Coffee with the General Manager of InterContinental Asiana Saigon & Tour of the Hotel

Coffee with the General Manager of InterContinental Asiana Saigon & Tour of the Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - January 2016

29/1/2016

I had coffee with James Young (General Manager of the InterContinental Asiana Saigon) because we have a mutual friend who used to work at the German Embassy in Doha.

I had not intended to write anything in www.sifrew.com about this but James is such a special person, and his hotel such a quality operation, I had to post something.

Their stunning pool reminds me of the one at the Fullerton Bay in Singapore.

James had to go to a meeting and so friendly Assistant Manager Dinh Van Luu showed me around the hotel.

I was impressed by the bathrooms in their standard rooms but, while viewing their beautiful Executive Suites, Mr Luu worked out I would love to see their Presidential Suite.

Presidentail Suite

I was stunned by the sophisticated class of this stunningly stylish suite, which seemed to sum up the whole hotel.

Pool

We ended the tour looking at the high quality spa and impressive glass fronted pool.

🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻 (5 out of 5 ‘teddies’) - I loved chatting with James and was surprised by the quality of InterContinental's Saigon hotel. My tip: when planning a luxury trip to Ho Chi Minh City, do not overlook this hotel.

Their high specification standard bathrooms have a screen to the bedroom, the same as at the Pattaya Hilton.

The contemporary drawing room in the Presidential Suite.

The Presidential Suite dining room, with its gorgeous chandelier.

The 'proper' jacuzzi in the Presidential Suite.

3 Comments

John Diedam

16/9/2017 06:34:10 am

Let me preface at the time of my stay at the Intercon Asiana Saigon I was a Spire Elite level. My wife and I had just come from Bangkok and going on to Singapore. Our stay in October 2016 was filled with terrible disappointment. Certainly one of the nicest brick and mortar hotels for the region. But the management team was horrible. It started when my wife and I checked in. We were not greeted as a loyalty member. There was nothing different for us. No fruit, no wine, no welcome letter. Okay its Vietnam. Not okay its Intercontinental. This was our 35th anniversary and no recognition. Having traveled extensively over the years. Multiple million miler with two airlines and top level with IHG and Marriott, I have missed a couple anniversaries over the year. Now the true issue. We went down in the morning to have breakfast. I was informed that breakfast was not included. Ooops I am sorry I forgot to tell you that we were staying on points. So the room was free (or rather prepaid over 30 years of travel) How much is breakfast? I cannot recall the price but it was outrageous. And I have not purchased breakfast for years. It has been free in the various club lounges. So I ask for the manger. He informed me that never is breakfast included. Hmmm we just came from the JW Marriott in Bangkok and after a huge warm welcome our breakfast was included in our "free" room". So I asked for the F & B manager or the deputy GM. He listened and chose not to do anything. In fact after I told him I was a Spire Elite, he actually said the words "we don't care what level you are". Wow!!! I stopped with him and asked to see the GM which I believe was James Young. It has been a year so memory hiccups once in a while. I shared the same story and comments with him. He would not change his policy. He would not make any exceptions. I told him I was going to move to the Marriott that day and he was fine with it. Given we were staying a total of 3 nights we stayed in the room but spent all meals outside the hotel. Did not spend a dime with this arrogant management team. However when I told James that we were celebrating our 35th anniversary he did send a cake to our room. That was kind. That was most likely policy. Never again will I stay there. I have shared my thoughts with so many fellow frequent flyers and in respect they will look to other fabulous facilities and organizations in Ho Chi Minh City. Thank you for listening.

JAMES YOUNG

23/9/2019 09:20:08 am

Mr Diedam,

I have been made aware of comments you have made regarding your stay at the InterContinental Saigon in October 2016. I was sorry to read about your experience but I would like to make it clear that I left the property in March 2016. I no longer work for InterContinental.
I realise some time has passed since you wrote these comments but I would ask that you remove all references to my name, both here and in other forums.
Regards
James Young

23/9/2019 02:22:48 pm

Please note that while the experiences above are true, I apologize that the James Young referenced was NOT who I spoke with and discussed the matter. Again my sincere apologies to James Young.

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Coffee with the General Manager of InterContinental Asiana Saigon & Tour of the Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - January 2016

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