Dreaming of The Reverie Saigon
The Saigon River, still retaining its obsolete though still popular name that the French gave to Ho Chi Minh City, is perhaps Vietnam’s most sizeable reminder of its colonial past. Flowing into the Mekong Delta, the river is the lifeblood of Prey Nokor, as the city was known before the French colonials renamed it when it was made capital of Cochinchina, an area analogous to modern South Vietnam. Aided by its fertile waters and underpinning the hectic Saigon Port, the river remains the pulsing heart of Vietnam’s largest metropolis, supporting a city of nine million people.
The river’s banks have seen many empires come and go, and now welcomes a luxurious new addition – the Reverie Saigon. Situated on the 27th and 39th floors of the gleaming new Times Square, the Reverie is Ho Chi Minh City’s most loftily located hotel, with panoramic views of the river and the city that has grown around it. It shares this premium address with some of the city’s best serviced apartments and office spaces. Topping the building is a helipad – The Reverie Saigon is the only hotel in Ho Chi Minh City to boast one, making it in a class of its own.
Although the all-glass façade is thoroughly modern, the hotel’s interiors take inspiration from the city’s past and its 257 rooms and 19 suites are fully decorated in classic European style. Quilted headboards and rococo-style sofas feature strongly in its rooms, sourced generally from Italy. Some of the more opulent suites call to mind the halcyon days of the French Empire, and the ornate decadence image that that conjures. Other rooms veer more modern, but even then, there is a touch of the past with traditional Vietnamese fabric motifs and subtle classical details. The Saigon River has seen many additions over the year, and this one – The Reverie Saigon – is a wonderfully dreamy one.
