Hotel Continental Saigon

- A twenty-five minute ride to or from Tan Son Nhat airport by taxi or limo. - A five-minute walk to the city bus station. - Nearby speed boats to Vung Tau, buses and express trains to Phan Thiet, Nha Trang… - Close to non-stop buses to the Mekong Delta, Cambodia and other destinations.

HOTEL CONTINENTAL SAIGON - YESTERDAY AND TODAY

The Hotel Continental Saigon is situated on D**g Khoi, one of the oldest and most central roads in Saigon. In the old days, Saigon’s roads were simply named by ordinal numbers. Starting from the Saigon River bank, D**g Khoi was the Sixth Road. In 1865, the French Commander De La Grandiere renamed these roads and Sixth Road became Catinat Street, a bustling place, especially during the French Colonial Era."Catinat Street" at one time was a very bustling and crowded place, especially with the French. Later on, across the street from the Continental the first foundations and floors for factories were built, the first one for Denis Frere. Next was the first drugstore in Saigon, the “Solinere Pharmaceutical,” which opened in 1865. In 1878, Pierre Cazeau, a home-appliance and construction material manufacturer, started building the Hotel Continental with the purpose of providing the French traveler, a French style of luxury accommodation after a long cruise to the new continent. This project took 2 years, and in 1880 the “Hotel Continental” was inaugurated.

The same generation that saw the Hotel Continental Saigon being built also saw: Notre Dame Cathedral, built in 1880 (only a 5 minute walk from the hotel), the Postal and Telecom Service, built in 1886 (which is now the Saigon Central Post Office), and the Hotel de Ville, built in 1898 (which is now the People’s Community Office of Ho Chi Minh City). The latter has a design similar to the Paris City Hall.

In the year 1911, the Continental was sold to Duke Montpensier. In 1930, the hotel had a new owner, Mathier Francini, a gangster from Corsica, who ran the hotel until 1975. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Saigon Government commanded all signboards be written in Vietnamese language; therefore the name “Hotel Continental” was converted to "Dai Luc Lu Quan". However, it is the central place the Continental holds in Saigon history, not its past owners, that gives our hotel its fame.

By the beginning of World War II, the Hotel Continental hosted the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore (who won the 1913 Nobel Prize for literature), the award-winning writer Andre Malraux, whose “Man’s Fate” won

the 1933 Prix Goncourt, and then the British writer Graham Greene, long-term guest in room 214, who conceived the work “The Quiet American” about the transitional period between the French Colonist and the American Empire in the Vietnam War. The Continental features prominently in “The Quiet American” in both its film and book forms. The Continental also is a central locale in the movie “Indochine” which won two Academy Awards and one Golden Globe.

The Hotel Continental was frequently referred to by the phrase “Radio Catinat”, since this was the rendezvous point where correspondents, journalists, politicians and businessmen talked about politics, the business news, and current events. It’s not by coincidence that it was said that “If the walls of the Hotel Continental could speak, they could tell you many stories.”

During the American period, Catinat Street was known as Tu Do Street. Following liberation in 1975, the name "Tu Do" was changed to "D**g Khoi".Thus history turned a new page, and many outstanding people such as Jacques Chirac (Mayor of Paris during that period), the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, and many other politicians stayed at the Hotel Continental to exchange views on the future of a new Vietnam.

Nowadays, the Hotel Continental remains nestled among the classical buildings of old Saigon such as the Opera House, Notre Dame Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, facing the future without forgetting the past. While D**g Khoi Street continues its hustle and bustle, the Hotel Continental Saigon still maintains the charm and majesty of its classical past. Inside this venerable building,a new generation of staff are dedicate themselves to offering travelers a wonderful and relaxing stay in Ho Chi Minh City, one that they will remember fondly for a long time.

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS:

- Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore - who won the 1913 Nobel Prize for literature (By the beginning of World War II) - British writer Graham Greene – author of “The Quiet American” (room 214) - the award-winning writer Andre Malraux, whose “Man’s Fate” won the 1933 Prix Goncourt - Jacques Chirac - Mayor of Paris at that period (After Liberation in 1975) - the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed (After Liberation in 1975) - General Phạm Xuân Ẩn – “Perfect Spy” (1960-1975, room 307) - Larry Berman – author of Perfect Spy (2013).