Duxton Hotel****

Our brief comments:
The Duxton is an 11-story, 203 room city hotel conveniently located in the heart of the city centre near the shopping, sightseeing and entertainment areas. Opened in 1997 as the Saigon Prince, it was extensively remodelled and upgraded in 2003 to emerge as a stylish boutique hotel with a new name.

Its H shape design allows 35 rooms a view of the nearby Saigon River - other rooms look out to the street or, on upper floors, over the city.

Although the ground floor lobby is large and imposing, it also has a welcoming atmosphere thanks to an open gallery corridor on the first floor. Guest rooms are a good size and well appointed - the decor is more imaginative than usual, tastefully furnished with contemporary Vietnamese artwork and traditional fabric.

The contemporary furniture is attractively designed in pale wood. Even at the lowest standard, rooms have an executive desk, an upholstered easy chair and an occasional table.

Executive rooms have additional facilities including free 24hr wireless Internet access, a daily newspaper in English, and the option of an Executive breakfast served in the room.

The hotel's main restaurant, 'The Grill', combines international and Vietnamese cuisines, while the Zendokoro Ichiyu offers authentic Japanese meals. This unusual arrangement precedes the Duxton's reincarnation when the majority of customers came from Japan. Today, the clientele is mainly a mixture of Asian and European travellers.

The Duxton has received the 'Best Boutique Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City' award four times already - an impressive performance. Its location and facilities make it a good value for money option. We're looking forward to inspecting it more closely in the near future.

(Inspected May 2006)

Room facilities:

Room Categories	Deluxe	Executive	Executive Suite	Royal Suite
Number of rooms	159	23	7	4
Air-conditioner
Satellite television
Shower or bath
Bath with shower
Bath + separate shower
Personal safety box
Coffee and tea facilities
Laptop connection
Free broadband access
Extra bed
Child's cot
Room size (m2)	29	29	53	97
View	city/river	city/river	city/river	city/river

Additional room facilities: scheduled in-room movies, swimming pool on 3rd floor.

Hotel facilities:

Pool		Non-smoking floor(s)	3
Pool bar		Non-smoking rooms only	n/a
Fitness/health centre		Asian/International restaurant
Sauna		Japanese restaurant
Massage		Patisserie/coffee shop/cafe
Jacuzzi (in Health Centre)		Business centre

Additional hotel facilities: wireless Internet access in the lounge bar