Camelia Lounge is a glamorous Champagne bar/lounge in Hanoi, one of the best I've visited so far in the city. It is located on the 3rd floor of the Mélia Hotel in the Hoàn Kiếm district.
It has a free entrance, but be warned that the drinks are quite expensive. The cheapest cocktails cost VND183,000 Net (= US$8), a bottle of Jack Daniels almost 130$ and a bottle Champagne at least 140$.
Camelia is built on 1 floor, with 4 distinct areas (all connected to each other): A restaurant, a large central bar, a lounge and an outdoor terrace. It has a quirky design, with plenty of small, fun details. One of the best features is the pop art mosaic of 90's icons (Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction among others).
It is managed by a Brazilian DJ (Alexandre Gavinha AKA DJ Gavinha). I saw that he is still playing at least twice a week. When I visited, the music was an eclectic mix of different genres from hip-hop to deep house. People were not dancing but it was the perfect soundtrack to enjoy cocktails. Every 2 weeks, they also welcome famous foreign DJs (from labels such as Ministry of Sound, Cafe Del Mar, etc).
Almost all customers were well-dressed Asians, Vietnamese as far as I could tell. They were sitting in sofas within small groups, sharing a bottle and sometimes a shisha. To my disappointment, there weren't any unattached ladies (judging from their photos on Facebook, it seems to be the exception though).
A few times in the evening, two hot foreign girls with eccentric costumes started dancing. I was not sure who they were at first and then I found out they were from the Pacha nightclub in Ibiza.
Overall: Camelia is one of the best bars in Hanoi as of 2017. Recommended if you want to enjoy quality food and cocktails in an upscale atmosphere.
My only criticism is that it is not so crowded yet, but hopefully this will change as it gets more famous.
Here is a video I took from inside with my mobile phone:
Operating Hours:
Open every day until 2AM.
Fantastic ladies' night on Wednesdays with free flow sparkling wines (red and white) from 9PM to midnight.
Camelia Lounge Hanoi
44B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Hanoi 100000
Phone number: 093 969 32 23
Email: info@camelialounge.com
Website: http://camelialounge.com/
Instagram: Camelia Lounge Hanoi
Facebook: Camelia