Two five-star hotels in Vietnam have made the 2007 Gold List for the world’s best hotels by the US prestigious magazine Condé Nast Traveler.

The Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers in Ho Chi Minh City and the Hotel Sofitel Metropole Hanoi were chosen in the New York City-based magazine’s 13th annual roll call of the best 700 hotels, resorts and cruise lines in more than 70 countries.

There were approximately 21,000 Condé Nast Traveler subscribers who completed the 2006 Readers’ Choice Survey.

Located on Dong Khoi Street, the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers appeals to tourists since “it’s close to everything,” including Notre Dame Cathedral, the magazine comments.

Visitors there will have a chance to “enjoy a 360-degree view and a pan-Asian menu at the rooftop Signature Restaurant,” it says.

This 23-story hotel was the host venue for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in May 2006 and had welcomed many senior dignitaries including King and Queen of Sweden, the Korean President, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, and most recently Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

The hotel has received many awards since its opening in May 2003, including the ‘Best Business Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City 2006’ award by Business Traveler Magazine Asia Pacific, ‘Best Business Hotel in Vietnam 2004 and 2005’ by Business Asia Magazine in conjunction with CNBC Asia Pacific.

Commenting the Hotel Sofitel Metropole Hanoi, the Condé Nast Traveler describes it as “a great relief from the modern cookie-cutter hotel”, and that the hotel “has a white façade, green shutters, and original wrought-iron work.”

A French colonial style property built in 1901, Hotel Sofitel Metropole Hanoi boasts a rich history and a century long tradition of hospitality for ambassadors and writers, statesmen and entrepreneurs.

It has 265 rooms and suites with a beautiful interior garden. The elegant Spices Garden restaurant offers superb Vietnamese cuisine while the Le Beaulieu restaurant is known for its fine French food and wines.

Condé Nast Traveler is an American magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, started in 1987, specializing in travel, principally recreational for tourism, but also for business travellers, according to Wikipedia.

(Source: Thanh Nien News)