Review
La Residence Hotel and Spa is one of the most pleasing hotels in all Vietnam. Its delightful location on the Perfume River, spacious lush grounds and elegant art deco restoration are the reason. Managed by the Accor group, the hotel staff are welcoming and friendly and the old world ambience creates an excellent base for exploration of Hue’s fascinating past.
The location
La Residence is three kilometres from from the centre of Hue looking over the Perfume River to the Citadel. The location provides a convenient escape from the town while giving guests excellent access to all its offerings. Proximity to the Nguyen Dynasty Emperor’s tombs and the availability of good quality bicycles are added bonuses.
The architecture
This is Hue’s classic art deco building. Dating from the 1930s recent renovations have included the construction of two new buildings that sit harmoniously alongside the original structure. There are 122 rooms.
History
From its opening in the 1930s, the building has never been far from the action of Vietnam’s turbulent twentieth century history. It has served variously as the residence of the senior French official in Hue, the centre of administration for the Ngo family’s reign in the early sixties and a communist target in the 1968 Tet Offensive.
The hotel features prominently in the book Where the Ashes Are: The Odyssey of a Vietnamese Family by Nguyen Quy Duc. At Tet 1968, the author, then a young child, was staying in the government guest house with his family when his father, a senior South Vietnamese Government official, was captured by Communist forces. It was fifteen years later that author and father were reunited.
After the war, the building was neglected as the Government Guest House until restoration commenced in 2001.
Ambience and People
La Residence is small enough and perhaps remote enough from Vietnam’s big cities that the staff have retained a genuine country warmth while showing all the professionalism you might expect of a luxury hotel. Together with the period decorations and the thoughtfully restrained use of the generous grounds, La Residence has a uniquely appealing atmosphere. It's a great model for other developers in a country where restraint and good taste is increasingly crowded out by overbuilt poorly thought out mega properties - some of which can be seen in Hue.
Facilities
122 rooms, free Wifi in public areas, expansive salt water swimming pool, excellent spa, gym, bicycle hire and all other facilities you would expect of an international hotel.
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