My husband and I stayed at the Empress for one night in March 2007. I booked it via the only online 'last-minute' website that I am familiar with, and that is Wotif.com. As it was my first time to Vietnam, I chose to stay here for one night, and Liberty 2 Hotel for another night -- just to maximise my experience of the hotels.
Why did I choose Empress and Liberty 2? Because they were the cheapest hotels that were located in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), that also had reviews that I could find on Tripadvisor. I did not want to chance staying in a hotel without having read a single review on it.
Here is a summary of the Empress Hotel:
Building style and decor: As other reviewers described, the style is indeed "charming" in a tasteful, European way. Most importantly, it was CLEAN.
Yes, the bathroom was Clean too.
Location: Located westward in District 1's backpacker area. However, it was just that bit too far to...
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