The Best Hotels to Book in Hue, Vietnam

This towering glass-fronted boutique hotel in Hue is a sophisticated spot where you can spoil yourself rotten. What’s more, should you get lost while out and about, you’ll always be able to spot the 33-floor landmark. Home to the first steakhouse in the city, the hotel has bountiful places to eat and drink, including the swanky Sky Bar – we recommend the Vietnamese mojito, a twist on the original with Asiatic perilla leaves, ginger and lemongrass cordial. Lattice screens and duck-egg shades in the rooms and suites create soothing spaces to relax in.

On the banks of the fragrant-sounding Perfume River that crosses Hue, this villa brings the outside in with plenty of foliage-motif soft furnishings and framed prints, together with live plants and leafy views. Many of the rooms overlook the ribbon of river below. The light streaming into the all-glass dining room will help you wake up as you sip your morning coffee before enjoying a typical breakfast dish ofbeef noodle soup.

If you love spas, you’ll swoon at this rustic-chic spa hotel opposite the lattice-like Trang Tien Bridge. Places to be pampered and preened include a mineral-water hot tub, a cold mineral plunge pool, a reflexology room and open-air showers. The water comes from nearby geothermal hot springs to which visits can be arranged. Slate floors, bamboo screens and hanging rattan egg chairs create a relaxed, natural environment where you can dial down the pace and sip a freshly pressed juice.

Modernists will relish the interiors at this riverside hotel in Hue. Set in an art deco mansion, the hotel harks back to the days of Indochina with its hardwood floors, French colonial tiles and furniture with smooth, streamlined curves. It’s not all about looks, though: there’s an excellent restaurant and an award-winning spa, too.

Serenity-seekers will find repose at Pilgrimage Village, a wellness hotel just outside the city. This stay has a resort-like feel, with thatch-roofed bungalows connected by cobbled paths and surrounded by fragrant gardens. Start your mornings with one of the free tai chi or vinyasa yoga classes, or cross the bridge to the floating spa, where therapists draw on both Eastern and Western techniques.

Ancient Hue Garden Houses capture the Vietnam of yesteryear, and are a hit with fans of Asian architecture. Made up of five imposing garden houses, this hotel is built according to the principles of feng shui and is very much in tune with the style of the Imperial Citadel. Wood carvings, historic artefacts and traditional folk art can be found in every house, each of which has its own private terrace overlooking the lush gardens.

Built in 1901 by a French businessman, this hotel in Hue is one for the history buffs. This relic of French Indochina has quite a history, not least because it survived decades of conflict, including the 1968 Tet Offensive. The rooms remain fittingly old-school, outfitted with polished parquet floors and antique furniture. One of the suites is named after Charlie Chaplin, who honeymooned here with his wife, Paulette, in 1936.

The hotel is just a few hundred metres from the walls of the Imperial City, and mingles heritage with modernity to great effect; the architecture looks decidedly mid-century, but the wood-framed windows, lanterns and artwork hark back to pre-industrial Vietnam. All rooms come with a desk, flat-screen TV and a private bathroom. Take it all in over breakfast, served on the terrace each morning.