Skip to content From Lavender to Avanti
The listing on this site called it the Lavender Hotel, a three-star at 208-210 Le Thanh Ton with meeting rooms, a business centre and a library, and the Saigon View Restaurant and Bar on the top with a panorama of Ben Thanh Market and the centre. Booking.com still describes “Hotel Lavender” at the same address, and the hotel now trades as Avanti Boutique Hotel. If a driver or an older booking says Lavender, the address is the safe thing to say. Note that a separate sister property, Avanti Hotel Saigon, is listed at 186-188 Le Thanh Ton; the Boutique hotel, the former Lavender, is 208-210, as on its Booking.com and Traveloka pages.
What does Le Thanh Ton look like at the door?
Le Thanh Ton runs east-west between Ben Thanh Market and the Opera House end of Dong Khoi, lined with tailors, restaurants and massage places; guest reviews on Tripadvisor mention the market across the road and restaurants and massage parlours either side. The car stops at the kerb and the bags go across a busy footpath, so give the driver the house number and the name. At peak shopping hours the street is slow, which is a reason to land with 45 minutes of buffer rather than 20.
How close is the market, really?
Booking.com’s own phrase is “a minute’s walk from Ben Thanh Market”, which fits the address, opposite the market area. The Ben Thanh bus station is about 500 m away, and Ben Thanh metro station, the central stop of Metro Line 1, is a short walk. The metro does not reach the airport, so the airport run is still a car or a bus. For an evening out, the night markets guide covers the street market that sets up beside Ben Thanh after dark.
Is it a good hotel for a car arrival?
It is a city hotel with a short airport run (4.3 miles on Booking.com); one Tripadvisor guest calls the room small but functional, so travel light. A sedan suits one to three guests, and a 7-seater a family. Booking.com lists an airport shuttle, but the fee is not published, so ask the hotel in writing.
What is within walking distance?
The Reunification Palace is about 0.6 miles away, and the Central Post Office, the Opera House and Notre-Dame Cathedral are all about 0.6 miles, an easy 15 minute walk each. The museums list tells you which are worth the heat.
Taxi from Avanti Boutique to Mui Ne, Can Tho or Vung Tau
Le Thanh Ton is in the middle of the centre, so long trips start with a slow half hour. Mui Ne is 2½ hours on a clear run and 3 to 4 typically, Can Tho 2½ to 3½, and Vung Tau about 1½ to 2½. Cu Chi works as a morning trip with the car waiting.