Sometimes the vietnamese are not the best about customer service, but not this place. Chanh and everyone else who worked here was kind, gracious and very helpful! He taught himself english and is fairly fluent in it. We got there late and you have to ring the doorbell for them to lift the gate to get in. We then wanted to go out again to get some late night Pho. There were no problems and a lot of graciousness. Although I am vietnamese and get by without a lot of help. They were there to give me restaurant recommendations, concerned suggestions (be wary of drive-by thefts) and were always there offering help. LOVED this place. Location was good, very close to Ben Thanh Market, lots of tourists. There are local sunglasses and etc merchants hocking their merchandise at you. Chanh and the others allowed them to approach you ONCE (in the lobby). If you don't want anything from them and they try again, they tell them decisively to leave you alone. They really look out for their customers. Breakfast was simply- coffee or tea, baguette, jam and butter. They offer cheap laundry service- 24 hours.

We stayed at the Bich Duyen Hotel (283/4 Pham Ngu Lao | 1 District, HCMC) in January 2012. This was part of our great Malaysia, Vietnam & Cambodia 14 days adventure. The booking was made directly with the hotel. In total, we stayed in 9 different accommodations across different cities.

Our quick takes:

Bookings: Done through hostelworld.com – Efficient, fast and always courteous.
Location: Smacked right in the middle of the backpacker area however since it is in an alley, traffic noise is minimized greatly. Plenty of affordable places to keep the tummy happy and pubs to quench the thirst without breaking the bank.
Dollar sense: We paid US$27 per Superior Double Bed Private Ensuite incl. breakfast, internet with 2 computers in the lobby and Wi-Fi within the building. We can’t ascertain the value for money as we didn’t compare much with other places
Room: Simply furnished, ensuite toilet and shower, comes with refrigerator, no mini-bar – Bathroom has no separate shower area (quiet common in older South East Asian homes) so the whole floor will get wet when one takes a shower. But it didn’t matter to us. The likes:
• Wi-Fi in the room
• The 70 (can you believe it? Until we went to Cambodia and found out they had 73!) channels cable TV!

The dislikes:
• There is no lift/elevator to the rooms – therefore not recommended for people with limited mobility
• Unlike many other hotels we have stayed in, there no complementary mineral water

Staff: Friendly and helpful. Gave us tips on where to shop (we checked out their references and they were right).

Conclusion: We may stay here again

Can't say a bad word about the place! Currently staying in one of the larger rooms and the room is a good size along with the generous bathroom.... the 2 blokes looking after reception are also fantastic....easy to get along with and will just about do anything you ask of them! If my partner and I were to ever come back to HCMC we would have no hesitation in booking the hotel again! Great work guys :)

Have to say I had reservations about staying in the back packer area in Ho Chi Mihn, but this was quickly dispersed once we arrived at Bich Duyen. The staff could not do enough to help and were always warning of potential dangers i.e. carrying a handbag and were jewellery etc. The breakfast was lovely and the room was so clean that once you take you shoes off at the front door there is nothing at all on the floor. The towels were changed every day as was the bed linen. The staff helped with finding somewhere to eat on our first night there and all the sights there is to see. I would recommend this hotel to anyone, it is so central and we would go back in a minute.