Yes, I am a hotel snob. I spend months every year staying in hotels for business so in many different cities so I consider myself very picky in my hotel standards. I have stayed at glorious hotels and ones that make you want to take a bath after sleeping on the questionable linens. Just thinking about that makes me itch and want to scratch all over. Thank God I don’t travel with a blacklight—it would be a nightmare to discover what else is staying with me on hotel surfaces in China.

But on to a happier review-The Park Hyatt in Saigon is THE place to stay. First and foremost, the service was ridiculous from the multiple smiling faces to open the large doors at the entrance to the desk clerk to the pool guy to the restaurant staff. All happy, smiling, engaging and over the top with their friendliness. All spoke great English as well which makes everything easier for us when we travel. We appreciate it, Park Hyatt!

Now, as a Diamond Club member for Hyatt due to my frequent travel, I do get special perks that I do so appreciate. We were upgraded to a suite mid-way through the visit as one became available—all at no charge. The regular room was very nice but, oh my, the suite featured a huge living room, bedroom and massive marble bathroom. When we came down for our huge complimentary buffet breakfast (another perk), we had to share our room # with the hostess. The difference in service from the regular room # to the suite # was very noticeable. The manager was summoned and ran to our table before the coffee to ensure that we were happy and he even came back again at the end of our meal to get reassured again that all was good. Mr. George—What can we do to make you stay happy? It was F*&!ing amazing! My motto is always, Expect Nothing/Appreciate Everything, so we just grin like silly kids and soak it all in—the cold skewers of fresh fruit served poolside every day and the fresh fruit platter that magically appeared daily in the room as well were all immensely enjoyed.

Although there was construction going on at the spa next to the pool, it wasn’t too distracting as we soaked up the ambience of an urban outdoor setting with palm trees and a delightful pool-not too hot or cold and large enough to do some laps. The Park Hyatt is definitely not a kids/family hotel so it was fairly quiet as well, unlike the Grand Hyatt pool in HK that was filled with kids.

The lobby was gorgeous with tall ceilings, lush upholstered chairs and couches and live entertainment in the evenings as you sipped your cocktails. The business center was staffed with eager to please staff who helped us research some business information. The concierge assisted us with information needed on taxi’s and shows. There is a beautiful Opera House across the street that has a running show “O” that we wanted to see but just didn’t have time. Next Time!

Every room in a hotel in Asia has complimentary water because you can’t (or shouldn’t unless you want to get very, very sick) drink the tap water but when we got to the suite, we discovered that the chosen few get even better bottled water when you are a suite resident. Perk! Thom was fascinated with the metal Vietnamese one cup coffee press so we ended up buying several at the airport gift shop to bring home. We love our coffee! We picked up some Vietnamese coffee too at the airport with our last Dong.

The view of the street from the suite (we could now see the river) was always fascinating, though we learned to keep the windows closed because there were several birds very interested in coming in to join us in the suite. One morning we woke up to very spirited singing as the business across the street started the work day with the guys (in black pant/black tie/white shirt) and ladies in traditional green Vietnamese tunics/pants singing loudly what could have been the national song as the video playing above them on the building façade showed the Vietnam flag. They ended their chorus and filed into work at 7:30 a.m. ready to start the day fully energized. Awakened by their lovely voices, we were ready to being our day in Saigon as well!

Thanks to the Park Hyatt for your truly World Class Customer Service. It was appreciated and will be remembered.