Lonely Planet Review
One of the city's most historic lodgings right in the centre of town, the Continental was the setting for much of the action in Graham Greene's The Quiet American and offers a chance to sleep in a piece of history for reasonable prices.
The Continental opened in 1880 opposite the beautiful Opera House. By the time Greene rolled up in the early '50s Hotel Continental had become the meeting point for all manner of 'interesting' characters - from diplomats, spies and Saigon high society to journalists. All watched over the square outside from the legendary Continental Shelf bar. The Shelf has gone but the hotel's Patio bar, in a courtyard filled with wonderful old frangipani trees, makes a pretty good replacement. As for the rooms, they come in five styles, all of which are vast - the smallest is 40 sq m. The 1989 renovation by Saigon Tourist (cue horrified screams) was not as bad as some others the government-run tourist body has been responsible for but the rooms are still not what they could be. Another renovation is on the cards and we can only pray it gets the Raffles treatment.
Review by author
Andrew Burke