Hotel Name: Tam Anh Guesthouse.
Address: 241/21 Đ. Phạm Ngũ Lão, Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
I stayed at the Tam Anh Guesthouse in Ho Chi Minh City. This guesthouse is in the Pham Ngu Lau backpacker area of Saigon, which is the best area for backpackers to stay in Ho Chi Minh City. I had booked a room in this area, but I arrived to find it had closed since my booking. Luckily for me there was an old-school guesthouse in this alley that operates offline.
I must have looked a bit confused, because the lady that runs it (Tam) saw me and told me to come in. The rates were clearly shown at the front, and I was offered the rate of 265,000 VND ($11.30 USD) per night.
I got a twin room with a window facing the alley. Despite it being a small alley the room lets in a lot of light. You forget you are in an alley with so much light. Being in an alley also means there is no car traffic, and motorbikes tend to not honk their horns in the alleys (unlike everywhere else).
The bed was comfortable, and the room had air conditioning. There is also wifi (of course) and I had a good reception in my room.
This is an older guesthouse, so it is not built for digital nomads or anyone who might want a desk. Everything was kept in good maintenance though, which I find to be true of these owner-occupied guesthouses in Vietnam.
My room had a private bathroom (alway good to ask if it’s a shared bathroom in the cheap places). This was a typical Vietnamese bathroom with an instant hotel water service.
Mrs Tam was very talkative and made me feel welcome. I had just arrived back in Vietnam after some time away, so this turned out to be fortuitous that my other hotel had closed and I got to experience this guesthouse.
Overall this was a great budget guest hosue in the Pham Ngu Lau area of Ho Chi Minh City. I was told that she gets repeat visitors in the high season and the rooms book out. Email tamanhhotel (at) gmail (dot) com.
Tam Anh Guesthouse is not bookable on the online travel agents, so you will have to try your luck wandering around the alleys.
If you prefer some more certainty, search for more hotels in Ho Chi Minh City.
