Hotel des Arts Saigon - luxurious, spectacularly swanky art deco haven in Ho Chi Minh City
Exquisitely decorated in French-Indochine style and featuring extraordinary art from the owner’s private collection, this property has plenty to keep guests entertained, and is close to several of the city’s top attractions
What and where is it? Ho Chi Minh City’s latest five-star hotel is near the centre of town, in District 3, an area known for its avenues of towering plane trees, French-style villas and cross-cultural architecture, notably the Ky Dong Church, Archbishop’s Palace and Jade Emperor Pagoda. The popular War Remnants Museum and Notre Dame Cathedral are nearby.
What’s so special about the hotel? It’s a charmer, with 168 rooms and suites exquisitely decorated in French-Indochine style. East-meets-West decor includes rosewood parquetry floors, pressed ceilings and panelled walls, custom-designed tub seats and writing desks, claw-foot baths (below) and heavenly sleigh beds with goose-feather duvets. Floor-to-ceiling windows with distinctive round edges are an architectural feature alluding to the art deco era.
Oh la la, what’s the best bit? The Social Club restaurant and bar on the 23rd floor is decked out à la 1930s Indochina and is known among an increasing number of local converts for its well-coiffed bartenders and their craft-spirited and botanically inspired cocktails. A magnificent long oak bar was imported from Britain by the hotel owner, who was inspired by the Long Bar in Shanghai’s Waldorf Astoria. Up a level, Above Saigon is a spectacularly swanky rooftop bar with night-light views and a neon-lit infinity pool with immersed bar and stools.
And des arts? Among the extraordinary works in the hotel’s private collection is Lady with White Lotus, an oil on canvas by Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000). One of the owner’s favourite artists, Vu Cao Dam was an alumnus of Victor Tardieu’s famed École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine, in Hanoi. His Lady can be found near the lifts in the lobby.