Private journeys built around the hotels
Plan · Hotels
Where to stay, compared stay by stay
Ten luxury stays across the places our journeys use, compared on the things that decide a trip: the setting, the size, the months that suit it, the fewest nights worth booking, and the cases where we would choose something else.
How to read this table
Each row is one hotel. The setting and the size come from the hotel's own website, read on 3 October 2026, and the link in the last column goes to the page we read. Where the hotel does not publish its room count on that page, the table says so rather than guess.
The other three columns are our judgement, not the hotel's: the months we would choose for that place, the fewest nights we would book there on a trip built around the stay, and when we would point you elsewhere. There are no room rates in this table. Rates change by date and category, and every quote we send carries the rate on the day.
Hotels on this site are named as public facts taken from each hotel's own website, with the date we read it. Naming a hotel does not mean we hold a contract, an allocation or a special rate there. Room rates are not published here; your quote carries the rate available on the day you confirm.
North and centre
Vietnam: Hanoi and Hue
| Hotel | Setting | Size | Good months | Fewest nights | Choose something else when | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi | Old centre, Hoan Kiem ward; opened 1901; Heritage Wing and Opera Wing | 358 rooms and suites | Oct – Apr | 3 | Hanoi is a one- or two-night stop and you will be out all day — a 4-star in the same streets does the job | hotel site |
| Azerai La Residence, Hue | On the Perfume River; two-and-a-half-hectare site | 122 rooms and suites | Feb – Aug | 3 | You visit Hue as a day trip, or travel September to December when central Vietnam floods | Azerai |
Beach
Vietnam: the coast
| Hotel | Setting | Size | Good months | Fewest nights | Choose something else when | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai | All-villa resort on Ha My beach, a short drive from Hoi An old town | 100 villas | Feb – Aug | 4 | You want to walk into Hoi An at dawn and after dinner, or a long beach stay already follows on the route | hotel site |
| Amanoi | Inside Nui Chua National Park above Vinh Hy Bay; private beach; about 75 min by car from Cam Ranh | Not stated on the page we read | Jan – Aug | 4 | You want a town within reach for dinners out, or a long drive after a flight would spoil the arrival | hotel site |
| Six Senses Ninh Van Bay | Sheltered bay near Nha Trang; reached only by water | Not stated on the page we read | Jan – Aug | 4 | Boat transfers with luggage are difficult for someone in your party, or you want to walk out to a town | hotel site |
| Azerai Ke Ga Bay | About 140 km east of Ho Chi Minh City; 4.5 hectares of gardens | Not stated on the page we read | Dec – Apr | 3 | You have one or two nights before a flight from Ho Chi Minh City; the drive takes too much of them | Azerai |
Angkor
Cambodia: Siem Reap
| Hotel | Setting | Size | Good months | Fewest nights | Choose something else when | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor | In the town on the road to the temples; opened 1932 | Not stated on the page we read | Nov – Feb | 3 | You want a small, secluded stay with the park ten minutes away rather than the town at the door | hotel site |
| Amansara | Former residence for the guests of King Sihanouk; 1960s New Khmer building; about 10 min from Angkor Wat | 24 suites | Nov – Feb | 3 | You want restaurants and bars outside the gate, or a larger hotel with more happening inside it | hotel site |
Mekong
Laos: Luang Prabang
| Hotel | Setting | Size | Good months | Fewest nights | Choose something else when | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosewood Luang Prabang | Nam Dong valley outside town; waterfalls through the grounds; riverside rooms, pool villas and hilltop tents | 23 rooms, suites, villas and tents | Nov – Feb | 4 | You want to walk to the temples at dawn without a car, or slopes and steps are hard for you | hotel site |
| Amantaka | Historic garden estate at the foot of Mount Phousi; a stroll from the Mekong | 24 suites | Nov – Feb | 3 | The stay itself is the reason you are coming and you want countryside quiet rather than town | hotel site |
Where a 4-star hotel is the smarter choice
The table above is for stays where the hotel earns its rate. There are stops on most routes where it does not, and we say so in the quote:
- A one-night stop before a flight. The last night in Ho Chi Minh City on our North to South route is the clearest case. You arrive late, sleep and leave.
- A city stop of two nights with full days out. If Hanoi is two nights between flights, a well-placed 4-star in the French quarter gives you the location for much less.
- A town hotel in Hoi An before a long beach stay. When five beach nights follow, the Hoi An nights can be simpler and closer to the old town.
- Single travellers on a long route. A single traveller pays for the whole room. Mixing two luxury stays with good 4-star hotels elsewhere often keeps a long trip possible.
Where we would not swap: Siem Reap, where the afternoons are spent at the hotel after the temples, and any stay of four nights or more, where the hotel is most of the trip.
How the fewest-nights column is set
The number in the column is the point at which a stay stops being mostly arrival and departure. We count one day lost at each end to transfers and check-in, then ask how many full days the place needs: one guided morning in a city, two temple mornings at Angkor, two free days at a beach resort or a valley lodge. The figure is what is left when those are added up.
That is why Hanoi and Siem Reap show three, while the beach resorts and the Luang Prabang valley show four. If your trip cannot give a place the nights in the column, we would rather drop the place than shorten it. The month-by-month page shows which places suit which months, and the pricing page shows what changing a hotel does to the total.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Why are some room counts missing?
Because the hotel did not publish one on the page we read. We prefer a gap to a guessed number.
Do you get a special rate at these hotels?
The table makes no claim of that kind. Your quote shows the rate available when you confirm, room by room.
Can you suggest a hotel that is not in the table?
Yes. The table covers the stays our sample routes use. If you have another hotel in mind, send its name and we will assess it on the same columns.
How often is the table checked?
Each row shows its source and the date we read it. Before any quote we check the hotel again for your dates.
Related
Read next
Journeys
Tours
Four sample private journeys from 9 to 16 days, each with stays and hotel changes counted.
View this journey
Tours · Pricing
Pricing
What a luxury quote is made of and which choices change it most.
View this journey
Plan · Seasons
When to go
One calendar for Hanoi, Hue and Hoi An, the coast, Siem Reap and Luang Prabang.
View this journey
Destinations
Destinations
Hanoi, Hoi An, Siem Reap and Luang Prabang: nights, seasons, access and when to skip.
View this journey
Example journey
Vietnam North to South, Beach Finale
14 days in Vietnam: Hanoi, Hoi An, five beach nights near Nha Trang or Vinh Hy, Ho Chi Minh City.
View this journey
Example journey
Cambodia & Laos in Slow Luxury
9 days, two stays, one hotel change: four nights near Angkor, four in Luang Prabang.
View this journey
Start planning
Tell us about the trip you have in mind
A month, how many are travelling and any hotel you already want are enough to start. We reply by email with questions or a first draft that names every hotel and room category.