PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Built in 1923 as a seaside resort for then-emperor Bao Dai, the hotel is a cluster of plain colonial-style buildings set high on an ocean-side hill south of Nha Trang, so far south that you're in the next town really. There's an interesting Gothic quality to the place, and one could certainly imagine a king wandering the promontory at night, watching the hotel's lighthouse scan the sea and sky, and worrying about the loss of his kingdom, which was, in fact, the case. Bao Dai's very room is the master suite and makes for a memorable stay. The less expensive rooms are musty monk's cells, but the villa-style rooms have high ceilings and large, shuttered windows overlooking the coast -- a good bet. The more top-end rooms vary, but all are palatial in size even if they're wanting in amenities (the furniture can't keep up with the space). The bathrooms are nothing special but are sizable and clean, with bathtubs. Some of the buildings have creaky old winding wooden staircases and rooftop access.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Vietnam, 2nd Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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