Top 10 hotels in Vietnam

When I first went to Vietnam in the mid-90's, Hanoi was still a fairly sleepy town where cyclos could go everywhere and the buzz of motorcycles was a once in awhile occurrence. Most places to stay were family-owned guest houses and luxury meant air conditioning and a TV that worked and offered more than a couple of channels.

One morning, I stood on the corner of a street in Hoi An taking pictures of people on bicycles gliding past a yellow building. In Hue, I waited for people to pass in cyclos to see what the cyclos carried. One had a coffin. Each time I've returned to Vietnam the changes have been substantial. On my fifth visit, although the bicycles were a fixture, they were dwarfed in number by motorcycles, and cars had become king.

Like the vehicles, the options of where to stay has expanded as well. While the guest houses have still remained a solid option, for anyone looking for more upscale digs, there are plenty of choices. Big business tourism hit Vietnam awhile ago and the results show.

To help people find the best places to stay, Vietnam Travel culled through 16,000 reviews of 350 hotels to pick out the top ten. The ten are in six of Vietnam's popular destination spots that range from beach locations to historic cities. Each entry is linked to descriptions and photos of the hotels which have me salivating for my sixth trip.

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