A Night at West Lake

2 September is Vietnam's National Day, which is a public holiday. Since our helper was not around, we decided to have our dinner at the nearby Al Fresco's before taking a walk to Intercontinental Hotel, known for being the hotel with the best lake view in Hanoi.

The Intercontinental Hotel is located right behind Sheraton Hotel and designed in a stylish, resort manner. The attractive, grand entrance makes it worthy of its "6 star" status.

The hotel also boasts of a new, well-equipped gym with a scenic view, as the gym was located at a higher floor. I heard that the annual membership was USD 2,000 though. Definitely not for "commoners" like us. :p


M said that the lake view in the evening is superb and one will easily forget that you are in Hanoi. As we were there at night, I found the scenery quite pleasant but not breath taking as he mentioned. Perhaps it was the wrong timing...

I found the hotel rooms by the lake quite appealing though it might resemble staying at the "kelong". Those would be my top choices if I were staying there, except that it was a little far from the lobby.


I went to the restroom to take a look as well, to see how the "6 star" hotel restroom was. It was nice so I took a snap shot since there was no one around.


On our way home, we walked past Sheraton and I couldn't help but take a picture. The hotel looks different at night with all the lights on. Much prettier, I would say.


It was nice, pleasant walk despite the relentless honks from cars and motorbikes and traffic congestion along the main road. After all, this was one of our last few nights in Hanoi. I must savour every moment... :)

P.S. Both hotels are owned by the same owner.