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THERE ARE TWO THINGS you should never do in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). The first is buying a postcard from a street urchin with a heart-rending story. The second is hopping on the back of a moped driven by an alluring silken-haired lady in a white ao-dai and long elbow-length gloves. Buy a postcard and screaming hordes of kids will materialise from nowhere – with postcards of their own – to make a meal of you. This is the Saigon Serengeti at its most unforgiving. If you’re not the sort that enjoys rugby scrums and are not intimately related to Mother Teresa, walk on. Or make arrangements to have your shoes, buttons and dentures mailed back to your mum in a box. As for the ladies on mopeds – hop aboard, and your wallet may get a bigger dent than you bargained for.
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The country is fast changing. At the International Airport I sank into a comfy chair at the business class lounge and looked around, reassured by the sight of well-groomed staff, all donned in green surgical masks. It's things like this that demonstrate just how serious Vietnam is about getting ahead of the competition. I pointed this out to a fellow passenger, an American, it turned out. "Awesome," he said. An attendant came by in a mask and brought me some tea. Then he pulled his mask off and sneezed, right above the soup tureen. The evening before, after a smoky rooftop barbecue my friends and I had watched karaoke-crazed Koreans downing whisky and dancing merrily, waving strips of toilet paper. Jolly stuff. Just another day in Saigon where nothing is quite what it seems.
Ho Chi Minh City is the undisputed financial hub of Vietnam. It has come a long way and you can now shop in relative comfort but at wallet-humbling cost in the new malls where duty is seemingly levied by the trillion. Glittering shops are sprouting all over Saigon sporting Louis Vuitton, Dunhill, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Dior and Chanel.
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
There are postcards too, without predatory children. Whether you’re shopping in Saigon, or simply a businessman in a tearing rush, you won’t fail to sense the buzz, even if it’s just the roar of traffic. Unlike Hanoi, things are organised. Like the sign in my taxi that read: “Please do not pay in case taxi meter is out of work and just pay exactly for the total amount on taxi meter.” Simple…
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Welcome to Saigon, Vietnam’s Big City, the Big Bad Apple that throbs day and night with a respectable glow of neon along Nguyen Hue Boulevard especially on Friday and Saturday nights as elegant ladies in ao-dais (pronounced “ow-zais”) glide past the new crop of refurbished Saigon hotels and eateries, sitting ramrod erect on dainty mopeds. It is a delicate art, and one that is quintessentially Vietnamese. It is a convivial press though when the traffic lights change it seems the Hoover Dam has burst..
In some cases, entire families are perched atop their very own two-wheeler. Dine at an elegant French colonial villa and impress your date by ordering a hot Coca-Cola. In Saigon, Vietnam, everything is possible. On then with our Saigon guide.
Saigon’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport has had a dramatic facelift. It’s roomier, marbled, with an Internet & Games Centre and the obligatory cobras pickled in evil looking liqueurs. It is quite efficient. Duty-free shopping options at Saigon Airport include Bulgari and Chanel perfumes, and alcohol. Take a look at Bally, Swarovski, COACH, Tag Heuer, Burberry and Salvatore Ferragamo or enjoy a foot massage at the Foot Spa. There's not much to do at the terminal except shop. Pick up some Vietnamese coffee. It's pretty decent. You cannot import coffee here but you can certainly carry it out by the cartload. The airport is compact, clean and reasonably efficient with no fuss on domestic routes over liquids in carry-on baggage. Coupon taxis will demand around US$9 or more but metered taxis right outside the arrivals hall are plentiful and will settle for around US$5-$6 for a 30-minute ride downtown to your hotel in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. The return trip is about the same.
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| Group poses at Saigon Opera House |
Airport Taxis (with the sign emblazoned on their sides) will try and charge US$10 for the short but traffic-choked run into town. Within the city, taxi meters start at D12,000 or more depending on the state of the cab. This is not a rip-off. Over a medium distance, the prices all even out (Airport Taxi tel: [84-8] 3844-6666, Vinataxi tel: 3811-1111). Mai Linh (tel: 3823-2323 or www.mailinh.vn ) is another reputable taxi company.
Before you head anywhere, make a stop at the Tourist Information Centre (tel: [84-8] 3822-6033, 4G-4H Le Loi Street, District 1, www.ticvietnam.com). It is right next to the Opera House, one block from Caravelle and Park Hyatt. The Tourist Information Centre is well stocked with guide books and hotel brochures, has pleasant staff, and is right next to an ATM cash dispenser. Pick up a brochure and part with your money. The centre can do bookings for hotels, tours and airlines too, making it a decent one-stop shop for travellers. Internet establishments are easy to find and offer fairly fast connections.
Saigon shopping guide, art galleries
Whether it’s a silk ao-dai tunic you’re after or a B-52 bomber compass or a wind-up Russian army watch that actually works, everything is negotiable right down to just this side of zero. Knock-off Ralph Lauren shirts in teeming Ben Thanh market can be had for less than D79,500 (US$5). The exchange rate is around US$1=D20,838. That’s a lot of dong. Don’t change too much and keep lots of small denomination dollar bills. Everything is quoted in dollars and, unless you’re a math’s whiz, it’s far easier working with fewer zeros.
Upscale Saigon shopping is best experienced along Dong Khoi Street where you’ll find outlets like Milano (Sheraton corner) with an array of Prada, Brioni, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani and other European designer brand accessories, hole-in-wall outlets selling chic outfits, and the highly-regarded Khai Silk (tel: 3829-1146, 107 Dong Khoi).
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| Saigon malls are mushrooming |
Khai Silk is the Vietnamese equivalent of Thailand’s Jim Thompson. They have a good selection for men as well as women. There are three Khai Silk outlets on Dong Khoi and you'll also find them at some of the more upscale hotels, like Sheraton.
Khai Silk prices will range from around US$55 for silk scarves (and linen shirts for men) and around US$60 for pashmina shawls while next door at places like C&C (tel: 3824-5980) you can pick up silk crinkle-top blouses. Try the stylish Dolce Casa (tel: 3822-2530) at 137 and 143 Dong Khoi for smart cushion covers and bedroom accessories. Their Ming Collection cushion covers will set you back US$17 per piece. You might spot these in your room at the new look Caravelle Hotel though you may be distracted by their Rolex, Panerai, Chopard and Jaeger-LeCoultre outlets.
On streets outside, t-shirts can be had for US$2 or less. Pick up antique-looking second hand Swiss watches for US$250 – of course at your own risk – and knock-offs for around US$15. If you must, there's a real Omega shop too. Saigon shopping comes alive along Dong Khoi. Indochina (139 Dong Khoi, tel: 3822-4971) sells silk ao-dais for US$60 and up. Decent stores for clothes, fashion and silk include the upscale Thuy Nga Design (7 Opera House, tel: 3823-3478) where a men's linen shirt will set you back US$58, Tombo (87 Dong Khoi, tel: 3827-5973), T&M Silk (155 Dong Khoi), Mystere (141 Dong Khoi) and Creations. Just around the corner from the Caravelle (to your right as you exit the hotel) is the fascinating Tan Thanh (9 Lam Son Square, tel: 3825-7827) that sells replica wooden sailing ships, large 1.5m models going for around US$60.
Farther along Dong Khoi opposite the Continental hotel is the Eden Mall with a more posh but not overly pricey collection of fashion and accessories covering everything from jewellery to Zippo lighters. The smart Parkson mall, a block from the Park Hyatt Saigon and right next to the Continental, offers upscale choices that are hugely overpriced but are gobbled up nevertheless by local shoppers. Browse Tag Heuer watches, Timberland, Shiseido, Porsche Design, and Dunhill.
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| Saigon shopping: Khai Silk, Dong Khoi |
Come armed with information as precious little English is spoken though staff will strain to help you. There are information leaflets available. Grab one as you enter and follow the map. Sounds simple but it's an adventure. This is high end Saigon shopping.
For upscale Saigon shopping, not far from here is the Diamond Plaza department store that also offers an array of goodies including Furla and Dunhill. And at handbag and accessory store Jess (tel: 3822-3670) you’ll find Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Furla and Fendi. If clothes are not for you, ogle old but stylish Vespa and Lambretta scooters at 2S. They’ll handle shipping and paperwork. You organise the helmet, the sultry Italian-speaking blonde and the cool shades. Watch out Angelina Jolie and Paris Hilton.
Hai Ba Trung also features a seamless stretch of fashion shops, local designer offerings and larger wholesale places. Younger fashions predominate, like PT2000. This is perhaps Saigon shopping at its best, cheap, cheerful and cluttered.
Downtown, at the junction of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi is the large and gleaming Saigon Tax Trade Center which despite the name is not a tax-free shopping haven at all. Prices are steep but there is a decent range of goods on offer from jewellery and cosmetics to watches, fashion and some electronics. And it's air-conditioned. Hop in to explore Triumph, Vera, Samsonite and Adidas.
The real Saigon bargain shopping action however is to be found at Saigon Square off Le Loi one block up from Saigon Centre. Here, pick up fake watches for US$15 and up, and bargain hard for sports shoes, silk dresses, ao-dais, t-shirts, belts, CDs and DVD films for VN10,000 (less than one dollar). If you're looking for fake watches and some genuine second hand atiques, try Watch Shop 149 on Dong Khoi that displays Patek Philippe, Rolex, Omega, Longines, Tudor, Bulova, Movado and more. You might get lucky and come home with a US$30 imitation Patek Philippe (with Taiwanese movement).
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| Stately City Hall |
Book lovers can head to Fahasa (185 Dong Khoi) to browse a pretty extensive (and expensive) selection of books in English, French and Vietnamese. For something cheaper, head over to Chinatown and Cholon where the giant An Dong Plaza awaits. This is a more local establishment and prices can be flexible. Also in Chinatown, check out Binh Tay market. Another local market worth a peek is Tan Dinh near Vinh Nghiem Pagoda (Nguyen Van Troi Street) in the north of the city on the road to the airport.
If you're in search of Vietnamese art, much of it in striking colours, pop by Apricot Gallery (tel: 3822-7962 or www.apricotgallery.com.vn) at 50 Mac Thi Buoi Street around the corner from the Sheraton. There is also an Apricot Gallery in Hanoi. At 52 Dong Khoi is a larger art gallery, Thanh Mai (tel: 3824-6076). Duty free shopping at Saigon Airport is unexceptional but there is a good range of stuff from Cartier and Dior to COACH, Swarovski, Burberry and Ferragamo. Pick up a one litre bottle of duty-free Johnnie Walker Black for US$32. A one litre bottle of 12-year-old Chivas is the same price. One litre of Johnnie Walker Blue Label has a duty-free price of US$195. There is a broad range of perfumes with a Dior j'adore eu de parfum 50ml at US$80, a BVLGARI Rose Essentielle 50ml eu de parfum at US$85 and a 7.5ml Allure Chanel perfume at US$104. You can pick up a Ray Bans for around US$150 and up.
Saigon dining options
Dining choices are varied and good. Vietnam House (tel: 3829-1623) with its green louvred windows and high ceilings is one of the oldest restaurants in Saigon. Here, at 93-95 Dong Khoi Street in District 1, sample Hue-style spicy noodle beef soup or deep fried prawn wrapped in green rice. A decent meal for two should not cost more than US$15.
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| Vietnam House: atmospheric |
Check out the packed Quan An Ngon (tel: 3825-7179, 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia) that specialises in fresh-wrapped spring rolls, and the hideaway TIB (tel: 3829-7242, 187 Hai Ba Trung Street) that despite the fish ’n’ chips name has excellent spring rolls and a scrumptious jackfruit salad with shrimp, served up in a secluded yellow villa conveniently adjacent to a spa complex.
Popular old timer Quan 3 Mien (122b Tran Quoc Thao) serves up Hue, Hanoi and Saigon cuisine while the friendly and unassuming Pho 24 chain is well known for its pho, Vietnamese noodle soup (around D24,000 for a bowl).
Pho 24 offers side dishes like spring rolls as well. Easiest to find are the outlets on Nguyen Hue boulevard and Ha Bai Trung. More upscale are the trendy Temple Club (29 Ton That Thiep Street) above Fanny's ice-cream, and Lemongrass (tel: 3822-0496) around the corner from the Oscar off Nguyen Hue.
Nam Kha (tel: 3823-8309), managed by Khai Silk, does Royal Vietnamese cuisine on 46-48 Dong Khoi. The stately Nam Phan (tel: 3829-2757) occupies a charming two-storey villa, with a small alfresco dining area on its wrap-around patio as well. The ambience is discreet, tasteful, muted, dark and awfully quiet. Small signs on the table read: "Thank you for switching your cellphone to silence mode". Service is friendly but slow. I was the solitary diner when I visited but the food was tasty - when it eventually turned up.
Relaxed but more lively choices include the convivial Jaspas (tel: 3822-9926) at 33 Dong Khoi, and the friendly Ciao Cafe (tel: 3823-1130) on Nguyen Hue and a few other locations. Ciao Cafe offers free WiFi, Vietnamese, Italian, sandwiches, and lots of books. Quan Hy restaurant at 15-19 Ton That Street serves Vietnamese and also has frozen yoghurts with imaginative accompaniments.
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| Xu: Stylish chillout spot |
On Mac Thi Buoi near Sheraton is another Indian haunt, Alibaba (tel: 3823-3594) with halal food and also Bombay (tel: 903863114). For a smoky and excellent barbecue head to the rooftop Quan Nuong (above Temple Club, tel: 908-357-530). The place is packed and looks like the final scene from the Titanic with everyone running about screaming wild-eyed. Do the same and shout for a waitress. Try the lotus rice and "five spices" beef. Or boil a hot pot.
Check out the chic Xu restaurant and lounge (tel: 3824-8468 or www.xusaigon.com) at 71-75 Hai Ba Trung. This two-floor establishment offers upscale dining as well as an attractive chill-out drinks area. Try the grilled crocodile or a soy ginger chicken salad with a Xu Tini (vanilla, vodka, tea, honey and a dash of cream). Downstairs is their new bar and dining area. And, around the corner, on Dong Khoi, is Sheraton's stylish street-side venue, Mojo. This is a hip watering hole, ideal for starting, or finishing, your evening. Finish up your dining trawl with a kerbside height and weight check by local artificers who trundle their contraptions around town.
Saigon business hotels review
Before you book into a hotel bear two things in mind. At older hotels the plugs are often French-style two-pin deep-socket affairs that will stymie some adaptors. Secondly, while fast Internet connections and some Broadband are making an appearance, general speed depends largely on how many guests are logged on at any one time. As Internet usage in Vietnam tends to be private rather than corporate, nights can get jammed up.
We begin our Saigon hotel review at the heart of the city at the Opera House. Most of the better Saigon business hotels radiate outwards from this central district. So here’s the crop of the Ho Chi Minh business hotels.
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| Park Hyatt room: stylish |
The swish Park Hyatt Saigon is right across the road from the splendid Opera House. The décor at the Park Hyatt Saigon is quiet and subtle bordering on classical. Large paintings adorn walls, and from the lobby on you get an enormous sense of space. There is plenty of natural light. Service is brisk and friendly. Dining is suitably stylish with menus to match. There’s Square One for Vietnamese and great "pho", Opera for laid-back Italian with a small alfresco patch overlooking Lam Son Square, and the clubby yet informal Park Lounge. Lunchtime at Opera kicks off with some heavenly chick-pea dip and mini Ciabatta. This is no ordinary concoction. The hummus is blended with cream cheese, olive oil and a dash of lemon.
Savour fine wine by the thimble or gallon. The Park Hyatt offers 252 bright and spacious rooms with marble-tiled bathrooms and rain showers. There is Broadband and WiFi Internet access and a flat-panel TV for those who prefer to catch up on the news in style.
A cable to hook up your laptop is conveniently placed in the work-desk drawer along with a useful adaptor plug. Plug points are three-pin square along with two-pin options. There is a small in-room safe with a round deep socket European charging point..
Three rooms have been set aside for the physically challenged and, for those who prefer not to be financially challenged but expect all the perks of a top-drawer five-star, there are specials on offer from time to time. A pillar-less ballroom of 550sq m will set event-planners' hearts throbbing while after hours, business travellers may wish to unwind with a spa treatment, a fitness workout, or some quick laps in the 20m outdoor pool. The entire pool area has been greened to give it a tropical feel with rich foliage, sunning spots, and meandering paths. Catch some rays. With a location smack in the middle of business and shopping – and entertainment by the block – guests simply have to step out to get their city trawl started.
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| Caravelle soars above the Opera House |
Around the corner is the once undisputed top address in town, the art nouveau Caravelle Hotel that turned a gracious 50 in 2009. Its sumptuous Signature floor executive rooms cater for business travellers with lots of gold-weave fabric and light pinewood that’s awfully easy on the eye and will elicit satisfied oohs and aahs from your most discriminating lady friends. These rooms come at extra cost, but guests get benefits such as daily breakfast, personalised check-in at the Signature Lounge, free evening cocktails, and free use of a conference room for an hour each day. Signature rooms also feature a CD and DVD players, and fax machine. There two 2-pin plug sockets at the work desk. The Caravelle’s in-room safes can handle a very small notebook or video camera but not a normal-size laptop.
If you are lugging one of those infernal machines about, the good news is, all rooms from deluxe to Executive Floor and Signature rooms got Broadband Internet access free as of 1 January 2009. There are tea and coffee-making facilities and a well-stocked mini-bar. Wireless Internet access is available in public areas.
On the ninth floor, the popular Saigon Saigon Bar with a wraparound verandah caters for just about anybody in search of margaritas, music and superb vistas. The hotel in fact overlooks the historic Opera House. This is a brisk Saigon business hotel with an address that couldn't get more central.
The Qi Salon & Spa managed by Shiseido offers 750sq m of his and her space and the Asian Reflections restaurant on the third floor looks straight onto the Opera House. If it’s gaming you’re after, check out the Vegas Club slot machines. Casinos are getting big in Vietnam and high rollers are spoiled for choice.
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| Hotel Continental: Genuine oldie |
Close by, on the opposite side of Lam Son Square, the 80-room Hotel Continental Saigon (also facing the Opera House) has been around since 1880. Like the Rex, it is owned by the ubiquitous Saigon Tourist group. A popular haunt for spooks and journalists during the Vietnam War, the elegance was graciously fading for a while but a smart renovation has transformed the place. Staff is ever attentive and cheerful.
The Continental offers a terrific downtown location right at the head of Dong Khoi Street. The building is an old world low-rise flanked by assorted shops including a Longines and Piaget outlet. Renovated rooms come with TV (still mainly a small, boxy Sony), free plug-in and Wireless Internet, IDD telephones, coffee-making facilities, large fridge (with 333 Beer at 35,000 dong), and two ample 350ml bottles of complimentary mineral water. Expect a work desk, old fashioned furniture and plenty of space, but no in-room safe.Try to book a room overlooking the Opera House. The hotel does not offer a pool but it does have a business centre and massage. It's a good makeover with a bright, airy lobby complete with grand piano. Mark this one down as a good Saigon heritage hotel choice.
Right behind the Caravelle, at 88 Dong Khoi, the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers is a big, city hotel in every sense of the word. The lobby is not the slickest but has space to swing a horse by the tail and there’s a distinct five-star gleam in every marbled corner. The Sheraton offers light, airy rooms with lots of dreamy white and corporate blue. It is very much a business hotel despite the pink exterior. The bathrooms are compact, but the separate shower with waist-level massage jets is a luxurious compensation. The in-room safe can handle a notebook computer or a small laptop. The Grand Tower at the Sheraton added 112 studios and suites bringing the total room count to 470.
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| Sheraton: central address |
Grand Tower rooms feature contemporary décor, iPod docking stations, 42-inch LCD TVs, DVD players, Bose surround sound systems and WiFi Internet access. Guests get access to the spacious Grand Tower lounge (with indoor and outdoor areas), which offers buffet breakfast, personalised check-in, pre-dinner drinks, as well as other benefits. The Sheraton is among the best Saigon business hotels and not just for its smart staff and attentive service.
For tired limbs there’s the Aqua Day Spa with all manner of pummelling and unguents available. Other recreation and relaxation options include tennis, squash, and swimming. This Saigon business hotel is well equipped to handle meetings and conventions. For large banquets and conferences, the spacious 739sq m grand ballroom can hold 700 guests (sit-down) or 1,000 (cocktail). The Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers offers a total 2,500sq m of space for meetings, functions and secretarial work. As a combination hotel and executive residences it offers good service and a terrific central location. At the end of the day, enjoy the open views up at the Level 23 Signature Restaurant or pop down to the streetside Mojo.
Not far away, on Nguyen Hue Boulevard, the Saigon prince was reincarnated as the stylish Duxton Hotel Saigon. The Duxton certainly tries hard. Staff seem to know what’s going on and are anxious to please. This is a boon as the hotel can’t do a whole lot with the inherited boxy exterior. The pastel-beige executive rooms are surprisingly nice and come with cable TV, minibar, ironing board and big laptop-size safes.
The other plus is free Broadband Internet access for corporate customers in executive rooms. There is Wi-Fi in the lobby area but you will need to pay for it. For recreation the 198-room Duxton Hotel Saigon offers an outdoor pool, gym, a well-equipped spa, as well as a gaming centre.
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| Mod InterContinental Asiana |
There are two restaurants and six function rooms that can cater for ten to 300 guests. Snappy service makes this a hotel worth considering for small to mid-size business meetings. This is a good downtown Saigon business hotels choice.
The new 305-room InterContinental Asiana Saigon opened in September 2009 and comprises three smart blocks - one each for the hotel, residences, and offices. Deluxe rooms feature speckled carpets and wire swirls on the sliding frosted glass doors that open from bedroom onto the bath. An orange runner on the bed enlivens the arrangement with a dash of colour. Expect a 42-inch LCD television, DVD, iPhone dock, sink-in cream leather reading chair, ergonomic work chair, iron and ironing board, laptop-size safe, standalone bathtub in a smart but somewhat compact bathroom, plus complimentary high-speed Internet and WiFi. The work desk has three-pin square plug sockets. Club InterContinental on the 19th floor serves cocktails with open views of Saigon. Walk into the lobby to find lots of dark woody tones and a chic sitting area. InterContinental plans to be a strong contender for your Saigon conference hotels business with a grand ballroom capable of holding 600 people banquet or classroom style. To unwind, pick from the spa, or the health club with a 20m outdoor lap pool. Service is attentive and brisk and the location is not bad.
The suave and steadily upgrading Sofitel Saigon Plaza on Le Duan Boulevard, also in District 1 but set a little apart from the thrumming centre, is just minutes away by taxi. The lobby is chic, bright and roomy, featuring two enormous spiralling stacked-wood columns. Here, as at other plush establishments, foreigners with petite Asian wives will need to negotiate the floor with the usual tact and speed lest an overzealous security guard bar access to the lift. The cosy L’Elysee Bar with its deep blue curving sofas, red chairs and chocolate buffet is a nice hideaway.
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| New World: newlook rooms/ photo: hotel |
The hotel’s 275 rooms and 11 suites are in quiet pastel shades with pale powder greens predominating, and are kitted out with LCD TVs, DVD players, and sizeable working desks. All rooms have Broadband access. Check out the pillow menu. Guests in Club Sofitel rooms get a complimentary one-way airport transfer, private check-in and access to Club Sofitel Lounge, plus a late check-out. Expect Hermes toiletries in Club Floor and Suite rooms. The in-room safe can handle a bulky video camera but not a laptop. WiFi is available in all meeting rooms and public areas. The rooftop pool offers fine views and catches good sun. A fitness centre is available for workouts along with a steam bath, sauna and massage facilities.
The 533-room New World Hotel Saigon Hotel, close to Ben Thanh market, was the city’s first five-star address and made a splash when it arrived. It is a sprawling, cheerful, building, its bright mustard yellow exterior now toned down to off-white. Step into the spacious lobby and the gears move up a few notches. The remodelled Parkview restaurant actually lives up to its name with a verdant park view through floor-to-ceiling glass walls. There’s shopping, and an HSBC ATM machine for quick cash handouts. Expect a pool, a kids’ area, a revamped spa for a Swedish aromatic rubdown, and a fitness centre. Grab a pastry and coffee at the Saigon Bakery and on Sunday mornings enjoy dim sum at Dynasty.
Refurbished deluxe rooms at the New World Saigon Hotel are tasteful with muted pastel gold-beige tones, blond-wood sideboards and desk, and silk bed-runners. Broadband Internet access is available at US$15 per day. Also expect a flat-screen 42-inch television, iron and ironing board, and a small box safe (not quite laptop size). The toilets offer a bathtub with shower. There is also complimentary tea and coffee-making equipment and a mini-bar.The well-lit light-wood corridors are welcoming and public areas and meeting rooms at the New World offer Wireless connectivity.
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| Renaissance twin room/ photo: hotel |
This bustling hotel offers 2,000sq m of function space and business facilities are ample. Across the road is a very pleasant park should you like to stroll. Sporty types can swim at the open-air pool, play tennis, or spa out. The New World is a good pick among Saigon business hotels that doubles easily as a leisure address or a Saigon conference hotel venue. For those sleepless in Saigon, step across to the adjacent nightlife complex with the CHATS gaming and casino area, and the Catwalk disco and karaoke where slinky hostesses with legs going up to heaven will listen to your boring life story for a few dollars per hour (tips are extra). Is your tale worth it?
Situated on the busy riverside boulevard with splendid open views of the snaking waterway is New World’s sister hotel, the 5-star Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, also under the Marriott group. The hotel has 319 rooms, including 17 suites, a rooftop pool, a fitness centre with sauna and massage, and conference facilities. A soaring atrium leading up 21 floors to a skylight is an architectural signature. Rooms feature LCD televisions, a connectivity rack for hooking up your laptop, MP3, DVD or games to the TV, Broadband Internet access at US$15 per day, a good work table with three multi-pin sockets, an iron and full-size ironing board and the in-room safe can store a small notebook. The espresso coffee machine is a nice touch.
Renaissance Club Floor guests get a stack of complimentary nibbles, cocktails and breakfast as well as free local calls and two-hour complimentary use of a boardroom. The Renaissance Club Lounge provides free Internet access. WiFi is available in public areas. Conference and meeting facilities can take up to 136 people for a sit-down banquet and about 200 in a cocktail setting. The Renaissance has a crisp business style but is well positioned on the river with open views that will appeal to holidaymakers. It is a family friendly Saigon hotel that can rustle up business muscle if required. Set away from the hurly-burly, this is a quieter location within a few minutes' walk to Dong Khoi and all that shopping.
One of Ho Chi Minh City’s enduring charms is its smaller characterful hotels, often still housed in historic buildings. Four interesting examples are the Grand, Majestic, Continental and the enduring four-star Rex Hotel whose utterly mad Roof Garden with its cavorting plaster elephants still entertains on pleasant, breezy evenings.
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| Rex New Wing room: spacious |
The 286-room Rex, on Nguyen Hue Boulevard is centrally located, close to the Opera House and overlooking the City Hall. It has been supplemented by a brand new wing with 71 smart rooms and a white-marble lobby, a far cry from the dimly-lit musty welcome of the old wing.
The older hotel is constructed around a large open courtyard called the Rose Garden, now a welcoming outdoor dining area with tables, chairs and sun umbrellas. Long dark corridors that radiated out from the lobby have finally been lit up properly and the lobby itself has been transformed. The Rex old wing is alright if your sights are not set too high. Here, rooms come with cable TV, Internet access, electronic safes, and some have faxes. All the place needed was some 100-watt bulbs, SWITCHED ON.
And the renovated hotel has done just that. The furniture is rattan and somewhat spartan but it gets the job done. There is a business centre that has a translation service. New wing rooms are bright and decked out in pastels with Vietnamese silk runners. Expect electronic room cards, parquet flooring, double-glazed windows to keep out traffic noise, a work desk, flat-screen TV, iron and ironing board, a fire sprinkler (a new addition), separate shower and bathtub, a hair-drier and laptop-size Elsafe. The Rex has been chugging along since 1927 with constant upgrades. Need a massage? No problem. Head up to the La Cochinchina Luxury Spa and fitness area where you'll be greeted by two swimming pools, gym, tennis courts and a raft of activities from yoga and aerobics to modern dance.
Our pick of the oldies would be the Grand Hotel, a beautiful whitewashed corner property half a block from the river, right behind the Renaissance. The building came up in 1930. This three-star property has moved up to four stars. In 1998 a new 12-floor wing was added to the colonial wing. Superior rooms feature large beds with wood-trim fabric headboards, long satiny curtains bunched gracefully either side of tall windows, parquet flooring and small carpets here and there.
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| Rex roof: Wild and atmospheric |
The in-room safe is big and boxy and can hold a laptop quite easily. Deluxe rooms have darkwood furniture, gleaming wooden floors and a terrific bathroom with separate shower, bathtub and hair-drier. They also have a GIANT safe that could hold an elephant – or your mother-in-law. There’s a nice courtyard pool and all rooms have Internet access on a paid basis. WiFi is available in public areas.
Around the corner, facing the river, the Hotel Majestic like its sister, the Grand, is run by Saigon Tourist. A new wing is in operation as well. The lobby features an old-world lift that can accommodate two persons (or one well-fed German). I held my breath for three floors. The hotel was built in 1925. The rooms feature wooden parquet floors, flatscreen TVs, dim lighting – which seems very de rigueur in Saigon – and a small safe. This won’t hold a laptop but your machine can connect to the Internet from any room. High-speed Internet is available at a fee. On executive floors, avail of Broadband, executive breakfasts, afternoon tea, shoeshine service and late checkout until 3pm. The Majestic also offers an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness centre and spa with massage, and a 461sq m ballroom. There are several options for wining and dining, including a breezy rooftop bar. Hotel Majestic is riding the green wave with water and energy conservation programmes in place.
The Norfolk Hotel on Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1 is a cheerful businesslike place. There is complimentary Internet (Broadband in rooms and WiFi in public areas), a business centre, a health club and baby-sitting services. On central Le Loi boulevard is the Sedona Suites Ho Chi Minh City with 89 one-to-three-bedroom apartments (with kitchen, furniture, king-size bed, satellite TV and Broadband and WiFi), swimming pool, tennis, basketball, sauna and business centre.
Not too far from downtown, a skip and a hop from the Renaissance, is the river-facing Legend Hotel Saigon. This is a simple and elegant pale salmon building on the outside but a riot of grand bric-a-brac and colours inside. Two enormous metal horses look onto the lobby lounge and a fountain under a bright yellow-and-blue skylight surrounded by Roman bathhouse pillars. Still, it is a professionally run place with bright staff and will appeal to corporates.
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| Movenpick executive deluxe/ photo: hotel |
The 283 rooms offer cable television, free Broadband and WiFi Internet access, free local calls and tea and coffee-making facilities. Executive guests can breakfast in the Executive Lounge, which also offers express check-in, a meeting room, complimentary afternoon snacks and evening cocktails. There is a pool, several restaurants and banquet space that accommodates 500 guests.
Also just a little out of the way is the 290-room Ramana Hotel Saigon (previously the Amara Saigon). The Ramana offers a broad range of facilities including a business centre, fitness room, sauna and spa, outdoor pool, and a KTV nightclub. Rooms come with basic amenities including Broadband Internet access. Wireless is available in public areas. Guests in suites get extras including complimentary one-way airport transfers, complimentary laundry pressing (two items per day), as well as free breakfast and evening cocktails in the Club Lounge.
Another hotel option but quite a ways from downtown, is the Equatorial Hotel with 333 rooms. Amenities include satellite TV, electronic safes, minibar and Broadband Internet access at US$16 for a day. There is no WiFi. Guests in Equator Club Floor rooms and suites get additional benefits included in the rate. There’s a fitness centre, a 24m pool with a sunken bar, slot machines, KTV, seven restaurants, and generous banquet facilities.
Some distance away (by Ho Chi Minh City standards) in the direction of the airport, a 15-minute taxi-ride will bring you to the understated Swiss-managed Moevenpick Hotel Saigon (formerly the Omni Saigon Hotel). This five-star hotel has an interesting history. It was a US government building until 1975 when its occupants departed, presumably not all on the last helicopter out. Omni took over in 1994, adding a grand lobby, sweeping staircase and rooftop pool, to convert the lowrise apartment into a quality hotel with ample conference facilities. This means that unlike standardised modern hotels, every room here is slightly different in shape and orientation.
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| Shipshape, and for a song |
In mid 2008, the hotel was taken over by Moevenpick Hotels and Resorts. Closed in early 2010, after extensive renovations the hotel reopened in August 2010 with a jaunty new stride, its 278 rooms graduating from "stately to chic".
Executive rooms are generous in size with large bathrooms and guests have access to a private lounge that serves a sumptuous buffet breakfast. All rooms come with TV, Broadband access, in-room safe and hairdryer. Expect a gym, wellness studio and an outdoor pool. A nice touch at the hotel is the street-fronting Café Saigon that attracts a hip suburban crowd. Lotus Court is the new Chinese venue and IKI the swish new hangout for Japanese morsels. If you still need more buzz, pop into Club 21 casino. The Movenpick Saigon sees itself among the better Saigon business hotels though its location a little way out makes it more of an in-and-out airport hotel with good meetings facilities.
Just up the road from here is the Parkroyal Saigon Hotel (formerly the Novotel Garden Plaza Saigon), a modern, four-star atrium-style hotel with pool, club floors for executive travellers, and a fun pub. With the change in management (in January 2008) came renovations to all Superior and Deluxe rooms, which now include ergonomic desk chairs, complimentary Broadband Internet access (WiFi in public areas), and safes that will fit a laptop. The 193-room property is a smart choice. It is, however, essentially an airport hotel. You will get good rates here however and if an early flight out is on the cards it offers a good value option. There are meeting and event facilities, an outdoor pool and a fitness centre. The executive Orchid Club offers extra benefits such as complimentary laundry services, personalised check-in facilities, free breakfast, complimentary use of the meeting room for one hour, plus a shoe-shining service.
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| Bright Parkroyal/ photo: hotel |
Out in the neon razzle and clamour of Chinatown's Cholon district is the high-rise Windsor Plaza Hotel. It is a modern, gleaming establishment with good city views, reasonable service, ample facilities, throw-in glitz and more than a few quirks. The lobby is on the fourth floor and the hotel actually sits atop the An Dong Plaza shopping mall. Consequently, the atmosphere is busy and the place can feel crowded at times. There are 405 rooms and suites. Deluxe rooms come with basic amenities, while suites are larger and more modern with features such as LCD TVs. Broadband Internet access is available in all rooms, and free Wireless is offered in public areas. Executive room guests get access to a private lounge, with benefits such as complimentary buffet breakfast, a laundry service and personalised check-in. There is a disco for itchy feet and the An Dong Health Club has a complimentary buffet, as well as saunas, Jacuzzis and a ‘back exfoliation treatment’ specifically for men.
Saigon budget hotels and good value stays
Ho Chi Minh City budget hotel options are immense. Service and facilities can fluctuate dramatically. The three-star Bong Sen Hotel is a decent downtown budget option in the Dong Khoi vicinity with simple but nice rooms, clean bathrooms, TV, minibar, free Internet access and a big safe for laptops. WiFi is available at the business centre and lobby lounge.
Executive rooms have computers, and guests can enjoy the Lotus Club facilities on the seventh floor where two boardrooms are available for up to 10 persons. Bong Sen Hotel offers video-conferencing and is no slouch on amenities for business travellers. There is no pool, but guests are able to use the pool at Palace Hotel, its sister property about two minutes away. This is a useful Saigon budget hotel choice.
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| Oscar hotel room: refurbished |
An interesting Saigon budget hotel option is the Saigon Boutique Hotel, a cross between an art deco layer cake and an art gallery. The place is five minutes from Ben Thanh market. The 20 rooms are neat and feature IDD phones and cable TV. The rates are very affordable and can be negotiated down further during summer months. There is a small business centre with Internet as well, and free WiFi is available in public areas. That’s a lot of bang for very few bucks.
Or try the small but friendly Spring Hotel at 44-46 Le Thahn Ton Street. The 54-room Spring Hotel offers basic but clean accommodation on a quiet side street just a few minutes’ walk from the shops and hustle of Dong Khoi, a few blocks from Notre Dame Cathedral. Higher floors afford nice views of the city. The rooms are light and airy with rattan furniture, air-conditioning, satellite TV and a minibar. This is a highly regarded Saigon budget hotel choice with friendly English-speaking staff. Depending on your needs it can work for business travellers too looking for peaceful surrounds in District 1, at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. Also a short walk from Notre Dame heading away from downtown is the clean and neat three-star Victory Hotel, popular with European groups. There is a pool on the sixth-floor roof and a fitness centre. There are 145 rooms, simple, clean and modern with box TVs. There are also conference facilities for up to 300 persons. Expect free Wi-Fi.
There are several other decent to desperate choices downtown and farther afield. Most are modern, shiny, characterless boxes that nevertheless have all the relevant services. Some options range from the dolls-house Oscar Saigon Hotel on Nguyen Hue, to the more upscale Kimdo Royal City Hotel, and the renovated Palace Hotel. The 144-room Palace Hotel Saigon is four stars and looks the part with a crisp minimalist white-marble lobby and contemporary decor. Rooms are also smart and come with satellite TV, minibar, safes, hairdryers, and tea and coffee-making facilities. Internet (wired and wireless) is available in suites. Breakfast is included in the room rate. The hotel has meeting facilities, there is a business centre, a small pool, three restaurants, and a spa that is open until 2am. WiFi is free in the lobby.
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| Riverside Hotel: good rates |
The Oscar Saigon Hotel enjoys a great location and has considerably spruced up with a smart new lobby, clean rooms, fresh carpeting and free WiFi (plus a small high-speed Internet station in the lobby). The Oscar also manages to rustle up a health club with massage and sauna and has converted its penthouse Starlight disco to a banquet hall where a huge breakfast repast awaits with wraparound views of the city and City Hall. The taxi ladies (dancing companions) are, alas, gone. In-room expect large metal safes with large and threatening combination spin locks (that don't work) straight out of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. These safes have been reconditioned to work with a key that has to be obtained from reception at no charge.
The bathroom offers a hair drier, a moulded bathtub with shower and toiletries. Rooms boast satellite TV and comfy beds with remote-controlled aircons. This is a good Saigon budget hotel choice for business or pleasure though prices can climb sharply in season. Try for rates in the region of US$75. The best street views are from rooms ending in 01 or 02. Right across the road, the upscale Kimdo Royal City Hotel meanwhile flaunts its health club offering massage, sauna, steam bath, fitness centre and Jacuzzi. The four-star Kimdo offers conference space as well as a business centre. It has had a smart makeover – complete with Roman busts and statues lining the entrance – and is a reliable address downtown if you don't mind something a tad cheesy.
Next door to the Renaissance, is the Riverside Hotel which, as the name declares, faces the river. It is a characterful low-rise with enough personality to lure a relaxed leisure tripper. There are 50 rooms, including suites, with satellite TV, a multi-cuisine restaurant, and sauna and massage facilities.
The Nam Phuong Hotel on Hai Ba Trung is neat and clean with staff trying hard to please. The Bong Sen 2 also on Hai Ba Trung is an interesting budget alternative. The place is also referred to as the Bong Sen Hotel Annex. Rooms are quite decent, there is a travel shop and business centre and a Vietnamese restaurant.
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| Temple Club above Fannys ice-cream |
Around the corner from the Continental on Dong Khoi is the Asian Hotel with 47 rooms including two deluxe rooms that are spacious and come with a terrace. The first class room (starting category) offers a small TV, wooden cupboard, and a clean bathroom with shower and bathtub. There is an Internet station in the lobby as well as a café, and WiFi is available throughout the hotel. Along or off Dong Khoi are two more three-star options – Hotel Saigon (close to the Sheraton and with free WiFi in the room), and the Huong Sen Hotel.
Spas, massage, bars and nightlife
Saigon nightlife can be a riot. If the various hotel health clubs haven’t scrubbed and massaged you to silken perfection, head out to sample the city’s nightlife and bars. One of the biggest hotel operations in town is the Health Club at the Windsor Hotel that advertises itself as "the largest men's massage club and spa in Vietnam".
Of course, if you still need refined pampering you might try the Jasmine wellness spa (tel: 3827-2737) where an anti-stress massage will set you back around US$22. Sample hot stones, a rice body polish, salt body scrub, and then get a manicure afterwards. Less painful are the fabulous Bar Q Saigon (tel: 3823-3479 or www.qbarsaigon.com) and the Qucina Q Saigon, which are actually in the Opera House complex. Sip tall cool drinks, down shots, or nibble Italian. Interiors are ultra cool, sculpted with arches and cosy nooks and corners.
The discreet and tasteful brick-wall Temple Club (29 Ton That Thiep Street, tel: 3829-9244) will not disappoint with cosy verandahs, elegant dining and a very comfy deep-sofa lounge for drinks. It’s hard to spot but is just above Fanny ice-cream. A happening place at times is the Sax N’ Art jazz club (tel: 3822-8472) on Le Loi where you can take in saxophone riffs and Vietnamese melodies. It is a small place with a cosy feel to it. Can get noisy and crowded late.
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| Stylish Q Bar: Drinks and Italian |
If you want a slice of history, try Apocalypse Now (tel: 3825-6124, 2C Thi Sach Street), one of Saigon’s oldest bars, where US soldiers hung out while stationed in the city.
The aforementioned Catwalk next to the New World gets humming late and you can part with your cash in a hurry here if you’re not careful. Just don’t end up swaying on the disco floor with a precariously clasped beer in hand. That’s how quite a few suits end up. Others might head to the adjacent Le Lai sauna and massage.
The Club Royale (tel: 3822-1888) behind the Renaissance is another bopping complex with a slot machine gaming centre, wine and cigar cellar, karaoke, live band and, heck, even free Internet. Can’t get away from technology. “Hi, my name Diem, I have legs going all the way up to heaven.” “Well, hello Diem, but honestly, I really need to access my Gmail right now and…” A humungous lift - perhaps once a car elevator - done up like a Disneyland lounge, hoists you up to the reception level where you'll find ladies in strappy dresses waiting to sing with you for around US$8 per hour. No dancing.
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