In the heart of Ho Chi Minh, the Caravelle is one of the best-value luxury hotels in the city. Built by a French company in 1959, it became the hangout of foreign correspondents during the Vietnam War, fell into disrepair, and then underwent a magnificent renovation in 1998 (subsequently it was used as a film location for the 2002 adaptation of Graham Greene's The Quiet American). Business travelers are drawn by the Signature suites, with fax machines, computer hookups, broadband Internet access, and CD players—as well as the Club Vegas casino on the first floor. The hotel's 19 Restaurant, formerly the Port Orient Restaurant, serves international and Vietnamese cuisine (reservations are advised). The open-air Saigon Saigon bar has rattan shades and lazily rotating ceiling fans and retains something of the romance of 1930s Vietnam.

Opened in 1925, the Majestic Hotel retains a retro glamour, with wooden louvers, original hardwood floors, and old-fashioned bathroom fixtures. The guest list here has included François Mitterrand and Catherine Deneuve, who stayed in room 502 while filming Indochine. In 2003, a 53-room addition, done in the same style as the original block, brought the inventory to 175 rooms. However, the older (or "colonial") rooms, which have 13-foot-high ceilings, seem more open, especially those with river views. While the Majestic refreshed its look in 2007 with new paint and linens, the government-owned enterprise still misses on a few points, like furniture (clunky) and showers (temperamental). However, the riverfront location at the foot of Dong Khoi Street is unrivaled. Tackle the huge buffet breakfast on the fifth-floor terrace and watch the morning bustle as the streets fill with scooters and ferries swarm across the Saigon River. At night, the terrace holds the Breeze Sky Bar, an ideal base for happy hour.

The pale-yellow colonial-style Park Hyatt is a relatively new competitor in the five-star-hotel category (it opened in summer 2005). The 259 rooms and suites have marble-tiled bathrooms and all the mod cons, including flat-screen satellite TVs and broadband Internet access. There's a 60-foot outdoor pool surrounded by a pretty landscaped garden, and the nine Park Deluxe rooms have direct pool deck access and private terraces. The hotel's restaurants include Square One, a stylish Vietnamese and Western restaurant with an outdoor dining area. The hotel is centrally located at Lam Son Square, near the Opera House downtown and within walking distance of the main tourist attractions.

The service and attention to detail at this hotel are outstanding, with aromatherapy scents wafting from the air-conditioning on the landings. The 374 spacious rooms and suites have contemporary decor, marble bathrooms, and mod cons like Internet access (for a fee) and satellite TV. Ask for a city-facing room, and you should get a small balcony and a great view of the city (on the other side of the hotel you'll be looking right into the adjacent Towers rooms). Dining options include Li Bai, a superb Chinese restaurant, and the rooftop Level 23 Signature Restaurant. Patrons can boogie the night away at the hip wine bar/club attached. The hotel is in walking distance of tourist sites such as the Opera House.