ainternational

Hands down the best meal I had in SGN was at "La Villa" French restaurant. It's a cab ride from the hotel but totally worth it. Make reservations and enjoy the evening.

imm2b

$2 cab ride will take you to Quan Ngon on Pasteur for some delicious Vietnamese food.

IggySD

In addition to Quon Ngon (which is really walkable, maybe 10-15 minutes) the concierge also recommended a place just across the street, Hoa Tuc I think it was.

A bit further (20-25 minute walk), which I enjoyed more than either of the other two was May

http://www.may-cloud.com/

The beef and morning glory salad was great.

For something a bit more unusual you could try one of the breweries, they're pretty much German / Czech beer halls but in Vietnam. The food isn't all that but it's a fun experience. There are a few within walking distance of the Park Hyatt. Check out beervn.com for a map.

River in Sight

My wife and I just completed a three-night stay at this property and truly loved it - here are some quick notes:

Check-in and Room
We arrived pretty early in the morning - maybe 10AM - after flying in from the US, and were really hoping that our room would be ready so that we could freshen up. Sure enough, we were immediately brought up to our room and while I don't think we received any kind of upgrade, the room was still beautiful. The room was on one of the top floors looking out over the pool and was very comfortable and quiet. The bathroom was also nice with a very large closet inside the bathroom. I used the Internet a bit and the speed was just fine for me. There was a plate of fresh fruit that was kept refreshed each day, and for the diamond welcome amenity we picked the two cold beers and two (small) fresh spring rolls.

As a side note about arrival, I could not believe how quickly we were through the SGN airport. We had obtained visas in advance from the embassy in DC and just walked right up to the immigration counter with no wait at all - baggage and customs were equally fast, and we were with our driver no more than 15 or so minutes after we landed. It was much smoother than I thought it would be going into it.

Breakfast
Ah, the breakfast was a delight. The cold buffet is extensive and has all sorts of fruits, breads, cold cuts, etc. - and all of the bakery items were really, really good:



Aside from that, you can order one hot item off the menu. There are western options and five Vietnamese options.. I can recommend the Bahn Mi, the com tam, and especially the beef stew:



The breakfast location is beautiful and I'd say that this ranks up with the best breakfasts out there. Try the Vietnamese Iced Coffee.

Pool
The pool is nice and was never very crowded - it is outdoors and it can actually get a bit chilly in the afternoon as the pool area is shaded at that time. But the area is relaxing, the service is attentive, and occasionally cold skewers of fruit are distributed. Full bar and food service is also available in the pool area. There is a gym near the pool but I never looked at it, although I meant to.

Restaurants
A few restaurant recommendations.. a couple of these are included up thread:

• Hoa Tuc - located basically right out the left side of the hotel in a courtyard. Nice setting and we really enjoyed our meal here - very convenient and I wish that we had've gone here more than once.
• Quon Ngon - just a short walk from the hotel and again, a very nice setting. The prices were extremely reasonable and I enjoyed the food.
• We also decided to try Italian one night due to the great reviews on TripAdvisor - Ciao Bella - this was really a fantastic meal. The guy running the place seems to be Italian and the food and service really were great - and the prices, I would say, at least half what it would have been back home. Not a far walk from the hotel and I would recommend it.
• Finally, we did want to try French cuisine in HCMC and went to La Fourchette on our last night - I can't understand where this restaurant gets all of their supposedly good reviews from. We got a bait-and-switch on wine (overcharged, only by a couple of USD but still left a bad taste in our mouths) and the food was not especially good, nor was the atmosphere. We wish that we had gone back to Hoa Tuc - oh well. Next time.

A Final Note on HCMC
Immediately before we left for HCMC, I started getting a little apprehensive as various people said how crazy the city was, that there was all kinds of pick-pocketing and purse snatching, etc. That may be true, however we really enjoyed our time in the city and the only thing that we found to be especially troubling was crossing the street, which does take some fortitude at times. We were barely hassled - compared to Bangkok, Rome, or other cities, HCMC was nothing on the hassle-meter and anyone who did try to tout something (this was mostly by the War Remnants museum) generally immediately gave up after being ignored one time. We never took any taxis and just walked everywhere that we wanted to go (aside from the half-day tour) and had no issues.

We went with Ann Tours for a half-day tour on our last full day and really enjoyed their service. Ask for Mr. Truc if you can as he did a fantastic job and provided a ton of insight into the sites that we visited. I think it's good to save the tour for the last day - figure out what you can get to and do on your own and do it, and then save everything else for the tour. We also used Ann Tours for the airport transfers, though looking back a taxi may have worked out just fine.

A few things that we enjoyed:

• Touring the Reunification Palace - very interesting step back in time
• Mr. Truc took us to Binh Tay Market - this is different from the Tourist market closer to the hotel - I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into the local commerce
• Giac Lam Pagoda - again, with Mr. Truc.
• Drinks at the rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the Sheraton. Both hotels are outrageously expensive for HCMC, but have happy hour deals available.
• We did go to the War Remnants Museum, but I did not find it to be especially informative... if you do go, start at the top floor as I felt that had the most actually informative content. The lower floor I think is more just going for shock value.

IggySD

Just so I know for future stays, can you order multiple menu dishes for breakfast? I only did one a day but one morning my banh mi was mighty small. I filled up with enough doughnuts and croissants but wouldnt have minded some pho as well.

ainternational

At the restaurant, one has access to the buffet in addition to any item off the menu. Not sure about multiple menu dishes, but they seemed incredibly flexible and one didn't have to sign any checks for the Diamond breakfast as I recall...

imm2b

Yes. I can confirm that you can have multiple dishes on the menu. In fact, have as much as you can eat.

Thunderroad

Very useful review. Thanks for posting it!

River in Sight

I only had one dish per day, but one day I did observe the table next to us ordering >1 dish per person and that seemed to be just fine.

Shangri-La

http://saigon.park.hyatt.com/en/hote...enovation.html

Closing for about three months early next year for renovations.

ParkHyattSaigon

In keeping up with the ever-changing needs and lifestyles of our guests, Park Hyatt Saigon will undergo a luxury upgrade of all facilities and guest rooms during 2014. However, we will only be closed for 6 weeks, from February 17th 2014 until April 2nd 2014 and shall reopen to the public on April 3rd for arriving guests and patrons. During this closure most of the disruptive works will take place. When the hotel reopens works will be complete in the public areas, with refurbishment of all guest rooms continuing until November 2014.

Daily renovation works are scheduled from 09:00 am to 05:00 p.m., Monday through
Saturday. Intermittent noise is expected during these working hours.

Throughout this luxury redefinition, the Park Hyatt Saigon team is committed to ensuring that guest satisfaction, comfort and convenience, as well as prompt and efficient service remain the top priority. These exciting changes will enable Park Hyatt Saigon to remain the market leader in Hospitality in Vietnam whilst offering guests a unique Vietnamese experience.

For more information, please contact us at +84 8 3824 1234 or email [email protected].

Dave Johnson

It is unfortunate but I am staying there during the closure. As a diamond member, a assistant manager emailed me to apologize and to try to offer me solutions. I was staying on a suite upgrade with adjoining kids room as part of a three location, all Hyatt trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. The assistant manager offered to use the hotels leverage with nearby hotels to get me into a similar accommodations situation. The packages that were offered were about $50 per night cheaper than what I could get myself with no status on the Sheraton and Intercontinental websites. I have never been bumped from a hotel- let alone as a member who has already stayed 65 night this year ( usually high $ rooms in big cities for business and multiple rooms for family trips. What have people seen as reasonable compensation for the inconvenience of an unexpected move that was within Hyatt's control?

TRAVELSIG

It happens- renovations and closures may require a bit flexible of schedules.

What I would do is ask them to book you into the Tower at the Sheraton which is very high quality accommodation and is literally next door to the Park Hyatt (around the corner).

GB

The Intercontinental Asiana is a much higher quality hotel and environment than the Towers section of the Sheraton.

MAN Flyer

As a regular at this place I have to say I am surprised they think it needs a refurb. If hotels in this state are needing refurbs then many places I have stayed in should probably be closed!

You gotta be kidding. The IC is crap and poorly built, mainly due to rushing towards the end. It had that many problems when they opened - in the rush for a 'special' date - they nearly had to close again shortly after to rectify them they were that bad. I know people who sold stuff to them and staff who went there from the Sheraton and had a tour when the pool was leaking, the wifi wouldn't work and lots of the room furnishings needed refitting.