The Park Hyatt Saigon Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
Find the nerdy planning here. Find the picture preview here.
Getting There: I took a taxi from the airport to the Sheraton Saigon (my first hotel in Saigon) and consulted my Blackberry for a reasonable fare. Google said $10 so I like to bargain for $8 and go from there. On the way back, I took the taxi called for me by the Park Hyatt.
It’s perfect. There’s no other way to describe the Park Hyatt Saigon than by using that word. Everything about the hotel is 5-stars.
The Hotel
No matter where I go, it seems a new tower is being constructed. Though a skyline helps define a city, it isn’t what makes it unique. From Yangon to Saigon, the essence of a city is captured through the historical buildings that have persevered through time.
The Park Hyatt Saigon is the site of the 1964 Brinks Hotel bombing, an attack on the South by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Though the Park Hyatt is not the original building, it was constructed in a way to preserve the French Colonial charm.
The Room
Though not a Diamond suite upgrade, the room overlooked the pool and had spectacular bathrobes.
The Pool
There’s plenty to see and do in Saigon which becomes difficult once you lounge at the Park Hyatt pool. It is hard to imagine there is so much chaos within meters of your location.
The Peace
Saigon is insane. Motorbikes, street vendors, and everyone in between live in this densely populated city. It can be exhausting to simply cross the street. Retreating to the refuge of the Park Hyatt Saigon restores the balance that is lost from trying to navigate the bustling metropolis.
The Location
If you do choose to leave the peaceful premises, you are minutes away from all the sites and sounds and more sounds of Saigon. Like I said, it’s the perfect hotel.
The Price
When I booked, the room rate was a ridiculous $400 a night. As of writing this, the daily rate is $329 for the month of December. I used 12,000 points to book the room which has now gone up to 15,000 since it is a Category 4 hotel. Alternatively, the cash n points option is 7500 + $100 which is a great deal. It does qualify for the annual Chase Hyatt free night certificate as well.
The Pho
Looking for some late night Pho? Why wander back alleys when the Park Hyatt’s room service provides it. It’s quality and quantity pho from the comfort of your own room.
Overall
If you’re going to Saigon, stay at the Park Hyatt. Enough said.
<==Back to Sheraton Saigon – Onto Best Pho in Saigon==>
I shake my head every time I see reports of people staying in massively overpriced 5-star chain hotels in Asia. I travelled through Vietnam and paid $20-30 a night for small mom-n-pop hotels where I had nice comfortable rooms and the staff bent over backwards to help me. I got service well above what I’ve had in 5-star hotels in the West.
You THINK you got a good deal because you’re comparing it to the exorbitant cash rate. How about comparing it to a non-chain hotel of similar interior quality? There should be plenty under $50-75 per night.
I shake my head at comments that don’t take the scope and nature of everything into context. 1) I have been to Vietnam many times and I have stayed at those $20-30 a night hotels and enjoyed them just fine. For example, the Saigon Mini Hotel is a great deal and great hotel. 2) I don’t THINK (no need to use caps, I know how to read) I got a great deal. I did get a great deal. It was FREE. You can’t take points to the grave with you so using them for luxury and style is just fine by me.This is a points blog after all. 3) Why would I pay $50-75 a night when I could stay for nothing or ‘splurge’ an extra $25-50 for Park Hyatt quality with cash n points?
We all have done the backpacker route. It’s cool and I still do it when points aren’t the best value (see http://thepointsoflife.boardingarea.com/chungking-mansions-hong-kong/) so spare me the outrage.
Of course you should use points, but this isn’t anywhere near the best use of points. I remember the days when bloggers were all about teaching people how to maximize rewards, not just blow them on the wind. I could see this being a good redemption in Hong Kong or Singapore, but sorry in Saigon it’s a waste, unless you have millions of them and nowhere else better to use.
P.S. there’s no outrage, I’m just saddened that BoardingArea has turned into several dozen keyword spam blogs who post daily anything just for the sake of posting and having clueless readers click on CC links.
Also if your reasoning is you don’t want to pay cash but would have stayed at a $75 hotel, just book them with UR points used as cash for travel at 1.25 redemption rate. Your logic is flawed.
LOL you remember the days? You’re joking right? There’s a regulatory commission that states what objectively is the best use of points? And once again, you miss out on context. Perhaps reading the intro to this trip report (http://thepointsoflife.boardingarea.com/77000-trip-heard-round-world-1-million-points-63000-miles-5000-2/) will help show you that this trip was the best use of points, perhaps ever.
And have you stayed at the Park Hyatt Saigon? Then how can you say it’s a waste. I’ve stayed multiple times at the Hyatt Hong Kong and I’d rather stay at the ChungKing Mansions. But that’s my subjective opinion. I won’t expend energy harping on someone who chooses to stay there or the Grand Hyatt instead. It’s their prerogative.
Wasting points is a real tragedy but this is not an example of that.