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Hanoi · Hotel shortlist

Cheap hotels in the old town, Hanoi

Sofia Marchetti

Sofia Marchetti Italy

Updated 1 September 2026 · 12 Hanoi hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Hanoi, out of the 12 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.8 down to 4.6.

Every one comes in under $130 a night, and the one I would book first is $18.

Hanoi Buffalo Hostel

Highest rated of the five

Hanoi Buffalo Hostel

★★★★★4.8 from 1,512 reviews

Hanoi Buffalo Hostel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.8 from 1,512 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under old town and around $18 a night on the dates we checked.

12 hotels in Hanoi qualified for this list and five made it. Hanoi Loopers Hostel & Rooftop Bar is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. Hanoi Buffalo Hostel1

    Hanoi Buffalo Hostel

    ★★★★★4.8 from 1,512 reviews

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    • Hanoi Loopers Hostel & Rooftop Bar2

      Hanoi Loopers Hostel & Rooftop Bar

      ★★★★★4.8 from 381 reviews

      • Spa
      • Air conditioning
      • Accessible
      • Airport shuttle

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    • Little Charm Hostel3

      Little Charm Hostel

      ★★★★★4.7 from 1,364 reviews

      • Pool
      • Restaurant
      • Bar
      • Parking
      • Air conditioning
      • Airport shuttle

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    • Hanoi Backpackers Hostel & Rooftop Bar4

      Hanoi Backpackers Hostel & Rooftop Bar

      ★★★★★4.6 from 2,227 reviews

      • Restaurant
      • Bar
      • Air conditioning
      • Airport shuttle

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    • Golden Lotus House & Spa5

      Golden Lotus House & Spa

      ★★★★★4.8 from 44 reviews

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      How this list was put together

      12 Hanoi hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

      Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

      The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

      What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

      Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

      Sofia Marchetti

      Sofia Marchetti Italy

      Refuses to fly anywhere reachable by rail. Four sleeper-train crossings of Europe, a collection of old transit maps, and building sketches drawn from carriage windows.

      Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.