Rex Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Rex Hotel is a famous luxury and business hotel in Ho Chi Minh City
, Vietnam
.
The 284 room five story building is located in the District 1
, close by to the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
and the Municipal Theatre
. In 2003 the Rex Hotel underwent an extension and renovation including architecture
, interior design
and engineering
services provided by Archetype Group.
Rex Hotel is owned by the state-owned Saigon Tourist
.
and other European cars. From 1959 to 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Ung Thi
renovated the building into a 100 room Rex Complex hotel with three cinemas, a cafeteria
, a dance hall
and a library
.
The very first guests in the Rex Hotel in December 1961, while it was still in its final construction phase, were the 400 U.S.Army soldiers, 200 each of the 57th Transportation Company from Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Wa. and of the 8th Transportation Company from Fort Bragg, N.C.They were the first company strength units to arrive in Saigon, each with 20 H-21 twin rotor "Shawnee" helicopters, on the USNS 'CORE" on December 11, 1961. They were billeted at the Rex for a week or so while their tents were being set up, at Tan Son Nhut, Saigon for the 57th and in Quy Nhon for the 8th. The Thanksgiving dinner, a few weeks after the actual holiday, was cooked in the field kitchens of the men on the roof top of the Rex.
It was made famous and popular by American
troops during the Vietnam War
when its conference room hosted a daily press conference, by the MACV, derisively named The Five O'Clock Follies by cynical journalists who found the optimism of leading US military officers to be misguided. Its rooftop bar was a well known hangout spot for military officials and war correspondents.
(1975), Saigon Tourist Bureau took ownership of the hotel and renamed it "Ben Thanh." The "Ben Thanh" hotel was used as the location for the press conference announcing the reunification of Vietnam in 1976. In 1986, the hotel was renamed the Rex Hotel.
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
The 284 room five story building is located in the District 1
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
District 1 is the central urban district of Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam. With a total area of the District has a population of 204,899 people . The district is divided into 10 small subsets which are called wards. District 1 is where most of the city's administrative offices,...
, close by to the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica , officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in the downtown of Saigon City, Vietnam. Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880...
and the Municipal Theatre
Municipal Theatre, Ho Chi Minh City
The Saigon Opera House , an opera house in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is an example of French Colonial architecture in Vietnam.Built in 1897 by French architect Ferret Eugene, the 800 seat building was used as the home of the Lower House assembly of South Vietnam after 1956...
. In 2003 the Rex Hotel underwent an extension and renovation including architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
services provided by Archetype Group.
Rex Hotel is owned by the state-owned Saigon Tourist
Saigon Tourist
Saigon Tourist is a state-owned enterprise head-quartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It owns and manages hotels, restaurants and runs guided tours in southern Vietnam as well as throughout central Vietnam....
.
History
Built in 1927 for M. Bainier during French colonial rule in Vietnam, the building started out as a two story auto dealership/garage complex called Bainier Auto Hall. The building showcased CitroenCitroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
and other European cars. From 1959 to 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Ung Thi
Ung Thi
Ung Thi was a prominent Vietnamese business man who, together with his wife Nguyen Thi Nguyet Nga, built and operated the Rex Hotel and Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City...
renovated the building into a 100 room Rex Complex hotel with three cinemas, a cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, a dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
and a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
.
The very first guests in the Rex Hotel in December 1961, while it was still in its final construction phase, were the 400 U.S.Army soldiers, 200 each of the 57th Transportation Company from Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Wa. and of the 8th Transportation Company from Fort Bragg, N.C.They were the first company strength units to arrive in Saigon, each with 20 H-21 twin rotor "Shawnee" helicopters, on the USNS 'CORE" on December 11, 1961. They were billeted at the Rex for a week or so while their tents were being set up, at Tan Son Nhut, Saigon for the 57th and in Quy Nhon for the 8th. The Thanksgiving dinner, a few weeks after the actual holiday, was cooked in the field kitchens of the men on the roof top of the Rex.
It was made famous and popular by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
troops during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
when its conference room hosted a daily press conference, by the MACV, derisively named The Five O'Clock Follies by cynical journalists who found the optimism of leading US military officers to be misguided. Its rooftop bar was a well known hangout spot for military officials and war correspondents.
Decline and revival of the Rex
After the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
(1975), Saigon Tourist Bureau took ownership of the hotel and renamed it "Ben Thanh." The "Ben Thanh" hotel was used as the location for the press conference announcing the reunification of Vietnam in 1976. In 1986, the hotel was renamed the Rex Hotel.