With its long history as a popular resort area for both foreigners and Vietnamese, Dalat offers some choice lodgings. You'll find plenty of good minihotels, many geared toward Vietnamese weekenders escaping the summer heat in the big cities, and all quite easy on the budget. Note: No hotel in Dalat has air-conditioning, but with the year-round temperate weather, none is needed.
Keep an eye on new developments in the hills outside the city center. Efforts are underway to restore and preserve the many 1950s-era French colonial homes, and many are converting to guesthouses. Many new hotels are chasing the upmarket dollars in Dalat, and construction is ongoing. The government has taken to renovating original French villas in the Old Quarter on Tran Hung Dao St. Unfortunately, it looks like limited budgets have been allotted for these projects and the outcome rarely does justice to the breathtaking exterior of these antique buildings. Saigon Tourist is also developing Saigon Dalat, and another familiar name, Rex Dalat, will be joining the city's burgeoning hotel scene in the near future.
