The Reverie Hotel

22-36 Nguyen Hue Boulevard, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

To say Ho Chi Minh City’s latest luxury hotel is opulent doesn’t quite cut it. It’s borderline outrageous, in the best possible way. Overlooking the Saigon River, glitz and glam is the deal here. It hits you the moment you swoop into the antechamber-style lobby on the ground floor of the District 1, Times Square Building, with its bejewelled rush of dark marbling, and continues up to the bright mosaics and gaudy $500,000 clock in the light-filled lobby on the 7th floor – accessed via elevators swathed in ancient amber fossils, obviously. The explosion of colour and pattern across the 39 floors comes from Italian designers and extends to the guestrooms, where you’ll find navy-silk headboards framing cloudlike beds, floor-to-ceiling windows offering skyline views across the bustling city, and plush decorative carpeting. Bathrooms are a decadent mix of gilding, top-to-toe marble, orchids and Hermès toiletries. Grab breakfast in the vast atrium of Café Cardinal, an impressive room in itself. Excellent Cantonese cuisine can be found at the jade and vermillion-filled restaurant, The Royal Pavilion. BG. Doubles from £240, thereveriesaigon.com