Recently, I did one of those crazy city hops – going from Hong Kong to Seoul to Bangkok and Saigon in 10 days. In the process, I stayed in four hotels that, to me, capture the diversity of hospitality in Asia and how the industry’s changed, and is evolving.
A rather iconic welcome in the lobby
Hotel ICON, Hong Kong
This is a city known for the best hotels in the world – Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, Shangri-La, Four Seasons – the best of the best. There’s something about Hong Kong hotel service – sharp, slick, smooth. There is a smile but it’s polished.
If you’re an independent hotel, you really have to stand out. ICON does this by doubling up as a “training” ground for hospitality students and as such, there is a youthful energy and vibe to this hotel. The average age of staff is 24, I am told. Their smiles are less polished, more genuine. Sometimes, the service is not as smooth but it doesn’t matter because you know these are students or management trainees.
So maybe as a senior citizen, you might feel out of place in such a youthful hotel but not really. Because even though the hotel has contemporary design elements, it also has classic touches that make you feel you’re not in one of those designer hotels where you constantly knock your knees on furniture – and not every staff is dressed in black.
Wifi is free, as is the minibar – and you know what, I hardly touch the items anyway. If you’re a club floor guest, you get access to the Sky Lounge which gives beautiful views over the harbour. It’s a bit small though and during peak cocktail hours, we had to share tables with another couple – so you either strike up conversation or try not to make eye contact. Or you admire the painting of Hong Kong by night, which is a standout.
To me, this hotel, which opened in September 2011, embraces the future – it’s like a laboratory to train future talent for the industry – but has its feet planted firmly in the best of Hong Kong hospitality traditions.
I like the blend of modern with traditional, contemporary with classic, experience with youth. Captures the new spirit of Asia.
Swing while you wait in the lobby
Imperial Palace Boutique Hotel, Itaewon, Seoul
This is a new crop of independent boutique hotels that have popped up all over the key cities in Asia. I found it through Allstay, a new hotel meta-search site, and booked it through Booking.com. The name is a bit of a mouthful – like it doesn’t know what it wants to be, a Palace or a Boutique, so it’s a bit of a mash-up.
Don’t mess with this bunny
There’s a giant steel greyhound statue at its entrance, an enormous silver and glass Jessica Rabbit armed with guns in the lobby and green swings for you to pass the time while waiting for friends to come visit you. There’s also a giant yellow velvet throne-like sofa you could imagine as a prop in one of those Korean dramas that are sweeping the world.
A throne fit for a Korean drama stage set
Strip away these art works and you have a pretty standard three-star hotel. The rooms are small, I had one that overlooked the main drag of Itaewon and so was pretty noisy, but hey it makes you feel right in the thick of things. One thing I like is how well lit the rooms are. I think it’s meant for younger guests who don’t get a shock when they look at themselves in the mirror first thing in the morning after a night of shoju.
The staff are young, very helpful, and speak a bit of English. The café is very Parisian. They serve tea in English-style tea pots and cups. And the music is American jazz standards. It captures the new spirit of Seoul – avant garde, wanting to be global, sophisticated with some rough edges.
Dusit Thani Bangkok
This is a piece of history – the first Western-style hotel built with Thai architectural sentiment. Opened in 1970, it marked a new chapter in hospitality in Asia – when local hoteliers infused their traditions with Western innovation.
Step into the hotel and it’s like stepping back in time – into the 80s – and it’s kinda nice. The huge huge lobby, reception desk with staff dressed in classic Thai costumes, the wais – timeless. It feels dated but I am a sentimental sort – it reminds me of how Bangkok used to be.
The staff are friendly, eager to help. Not as sharp, smooth and slick like Hong Kong but you wouldn’t want it to be. The style of service should embrace the sense of place.
A classic welcome – tiffin treats with a gentle wai
I liked that in the lounge, they remembered I liked my congee every morning. And I like the old-fashioned classic welcome I got in my spacious suite each evening.
Captures the Thailand of old, one that’s fast disappearing. There are rumours the site is to be redeveloped. If this happens, a significant piece of Asian hospitality history will disappear.
A smiling welcome at M Gallery Saigon
M Gallery Saigon
This is the newest boutique hotel to open in one of my favourite cities in South-east Asia although if you ask the general manager Julie Bruley, she will say it’s the ONLY real boutique hotel in the city.
Julie Bruley: “We’re the only real boutique hotel in town”.
“Where? Show me a real one,” she challenged me when I asked her, “what about the other boutique hotels in the city?” (Google ‘boutique hotel in Saigon’ and you’ll know what I mean).
The rooftop pool bar – the place to be at currently
To her, a real one is what M Gallery stands for – quality, details, design and service infused in one experience that is both stylish and intimate. The rooftop bar and the Social Club on the floor below have become the latest hot spots for the beautiful and trendy crowd.
The nice thing is it’s not too noisy so you can still talk. Bruley says that’s due to the quality of the speakers that don’t go “boom, boom, boom”.
I like her passion and belief in her hotel. Three years in Vietnam – the last two with Metropole in Hanoi – the French national is the new breed of general managers bringing much-needed style and femininity to the hospitality scene in Asia. 
With more than 180 rooms, it’s not exactly small but it feels small, the way the hotel is laid out and designed. I like the feminine touches of the hotel from the art works to the fabrics, to the claw-footed bath tub in my room.
The staff are very friendly and helpful, all young Vietnamese proud to be part of a new kind of lifestyle that this country of 90 million people is aspiring to embrace and you feel it most in Saigon where crossing the road remains an extreme sport.