Hotel Intel: The Reverie Saigon offers a dreamy escape into la dolce vita

I have seen a few opulent hotels, but I have never seen anything quite like The Reverie Saigon. In a world of modern minimalism, it is unabashedly grandiose, and in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest metropolis, it is unexpectedly Italian.

The Reverie, a nod to Vietnam’s growing internationalism and commercial success, is an ornate palace of lavish hospitality operating on several floors of the 39-storey Times Square tower. This is District 1, the city’s core of first-class business, shopping, dining and colonial architectural treasures.

At The Reverie Saigon, guests enjoy la dolce vita. Executives alight from Bentleys, socialites bliss out at the spa and epicureans flock to Da Vittorio, a culinary brand that has eight Michelin stars in Europe and Shanghai.

“The Reverie Saigon illustrates that Vietnam is an important world crossroads,” says François Lievens, the hotel’s executive assistant manager. “We attract elite travellers and we want to pamper them with unapologetic splendour. And we are totally different from corporate hotels.”