Back in November 2017, me and 3 friends visited Vietnam and stayed in 2 different cities. The first part of our trip was 4 nights in Ho Chi Minh City, then it was 4 nights in Hanoi before spending our last 5 nights back in Ho Chi Minh. The first hotel we stayed at was Rosabella Hotel located right on Bui Vien Walking Street.
the entrance has 2 steps
The Hotel
Just like what I wrote about our stay at Quy Hung Hotel, Rosabella Hotel also listed themselves as wheelchair accessible. There were 2 steps to get into the hotel from the street and no ramp or alternate access to get inside the hotel. Once inside the lobby area, there is another 3 steps to get to the reception desk area and to the 1 elevator that the hotel had to get to the other floors. It was a bit of a pain for us every time we left the hotel or when we came back.
another 3 steps to the reception desk
The elevator was also quite small and was very tight for my wheelchair and my one buddy. It could not fit all 4 of us at a time, so my other 2 friends had to either use it before or after I did or walk the stairs. That was also the other annoying part about staying at this hotel.
only one elevator at this hotel and it’s tight
Room
at first they gave us such a small room
The 4 of us had 2 separate rooms and at first, the hotel staff gave me and my 1 buddy the smaller room. Lucky my other 2 friends were fine about trading rooms with us so I could get the bigger room. Even with the larger room, it doesn’t compare to what I was used to with North American standards. There were 2 small beds and it was a bit tight for my wheelchair but we didn’t spend that much time in the hotel room except to sleep and shower.
switched to a bigger room
The bathroom was really small and could barely fit the both of us at the same time. There was also a big step to get into the shower which also has a tiny opening. Since the airline lost my commode at the time and didn’t find it until later, I had a smaller temporary one that still did not fit inside this shower. We had to compromise and my buddy had to help me shower just on the floor beside the shower.
small commode wouldn’t even fit inside shower
Amenities
For a cheap budget hotel, we were not expecting a lot of amenities at this hotel. There was a free daily breakfast at the rooftop restaurant but we never woke up early enough to take advantage of it. There was the typical free wifi which worked fine, and there was nothing else this hotel had to offer. No gym, no pool, no free shuttle, nothing else really.
we never got the chance to try the free daily breakfast
Location
Rosabella Hotel is located right in the middle of Bui Vien Walking Street which is one of the busiest streets in Ho Chi Minh. Because of that, it is literally close to where all the action is. There are so many shops, restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs just steps away. This made it a problem to sleep because it was really noisy every night of our stay until 2 or 3 AM. I think I only slept the 4th night of our stay because I was tired enough from not sleeping the first 3 nights.
hotel is right on the busy Bui Vien Walking Street
Rosabella Hotel wasn’t the best hotel for me. Even though there were a few steps to get inside the hotel, I always travel with strong buddies who can help me. The bathroom was a real issue. Not only was it not a roll in shower, it was too small to even get in. The location was great but it was too noisy to sleep at night. I would probably book a better accessible hotel that is not too far from this location next time I come back.
