One of the more bizarre hotel rooms in which I have ever stayed was at the Tru by Hilton Hanoi Station hotel property, which is unlike its counterparts in the United States in many ways.
One of the More Bizarre Hotel Rooms In Which I Have Ever Stayed: Tru by Hilton Hanoi Station. Hotel Review.
Similar to a Moxy Hotels by Marriott hotel property but unlike Tru by Hilton hotel properties in the United States, the area to check into the hotel property is located at the bar underneath a hanging sign with an arrow pointing downward. The front of the bar in the photograph above is at the rear, as a construction zone was outside the exterior of the hotel property.
The person who checked me in to the hotel property informed me that I was upgraded to a larger corner room.
The overall theme of this hotel property is trains…
…as the hotel property is located directly across the street from the main train station in Hanoi.
The lobby area was two stories tall, with the train motif echoing throughout it.
Cold water was available for anyone who needed to stay hydrated. The baggage of guests was stored behind the front desk in case they arrived at the hotel property too early; or checked out but had plans to leave later.
One similarity to Tru by Hilton hotel properties in the United States is that games are available.
In addition to two elevators, a staircase allows for access to the second floor. Hanoi Station — which is the main train station in Hanoi — is illuminated outside.
The view of the lobby from the second floor included construction equipment that was outside, which was real and not for the purpose of playing.
Additional seating — and more of the train theme — is located on the second floor.
The seats vary in style, as most of them overlook the lobby below.
Plenty of seating options are available both upstairs and downstairs in the open area of the lobby.
The area on the ground floor where people dine faces the window to the busy street.
We took the elevator up to our room on the thirteenth floor. The doors of the two elevators resembled the doors of trains.
Imagine that: a hotel property with a rare thirteenth floor, as it shuns the superstition of triskaidekaphobia.
The Bedroom.
The bed was actually a mattress on a wooden platform, with a cubbyhole for the storage of shoes or slippers. Two pairs of complimentary slippers were in the cubbyhole. For two people to sleep in this bed, one person would have to either climb over the other person or step up onto the platform to reach his or her side of the bed. Two Universal Serial Bus Type A ports were located at that far side of the bed — but neither port was operable. Also not working were the reading lights on each side of the bed, which I could not get to illuminate.
A flat screen television hung on the wall in front of the bed. Adjacent to the left of the television were electrical controls for both the blackout window shades and the translucent sheer window shades.
Almost any other location in the room would have been more convenient to have placed these controls than where they were located.
Some of the light switches around the room were confusing due to both their placement in the room and due to the icons that were printed on them, whose purpose was not always immediately clear — although the Do Not Disturb button and the button for members of the housekeeping staff to freshen up the room were clear.
The air was cold from the climate control system — although some of the controls of the thermostat were confusing as well.
Adjacent to the entrance to the room was a “closet”, which consisted of a few hangers that hung on a curved bar. At the bottom was the only place in the room to store luggage, which was quite small — and stored inside of it was a laundry basket.
In keeping with the train motif and theme for this hotel property, hooks on a frame in the shape of a train was mounted on the wall between the bed and the entrance to the room — and hanging from one of those hooks is an electric hair dryer that was located nowhere near the bathroom area of the room.
Inside of the frame was an information card pertaining to the hotel property.
The Bathroom.
The vanity was located on one side of the bathroom area next to a large window, which was obscured by the adjustable curtain. On the vanity were facial tissues, two dental kits with toothbrushes and toothpaste wrapped in paper packaging, and body lotion with the phrase “Glow like you mean it” — whatever that means.
Strangely, no soap of any kind was located on or near the vanity.
Underneath the front of the vanity was a receptacle for garbage; and plenty of towels were stored under the side of the vanity…
…underneath a universal electrical outlet and two electrical switches with icons printed on them: one was for the vanity area; and the other was for the shower stall.
Only two electrical outlets were available in the entire room.
The design of the bright glowing translucent enclosure for both the toilet and the shower resembles even more of a “space capsule” than the one I experienced at the Sleep Inn Beaver – Beckley hotel property in West Virginia. The toilet and shower are separated by a mere curtain.
The shower stall included both a rain shower head and a flexible water sprayer. The floor of the shower was dangerously slippery to the point where I thought I was going to fall at least several times — and nothing is available in the shower stall to which to hold on in case someone is about to fall.
Olive, peach, and vanilla combined was the scent for both the hand + body wash with “zing in every splash” and the shampoo + conditioner for “hair that dares”. At least they were not the Not Soap, Radio amenities that are found in Tru by Hilton hotel properties in the United States.
The bottles could not be removed from the plastic holders which were attached to the wall of the shower stall.
Thankfully, a curtain outside of the enclosure separated the bathroom from the remainder of the room and reduced the glare of that aforementioned glow.
The desk — and the only chair in the entire room — was bizarrely located between the enclosed shower and toilet area and the vanity with the sink. Does that mean that the desk is technically located in the bathroom? Can it double as a place where women can apply cosmetics to their faces even though no mirror was attached to the wall?
Even more bizarre was that a miniature refrigerator — which contained two cold complimentary bottles of water — was located under the desk next to the vanity with the sink…
…and inside of the drawer above the refrigerator was a safe.
Every time I washed my hands or otherwise used the sink in the vanity, I had to walk across the bathroom area past the desk to the shower stall to get some liquid soap, which was incredibly inconvenient. No fewer than three times had I asked members of the staff to provide some sort of soap option — whether it was solid or liquid — on the vanity next to the sink. They apparently did not understand my request, as they apparently thought that my request was bizarre — which to me was not nearly as strange as having no soap next to the sink, which I have never encountered in a lodging establishment before in all of my years of travel.
No additional soap option was ever provided — despite my requests both in person and via text messages. Legend has it that to this day, the soap is still on its way.
Although access to the Internet via wi-fi worked very well, it was difficult to access at times. Fortunately, that did not inhibit me from getting work done.
The Food: Dinner.
Tru by Hilton Hanoi Station does not only offer a complimentary breakfast buffet in the morning for sustenance. This hotel property also offers items and meals for sale 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
Green decals with a Quick Response code were affixed to the corner of each table in the dining area of the lobby. They were supposed to allow guests to order meals via their portable electronic devices — but the items that we wanted to purchase that were advertised as special bundles were for some reason not included on the menu; so I had to go to the person behind the front desk to order our meals, which were delivered within 20 minutes.
The fried rice with shrimp dish included a fried egg and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers.
The beef bánh mì was surprisingly good, as the roll was fresh; the meat was tender; and the greens and vegetables added a slight zest to the flavor.
Dinner on the first night — with three cans of soda — cost a total of $16.27.
The Food: Breakfast.
The Top It breakfast area opened in the morning. Unlike its counterpart in the United States, the toppings were for phở and dumplings instead of an abundance of bagels, danish, doughnuts, jellies, syrups, and most other sickeningly sweet items, which were not found here.
Instead, a number of Vietnamese options were available for breakfast in the area where the food was displayed — which was rather small.
One station included everything that was needed to create a hot bowl of phở gà, which is chicken phở. The broth for the phở was in the steel pot on the cooktop stove. Pork balls and ribs were also available in the large black container on the right side. Pork phở was offered the next morning.
Chicken porridge was available as well as phở. Bowls were already filled with shredded chicken and vegetables for the broth to be added for phở — but I suppose chicken porridge could be used as well.
Another station was dedicated to pork dumplings and miniature muffins — under which the knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, plates, and salt and pepper shakers were stored.
A traditional basket contained the pork dumplings.
If you do not like the pork dumplings just the way they were…
…plenty of assorted condiments were available to spice things up — including but not limited to pickled garlic, lime, fried shallots, fish sauce, and even ketchup.
Assorted stir-fried vegetables were also part of breakfast.
Hard boiled eggs, fried eggs, and bacon were offered for guests who prefer their breakfasts to be more Western style.
Assorted fresh fruit — including oranges with green rinds and sliced dragonfruit — as well as “square” ham and slivers of cheese were available. The oranges tasted good; but they were filled with seeds.
On the other side of the counter was plain yogurt and mixed greens with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers — as well as plastic bottles of creamy sesame dressing and Chinese vinegar.
In addition to the aforementioned muffins, the only “bakery” items that were offered were two types of sliced bread and rolls.
Orange juice, apple juice, iced water, and fresh milk were the cold beverages that were available for breakfast…
…as were hot water, coffee, and tea.
The View.
The view from the room was not the best that I have ever seen — but it certainly was not the worst, either…
…especially as this room had windows that faced in two directions — north and east — because it was a corner room. The construction outside of the hotel property was visible from the room.
Hanoi Station is the pale yellow building on the left in the left photograph that is shown above. Đ. Lê Duẩn is the primary thoroughfare in this part of Hanoi, whose direction is south, as it is a one-way street, which was named after the late general secretary of the central committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Fitness Center and Laundry Room
Both the fitness center and the laundry room are located on the aforementioned second floor; and they are located in separate areas.
Guests can work out and exercise with a view of the outside.
The fitness center includes assorted equipment; while the laundry room has two washing machines and two dryers.
An ironing board with an iron is available in the laundry room as guest rooms do not include them; and a place to temporarily store laundry items includes several hangers.
Lockers are available next to the machines in the laundry room.
Final Boarding Call
Despite its many shortcomings, I recommend staying at Tru by Hilton Hanoi Station, which is centrally located in Hanoi. The entire property was clean; the room was comfortable even if its design was quirky; and the service was good — except that the request for soap next to the sink was never fulfilled.
The total for three nights came out to $235.09, which was less than $78.36 per night in United States dollars with all taxes and fees included. Dinner on the first night was an extra $16.27.
Tru by Hilton Hanoi Station
115 Tran Hung Dao Street
Cua Nam Ward Ha Noi, 111000
Vietnam
+84 24 3223 2929
Parking is not available at this hotel property. No shuttle is available to the airport — although the hotel property does offer a transportation service by motor vehicle for an additional charge. Pets are not allowed at this hotel property. Smoking is not permitted, as the hotel property is 100 percent smoke free.
All photographs ©2026 by Brian Cohen.
