Hillside hotel looms for Halong Bay

An artist’s impression of the Song Da-backed hotel which will overlook Halong Bay

The group is currently negotiating a management contract with Song Da Urban and Industrial Park Development Company, which would see a 134-room hotel and 24 villas bearing the Mercure name.
A source close to the project said the two parties had neared a final agreement.
If signed, the project would be Accor’s second in Halong Bay, bringing the number of hotels it manages in Vietnam to 10. Two months ago, it won another contract to run a Novotel hotel at the bay with 193 rooms.
Accor is now the country’s largest hotel management company, running five-star properties such as Hanoi’s Sofitel Metropole and Sofitel Plaza, Sofitel Dalat Palace in Lam Dong province and the Sofitel Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City.
It also runs the Novotel brand, with hotels in Ho Chi Minh City, Phan Thiet and Dalat, in addition to the new Halong Bay development.
With its three-star status, the Mercure venture would be Accor’s first property of this level.
An Accor official said the complex would diversify the company’s portfolio in Vietnam and strengthen Halong Bay as a tourist destination.
Song Da’s investment department manager Bui Khac Vien said the company would start construction on the hotel soon after the design for the 13-storey hotel was finalised.
The company would pump $8 million in developing the complex on Yen Ngua Hill where guests would have a panoramic view of submerged mountains of different shapes and sizes in Halong Bay.
The designers, Archetype Company, said it was a challenge to ensure all rooms would have superb views of the legendary waters of Halong Bay.
Song Da’s project would add to a substantial hotel portfolio that continues to flourish at Halong Bay. Hotel construction in the area has particularly intensified since the opening of the 228-room Saigon Halong hotel in 2002.
Since then, new hotels have sprung up along the Bai Chay beach, including the Royal, Halong Dream and tens of others under construction.
One of the biggest projects is the 1000-room and entertainment complex on Tuan Chau island built by Au Lac joint stock company.
Although Halong Bay lures millions of tourists annually, it does not currently have any international brand hotels. The Hong Kong-based Swiss-Belhotel International operates the four-star hotel under a local name, the Mithrin.
Halong Bay is 180 kilometres from Hanoi in the Gulf of Tonkin and is one of the world’s most spectacular destinations, attracting more than 2.5 million tourists a year. It has close to 2,000 submerged karstic mountains with beautiful grottos.
The bay was recognised by the United Nations Environment, Science and Culture Organization as a world heritage site in 1994.