I have been travelling south through Vietnam with ho chi Minh being the last stop on our road to Cambodia. This hotel got our hopes up when u get to the reception and see the lovely entrance and reception area as well as all the awards it has received from 2007 to 2009. Obviously that was when the hotel had seen better days. Once we got to our room we found it to be nothing special but that is not saying that they were bad then were simply average compared to what we were expecting. They are building extra rooms and there is a gym available as well. But the staff were brilliant and helped us to work the shower (tricky to do) and also booked us on a bus to Cambodia. I highly recommend booking the tour of the cuchi tunnels through them too or go straight to happy tours, they are cheap pick u up at ur hotel and five u a full tour and of the tunnels as well as explaining the ways of the Vietnamese people. Extremely worth while and "jerry" as he called himself was a spectacular tour guide!

I recently went to HCM city on a solo trip and had a 3 day stay at Empress hotel IMS upon check in it was smooth and i had a small request to the reception desk staff to help me call a friend in HCM and talk to her that i have arrive,they did it with a great smile without hesistation. When i was about to go out on the street to walk around the security named" HERO" was so kind to advise me to take good care of my belonging as there are pickpockets around even when i came back to hotel after my short walk he escorted me to my room that's really a good security this hotel have i must say.As for the room, its not really big as i had superior room only but the view i had is opposite a school and i can see a cathedral so not that bad after all for a price of like $40 sing dollar a night. As for breakfast it was alright i had buffet the first day had some meat noodles quite plain taste to my liking second day had bacon and eggs.I gave the restaurant 2 waiters some tips after my meal they serve me well one of the guy name was "David".Overall it was a great stay at a 2 star hotel we can't expect more but good service.

Rooms fairly standard (a little dated) but all with aircon, phone, fridge, flatscreen TV, bathroom, ample storage spaces and sofa/chair. Beds relatively comfortable.

Breakfast buffet is good - not a huge choice but ample to set you up for a days sightseeing

not that central for walking, but taxis are cheap.

hotel staff helpful - check in quick and easy. They dont speak a lot of English though so you might have to explain things a lot.

I originally booked this hotel because of my American Express points and really didn't expect a lot! And I was really quite happy with the outcome of my stay. I met the owner of the hotel and we had an amazing time at dinner. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met. The staff is as great as she is, its like going on vacation and staying at one of your relatives home but without having to worry about feeling guilty that you are imposing on them.

David who served us breakfast the 7 days we were there was just one of the most polite people I met ... they accommodated every request with a smile. Tony the bellboy just took care of all our taxi needs and gave us directions to anywhere we wanted to go. Joselyn and Hoang the night servers also took care of us so well.

The hotel is located centrally and is about 1.50 - 2.00 dollars away from everything by taxi ... there is also an amazing pho restaurant around the corner that just serves amazing pho for 2 dollars ... and about a 10 minute or less walk is the best banh mi store where there is a line as soon as they open close to the hotel.

The rooms are always clean and they give you free drinking water everyday. Its a budget hotel so for the price of 22 dollars a night ... this place is a bargain!!!

I will only stay at this hotel when I visit HCM which will probably every other month!