Rex Hotel

Rex Hotel Saigon
Khách sạn Rex Sài Gòn
Khách sạn Bến Thành
Rex Hotel in 2023
Former names
  • Bainier Auto Hall
  • Rex Complex (Thương xá Rex)
Alternative names
Rex Arcade (boutique mall)
General information
TypeHotel, shopping mall (Ground floor)
ClassificationStarStarStarStarStar
Location
Coordinates10°46′33″N 106°42′5.4″E / 10.77583°N 106.701500°E / 10.77583; 106.701500
Opened
  • 1927; 99 years ago (1927): Bainier Auto Hall
  • 1959; 67 years ago (1959): Rex Complex
  • June 1976; 50 years ago (1976-06): Bến Thành Hotel
Renovated2003
OperatorSaigontourist
Technical details
Floor count6
Other information
Number of rooms286
Number of restaurants
5
Parking2 basements
Public transit
L1 Opera House station
Website
www.rexhotelsaigon.com

The Rex Hotel or Rex Hotel Saigon (Vietnamese: Khách Sạn Rex, French: Hôtel Rex de Saïgon) is a famous luxury and business hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, the daily U.S. briefings at the hotel became known as "The Five O'Clock Follies".

The 286-room six-story building (as of 2024) is located on the corner of Lê Lợi Boulevard and Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard in District 1, central district of the city.

History

Citroën garage in 1930.

Constructed in 1927, for French businessman Bainier, during France's colonial rule of Vietnam, the building started out as a two-story auto dealership and garage complex, called Bainier Auto Hall. The building showcased Citroën and other European cars.

From 1959 to 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Ưng Thi renovated the building into the 100-room Rex Complex hotel, which featured three cinemas, a cafeteria, a dance hall and a library. The cinema was adorned with the most developed technology at the time, such as high-speed air conditioning, a 150-square-meter Todd-AO screen, and a stereo sound system to indulge up to 1,200 customers.

Vietnam War

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

The first guests in the Rex came in 1961, while it was still in its final construction phase. They were 400 U.S. Army soldiers.

The hotel was the site of the United States military command's daily press conference, derisively named Five O'Clock Follies by cynical journalists who found the optimism of the American officers misguided. The daily event was hosted by Barry Zorthian, chief spokesperson for the U. S. government in Saigon from 1964-68. In these briefings, United States, South Vietnamese military and civilian press officers would give a breakdown of the day’s hostilities, casualties and alleged successes.

Its rooftop bar was a well-known hangout spot for military officials and war correspondents.

At its height in the late 1960s, the Rex complex had around 600 employees and was frequented regularly by over 450 international journalists covering the US war effort.

1975 to present

After the Fall of Saigon, the state's Saigon Tourism Bureau took ownership of the hotel and renamed it Bến Thành Hotel in 1976. In 1986, the hotel was renamed as Rex Hotel, the name Bến Thành still kept as legal entity name and used along with the original name.

In 2003, the hotel underwent extension and renovation works in its architecture, interior design and engineering services. It is owned by the state-owned enterprise Saigontourist.

Rex Arcade

Rex Arcade entrance on Lê Lợi Blvd

Rex Arcade or Rex Shopping Arcade is an over 2,000 m2 (21,528 sq ft) luxury shopping center in the Ground Floor of the hotel (from the IPPG website), spans over three streets of Lê Thánh Tôn – Nguyễn Huệ – Lê Lợi, the area was the Abraham Lincoln Library. The Imex Pan Pacific Group (IPPG; Tập đoàn Liên Thái Bình Dương) of Jonathan Hạnh Nguyễn[vi] and his ex-actress spouse Lê Hồng Thủy Tiên[vi] has made a US$25,000,000 investment for the renovation of this area in a shopping center, it gathers some boutiques of high-end fashion brands, including these names in currently: Balmain, Burberry, Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Jacqueline, Paul & Shark, Rolex, Runway, Versace.

Duy Anh Fashion & Cosmetics JSC (DAFC), a subsidiary of IPPG is responsible to be the official retailer of this shopping space. Currency exchange counter is located at the main lobby with some ATMs are also installed inside the Rex Arcade.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rex Hotel". Tuổi Trẻ. August 27, 2016. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  2. ↑ Doling, Tim (January 20, 2015). "Icons Of Old Saigon: Établissements Bainier Auto Hall". Saigoneer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Lịch sử Rex". Rex Hotel in Ho Chi Minh (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Rex Hotel - Vietnam's home to foreign tourists". VietNamNet. February 10, 2014. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  5. ↑ Nguyen Vu, Thanh Dat (June 6, 2013). "Rex Hotel - Vietnam's Home to Foreign Tourists". Vietnam News Agency. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  6. ↑ Bui, Dang (September 4, 2014). "The Cinemas Of Old Saigon". Saigoneer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  7. ↑ "War Tourism In Vietnam: A Guide To The Top Vietnam War Sites". Rainforest Cruises. June 11, 2020. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  8. ↑ Mark (April 2, 2016). "Vietnam War sites in Saigon: Exploring places related to the US-Vietnam War". Kathmandu & Beyond. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  9. ↑ "The Press: Farewell to the Follies". Time. February 12, 1973. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Famous hotels: Soft beds and hard battles". The Independent. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Fighting to preserve commercial rebirth; Vietnam: After rallying from a decade of centralized economy, Ho Chi Minh City's revived business sector is again under siege". The Baltimore Sun. February 23, 1999. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  12. ↑ Dillow, Clay (June 29, 2017). "5 Reasons to Visit Ho Chi Minh City Now". National Geographic. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  13. ↑ Wordie, Jason (October 10, 2019). "Hong Kong now has its own 'Five O'Clock Follies' media cabaret as press briefings stretch public credulity beyond breaking point". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  14. ↑ Zwick, Barry (March 10, 2002). "Footloose on the Busy Streets of Saigon". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  15. ↑ Allison, Bill. "The Vietnam War Tour". The Cultural Experience. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  16. ↑ Treaster, Joseph B. (March 30, 1973). "U.S. Forces Out of Vietnam; Hanoi Frees the Last P.O.W." The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  17. ↑ Doling, Tim (April 22, 2015). "In Search Of Saigon's US Vestiges: Part 2". Saigoneer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  18. ↑ Crossette, Barbara (January 30, 1988). "Ho Chi Minh City Journal; A Haunt of Old Saigon Gets New Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  19. ↑ Mai Ny (October 26, 2018). "Khách sạn 5 sao gần 100 năm tuổi ở trung tâm Sài Gòn". VnExpress (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  20. ↑ Bảo An (July 12, 2019). "Những cột mốc phát triển của khách sạn Rex trong 90 năm". VnExpress (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  21. ↑ Hoài Thương (November 1, 2020). "Theo dòng lịch sử: Rex Hotel, khách sạn 5 sao có tuổi đời gần 100 năm ở TP Hồ Chí Minh". VietnamFinance (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  22. ↑ Scoop Media (November 9, 2004). "Cablegate: Saigontourist: State-Owned Enterprise Syndrome". Scoop. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Vietnam's three top travel agencies to equitise soon". VietNamNet. September 2, 2019. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.