and Asian & European elements, Lasenta Boutique Hotel is yet another addition to Hoi An’s list of excellent value, mid-range accommodation…

Liberty Central Nha Trang is a contemporary, stylish, high-rise hotel just a block from the beach. Featuring elegant, minimalist decor, extraordinary sea views, rooftop bar & its own section of beach, Liberty Central is a solid place to stay in Nha Trang….

The Myst is a new, quirky, stylish & elegant boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Saigon. From its enigmatic exterior to its eccentric interiors, The Myst is a bold & unique addition to the high-end hotel scene in Ho Chi Minh City…

Sitting on the rocks above Vung Tau’s attractive seafront promenade, Leman Cap Resort is an excellent option for expats or mid-range travellers looking to escape Saigon for a couple of nights by the sea…

Built on a rocky escarpment near the summit of a scared mountain, Victoria Nui Sam Lodge offers tasteful, well-appointed rooms with fantastic views over acres of rice fields. It makes a great stopover when travelling through the Mekong Delta…

Ever since it opened a few years ago, Hotel Nikko has set the standard for modern, sleek, chic, high-end accommodation in Saigon. Its success has spawned many decent imitators in the city, but Nikko still has the edge over its competitors…

Walking distance from Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake, the Silk Path Hotel offers clean, crisp, modern and comfortable rooms in the capital. Stylish yet restrained, Silk Path is a good, solid mid-range hotel for couples or families visiting Hanoi…

Traditional longhouses, luxury safari tents, bamboo huts, camping under tall trees: accommodation in & around Cat Tien National Park is atmospheric, good value and, more often than not, environmentally & socially responsible…

Pseudo-colonial decor, a very central location, good river views, and a lush rooftop bar and spa make Silverland Jolie a cosy nest in which to base yourself while visiting Saigon…

Vinh Hy is a gorgeous natural harbour between Phan Rang and Nha Trang. At the centre of the pretty bay and fishing village, there’s an excellent-value place to stay. Vinh Hy Resort is perfect if you’re on a road trip along the coast…

The Western Ho Chi Minh Road is one of the most spectacular & isolated routes in Vietnam. For nearly 240km there is no accommodation. But that’s all changed now, with the opening of the first & only hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road…

On the beach in Phan Thiet City, the Ocean Dunes Resort is excellent value for money. Offering high-end amenities at mid-range prices, the Ocean Dunes is a great option for budget travellers looking for a slice of luxury and, because of its wide greens spaces, for families…

Centrally located with a rooftop pool and sleek modern rooms, Edenstar is a solid Saigon mid-range hotel. Catering to all types of visitors, Edenstar is on a narrow street, lined with tall trees, and within walking distance of most of Saigon’s major attractions…..

Hidden deep within a network of alleyways, Ma Maison is a warm, bright boutique hotel in a typical, local Saigon neighbourhood. Decorated in French Provençal fashion and located away from the city centre, Ma Maison plugs travellers straight into genuine local life…

In the quiet, shaded alleyways, behind the neo-Gothic façade of St Joseph’s Cathedral, the Hanoi Impressive Hotel is my go-to place to stay when visiting the capital. At around $45 a night, it’s fantastic mid-range value…

The unsung hero of seafront, mid-range accommodation on Long Beach, Thanh Kieu Resort is an exceptionally lush, peaceful, and unassuming place to stay on Phu Quoc Island. It’s been my go-to resort for years…

Essential knowledge for the adventurous or budget traveller in Vietnam, ‘nhà nghỉ’ means ‘guest house’ in Vietnamese. However, this form of cheap accommodation often goes unnoticed by foreign travellers & suffers from a bad reputation among local people…

17 beautifully restored French colonial villas on a pine-studded hillside, Ana Mandara Resort & Spa keeps the romance of Dalat alive. Luxury accommodation in the Central Highlands doesn’t get more atmospheric than this…

Despite several high-profile luxury developments, travel to the Con Dao Islands needn’t be too expensive. Budget travellers & backpackers can still enjoy this beautiful archipelago by taking certain steps. This is my guide to how to keep the cost of visiting one of Vietnam’s most enchanting destinations to a minimum.

Surrounded by coffee farms, tea plantations, rice paddies & fruit trees, Juliet’s Villa Resort is a family-run, quiet, secluded & peaceful place to stay near Di Linh, a part of the Central Highlands most travellers overlook….

A tasteful, understated & peaceful resort within easy reach of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Ho Tram Boutique is a favourite retreat of mine….