I managed to find my mom and aunt at the Saigon Airport so I kissed my diet of pho noodles and backpacker style hostels good-bye. They were staying at the Majestic Hotel and I came along too. The room was top-notch but there is little value in staying at ridiculously overpriced rooms while traveling in Southeast Asia. $100/night buys little more than $20/night and separates you from the local atmosphere. I was eating lunch at the poolside restaurant one-day in a traditional Hilton style hotel, and for five minutes I completely forgot I was in Asia and not in Orlando.
American style service still lacks in most 5 star hotels in Vietnam. In both hotels in Saigon and Hanoi I was disappointed by the level of service. Thailand has built a reputation around service, and Vietnam needs to follow suite. Certainly when you?re paying 50 times the average daily salary for a single room (keep in mind, I personally would never do this but my mom and aunt booked their pricey trip through a travel agent in the states) it?s ridiculous to have to wait in line to check-in or be asked to ?come back later?. But maybe the $100+ USD a night doesn?t go into human resources but rather the expensive booking engines and overseas investors who wish to reap the benefits of hardworking locals. An equally comfortable stay with real local flare can easily be had at family run hotels with your money trickling 100% back to the local people (and not some wealthy transnational investor) with a little effort.