My family has been living in Ho Chi Minh City for a few years and there are those days that you just want to get on a car, leave the household chores behind, and just drive off to a hotel where you can get a bit of pampering.  And so we did.  On the week of the Lunar New Year holiday, we spent 3 days and 2 nights in Parkroyal Saigon.

Parkroyal Saigon seems like a one dimensional structure from the outside along the very busy Nguyen Van Troi St. But once you step inside, you know you’re going to have a relaxing stay.  The high checkered ceiling that encompasses all 10 floors gives the hotel a unique and airy look.  The lobby isn’t imposing but welcoming and we quickly checked in with no problems at all.
Vacationing with a 4-year old pre-schooler and a 9-month old baby in tow is not ideal if you want to unwind but not bringing them at all will cause me to worry about them all day.  You can’t win!  So as a rule, we try as much as possible to find a family-friendly hotel to stay in.

When we got in our room, we were happy to find that the baby cot was already set-up. So we just put Rafa inside the crib while the rest of the family started unpacking. What’s terrific is that with the carpeted floor (clean!!!), I didn’t have to worry about Rafa crawling all over the cold surface of the floors. The sockets were almost well-hidden and there wasn’t anything around that would fall over Rafa just in case.

So for the rest of our first day, we just enjoyed our really comfy bed and plush pillows <insert sigh here> while catching up on shows which we can’t do so at home with Sam always commandeering the screen with Disney Jr. shows. Luckily, my 4-year old goes on vacation mode too when we stay at a hotel and let us rest a bit.

For some reason, when we relax, we get hungry, so we decided to call room service and ordered pizza.  The pizza came in hot and crispy in no time at all.

While the rest were finishing up, I went down the lobby to take some photos.

I love lights and furniture so that was mainly what I wanted to take photos of plus the swimming pool right smack at the middle of the hotel.

For an Asian, the location of the pool is ideal because most Asians don’t want to get a lot of sun. The pool get lots of shade with it perfectly ensconced at the heart of the resort-like hotel.  I also went out to take photos of the façade and Saigon traffic. The hotel guard gently called me aside and reminded me on possible risks to myself and my belongings while exploring the vicinity. That was really nice of him.

For dinner, we went to the nearby CT Plaza Mall.  We haven’t been to that place since we got here a few years back so it was nice to see that side of Ho Chi Minh City.

Before we turned in for the night, we received a copy of a bedtime story for the kids from one of the staff!

On day 2, after enjoying a real filling breakfast at the Garden Brasserie, we (minus Sam) tried out the pool. Sam enjoyed lounging by the pool playing, while hubby, baby, and I took a dip. I love the pool! I’m not a good swimmer so I liked that the pool wasn’t deep at all.  As a mom, I worry about things like that for my kids — thinking whether I can wade through the water in case accidents happen. The attendant at the St. George Spa and Gym right across the pool came out once in a while to check on us and offered to take photos of the family.  Traveling as a family, it’s always difficult to get decent photos with everybody together in one shot.

For lunch, we wanted to check out District 1 which was a bit off from Parkroyal. Good thing that the hotel has a shuttle bus. I called them up before we had breakfast that morning to reserve seats. So by 11:30 AM, we were all heading to the central business district (15 minutes away) with other two couples. We were dropped off at the Saigon Centre and from there just explored the city.

Promptly at 4:45 PM, the shuttle arrived and drove us back to the hotel where we got ready for buffet dinner. It was Valentine’s Day too so it’s something to celebrate about.

When we got down around 7 PM, piano music filled the air as the house duo sang romantic songs.

Heart-shaped cakes and decors were all around the seafood buffet — setting the tone too for the occasion. Since we made reservations, we got complimentary drinks too! Parkroyal also gave each lady dining a gift of heart-shaped chocolates. It was a lovely way to mark the end of our night.

On day 3, we headed down for buffet breakfast. Some staples, like bread and salad were the same but otherwise, the food was different from the day before — really good variety and excellent food.

Instead of pushing through with our plans to swim again that morning, we opted to enjoy our room till we checked out at noon. We brought our own mini-entertainment system which we just hooked to the TV.

Noon came so quickly and we had to check out and head on home. Wrapping things up at the desk was trouble-free.

Overall, we had a wonderful holiday at Parkroyal and it is a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of life in Saigon.

Oh and if you want a chance to stay at PARKROYAL in a city of your choice, why not join Trade for a Trip? This promo starts tomorrow, April 17 till May 17, 2013. All you have to do is:

• Share 3 picks on things to do in one of these cities: Singapore / Kuala Lumpur / Penang / Saigon / Sydney / Parramatta / Melbourne
• Pick a PARKROYAL hotel to win a two night stay in.
• 9 winners will be selected at the end of the contest

It’s that easy!!! Join and enjoy a grand vacation!