Azerai La Residence Hue Review: Is This the Best Hotel in Hue?

Some hotels you check into. Azerai La Residence, Hue is one you walk into and slow down. A white Art Deco mansion from 1920 curves like an ocean liner a few steps from the Perfume River, ceiling fans turn over orchids in the lobby, and someone has already taken your suitcase and put a cold towel and a plate of dried ginger in front of you. I stayed three nights in November 2026, and on my seventh trip to Vietnam this is the hotel I would send a friend to first.

If you are looking for the best hotel in Hue, this is my answer. In this Azerai La Residence Hue review, I will take you through the rooms I saw, which are very different from one another (only 10 of the 122 are inside the original mansion). I will also tell you about the spa where I had the best massage of all my trips to Vietnam, the breakfast, the pool, and where to eat, drink and wander in Hue. One piece of advice before you scroll on: at this hotel, choosing the right room changes everything.

Azerai La Residence Hue: Key Facts

Why Trust This Review

I stayed three nights at Azerai La Residence, Hue in November 2026, in Le Jardin Suite. I also walked through four other room types, from the Deluxe Colonial to the Suite du Résident, so the room advice below comes from what I saw, not from a brochure. I ate at Le Parfum and Le Cercle Sportif, had a treatment at the spa, and toured Hue with the hotel’s guide. This was my seventh trip to Vietnam, so I can compare it with a lot of hotels across the country. I checked the room rates myself on 10 November 2026.

A Little History

The heart of Azerai La Residence is a white Art Deco mansion built in 1920 as the residence of the French governor of central Vietnam, the Résident Supérieur. It is built in the Streamline Moderne style: a central rotunda with swept-back wings and round porthole windows, which makes it look more like an ocean liner than a palace.

Its guest list reads like a history of Vietnam. The last emperor, Bao Dai, is said to have stayed in a first-floor room, and King Bhumibol of Thailand reportedly stayed in the 1950s. The building became the governor’s office in 1949 and the headquarters of the Diem administration in 1954, then a government guesthouse. During the Tet Offensive in 1968, the official living here was captured; his son, the writer Nguyen Qui Duc, tells the story in his memoir Where the Ashes Are.

After 1975, the mansion became the People’s Committee guesthouse for VIP visitors. In the early 2000s it was restored over three years, and two new wings were added in the same Art Deco style, designed by Brigitte Dumont de Chassart. It reopened in 2005 as La Residence Hotel & Spa, with 122 rooms, as the first international five-star hotel in Hue. Many people still know it as La Residence Hue.

The hotel was renovated again in 2017–18 by Pascal Trahan, and in 2019 it joined Azerai. If the name sounds a little like Aman, that is no accident: Azerai was created by Adrian Zecha, the Indonesian hotelier who founded Aman Resorts in 1988. He launched Azerai in 2017 to bring the same sense of design and calm to hotels at a gentler price, and the name blends his initials with caravanserai, the old word for a travelers’ resting place.

Today the hotel stands in 2.5 hectares of gardens. Only 10 of its 122 rooms are in the original mansion; the rest are in the two wings. In the lobby, a wall of portraits of the 13 Nguyen emperors sets the tone, and black-and-white photographs of old Hue hang throughout the hotel.

The awards wall in the lobby is long. In 2019, TIME magazine named Azerai La Residence one of the World’s 100 Greatest Places. Condé Nast named it one of the top 25 hotels in Asia nine years in a row, from 2014 to 2022. Travel + Leisure readers voted it the best upcountry hotel in Vietnam in 2023 and 2024, and it made Travel + Leisure’s World’s 500 Best Hotels list in 2026.

Getting There and Location

Azerai La Residence is about a five-minute walk from Hue train station, which makes it the perfect place to land if you arrive on the Hue–Phong Nha heritage train: you can roll your suitcase from the platform to the lobby. That is how I arrived, straight from Auko Eco-Wellness Lodges in Phong Nha. The hotel is 16 km from Hue Phu Bai airport.

Azerai La Residence used to sit right on the Perfume River, but it lost its riverfront position with the recent construction of the Times Square complex between the hotel and the water. A few rooms still offer a river view, but most of the hotel doesn’t. My suite looked onto the gardens. If you want to see the river, book one of the River View rooms or the Suite du Résident.

Arrival and Check-In

Check-in was smooth. The staff took my suitcase at the door and sat me on a sofa in the lobby with a welcome drink, a cold towel and a little bowl of dried ginger. Nobody asked me to stand at a desk. When the paperwork was done, they walked me to room 307.

The Service

The service at Azerai La Residence is outstanding. After the first day, most of the staff greeted me by name, and they were always ready with help and advice. In the lobby, snacks and drinks are set out all day, much as other hotels do in a club lounge for a few guests. At Azerai, they say every guest is a VIP and should have access to it. You really do get Aman or Four Seasons style service here, at a fraction of the price.

Le Jardin Suite: My Room for Three Nights

Le Jardin Suite is one of just two of its kind in the hotel, in one of the 2005 wings: 46 square meters with a king bed, a garden view, dark wooden floors framed with patterned ceramic tiles and a large private terrace behind floor-to-ceiling sliding doors. Daylight pours in through those doors, and the room feels wonderfully bright and airy. Two soft gray armchairs, a daybed with bolster cushions and a writing desk make up the sitting area. Everything I touched felt clean and brand new, and the bed was so comfortable I slept beautifully all three nights.

Don’t book it expecting a classic suite, though. The name oversells the layout: it is really one large, open room, with the sitting area and the bedroom sharing the same space, and the bathroom sits in that same room too, separated only by a curtain. The toilet and the shower do have their own frosted-glass cubicles, but if you like a closed bathroom door between you and your travel companion, know this before you book. Storage is the other weak point: the wardrobe is quite small, and there isn’t much space to unpack for a longer stay.

The bathroom’s star is the oversized freestanding bathtub, which I loved, next to a marble vanity. Outside, the terrace is big and pleasant. The chairs had no cushions during my stay, I suspect because they are taken in during the rainy season.

Small things count, and the tea tray is better than in most hotels I review: three good-quality loose-leaf teas instead of the usual bags, plus a Nespresso machine for the morning. Fruit, nuts, tea and coffee are complimentary in every room, and in the suites the drinks in the minibar are free too.

What surprised me most was the silence. The hotel sits in the center of Hue, yet as soon as I closed the windows the room went completely quiet. I didn’t hear a single sound from the street all night, nor anything from the neighboring rooms, and with the blackout curtains drawn I slept deeply every night.

Other Rooms and Suites I Saw

If you want a taste of the original style for less, look at the Deluxe Colonial King, one of six Deluxe Colonial rooms inside the original mansion. At 30 square meters it is smaller than my suite, with dark blue-green tiled floors, tall shuttered windows, round Art Deco wall lamps and a black metal bed frame. The one thing it lacks is outdoor space: there is no balcony.

The entry-level rooms are the Superior rooms in the new wings. At 26 square meters they are compact, but the one I saw was bright and well laid out, with dark wood floors, a marble vanity and a balcony over the pool. They start at about $200 a night, which is excellent value for a hotel of this standard.

For atmosphere, my pick is the Colonial Junior Suite, room 704, on the first floor of the mansion. It is the only one of its kind, and it is round, following the curve of the old mansion, which makes it maybe the most atmospheric room in the hotel. It is also the romantic choice. Its four-poster bed is draped in a white mosquito net, and the room curves around it. Dark wood floors set into polished concrete follow the line of the wall, and tall curved lattice French windows open onto a balcony and the greenery outside. Even the bedside tables are little Art Deco sculptures, nests of triangles in dark wood. The bathroom is a separate room behind a door, with a vintage pedestal sink, cream tiles banded with purple mosaic and a bathtub under the window.

At the other end of the scale is the Suite du Résident, the best suite in the hotel, on the top floor of the mansion. Its living room is a perfect circle under a domed ceiling, with rose-pink Art Deco sofas and armchairs on dark polished wood floors. The real showstopper is outside. A private terrace wraps right around the top of the rotunda under a vine-covered white pergola, with sun loungers on terracotta tiles and a full 360-degree view that takes in the gardens, the pool and the Perfume River beyond. Inside, the bedroom has its own four-poster bed, and the bathroom has a glass shower and a clawfoot tub under a round Art Deco window. It feels less like a hotel room than a private villa on the roof of an Art Deco mansion.

Which Room Should You Choose?

Azerai La Residence has 13 room types, and the right one depends on what you came to Hue for.

There is one important trade-off to settle first: the original mansion or the new wings.

If you are a fan of history, book a “Colonial” room or suite. The rooms with “Colonial” in their name are the ones inside the original 1920 mansion, along with two named suites, the Monument d’Egypte and the Suite du Résident. There are only 10 of them, and this is where you feel the Art Deco story most, with tiled floors, shuttered windows and period furniture. The windows in the mansion still have their old frames, and I suspect they are less soundproof than those in the new buildings.

If you want modern comforts, book a room in the new wings. You get more modern amenities, a brand new bathroom and a soundproof room. The wings keep the Art Deco style and are very well designed, so you give up the history but not the look.

For atmosphere and romance, the Colonial Junior Suite. Round, with a netted four-poster and curved lattice windows, and the only one of its kind: ask for room 704. It is on the first floor of the mansion.

For a view of the Perfume River, choose a River View room. Most rooms look onto the gardens, so if the river matters to you, book a Superior or Deluxe River View room with a balcony, or go all the way to the Suite du Résident.

For space and quiet, Le Jardin Suite. My suite in the 2005 wing was bright, brand new and totally silent at night, with a big terrace and an oversized bathtub. Just remember the bathroom is open to the room.

For a celebration, the Suite du Résident. A domed living room and a wraparound rooftop terrace with a 360-degree view: it is one of the most memorable rooms I have seen in Vietnam.

How Much Does Azerai La Residence Hue Cost?

*Unless noted, these are the lowest rates I found on Booking.com on 10 November 2026 for a midweek night in late November 2026, for two people with breakfast included, on a non-refundable rate. Flexible rates with free cancellation cost about 10% more.

Where to book: prices change by site and by date

For the same night, Wednesday 25 November 2026, a Superior room with breakfast cost $202 on Booking.com, $186 with taxes on Trip.com and $192 with taxes on Expedia. Vio.com showed $169 with taxes. That is a gap of almost 20% for the same room on the same night, so check all four for your dates before you book. I have already set each link to open the hotel’s own page, so you only need to click and enter your dates. Breakfast is included in the rate, and all four sites were showing discounted prices when I looked.

Around the Hotel: Restaurants, Bar, Pool and Spa

Beyond the rooms, Azerai La Residence gives you plenty of reasons to stay on the property. It sits in 2.5 hectares of gardens looking out toward the Perfume River, with a big salt-water pool and a round pool bar. Le Parfum serves breakfast and dinner, Le Gouverneur Bar just off the lobby is the place for a drink, and Le Cercle Sportif, which the hotel manages, is a few steps along Le Loi Street. There is also Le Spa, with a sauna and steam room, and a Technogym gym.

Breakfast at Le Parfum

Breakfast is included in the rate and served from 6 to 10 a.m. at Le Parfum, the hotel’s restaurant, which looks out over the garden, so you start the day with green lawns and flowering trees outside the windows. From November to April it is a generous buffet. The pastries are excellent, the tropical fruit is beautifully cut (dragon fruit, pomelo, rambutan, passion fruit), and there is a proper juice bar: orange, watermelon, mango and a green detox juice that became my morning favorite. There is sparkling wine on ice if you are in a celebratory mood, a cheese, cold cuts and smoked salmon counter, and a hot station with chicken sausages, bacon, grilled tomatoes and French toast. Eggs are cooked to order, and at the pho station a cook makes your bowl with chicken or beef and all the fresh herbs.

From May to October, the low season, breakfast is not a buffet. If the spread matters to you, travel between November and April.

Dinner at Le Parfum

Le Parfum is also where I had dinner on my first night. The menu is huge, with Vietnamese and Western dishes and three set menus, and the food is delicious. My green pea soup (160,000 VND) was fine but forgettable. The Grilled Australian Wagyu Beef Tournedos (800,000 VND) was a different story: tender, full of flavor and cooked exactly as I asked. Menu prices are in Vietnamese dong, with tax and a 5% service charge added.

For a drink before or after dinner, there is Le Gouverneur Bar, just off the lobby. It is small and cozy, a great place for a drink or a chat.

The Pool

The pool is huge, much bigger than it looks in photos. It stretches across the garden, with a round pool bar at one end, plenty of sun loungers and a shallow section shaded by a big umbrella. It uses salt-water filtration rather than added chlorine, so there is none of that chemical smell.

The Spa at Azerai La Residence

Don’t leave Hue without booking the spa. I review a lot of spas, and this is one of the best I have been to, and the massage was without question the best I have had in Vietnam. I booked an hour of massage followed by 45 minutes of singing bowls. My therapist, Anh, is one of the most skilled therapists I know, and I sank so deep into relaxation that I am fairly sure I fell asleep through part of the singing-bowl session. Le Spa has won Best Luxury Boutique Spa at the World Luxury Spa Awards three times, in 2013, 2017 and 2020, and I can see why.

Arrive 30 minutes before your massage so you have time for the steam room and the sauna first. And keep your plans light afterward: I came out so relaxed that I wasn’t in the mood to do much for the rest of the afternoon. If you can, ask for Anh.

The spa carries the hotel’s Art Deco style all the way through. The reception lounge has gray-and-white cement-tile “rugs” set into charcoal floors, low gray sofas and a stained-glass window glowing in shades of blue. The treatments use natural ingredients like cinnamon and ginger, and you see them on display as you walk in: baskets of cinnamon bark, spice pods and smooth black stones under a candle.

The treatment rooms are calm and beautifully finished. The single rooms each have their own washbasin behind a curtain, and there is a double room for couples, divided by a wooden screen beneath a round window. The singing-bowl sessions take place in a room laid out on the floor with a circle of bowls. Before or after your treatment, you can use the white-mosaic wet area, with three round rain showers and curved loungers, and the wooden sauna. Beyond massages, the spa also has a manicure room and a hair salon.

The menu goes well beyond a classic massage. A 60-minute Thai or Swedish massage costs 1,700,000 VND, and the 45-minute Tibetan singing bowl session costs 1,500,000 VND. You can also combine singing bowls with Reiki and moxibustion (60 minutes, 2,000,000 VND) or with a Vietnamese traditional therapy (90 minutes, 2,700,000 VND). The longest treatment is the Le Spa Signature Experience, at 150 minutes for 3,300,000 VND. Prices are subject to VAT and a 5% service charge.

The Gym

The gym is well equipped with Technogym machines. It sits on the top floor, so it is bright, and you get a view while you train.

Small Touches That Cut Plastic

Azerai La Residence takes plastic seriously in the small, practical ways that add up. Every water bottle in the hotel is glass, and there is a water refill station at the entrance just outside the restaurant, so you can top up your own bottle before heading out into Hue. The bathroom toiletries come in refillable bottles rather than miniatures.

What to Do in Hue

Hue was the seat of Vietnam’s Nguyen emperors, and it is a city that rewards a good guide. The hotel organized a half-day tour of Hue for us with Lan, who is known as the storyteller of Hue, and she was fantastic. She has a real knack for guessing what each person is interested in, and as we walked through the Imperial City she brought it to life with stories of the emperors, the court and the people who lived there. It is the difference between looking at old walls and actually understanding them.

From the Imperial City we went on to Thien Mu Pagoda, before ending the day on the water with a sunset cruise on the Perfume River. The cruise is organized by the hotel, and you book it through the hotel. It was raining, but it was still a wonderful way to see the city.

You can book Lan, the storyteller of Hue, through the hotel, or email her at HuongLanHue@gmail.com. Tell her what you are curious about, whether that’s architecture, food or the royal family, and she will shape the stories around it.

Back at the hotel, there is more to fill an afternoon. The hotel lends complimentary bicycles, and it has its own 55-foot (17-meter) boat for private cruises on the Perfume River. You can choose a 60-minute afternoon tea cruise with sweet and savory treats, a 60-minute sunset cruise with cocktails and canapés, or a two-hour dinner cruise to Thien Mu Pagoda and back, with a Western or Vietnamese menu. All three are organized by the hotel and booked through the hotel, at least eight hours ahead. If you are coming from the north, Hue is also the natural next stop on my luxury Vietnam itinerary, after Ha Long Bay on Bhaya Soul and the caves of Phong Nha. If you are continuing south to Hoi An afterward, read my Namia River Retreat review.

For a completely different view of the city, go up to the sky bar on the 33rd floor of the Meliá Vinpearl Hue for a drink at sunset. From up there you see all of Hue spread out below, with the Perfume River curving through it. I tell you more about it in the next section.

One more thing surprised me. Vietnamese people tend to be quite reserved, but in Hue people seemed friendlier and smiled more than anywhere else I have been in Vietnam.

People in Hue also have a stronger sense of aesthetics than in most places in Vietnam. Lan told us that the Perfume River floods the city once or twice a year. I asked her why Hue doesn’t build walls along the river, as most of Europe has done. Her answer: people here would rather be flooded once a year and keep a beautiful river and a beautiful city. Respect to them. Instead of walls, Hue is reclaiming the riverbanks with big gardens and art installations, and young people come to enjoy them during the day.

Where to Eat and Drink in Hue

Le Cercle Sportif. A few steps along Le Loi Street from the hotel, Le Cercle Sportif is not inside Azerai La Residence, but it is managed by the hotel, and it is one of the most popular restaurants in Hue. It is very trendy, and the night I went it was full of both tourists and local Vietnamese, which is always a good sign. It occupies another colonial Art Deco building right on the Perfume River. The dining room is round and stylish, with tall French windows hung with linen curtains, and at night the lights of the city shimmer on the river outside.

Book a table in the front row by the river in the round dining room. Le Cercle Sportif also has two rooms at the back, and they are less charming.

The food is really good. I had the set menu: a burrata salad with cherry tomatoes, black olives, balsamic and edible flowers, followed by a salmon roulade with zucchini-wrapped vegetables, passion fruit gel and a creamy sauce. Next time, though, I would go à la carte and order the Bun Bo Wagyu Le Cercle, the restaurant’s signature take on bún bò Huế, the city’s iconic beef noodle soup. It comes with a rich, slow-simmered broth and premium Wagyu beef, costs 250,000 VND and is served all day, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. There are riverside tables outside, which are perfect when it isn’t raining, and the rooftop bar has an amazing view over the river. Highly recommended.

Skip the set menu at Le Cercle Sportif and order à la carte: the Bun Bo Wagyu Le Cercle is the dish to try.

The sky bar at the Meliá Vinpearl Hue. For a sunset drink with a view, head up to the sky bar at the Meliá Vinpearl Hue, on the 33rd floor. It was raining when I went, so the views were a bit gloomy, which may be why the bar was almost empty. I still recommend it. Seeing Hue spread out below you, with the Perfume River curving through it, is impressive, and it made me realize how much Vietnam’s economy has developed in the last few years. The Meliá itself is a big, modern hotel, but it lacks the class, taste and design of Azerai La Residence, whose architecture and design are simply outstanding. Stay at Azerai, and go to the Meliá for a drink.

Hue is rainy from about September to December. If the sky clears, book a riverside table at Le Cercle Sportif or go up to the Meliá sky bar for sunset.

What I Loved and Potential Drawbacks

Who Is Azerai La Residence Hue For?

Azerai La Residence is for anyone looking for the best hotel in Hue. For me, no other hotel in town comes close to its mix of history, architecture, service and spa, and with rooms from about $200 a night it costs far less than you would expect. It suits you especially if you love architecture and history, if you want a calm base with a great pool and spa after a day in the Imperial City, or if you are arriving by train. It is a wonderful hotel for couples.

It is less of a fit if you want a big modern tower with a skyline view from your bed (the Meliá Vinpearl does that), or if you need a closed bathroom and lots of storage and are looking at Le Jardin Suite. In that case, choose another room type.

Heading south after Hue? My guide to the best luxury hotels in Hoi An compares nine hotels, with the rates I found for the rainy season and the dry season.

Azerai La Residence Hue: Frequently Asked Questions

Is Azerai La Residence Hue worth it?

Yes. After three nights I rate it 5 out of 5. You get a restored 1920 Art Deco mansion near the Perfume River, a huge salt-water pool, one of the best spas I have tried in Vietnam and a generous breakfast, from about $200 a night for two.

What is the best hotel in Hue?

For me it is Azerai La Residence. It has the most character of the luxury hotels in Hue, thanks to its original Art Deco mansion, its gardens and its design. TIME magazine named it one of the World’s 100 Greatest Places in 2019.

How much does a night at Azerai La Residence Hue cost?

In late November 2026, I found Superior rooms from about $200 a night for two with breakfast, River View rooms from about $275, suites from about $455 and the top Suite du Résident from about $790, all on non-refundable rates on Booking.com. Trip.com, Expedia and Vio.com were up to 20% cheaper for the same night.

Which room should I book at Azerai La Residence?

Book a room with “Colonial” in its name if you want to sleep in the original 1920 mansion. The Colonial Junior Suite (room 704) is the most atmospheric and the most romantic, and Le Jardin Suite is bright and quiet with a big terrace.

Do the rooms have a view of the Perfume River?

Only some. Most rooms look onto the gardens. For a river view, book a Superior River View or Deluxe River View room, or the Suite du Résident with its 360-degree rooftop terrace.

How far is Azerai La Residence from Hue train station and the airport?

The hotel is about a five-minute walk from Hue train station and 16 km from Hue Phu Bai airport.

Is breakfast included at Azerai La Residence Hue?

Yes, breakfast was included in the rates I booked and checked. It is served from 6 to 10 a.m. at Le Parfum and is a buffet from November to April. From May to October it is not a buffet.

Does Azerai La Residence Hue have a pool and a spa?

Yes. It has a large outdoor salt-water pool with a pool bar, and Le Spa, with treatment rooms, a sauna, a steam room, a manicure room and a hair salon. There is also a gym with Technogym machines.

Is Le Cercle Sportif part of Azerai La Residence?

Le Cercle Sportif is in a separate building at 11 Le Loi Street, a few doors from the hotel at 5 Le Loi Street, but it is managed by the hotel. It has a bistro, riverside tables and a rooftop bar over the Perfume River.

My Verdict: Is Azerai La Residence the Best Hotel in Hue?

Azerai La Residence is the rare historic hotel where the building, the service and the details all live up to the story. I would go back for the Art Deco mansion, the quiet nights, Anh’s massage and breakfast in front of the garden. Choose your room with care, bring your own bottle for the refill station, and give yourself at least one slow afternoon for the spa and the enormous pool. For me, it is the best hotel in Hue. It is also one of the best-value five-star stays in the country, which is why it sits in my guide to the best luxury hotels in Vietnam.

My rating: 5 / 5

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I stayed three nights at Azerai La Residence, Hue in Le Jardin Suite in November 2026. Read more about how I review or visit my Work With Me page.