Located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, 5km from Sai Gon Station and 7km from Tan Son Nhat and near many famous cultural and tourist sites and trade centres like Ho Chi Minh City Theatre, Reunion Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, Ben Thanh Market and Vincom Centre, Rex Hotel is one of the top destinations for tourists to Ho Chi Minh City.

For many people, particularly foreign tourists, Rex Hotel is a typical architectural work imbued with the Vietnamese cultural features. It shows the harmonious combination of elegant and luxurious beauty with a post-modern style.

Originally built as a French garage in the early 20th century, it was expanded into a 6-floor trading centre in 1959 by the family of Ung Thi, a relative of King Bao Dai.

In 1960 the building was hired by the American Culture Centre and at that time the Abraham Lincoln Library was established on the building’s ground floor.

In 1962, the American Information Service made its base at the building which soon became the largest information and media centre in Sai Gon which was the favourite haunt of American officers and the scene of daily press briefings to foreign reporters.

In 1973, the building was renamed the Rex Trading Centre that consisted of three cinemas, a cafeteria and dance hall, famous throughout Southeast Asia.

In September 1976, one year after the national reunification Saigontourist Holding Company (Saigontourist) started managing the building and renamed it Ben Thanh Hotel.

After several periods of restoration and expansion, the hotel changed Rex Hotel with its logo of a crown in 1990.

Five years later, it was recognized as a four-star hotel by the General Department of Tourism. In July 2008, the hotel officially became a five-star hotel after being upgraded with a total investment capital of 300 billion dong.

At present, the hotel includes 284 rooms, five restaurants and bars, one garden, a bingo club, a health club, 11 banqueting venues and ballrooms, a chain of famous brand name fashion outlets, offices for rent and two underground parking areas. In the new area, there is a presidential room, for state leaders. The hotel also charms tourists by the interior decoration according to the traditional style.

The hotel has four restaurants, including the Cung Dinh (Imperial Palace) Rex Restaurant that serves traditional Vietnamese food. Here many foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese come to enjoy delicious food and witness traditional singing and dancing. The restaurant also organizes cooking courses for diners who are interested in learning more about Vietnamese cuisine. At the hotel’s “Five O’clock Follies” garden of the hotel, tourists can behold the beauty of Ho Chi Minh City by night.

Pauline, a tourist from Australia, said: “Rex Hotel is a wonderful one that I have known. Despite being located in the centre of a crowded city, the hotel has a large view. It is rather quiet with a staff of enthusiastic and polite employees…”.

With modern facilities, the hotel is an ideal place for organizing conferences and workshops. In 2003, the hotel was selected as the residential place in the South for the foreign teams who attended SEA Games 22. It was the place where the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 2008 was successfully organized with the participation of 40 state leaders and senior officials from different countries around the world. So far, the hotel continues to be an ideal place for both domestic and foreign organizations to organize conferences and workshops.

Following the slogan “Rex Hotel– Vietnam’s Home to Foreign Tourists”, the hotel always considers the satisfaction of tourists as a measure for the success. In reality, most of the tourists feel satisfied with facilities and services of the hotel.

Some Titles and Awards of Rex Hotel

- Top Ten Hotel Cup from the Vietnam General Department of Tourism from 1999 to 2011.

- One of the most favourite hotels in Southeast Asia selected by Asiahotels.com in 2002.

- One of the five best hotels in Ho Chi Minh City selected by the readers of Business Traveler in Asia-Pacific in 2005.

- The “For the Cause of Development of Cultural Values” Award selected by The Guide in 2006-2006.

- The ASEAN Green Hotel Award.

- The Agoda Golden Cup in 2010-2011.

- The certificate of recognizing it as one of the top five-star hotels in Vietnam in 2010.

Source: VGP