When I think of dining on authentic Vietnamese food, I imagine little blue stools, rubbish on the floor, lots of noise, diners crowded together and the ritual of taking a napkin and cleaning off the bowls and chopsticks before using them ... and delicious food.
But tonight I had the pleasure of dining on delicious, authentic Vietnamese food in a restaurant that is elegant and spacious, yet intimate and relaxing. Nam Phuong Restaurant, in Harbour View Hotel is a treasure. Decorated with charming artefacts, the room is arranged so that each table has its own space, apart from the others. The chairs are comfortable, the table settings are spotless and picture perfect. No cacophony from other diners here, just soft Vietnamese music in the background. No need to call out “Em oi!”, the waitresses are on hand to serve. Beautifully attired in áo dài’s, they serve with gentle grace – and they speak English.
The menu has over sixty dishes to choose from – a delicious array of flavours and taste sensations from all over Vietnam. The food is presented beautifully as you would expect. There is an extensive wine cellar as well as fresh fruit cocktails to accompany your meal.
Tasteful elegance, excellent service, and delicious food in an atmosphere that invites you to relax and linger – an entirely pleasurable dining experience in Hải Phòng.

We were 8 to stay here in Haiphong. This was a wonderful experience to stay at home away from home.
Harbourview Hotel management and facilitating staff was very well trained and professional. They put in all possible efforts to provide us homelike comfort. The staff at reception desk was very polite and helpful despite language barrier.
The Hotel has a good western look having a nice bar and cafe.
We stayed here for two nights and I believe that these two nights are unforgetable for all of us.
Apart from all the facilities and level of comfort that the Hotel provides to its guests, one thing is missing, that is is the proper and adequate communication between the guests and the hotel staff.
I would like to suggest that staff may be encouraged to learn english language for more better communication with the guests that will certainly improve the level of sevice and comfort for the guests.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANKS TO MS. THUY LING AND
MR. THANG AT RECEPTION DESK.

SHERAZI

We stayed here for one night en route from the Hanoi airport to Cat Ba. Based on what we saw of Haiphong before getting to the hotel -- basically the train station and the taxi ride to the hotel -- we had VERY low expectations for what the hotel might look like, especially given the low price (by USA standards) and apparent lack of tourists in town. Luckily, it was a good surprise.

The lobby reeked of cigar smoke from the bar, but otherwise reception was fine, with a welcoming staff that speaks adequate English. The room was fairly standard for an upscale hotel anywhere, and was clean. Breakfast was excellent, with a mix of Western staples and local fruit.

Minor complaints: the hallways are covered but open-air, so are really hot when the heat index is above 40C/105F (but the room was comfortable). Also, there were two brief power outages in the morning (a few minutes each). Not the hotel's fault, I assume, but it made us a little nervous about getting into the elevator.

Stayed here for a night and the cleanliness was a relief. Stayed at a "4 star" hotel for a night before coming to Harbour view and was very disappointed. On the other hand, this hotel has a nice western feel and the bar/cafe had a fair amount of western foods available. I tried the Hawaiian pizza for dinner and in the morning ate a sandwich with an egg and boy it was delicious. It has been almost 2 weeks since I've eaten anything western. The city doesn't offer too much western foods or decent restaurants to sit in but there are a lot of authentic delicious street foods that this city offers. I would definitely come back and eat at the cafe, seems like the menu items are all delicious.

The comfort of the room was decent. I have no complaints about the bed and the TV was a good size with all the channels. The bathroom was nice and clean as well. The downside of the room was low wifi connection and when I opened the window I had a view of the construction happening next door. There was no privacy when I opened the window. With that said, the staff and employees are very helpful and spoke a good amount of English. Would want to come back but it is a bit pricey for this city. Paid almost 160 for a night. You really have to search for a hotel in this city because it's not a touristy area with a lot of choices of hotels, restaurants and places to see.