The cheap, welcoming and clean Betty is one of the best budget places in Saigon. The nine rooms are at least what you'd expect for the money and the warm family atmosphere makes it a great place to come home to.

The savvy women who run the Yellow House hotel have made it into one of the most popular budget joints in the Pham Ngu Lao area.

It's not much to look at from the laneway and it's actually pretty easy to miss (we walked straight by a couple of times while staying), but the Kim manages to combine a quiet location and family atmosphere with rooms that are both sizeable and comfortable.

The spotlessly clean and eminently comfortable rooms here are a good value step into the mid-range bracket. The hotel is in the very centre of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacking area and the panoramic views are among the best you'll see for this money.

It's only a couple of minutes from Ð De Tham and the heart of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacking area, but the Giang Son's position in a quiet alley feels much further away. And if you like the location, you'll love the prices.

If you like cheesy kitsch this place just away from the centre of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacking area is an absolute fondue banquet. Rooms might not be the best value you'll find in Saigon, but cheese can be pretty pricey in Asia...

The An An is among the best hotels in the Pham Ngu Lao area. Its big, business-style rooms are fitted out as well (if perhaps not quite as stylishly) as hotels that charge three times the price, and the service is relaxed but efficient.

Saigon's first attempt at 'boutique' accommodation is stylish, personal and good value for money. The spacious rooms have become popular, especially with business people.

In the Dong Khoi shopping district in downtown Saigon, the Dong Do offers good-value if not exactly head-turning accommodation in the city centre. It's very much an Asian hotel and the wooden dragons apparent in the foyer are a clue to what you're getting.

A couple of minutes from the centre of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacking area, the Liberty 4 offers many of the services of a big hotel for a pretty reasonable price. The service is especially good for a government-run abode, and rooms are comfortable if not inspiring.

When Graham Greene (and later his fictional hack Thomas Fowler in The Quiet American) frequented the Arc En Ciel in the early '50s, both the hotel and the Cholon district were very different places. What hasn't changed is that Cholon is still Chinatown and the hotel is still...

Opened in late 2004, the Windsor Plaza is a huge place where the real value is in the service, restaurants and facilities rather than the rooms. The location, closer to Cholon (Chinatown) than downtown, is different and the food is exceptional and superb value.

With the Majestic and the Continental, the Grand Hotel is the third member of Saigon's classic old hotels club. A lesser member, perhaps, but the old rooms still boast plenty of history and ample comforts, and the central location is ideal.

The Majestic is one of Southeast Asia's classic colonial hotels. Built in 1925, it has over the years had several expansions and face lifts that have stripped away much of the original Art Deco flavour. However, much of the history remains.

Once the preserve of war-chasing journalists, the Caravelle's rebirth in 1998 transformed this classic 1960s icon into a truly luxury hotel - with all the good and ill that entails.

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 location near the airport and reliable business services make the Novotel a popular choice among business travellers. But this is not your average boring business hotel - it has a tasteful, classy feel well beyond its price- range.

Less than 10 minutes' drive from Tan Son Nhat Airport and about 15 minutes to the city centre, the Omni is popular with business people for its location (it's relatively easy to get into and out of the city) and high-quality service that consistently gets rave reviews.

Eleven long years in the making, the Park Hyatt is finally open and it's worth the wait - it is the best hotel in Saigon. Smack bang in the middle of town, the rooms, restaurants and undeniable style point to a level of class not seen in most other top-end places.

You might not find the sort of peace that will have you walking in the steps of the Buddha, but the Peace Hotel does offer you a room at the core of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker district within stumbling distance of most of the bars, restaurants and travel cafes.

The Renaissance Riverside is one of Saigon's best hotels. The central location overlooking the Saigon River, the unusually good service for a large hotel, and the very reasonable prices make it a good choice if you're seeking a little luxury.

Since soon after it was built in 1960, the Rex has been part of the folklore of Ho Chi Minh City (nee Saigon). These days its ambience of bamboo kitsch is stunning in its totality - there is barely a surface, vertical or horizontal, not adorned with rattan.

In the heart of central Ho Chi Min City's diplomatic district the Sofitel is a short walk to the Opera House and also offers some of the best value among the city's top end lodgings.

Right in the heart of lively Ð De Tham and the backpacker area, Art Hotel is cheap and simple but has something many around here don't - character. The entrance is through Pham Ngoc Dai's tiny art studio-cum-shop, crammed with skilful reproductions spanning Monet, Dali, Warhol...

With broadband Internet connections in the attractively designed rooms, the Canadian offers the business traveller or just anyone who wants a computer in their room a good reason to stay. The prices, too, make plenty of sense no matter how tech-savvy you are.

The intimate Guest House California is a relatively recent addition to the Co Giang landscape, and a welcome one at that. The rooms are clean, comfortable and surprisingly inoffensive in design, and the welcome is warm.

Located a few minutes walk from the busiest part of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area, the Ha Vy is a family-run minihotel that has been getting good reviews from travellers for 10 years.

On Ð De Tham, in the very heart of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area, Hotel 265 has a location and a sort of friendly aunty service that has made it a popular choice for years.

A newish addition to the plethora of lower mid-range places rising like rice in a paddy from the Pham Ngu Lao landscape, the Huynh Anh stands out for the quality of its rooms, enthusiastic service and fair prices.

One of the new breed of minihotels springing up in the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker neighbourhood, the Lac Vien boasts more style than some of its contemporaries. The location, on a quiet lane east of busy Ð De Tham, makes it a fine blend of relative quiet and proximity to the action.