Because our flight to Ho Chi Minh City arrived at the Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) after midnight, we arranged an airport transfer from the hotel. Our driver was waiting in the Arrival Hall on time and as arranged. The cost was approximately $50 USD for a one-way transfer. (The cost to hail a public taxi is substantially less than to use the hotel car.)
This hotel is located (not surprisingly!), alongside the Saigon River, although the river is not particularly picturesque or bustling when we compare it to the hotels located alongside the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. However, every evening, hotel guests can watch many dinner boat cruises depart and return. The hotel is located on a busy street corner, and from where our room was situated, we could watch (but not hear) the parade of traffic from about 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight. It was quiet after those hours, so street noise does not bother guests while they sleep. The hotel is located within walking distance of the Cho Ben Than Market, the Saigon Opera House, restaurants, and shopping. It is a 20-minute walk to the Post Office, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and the Presidential (Reunification) Palace. A few Circle-K convenience stores are located on nearby blocks, where guests can purchase drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), snacks, and sundry items. A small driveway at the front of the hotel allows cars to safely pick up and drop off guests. The street next to the hotel hosts a queue of taxis, and an attendant arranges available cars. In March when we visited, a bank (with an ATM machine) was located directly across the street from the hotel, but we saw a posted notice that states that the location was moving soon.
The hotel layout includes space on the street level next to the front desk for a travel agent called Buffalo Tours. We e-mailed with Buffalo Tours for information (they were responsive and informative), but we booked our tour with an alternate guide. Originally, we thought that we would do three days of touring: two half-day City Tours and a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai, but we booked two half-day City Tours instead.
The Renaissance hotel is attractive but compact (319 rooms and 17 suites spread over 21 floors). The lobby area is not expansive and feels a bit restricted because the lobby is not multi-story. Some seating exists in the lobby adjacent to the Lobby Lounge, which is a small coffee bar / pastry shop. A gift shop is located between the front desk and the elevators; although we did not enter the shop, it seemed to be a clothing boutique instead of a hotel pantry / forgotten item type of establishment. The main restaurant (Riverside CafĂ©), where we ate breakfast daily, is located on the street level. Despite the restaurant’s riverside location, no outdoor seating on the sidewalk exists. The Riverside Cafe features a breakfast buffet that contains several stations / areas: hot, cold, Asian, Western, and pastries / breads. The Asian selections included a made-to-order Pho station, as well as prepared dumplings, rice, noodles, and so on. Fresh-squeezed juices (although house-bottled) were included with the price of breakfast, along with coffee and water. (Our morning beverage choice, Diet Coke, was an extra charge.) The breakfast hours last from 6:00 am until 11:00 am. The restaurant also serves lunch and dinner in the buffet format. The Atrium Lounge is located in the attractive and airy (but fully enclosed) atrium area and opens at 12:00 noon. Kabin Chinese Restaurant, the fine-dining venue for the hotel, serves Cantonese cuisine for lunch and dinner. Guests can also order room service, or they can dine on the rooftop terrace next to the outdoor swimming pool. On Friday and Saturday nights, the pool deck is the scene for an outdoor barbecue dinner.
The outdoor pool is located on the top floor of the hotel, along with the fitness center and spa. Although our package included two 45-minute spa treatments, we did not have time to use them. The spa environment, although attractive, does not seem relaxing or serene, because guests must walk through the spa to access both the fitness center and the pool. The fitness center contains a few machines in a small and window-less room. The pool terrace is lovely, and the pool itself is large. Approximately 15+ lounge chairs and 6+ tiny tables with 4 chairs each surround the pool. A sunshade offers protection to some of the tables. Sometimes umbrellas shade some of the lounge chairs, but it was too windy to use them safely when we visited. A small bar exists on the pool deck, but it is more functional for the servers than a place for guests to sit. One semi-comfortable couch / lounge grouping is located under the canopy area, along with this unusual (perhaps 2 foot x 2 foot raised platform) that contains fake grass. We are not sure what purpose the grassy area serves (perhaps some sort of Feng Shui element for your feet?). We enjoyed the pool area, because it is a lovely place to spend an afternoon, and to enjoy the views of the river and the surrounding streets and buildings, particularly if guests do not have a view from their hotel rooms. The hotel provides pool towels at the valet stand at the top of the stairs. Guests can smoke on the pool deck, as well as outside of the main lobby on the street level.
The executive lounge on the 18th floor operates from approximately 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight, although the design of the doorway makes it seem as if guests can always access the room itself, but perhaps the complimentary food and beverages are not available round-the-clock. Complimentary Wi-Fi, several computer terminals, and a printer are available in the lounge, as well as some reading materials. Seating in the lounge can be a bit cramped at busy times (such as during breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening cocktails). The staff in the lounge is friendly and willing to honor most requests. The Continental (primarily Western-style) breakfast served in the lounge each morning (from 6:00 am to 10:30 am weekdays, and until 11:00 am on weekends) represents a small subset of the food that the Riverside Cafe offers. Afternoon tea offers requisite tiny sandwiches, clotted cream / strawberry / biscuits, and other light items. Evening cocktail hour (from 5:30 pm until 9:30 pm) features both hot and cold items and complimentary beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic); the lounge serves food in the evening only from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm.
Our Deluxe Suite was spacious! The decor was traditional. (We hesitate to describe it as “dated”; it just was not hip or modern). The living room / dining room area was huge, with two walls of windows that overlooked the river and the nearby park. The living room contained a sofa, two armchairs, a dining table with four chairs, desk and chair, large flat-screen TV, and bar area (mini-bar, coffee service, glassware, and so on). The air conditioning was powerful and made our room amazingly cold. It worked so well that at times, we wished that the hotel provided an extra blanket that we could have wrapped up in while watching TV; instead, we used the hotel bathrobes. A half-bathroom / powder room was located off the living room, and it contained a sink and a high-tech (perhaps Japanese?) toilet.
The separate bedroom area (which you could close off completely from the living area by a door) was not as expansive as the living room, but it featured another large flat-screen TV, king-size bed bordered by two nightstands, and two armchairs. The bedroom provided access to the main bathroom, which featured a single sink, toilet (the usual kind, not a fancy one like the one in the small bathroom), a stand-up glass-door shower, and separate soaking bathtub. The toiletries supplied by Pecksniffs Mood Therapy, a British company, included items like “Calm” handy & body lotion, “Happy” shampoo and conditioner, and “Alive” bath & shower gel). Although the hotel was generous with most toiletry items, it was stingy with bars of soap. In the main bathroom, only one bar of soap was available to share between sink, soaking bathtub, and shower! A large closet contained bathrobes, slippers, and an electronic safe, among the usual storage hanging bars and cubbyholes. The hotel provides maid service twice daily, including an evening turndown service.
In-room wired and wireless Internet are complimentary, and the TV channel selection is better than we have seen in any other foreign country. The programs and episodes broadcast were current with what we were watching at home.
We were happy with the location of the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, and we loved the extra room that the Deluxe Suite afforded us.
