This art-filled boutique is a stunning blend of French colonial and contemporary Vietnam, with world-class dining, an award-winning spa and topped with a rooftop pool and buzzy bar, at the heart of the country’s most cosmopolitan city.
Location
A 30-minute drive from the airport and a 10-minute walk to restaurants, shops and key sights, such as the Saigon Central Post Office, the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum.
Style and Character
The building itself is a work of art with its smooth lines and sensuous curves, before you step through the enormous wooden doors and into the gorgeous triple-height lobby. Designed on Feng Shui principles, it sets the tone with acres of marble, floor-to-ceiling windows, statement lighting, sumptuous fabrics and huge vases of flowers. The female staff wear beautiful silk ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress, and the hotel is a showcase for the owner’s gallery-worthy collection of paintings and antiques.
Rooms
Rooms and suites are light-filled and elegant, with gleaming rosewood parquet, white walls, dark-wood furniture handcrafted by local artisans and taupe soft furnishings. Vast, feather-soft beds are clad in crisp white Egyptian cotton and a wafty white linen curtain separates the sparkling marble bathrooms – where my Executive Studio Suite had a decadent red, claw-foot tub with a view over the city, Lanvin lotions and potions and a separate dressing area. All rooms have international plug sockets, a Nespresso machine and a television in an ornate gilt frame.
Service and Facilities
Service is effortlessly efficient and friendly. The concierge is a wealth of information on what to do and where to eat nearby, but take time to relax in the art-filled library and lounge around the glass-walled saltwater pool on the 24th floor. It comes with stunning views over the city and after dark the lounge bar attracts a trendy crowd, with DJs spinning tropical house
Food and Drink
The all-day dining Saigon Kitchen takes its inspiration from an Asian street food market, but the expansive breakfast buffet ranges from French patisserie and a full English to pho and dim sum. The buffet lunch serves up Western and Pan-Asian favourites, while dinner is à la carte, with a seafood extravaganza at weekends.
Bag a velvet sofa for an indulgent high tea in the ground-floor Café des Beaux Arts, to the strains of a grand piano. Super-cool Japanese firm Super Potato designed the seductively lit, wood-panelled Social Club on the 23rd floor, with a creative menu from top chef Anne-Cécile Degenne of sharing plates and top-notch steak and seafood. Then head up to the rooftop bar for a bespoke cocktail – Saigon by Night mixes up basil-infused vodka, mango and Sauvignon Blanc.
Don’t hesitate to pack your luggage, come and discover the amazing land. For more information please visit our family website:
For Vietnam online visa Govietnamvisa.com – For Vietnam local tours: Govietnamtourist.com – For exploring more parts of Vietnam:http://www.vietnam-online.org/