I’ve been to Hanoi a few times and hotel service here is generally good, but Solaria truly stood out for us from the moment we stepped in, all the way to when we left and were warmly sent off by the porter. The level of service was impeccable. The hotel itself was excellent, cleanliness, welcome drinks, snacks, and overall comfort were all on point. Everything felt thoughtful and well taken care of.
A special shoutout to two wonderful staff members who made our stay even more memorable:
1. Daria: During breakfast, we asked about the special chili salt powder served with fruits (it was amazingly tasty!). Daria not only explained where we could get it from a local mart, but also thoughtfully packed some in a container for us to bring home. Funny enough, we loved it so much that we bought fresh mango that same night and finished everything immediately!
2. Lily (Reception): We would like to give our heartfelt compliments to her, who assisted us from our first day to the last. She brought us on a room tour, polite, friendly, and answered all our typical tourist questions with ease.
As we had requested a high floor, we were assigned one of the highest floors in the hotel. Lily thoughtfully informed us that the restaurant is located right above and operates until 10pm, so there might be slight noise until then. She checked if we were light sleepers and offered us the option to change to a lower floor for the remaining nights if it became an issue. The next morning at breakfast, she personally checked in with us again regarding the room, and it turned out to be perfectly fine for us, we didn’t notice much noise as we were still awake around that time.
Since this was our anniversary trip (which I had indicated in the hotel remarks), our room was beautifully decorated with towel-shaped swans and rose petals, a really lovely touch. The next morning at breakfast, after our meal, Lily came by and presented us with a specially made coconut pandan pudding dessert. She shared that it was prepared for us today as we seemed a little tired from traveling the day before.
During breakfast as well, Lily brought up about our request with housekeeping team for a firm pillow from the night before. Although we were initially told only one type was available, she took the initiative to explain and said she would try to source one for us. That very night, I received a firm pillow, truly thoughtful service. Lily also helped us plan our travel time to the airport, offered to assist with booking the hotel spa via her personal contact, and gave fantastic local food recommendations like cháo sườn with quẩy and rượu (sadly the shop was closed when we arrived, but it’s definitely on my list for my next trip to Hanoi).
What really stood out is how Lily picks up on small cues and chooses the right moment to communicate, making everything feel very natural and personalized rather than forced. There was even more she helped us with along the way, always attentive and proactive, which really made a difference to our stay.
To top it all off, during checkout, we were gifted local souvenirs, Trung Nguyen coffee drip filter and coffee powder, which was such a lovely and thoughtful gesture. Overall, an outstanding stay. Highly recommended, and we will definitely return on our next trip to Hanoi 🩷
