La Residence Hotel and Spa - review by Rusty Compass
Hue | hotels guide

Independent reviews and recommendations by Rusty Compass. No advertorial, no paid placements and no sponsored content.

La Residence Hotel and Spa

| 19 Sep 2012

Map

Map
La Residence Hotel and Spa
5 Le Loi Street - Hue City, Vietnam
(84) 054 3837 475

Map

Price guide: More than US$150

Our rating
Location
Design
Ambience
People
Facilities
19 Sep 2012

La Residence Hotel and Spa is the pick of the upscale hotels in Hue. Formerly the French Governor’s residence and a government guest house, the original art deco building has been tastefully renovated and extended to create a property of elegance, space and atmosphere.

Note: The information provided in this review was correct at time of publishing but may change. For final clarification please check with the relevant service

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.

Vietnam,Hue,deluxe,Hotel,Luxury
Photo: Mark BowyerThe pool is huge and the grounds are spacious and green.


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.

Hotel,Luxury,deluxe,Hue,Vietnam
Photo: Mark BowyerFriendly staff, La Residence Hue

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.

Hotel,Luxury,Vietnam,Hue,deluxe
Photo: Mark BowyerDeco touches - La Residence Hue


F
acilities

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.

Mark Bowyer
Mark Bowyer is the founder and publisher of Rusty Compass.
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