Park Hyatt Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

The Park Hyatt Saigon opened just this past July 2005. I checked in four months later, staying in 3 different rooms (2 standard and 1 suite). The prime location in District 1 (considered most desirable in Ho Chi Minh City [or HCMC], the city formerly known as Saigon) makes most of the landmarks available within walking distance. The hotel is next to the Opera House, close to the "Hotel de Ville" (French for "City Hall"), and not too terribly far away from the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Independence Palace. In addition, the upper-end shopping malls are located in this area as well. Most taxi drivers do not know where Park Hyatt Saigon is because it is quite new, but because of its close proximity to the well-known Caravelle Hotel, the latter became a convenient point of reference.

The standard room was quite small. In the first room that I occupied, there were crumbs inside the folder of the hotel information; and no clock (alarm clock). When we came in, there was no welcome bowl of fruits. They were to come much later. Even the Grand Hyatt Jakarta sent one staff member to bring the welcome bowl of fruits immediately after I settled down. The Hyatt Regency Surabaya already had fruits waiting in one's room upon check-in.

The second room, another standard room, had an alarm clock (which made me realize that the first room was missing one). These standard rooms are not the most perfect for a two-person occupancy, unless one devices a schedule for bathroom use (there was only one basin). Even a standard room at Ritz Carlton would have two basins.

The suite definitely worked better, with ample amount of space, a walk-in closet, a writing desk that doubled as a vanity table (right before the bathroom). The suite I had was at the end of the hall. Because the hotel had a curved outer wall, the suite occupied a rather odd space. As a result, the living room area did not look as pleasing as it could be. Alarm clock was again missing from this room. The hotel needs to work on consistency.

Check-in was done in the room, but there was no offer for an express check-out, and I forgot to ask about such service.

Room Service was excellent: I was rather picky in how I wanted my Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) served, but when it arrived, it was exactly as I had instructed it to be served. Other services such as turn-down and shoeshine were very satisfactory and timely.

For some reasons, I was always placed in the 7th floor (there are a total of 9 floors). Standard rooms are rather small but cozy. Noise from the streets in front of the hotel is carried all the way up to my rooms, day and night. At night, it is common for the electricity to fail. The explanation that came from the hotel was that the electricity was supplied by the State, but at night, the State switched it off and therefore the hotel had to turn on its own generator. They apologized the first time it happened and promised that it would not happen again; that it was not a usual thing. Well, luckily I was not born yesterday and knew better. Every night there was a black-out, sometimes more than once. If they knew that the State was going to turn it off every night, the hotel should anticipate it by getting the generator already going to provide a seamless transition from one power supplier to another.

Both the spa and the gym were very nice, clean, and well-attended (in the late afternoon until late night). Both the steam room and the jacuzzi were big. The pool was great for lap swimming. Third-floor guests with pool view actually had a small patio area between their rooms and the pool area. They had French windows so they could step out and go to the pool directly from their rooms. I tried the spa on the first night: ample amount of space for a Thai massage. There was a shower stall inside the treatment room. I took a shower but was surprised that they did not change the bath/shower mat between treatments. Apparently, someone had previously showered there, and no one had bothered to change the mat for a new client.

There was a lot of miscommunication:
- Before I left Saigon, I informed the staff that I would return quite early one day and asked if I could do an early check-in. I was assured that there were plenty of rooms for that day and that one room was confirmed for my checking-in early. When the time came, I was told that there was no room for early check-in. A group of people had just come and had used all the rooms. I had to wait for more than an hour to have a room ready. When finally it was ready, a staff took me to a 3rd floor-room, which was not my preference. So, she moved me back to the 7th floor. While chatting with her, I found out that occupancy that day was only 45%. So, why was it that they said there was no room available?
- I re-checked in to a standard room on a Thursday, but would move to a suite on Friday, and depart on Saturday. I made sure that the limo reservation was for Saturday, and to remind them of the room change. On Friday, I was told that my limo was ready. I had to explain to them that it was not until Saturday that I would need it. By instinct, I checked back on Friday night, and right enough, no limo was reserved for me for Saturday. So, I re-reserved the limo for the departure date. It was confirmed. Much later at night, I got a call, asking if I would need a limo for Saturday, and I told them that I had indeed reserved one earlier. The next day, on departure date, the staff was surprised to find out that I had booked a limo. There was none in the system that noted that.
- The staff charged me double for the first stay, not taking into account that I had prepaid for the hotel via the Internet (the hotel knew very well that I had prepaid because there was a credit on top of the folio). While both sides (the hotel and I) caught the mistake, there was no courtesy call to let me know about it. I had to go down with my laptop to show all the paperwork, and the assistant manager came up with a receipt for a credit already done that very same day (but did not tell me about it.) This was an honest mistake, perhaps the staff members were not yet used to the system.
- Postscript (and take this as a Caveat Emptor): Goldpassport.com never did a perfect job. Something was always missing, and this time it was no exception. They did not calculate Platinum points correctly, including omitting the prepayment in the calculation of the points. However, upon notifying the customer service, the problem was corrected. This blew my mind because usually I would get a courtesy acknowledgment e-mail, followed by the actual correction few days later. This time, it happened within minutes!

There were two things that in my mind I had allowed all this to pass:
1. The hotel was relatively new, only 4-5 months old.
2. Although they made several mistakes, the staff members were extremely friendly and accommodating.

If and when I return to Saigon, I would not hesitate in staying at the Park Hyatt again. While I was in that city, I visited different hotels, saw the lobby areas and observed their atmospheres, and I definitely prefered the Park Hyatt over the other hotels. There was an elegance and tranquility about the Park Hyatt that was not to be found in the other hotels, at least for now.

Ana Mandara Resort (Nha Trang, Vietnam)

Make no mistake: I did not stay in this hotel, but merely visited and stayed in the premise. Unfortunately, a prior commitment to another local hotel (without knowledge of this resort existing) had prevented me from moving. Still, if I were ever to return to this area, I would not mind booking a bungalow over there.

The layout of the hotel was very much like any hotels in Bali: a vast and open lobby area accompanied with a pond of koi fish. From the entrance, one could see the Nha Trang Bay way in the background. After the lobby area, going to the left one could find the New Restaurant and the Lobby Bar, while going to the right one could find the Library and Internet room, the hotel shop, the swimming pool, and the Ana Mandara Restaurant.

Rain or shine, sitting at the veranda of the New Restaurant facing the Nha Trang Bay was a quite a treat. Over desserts on an overcast day, some friends and I chatted the afternoon away. Desserts were heavenly with local flavors of ice cream (rambutan, soursop came to mind). The restaurant offered buffet in the morning, up until around 10:30 am, serving the usual Western breakfast fare, along with more traditional Vietnamese dishes like the fried noodles and Pho, the noodle soup. The ham and jam were fantastalicious!

A pool table was available at the Lobby Bar, another relaxing area adjacent to the New Restaurant. Between this Lobby Bar and the opposing veranda on the southern part was a long rectangular pond with koi fish. Fish food was provided near the pond. At the Library, two desktops and one laptop were provided for guests to access the Internet. Directly in front of the Library and also near the shop, one could find some seats to sit and read or just to gaze across the pool to the Bay. A table with a supply of ginger candies were at one's disposal.

Any hotel in Vietnam, be it in Saigon or in Nha Trang, with a price tag of USD200 is considered a luxury hotel, and as such, the Ana Mandara fits that description.


Ana Mandara Resort & Spa
Beachside Tran Phu Boulevard
Nha Trang, Vietnam
Tel: +84-58-829-829
Fax: +84-58-829-629
resvana@dng.vnn.vn
www.sixsenses.com/ana-mandara

Grand Hyatt Jakarta (Jakarta, Indonesia)

Grand Hyatt Jakarta occupies one of the most coveted locations in the city. From the 70s and probably slightly before then, the M. H. Thamrin Boulevard is a major artery and an example of what a civilized city Jakarta could be. It has less to do with the luxury hotels and shopping malls that line the boulevard than with the discipline that is enforced when it comes to vehicular traffic. During rush hours, there is a mandatory 3-person rule for the main road, except for taxis.

The hotel sits atop one of the more glamorous shopping complex that is Plaza Indonesia, anchored by the Japanese Sogo department store. The lobby looks grand with white marbles and colossal columns, joined by trickling water and vegetation placed in cascading levels. Entering the lobby and immediately looking back and up, one could find a piano lounge, where people wind down or conduct informal business. The echo of jazz music in a grand lobby like this reminded me of old-style colonial hotels from the 60s and 70s (all right, I am way too young to talk about the 60s).

I requested an end-of-the-corridor room and got my wish, with the Fountain on the M. H. Thamrin as my view. The "Selamat Datang" (welcome) sculpture has been a fixture since my childhood days when my family would stay at the Hotel Indonesia or the President Hotel (now the Nikko Hotel Jakarta). Unfortunately, I stayed at the hotel near the Islamic New Year, Lebaran. On that Islamic New Year's Eve, there was a round-the-clock procession of people chanting and praying, joined by honking cars and cursing motorists trapped in the traffic jam.

The room, not a suite, is pleasing to the eyes. The Grand Hyatt brand has really streamlined their designs, or at least, that has been my observation while staying at the various Grand Hyatt hotels. The rooms may not be immediately identifiable the way most Ritz-Carlton rooms are from one location to another, but there certainly is a common thread between the Grand Hyatt rooms: the type of wood, the look of the bed, and the layout of the work area. The bathroom is fairly standard: bathtub, shower stall and a basin countertop. The walk in closet is located across the bath area.

The gym offers plenty to do, and the locker and relaxation areas are sufficiently staffed. There are steam and sauna rooms facing each other, separated by a cold dipping pool. Four to five chaise longues are placed nearby. The shower stalls are equipped with multiple showerheads that attack your body from different angles.

The coffee shop offers "buffet" dinners: such buffet offerings are very common in Asian hotels. They are extremely popular because they offer limitless trips to the counters, and they give a break to the restaurant staff. Usually when one wants to order à la carte, one is encouraged to get a buffet instead. Most of the time, the price of each entrée is such that it only makes sense to order the buffet, instead.

What makes the Grand Hyatt Jakarta more desirable is the fact that it sits atop the Plaza Indonesia and is adjacent to an annex called FX. This gives one the option to eat outside of the hotel without leaving the compound. On rainy or extremely hot and humid days (which is the majority of the time in Jakarta), this becomes a convenient solution.


Grand Hyatt Jakarta
Jalan M H Thamrin
Kav 28-30
Jakarta 10230
Indonesia
Tel: +62 (21) 390-1234
Fax: +62 (21) 3193-4321

Westin Metropolitan Detroit Airport (Michigan, USA)

Too bad that I did not get the pictures of the lobby of this spartan hotel; otherwise, I could convince you even more to stay here when you need the quickest access to the Detroit Wayne Airport. A few days ago, to avoid traffic at a highway that was undergoing a construction work, we spent the last night in Michigan at the Westin Hotel at the Detroit Wayne Airport. We did not expect much, really, because hotels by the airport are usually less appealing than their counterpart in the center of town. Boy, were we in for a surprise when we stepped inside this hotel!

The 3-year-old, 7-floor hotel is attached to the newest terminal of the Detroit Wayne Airport, occupied exclusively by the Northwest Airlines and its partners. This was the first time we saw the new terminal since we were last here in 2003. The entrance to the hotel is very low-key and no-nonsense, but the minimalist look foretold what lay ahead deep inside. The only thing visible when guest enters the front door was the valet desk; afterwards, a long corridor that ended up in a set of escalators.

It is at this point that guests will be greeted by the top of a tall (but fake) bamboo trees. The ride down is as long as the trees, and by the time one reaches to the base of the tree, one arrives at the lobby floor. There is a huge, shallow pool by the "open air" restaurant, in front of the cluster of those bamboo trees. Line for registration or check out may be long but the wait is short because of the staff's efficiency. Not too far from the check-in counter are two self-check-in counters for Northwest/KLM; quite convenient indeed. I wish American Airlines would have such offering. American Airlines' partner, British Airways, houses its First Class and Club Lounge at the same floor of the hotel lobby.

The hotel rooms start on the second floor and go all the way up to the 8th floor. The room is typical of a boutique-cum-business hotel that has been popular in the past decade, with the color palette of olive green, beige, black and white. The king-size bed is aptly named "Heavenly Bed" as it is amazingly comfortable, stocked with two standard pillows, two smaller pillows, and a long support pillow; good variety. There is an armchair sofa with an ottoman, as well as a chaise longue by the window that overlooks the indoor court lobby/restaurant area.

The shower has a two-head showerhead, which is supposed to be convenient for two people showering at the same time, each aimed at one person, but in practice, it does not amount to such a great an idea. The showerhead does not really point to the other person well. The curtain rod is slightly curved in the middle, lending the appearance of more space but it does indeed give more "elbow room" while showering.

Other facilities include a gym with quite a good selection of cardiovascular machines, as well as a small pool, which unfortunately is too short for lap-swimming. It is, however, enough for business people to get their fill of work out during their travels.

Even if one does not fly Northwest and has to travel to the other dowdy-looking terminals, there is the convenience of the terminal-to-terminal shuttle that stops right in front of the hotel to whisk you to your destination. Travel to the American Airlines terminal takes less than 15 minutes as the shuttle makes several stops on the way there. What seems to be the only disadvantage of this new terminal (and thus the hotel) is that it was built on marsh. Some people informed us that as it was, the parking garage had been sinking slowly since its opening.

Back in January 2000, I stayed at the other Starwood Group's Sheraton Hotel at the Frankfurt Airport in Germany. That experience was just all right, and therefore I did not expect much when I booked a night at this DTW Westin Hotel, but this turned out to be a delightful experience. Make no mistake; this is not a luxurious hotel, but rather, a nicely done business-type boutique hotel.

The Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport
2501 Worldgateway Place
Detroit, MI 48242
USA
Phone (734) 942-6500
Fax (734) 942-6600
www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=1415

The Dharmawangsa (Jakarta, Indonesia)

The Dharmawangsa’s location in a tranquil, residential neighborhood of south Jakarta, its setting amidst a thick lush of greens, and its low-rise architecture (it was only 5-floors high) were qualities that proved to be appealing. A visit to their website and the ease of online reservation made it even easier to book a room in this posh hotel in the capital of Indonesia.

The treatment started at the Sukarno-Hatta International Airport, where, as advertised, someone was stationed at the arrival gate, not only to greet us but also to aid us in the immigration process. We still had to obtain the foreigner’s visas-on-arrival ourselves, but beyond that point, he took over the passports and asked us to proceed to the baggage concourse. We did not have to stay in queue for the immigration; instead, he would deal with this on his own (which begged the question of how safe an immigration entrance policy this country exercised).

The same greeter took care of our luggage and brought us to the curb, where the transportation that we had ordered came to meet us. The hotel provided 5 types of transportation: a regular metered taxi (the Silver Bird taxi company), a BMW-series 3, series 5, series 7, or a Bentley. We chose the BMW-7 and were pleased with the space and cleanliness of the interior. A couple of newspapers, bottled water and candies were provided.

Like at the Amanresorts, check-in was done in the comfort of our room. Because we ordered a suite, a butler was provided for us around the clock. Upon entering the room, one was reminded of the layout of the suite at the Sukhothai Hotel in Bangkok, with the exception that the Sukhothai’s suite floor plan was more spacious with a bathroom area almost the same square-footage of the bedroom; here at the Dharmawangsa Rosewood Suite, however, the living room is bigger than the Sukhothai.

At the foyer, a small kitchen (that included a refrigerator and a small sink) was located across the guest’s powder room. The room then opened to the living room with a study desk, a television set and a sofa in front of it. The hotel provided a small box of butter cookies as well as a plate of fresh fruits. There was no immediate Internet connection; the hotel was actually in the midst of upgrading the system when we arrived.

The new system necessitated each guest to buy a voucher to log on, not too terribly new a concept as this was practiced elsewhere in different hotels. The option was to get a 4-hourly voucher at $5 or a 24-hour access at $15. Unfortunately, the hotel’s IT department should come up with a system to record a guest’s initial log in. We logged in fine at the beginning, but then we shut down and went out. Upon returning, way before our “4 hours” were supposed to expire, I had trouble signing in. I summoned the butler, who summoned another butler, who then called the IT department to deal with this. Every one of them explained to us that the 4 hours were continuous hours, which we understood from the very beginning. Still, the system shut us out faster than the 4 hours allowed us. They did not seem to grasp the idea that 4 hours were 4 hours: we signed on at 10:30, then we should have access until 14:30, even if we logged off in the middle of it. We asked them to check when we first logged on, and they did not have a record of it. We advised them to have a better system. As a courtesy, they provided with a round-the-clock internet for the rest of our stay for free.

But enough about the Internet! After all, we came here to R&R, correct? My partner, who loved beaches and sunny resorts, never imagined in his life that he would end up in Jakarta for a resort-like vacation, but thus far, he was impressed. Again, the location and the setting of the hotel provided a resort-like atmosphere that was conducive to our rest and relaxation.

The swimming pool, in a fat U-shape, was beautifully designed. A local tree called the “Dada Merah” (literally “Red Breast” for it produced red flowers) and the Kamboja (Frangipani flowering trees) were planted along the legs of the “U” shape. The canopying effect proved a beautiful accent to the blue-green tiled pool. The low bending trees acted as if they wanted to touch the surface of the water. During the less attended hours, lap swimming was possible in two directions (along one of the U legs or along the bottom of the U shape). The pool was shared with residents from the adjacent Dharmawangsa residential tower.

The Bimasena Spa, located on the 3rd floor of a 4-story building behind the pool, offered the usual fares of facial, nail care and body scrubs, along with different massage offerings. It also had a jet-streamed warm pool, a dry sauna and a steam room. The steam room could use some cleaning and a makeover as mold appeared on the walls, and the paint of the ceiling was peeling off.

The gym, located on the top floor, offered a limited number of treadmill, stair-masters, and elliptical machines, along with some Nautilus weight machines. A spacious area was provided for stretching and possibly yoga. An indoor pool was available in another part of this 4th floor facility. The area could have been better designed, as this spot seemed to be less inviting to the eyes. There were tables put along the pool, but blocked by the high platform that accommodated the pool.

Finally, the service: it has been disappointingly below par. For a hotel that strived to be very accommodating (i.e., the butler), the Dharmawangsa could fare better in preparing the staff. The concierge was not as efficient as I wished it to be: I left a package with my name and the name of the recipient on top of it in big bold letters. When the person picked it up, the concierge said that there was no guest by that name (my name).

This name business was another source of irritation: I made the reservation on my partner’s name, but e-mailed the hotel to let them know that I would be a guest as well. At the Amanresorts, this would not be a problem, but here, I felt like a vestigial appendage, as every single day the different butlers would greet my partner by name, but would not say anything to me. My name was not even in the system (a reason why the concierge concluded I was non-existent, despite the fact that I had put my name on that package and someone had logged it on the book).

For an Indonesian standard, such a hotel may be a novelty (its website boasts “Uniquely Indonesian”); thus, a lot of people said that it was a great and unique hotel, but in terms of excellence, Dharmawangsa still has a lot of catching up to do. I am not sure if it aims to reach a standard as high as an Amanresort, but that would not be such bad an aspiration now, would it?

The Dharmawangsa
Jalan Brawijaya Raya No. 26
Jakarta, Indonesia
Tel: (62-21) 725-8181
Fax: (62-21) 725-8383

Mark Hopkins (San Francisco, USA)

Mark Hopkins Room 1238
Originally uploaded by bloompy.

During my recent stay at the Mark Hopkins Inter-Continental Hotel in San Francisco, I asked to be moved from a room near the elevator to another room elsewhere in the floor. They gave me a room at one end of the hallway, right next to the emergency stairwell. When I entered room 1238, I was more than happy to accept this new assignment.

Upon entering, one will find a foyer or a mini hallway. With the door wide open, no one standing at the door could see the bed, desk, bathroom, and windows: privacy is guaranteed. At the end of that foyer, one will come into a room that has three windows: two windows in the bedroom area and one window in the bathroom. This is the beauty of the room: a source of natural light from the big window in the bathroom that allows one to have a wonderful view of the outside, day and night! The only flaw the bathroom had was the noisy toilet flush (in both rooms the flush caused a horrible noise).

The location (at the corner of California and Mason Streets) is only 5-6 blocks away from the Union Square, the heart of downtown San Francisco, and the city being a walking city, it is not a bad distance at all, except that it includes some of the steeper hills of San Francisco.

The room service leaves much to be desired: the California cuisine the City is known for does not seem to reach anywhere close to the vicinity of the hotel's kitchen. The lobby level restaurant is, I hope, in the middle of a renovation; otherwise, what I saw was a poor layout and a bad interior design.

The internet was not too reliable. In both rooms, at times I had to re-sign-in, causing double or triple billing (which the reception desk staff kindly took off once he knew what had been going on). According to him, the current internet system was just installed a couple of weeks before (my stay started on March 16, 2005).

Mark Hopkins was once a luxurious hotel. My parents stayed there decades ago, but not I. As a result, I do not know whether the Inter-Continental chain had improved it or bring it down a notch. Overall, I enjoyed my stay there, but if you want to run errands in the Union Square area and want to be at the utmost convenience, get a hotel right there (the Grand Hyatt, the Westin St. Francis, the Triton hotel, the Campton Place, etc.)


Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel San Francisco
Number One Nob Hill
999 California Street
San Francisco
California 94108
USA
Tel: (415) 392-3434
Fax: (415) 421-3302