Real Hanoi Hilton to Open in Vietnam

American POWs held captive in Hoa Lo Prison a generation ago called the place the “Hanoi Hilton.” But times have changed. The prison is now a museum, and on Feb. 26 Hanoi is scheduled to get a real Hilton, the first U.S. hotel chain to operate in Vietnam.

The 269-room, $60-million Hilton Hanoi Opera, designed in classic French colonial style, is in the heart of downtown, next to the remodeled 88-year-old Opera House (built in 1911) and a block from the Press Club, Hanoi’s hottest new restaurant, and the venerable Metropole Hotel.

Hilton executives said there will be no marketing campaign to play off the hotel’s association with the wartime past. “That’s still too sensitive,” one said. Among the hundreds of Americans who endured life in Hoa Lo Prison is the current U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Pete Peterson, a former Air Force pilot.

An introductory rate of $139 is in effect through May 31. Then rates will start at $230. The hotel’s phone is 011-84-4-933-0500, but reservations can be made by calling 1-800-HILTONS.