JW Marriott Hotel & Suites Saigon, The Apartments

JW Marriott Hotel & Suites Saigon, The Apartments is a 5-star hotel in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, where the rooms are self-contained apartments and suites with one, two or three bedrooms and a fully equipped kitchen. It suits families, small groups and travellers who want more room than a standard hotel room offers, with a spa and a fitness centre on site.

The apartments range from 78 m² to 130 m² and have city or landmark views, air conditioning, a flat-screen TV, soundproofed walls and a private bathroom with a bath. Facilities include a spa with a sauna and steam room, a fitness centre, yoga classes and massage treatments, a year-round outdoor swimming pool, a garden, a minimarket and an indoor play area for children. A family-friendly restaurant serves American, Italian, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options.

An airport shuttle is available for a fee, Tan Son Nhat International Airport being 5 km away. The front desk is staffed around the clock, and free WiFi covers all areas of the hotel. Breakfast is served with continental, Asian and American dishes, local specialities, warm dishes and fresh pastries.

The range has five apartments and suites, from a one-bedroom apartment of 78 m² to a three-bedroom apartment of 130 m² that sleeps up to six. Every unit has a private bathroom with a bath, a fully equipped kitchen with a refrigerator, dishwasher, oven and kitchenware, air conditioning, a flat-screen TV, soundproofed walls and a minibar. All five have city or landmark views from the windows.

Outer space and layout vary. Three of the units have a balcony, while the two-bedroom suite opens onto a terrace instead. The three-bedroom apartment, the suite and the one-bedroom apartment with balcony add a seating area, and the largest unit has two bathrooms. Beds range from one extra-large double bed to combinations of double and single beds, so families and groups can choose the arrangement that suits their party.

Wellness is the strongest part of the facilities. The spa and wellness centre has a sauna, a steam room, a fitness centre, a personal trainer and yoga classes, and the massage menu runs from full body and couples massage to foot, neck and back treatments. The pool is open all year, and there is a separate kids' pool.

Families are well catered for, with family rooms, an indoor play area, a children's playground, babysitting and child services, and kids' meals in the restaurant. A garden, bicycle rental and a minimarket on site sit alongside daily housekeeping, laundry and a 24-hour front desk. The airport shuttle is charged for.

Parking is public and on site, needs no reservation and is charged by the hour. WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge, and a coffee house, a bar and special diet menus on request cover eating and drinking on site.

The hotel stands on the corner of Hai Ba Trung street and Le Duan boulevard in District 1, in the central part of Ho Chi Minh City. Lam Son Park is 200 m away, and so is Đường Sách, the book street lined with bookshops and cafés. The Saigon Central Post Office, a late nineteenth-century French colonial building, is also 200 m away, and the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, with its red-brick towers, is 300 m away.

Saigon Railway Station is 2.6 km away and is the terminus for long-distance trains from the north and the central coast. Opera House Station, a train station, is 700 m away on foot. Tan Son Nhat International Airport lies 5 km to the north-west, in Tan Binh, and a taxi is the most direct way to reach it from the hotel. Crescent Lake, 6.4 km away, is a trip for a separate afternoon.

On foot, the Ho Chi Minh City Museum is 650 m away and covers the history of the city from the French colonial period to the present day, while the War Remnants Museum, 1 km away, shows the Vietnam War through photographs and displays, with aircraft and tanks standing outside. Tao Dan Park, a large green space 1.3 km away, and Nha Rong Wharf, on the Saigon River 1.6 km away, make a pleasant walk in the morning or late afternoon, when the heat is less intense. The riverside near the wharf is a good place to end a day of sightseeing.