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Yellow House Hotel

Labyrinth with a youth hostel

What we say 

Photo of Yellow House Hotel, 31 Bui Vien St, District 1. , Ho Chi Minh City
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Yellow House has an all-round great service for the needy traveller. Based over two locations, this is the Bui Vien building. The lobby contains a foreign exchange desk, a tour/travel desk including bus and train ticket bookings, and also a visa extension service. The guesthouse is a real labyrinth in which footsteps echo through hospital-like corridors. Almost unheard of in Vietnam hostels are dormitories -- YHH is an exception. Their mixed dorm sleeps eight and is 'cosy' to say the least. Two bathrooms are housed directly outside the door. All rooms are drab, uninteresting and basic. Many are tucked deep inside the building and hence are windowless -- maybe the free breakfast and numerous services will swing the decision. Another good option could be to share the four-bed room -- at US$24 a night, you do the math. The upstairs rooms overlooking Bui Vien St catch a lot of traffic noise -- pack earplugs.

Contact details:
31 Bui Vien St, District 1. T: (08) 836 8830 F: (08) 836 8829  
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Book online

Book online with Worldhotel-link with rates starting from US$17.00
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US$17.00
Book online with Hostel World with rates starting from US$7.00
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US$7.00
Book online with Hostelbookers with rates starting from US$7.00
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US$7.00


What we were quoted*

Type of room Low season High season Notes
Dorm Fan 6 USD 6 USD
Sgl air-con private b'room 15 USD 15 USD
Dbl air-con private b'room 17 USD 17 USD
Triple air-con private b'room 18 USD 18 USD
Quad air-con private b'room 24 USD 24 USD

* Travelfish researchers visit and review properties on an anonymous basis. By that we mean they show up, in person, and pretend to be either be a potential guest, or somebody looking for a room for a friend or relative. Where possible the researcher will inspect at least a couple of rooms. The rates you see above are what either the desk staff told us they were, or what were in the brochure when they just told us to quit bugging them and look in the brochure. For mid-range hotels and up, always shop around online for a competitive rate. Click here to find out more about what makes Travelfish different with regards our accommodation reviews.

Added to Travelfish on: 23rd December, 2006
Last visited or updated on: 9th May, 2009

Yellow House Hotel reviews

Read 5 opinions from Travelfish readers

Yeah, decent - 23rd December, 2009
Stayed here a few nights. Fortunately had a triple room at the back, after Phnom Penh, the air con, tv and hot shower were much appreciated. Pretty average place, but did the job. Stayed in a single on my last night, at the front, much difficulty sleeping given the traffic.

Yellow House Hotel reviewed by morgybaby on 23rd December, 2009, rated 3 out of 5.
Stayed here 7/2009
Total reviews submitted: 3.
morgybaby also reviewed: Budget Guesthouse, Lazyfish Guesthouse & Restaurant.

decent - 9th November, 2009
Stayed here early November. Payed $15 for a double bed. Booked it online which was a discount price according to them. We had a room with a balcony overlooking Biu Vien that was extremely noisy but tolerable with ear plugs. You would almost have to have them to sleep. Breakfast was minimal, but acceptable. Booked a Cu Chi tour through them with a guide who spoke worse English than other guides we saw. The bathroom smelled like*******alot, and the room smelled a little like urine. The hostel is situated right at the cross-section of the busiest part of the backpacker district, so the location is not too bad. The young lady working the front desk will try to get every dong out of you that she can, so be warned she will ''round up'' all of the time. Didn't see the dorms but there were plenty of other travelers there to talk with. I wouldn't stay there again.

Yellow House Hotel reviewed by justintuggle on 9th November, 2009, rated 3 out of 5.
Stayed here 11/2009
Total reviews submitted: 15.
justintuggle also reviewed: Bangkok International Youth Hostel, Dokkhoun 1 Guesthouse, GST Guesthouse, Jasmine Lodge, Lanta Bee Garden Bungalows, Manh Dung Guest house, New Joe Guesthouse, Peace Hotel, Pepper Guesthouse, Phonesavanh Guesthouse, Sackarinh Guest House, Sri-Trang Hotel, TAT Guest House, Tung Trang Hotel.

Showing its age - 15th September, 2009
I’ve stayed at Yellow House before in both buildings although I prefer Biu Vien. I was happy with the room I had last time. Nothing flashy but was good for the price. This time my experience wasn’t so positive. Booked online and my first room was out the back of Biu Vien. Quiet but a bit rundown with chipped and missing bathroom tiles and a door hanging on one hinge inside. But that wasn’t the major problem. The main door to the room wouldn’t lock properly. Moved to a another room, street side the following night. It was marginally better with a solid door and bathroom that still had all its tiles. The downside though was that there was a constant musty smell. As if someone had dumped a consignment of damp blankets next to my bed. Not surprisingly the walls had several large damp patches. There must have been a drainage problem as the bathroom had a permanent puddle in it. After one downpour out side water dripped onto my bed. The street noise was pretty bad too but I was able to sleep through it. English backpackers upstairs said they found it hard to handle. The breakfast was okay and the staff were happy to pour me a second coffee each day. Only one of the two free internet terminals was of any use. The second one was so slow it was utterly useless. To me it almost seemed like no maintenance was being done on the place. Frankly I found my stay there a bit depressing. In spite of the low US$12 price I won’t be returning until they clean up their act. There’s plenty of better options in district one. Btw didn’t see the rat mentioned in other reviews. Maybe the place had dropped below its minimun standards.

Yellow House Hotel reviewed by dougmp on 15th September, 2009, rated 3 out of 5.
Stayed here 9/2009
Total reviews submitted: 6.
dougmp also reviewed: Old Penang GuestHouse, P. Guesthouse, RCN Court and Inn, suk 11, Thalang Guesthouse.

nice enough - 3rd May, 2008
The place is popular with backpackers so it's always full, especially during the high season. We stayed at the Bui Vien branch, not the one off De Tham St. For $15 in a double room that was spacious enough and had a/c and TV, it's okay. But our room being located right by the staircase is not conducive to a good night's sleep when people come and go at all hours. The room had high ceilings and was pretty tidy. Bathroom was okay too. The mattress was a bit thin and my back wasn't exactly happy about that. Free brekky was lovely and the free internet was not too crappy. The place has currency exchange at the lobby with good rates and even though they have all sorts of tours, they won't hound you about it, which is great. This is also alright if traveling alone and you have no one to share expenses with since they have a dorm which is cheaper than booking a private room. But if looking for really good value for just $15/night, try Madame Cuc's. They have 3 branches and we stayed at the one with the 184 address tucked away in a quiet alley in Pham Ngu Lao.

Yellow House Hotel reviewed by milkfish08 on 3rd May, 2008, rated 4 out of 5.
Stayed here 4/2008
Total reviews submitted: 5.
milkfish08 also reviewed: Bright Lotus 1 Guest House, Lyon D'Or, Phan Lan Guesthouse, Song Tien Hotel.

pleasant but simple - 28th October, 2007
Hi Stayed here for 3 nights at 13US$/ night, with AC and TV, in a very small room. We stayed at the sister hotel in a side alley off De Tham, The room was at the back, very quiet and clean enough to get a decent nights sleep. It has simple breakfast and internet access included, safe and clean, we were very comfortable, and the staff did their best to help with our requests. We could have done more, but were really only passing through- good enough for me to go back there if in Saigon again.

Yellow House Hotel reviewed by abbothompson on 28th October, 2007, rated 4 out of 5.
Stayed here 10/2007
Total reviews submitted: 4.
abbothompson also reviewed: Okay Guest House, Rosy Guest House, You Hong Guesthouse.


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