THE STREET level entrance to The Reverie Saigon is not intrinsically welcoming — space on the ground in central Ho Chi Minh City can be tight – but stepping into the lobby on the seventh floor is bound to leave you awestruck.
Adjectives like flamboyant and extravagant jump to mind but there is nothing superficial about the glitz and glamour that is initially so overwhelming. Vibrant mosaics, a custom-made Baldi clock and a 5-metre ostrich- leather sofa are the aesthetic treats in the lobby but Italian designer-led details and original artwork are choreographed throughout the hotel to ravishing effect.
From the green marble top of a Colombostile console with multi-coloured carved wings (made originally for Michael Jackson) to the dazzling peacock image on a plexiglass base with inserts in hand-painted glass and Swarovski crystals.
The Spa – Swimming Pool
Names like Visionnaire and Colombostile are behind much of the interior design, even the elevators feel like works of art, and bedrooms have choice items of décor which, if not custom-made, are for sale in the shops on the building’s lower levels.
Winged Console by Colombostile
The Reverie Saigon’s air of cosmopolitan “savoir vivre” extends to its casual pavement-style trattoria, The Long @ Times Square, but the newly-opened Da Vittorio, named in honour of the chef’s father, the celebrated, Lombardy chef Vittorio Cerea, looks destined to be the most illustrious of its restaurants.
One of its signature dishes, ‘Egg à la Egg’, may not sound enticing but is reputed to have singled-handedly earned Da Vittorio in Lombardy its third Michelin star in 2010. Personally and more humbly, breakfast in Café Cardinal wins my star for having wonderful vegan choices on its à la carte morning menu.
The Lobby
Combining Las Vegas-style chutzpah with five-star creature comforts, The Reverie Saigon with its 286 rooms and an astonishing number of suites is a class act.
by Sean Sheehan
Room rates at The Reverie Saigon are from $340. For bookings and further information, seethereveriesaigon.com
For direct flights from London to Vietnam on a wide-body Dreamliner, see bambooairways.com