Mövenpick to launch in Vietnam

Swiss hotel group Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts is to open city-centre hotels in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh later this year. The hotels will be the first Mövenpick properties in Vietnam and will be managed by the group on behalf of owners VinaCapital Hospitality. The Mövenpick Hotel Saigon (currently the five-star Omni Saigon Hotel) is located in the Phu Nhuan district of Ho Chi Minh, and has 251 rooms and meeting facilities for up to 350 delegates. Other facilities include three restaurants, two bars, an outdoor pool, fitness centre and spa. Meanwhile, the Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi (currently the Guoman Hotel Hanoi), is situated in the city centre and has 150 rooms and suites, conference facilities for up to 100 guests, and a fitness centre. Both hotels are due to open before the end of 2008, and will join the only other Mövenpick in south-east Asia, the Mövenpick Resort and Spa Karon Beach in Phuket, Thailand. The Mövenpick brand began as a Zurich restaurant back in 1948, with the first hotels opening in the early Seventies. The group now manages over 60 hotels across Europe and the Middle East. For more information visit movenpick-hotels.com. Report by Mark Caswell