Somerset isn't really a hotel - it is 3 large blocks of serviced apartments but for $160 a night (plus service and taxes) we got a two-bedroom apartment with kitchen and living room (and utility room with washing machine), TVs in both bedrooms and living room and 'some' breakfasts (for a 2-bedroom apartment they give you 2 free breakfasts each day - bit odd as the rooms are both doubles and clearly the apartments are designed for 4 people). But that $160 a night seemed pretty good value for 4 people. The place gets cleaned every day and the linen/towels changed. Internet access available on public computers and connections in the apartments - but you have to pay for an access card. And they provide bottled water, tea-bags, fruit and two packets of biscuits! There is a large swimming pool on site and a gym, a small grocery store and a small restaurant. It isn't in a prime hotel area - it is toward the north of the city centre beside the Botanic Gardens and Zoo - but taxis are cheap enough (about ?1 or $2) to or from the centre, and taxis wait outside all the time. For 4 people sharing this is a really good deal - not sure what the minimum stay is though, we were there 3 nights. The $160 was a 'special' rate for Citicard holders.

This is a wonderful hotel for Families. The property is 3 buildings of service apartments. My family rented a 4-bedroom suite. The suite has all the amenities -- kitchen, family room, dining room, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. The quality of furniture was very high. Price was $220/night. Quick Summary -- PROs: * Great facility for families * Excellent quality hotel * Excellent price for large room (when compared to other first class hotels that charge $200 per room, we would have needed 3 rooms) * Low-cost, on-site restaurant CONs: * Not close to shopping or restaurants * Extra charges (internet, expensive airport transfers, etc.) -- not uncommon for large hotels but a pet peeve for me. The site focuses on families. There's a great pool, on-site restaurant (free breakfast included), work out room, inside and outside playground, tennis courts, and other amenities. We spent most of our time on the Somerset facilities. Vietnam is a great experience but we decided to stay at a luxury site to relax and give the kids time to run around and play. This was the perfect place. I do agree with other reviewers that this location is not optimal. However, it took 1 minute to get a taxi (the porters get for you) and you are in the shopping district 5 to 10 minutes later. The taxi costs $1 per trip. This was not inconvenient for us. There is one benefit of the Somerset location -- you don't choke on the motorcycle pollution. The downtown streets are busy and the pollution is thick. The Somerset location had less pollution and it was more enjoyable to be outside by the pool. We've stayed at another Somerset property for two months during an International Move. We highly recommend these Service Apartments for families traveling to large cities.

This hotel is quite old and worn and is located in the middle of a busy commercial area, so if you like to be able to walk outside your hotel and find restaurants, shopping etc this hotel is not for you. It is possible to catch a taxi to any HCMC destination from the hotel - if you are prepared for the occasional taxi rip off (speeding meters). We found the standard of cleanliness lacking - there were used shampoo bottles in the bathroom, long black hairs on the carpet and the clothes washing machine was full of wet clothes when we checked in. We ordered and paid for a daily newspaper to the room however generally had to ask for it to be delivered each day. The breakfasts are quite basic and the menu does not vary. There were several instances of attempted overcharging in the restaurant. The hotel claims that the restaurant is an independant business. Breakfast vouchers are delivered under your door each morning and as they are delivered to the hotel from elsewhere in HCMC this is not always early. The hotel supermarket is very expensive - there is a supermarket over the road that is much more reasonable.

not badly located if your into computer software, other wise boring, all of the rooms get street noise and there are no lifts if you are on the 6th floor as i was for 3 days its a long steep climb to and from your room, the staff are friendly and helpful

We were 3 and needed 2 separate rooms so we chose to stay in this huge serviced residency in mid SEPTEMBER 2007. Although the location was not so great, far away from everything, with nothing within walking distance. Booked directly through their website for a 2 bedroom all inclusive at 125 USD, a current Singapore airlines krisflyer promotion avaible online, which was roughly 10 USD off the non promotional rate. Alternatively, if you are not krisflyer cardholder, just subscribe to be a guest online and you’re immediately entitled for a similar rebate. For this price, we had a very high standard of service with access to all sport equipment (tennis, swimming pool and health club) and the apartment was very well appointed like, say, a 4 star in a hotel. Which we should surely have paid well over 200 USD if we wanted to have 2 similar rooms. One of the 2 rooms was ensuite with a bathtub while the other room had access to another small bathroom with shower only from the living room. Large living room, large dining room and a complete kitchen. A special note about the noise : if we were first time visitors to Vietnam, we would have complained about the street noise. Thin window glasses didn’t stop heavy music from the all-male bars lining right in front of the residency that played until midnight. This could drive some travellers crazy. But we’re frequent travellers to Vietnam and unless you hide yourself in a luxury Hilton or beyond, there is no way you can deal without it, anywhere in this country. It looks like noise is NO problem to Vietnam, it simply IS Vietnam. Included breakfast was served by the swimming pool and we had a great choice of 3 large menus; a western, an asian and a Vietnamese. Front desk staffs as well as any staff hanging around are polite and helpful. There was a small supermarket selling basic needs, and curiously a VERY large choice of wine. Surely to cater the expats living year-round here. The front desk also changed money at official rate. We mostly used dollars and remember : bring in the nice bills, as the locals are reluctant to accept old ones. All in all, a very good place to stay, although a bit away from everything. Not cheap at first sight, but good deal if you need more than one room. Very good options for families