Rex Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City

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Paradise Coffee Lounge Faces the main roundabout of downtown Saigon at Nguyen Hue and Le Loi Streets. It was formerly known as the Abraham Lincoln Library of the American Cultural Center in Saigon during the Vietnam War. It is also well-known spot for intimate gatherings. Music shows and pop singers’ concerts also take place here.

Opening hours: 07.00 am - 11.30 pm

Favorite Dish: Vietnamese Iced Coffee what else! but it cost 88,000 VND here since this is a hotel but I had to try it for the Ambiance hehehe. the cheesecake was also good by was very expensive at 45,000 VND. This place specializes in the laid back department so you can hang around for hours and hours.

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We were residents of the Rex Hotel whilst in HCMC and found the 5th Floor Bar & Restaurant to be a great place to relax during the evening. A predinner drink admiring the central city lights sets the mood for a great evening.

In our case we were with a group of 27 Orchid hobbyists travelling parts of Vietnam and Thailand and the outdoors bar was a very inviting venue to catch up and finish our day.

There was a great variety on the menu ranging from Club Sandwiches with chips, to traditional Vietnamese food. Our stay often lasted long after the meal was finished. One evening an American man on an adjoining table asked if our group would sing Happy Birthday to his friend, our reward being to get most of the large Birthday Cake, in fact the waiter cut 27 pieces for our group.

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The Rex Hotel is a historic icon for the former GIs and well as the current Ex Pats...the place to be at night is on the roof top of the Rex...

The Rex is also where the so called "five O'clock" follies took place during the Vietnam (or the American War as the Vietnamese cal it). This was there the US military gave their "so-called'" mortality numers of the US and VIetnamese forces to the US reporters. It is widely known today that these numbers were fictious. The US casualities were lower than the real #s and the Vietnamese casualities were overestimated.

It is a great place to go if your craving a little bit of home...in food and company. The food is a bit pricey but the view is wonderful and its a great place to hook up with other expats

The Rex offers some great views of the city...in fact many Vietnam war vets got teary-eyed at the pictures I was able to take from the roof of the Rex.

I went to the Rex's rooftop restraunt at lunch and found it to be a tad too hot to be enjoyable. It was basically empty at lunch time also.

The rooftop signage of the Rex is a famous Saigon Landmark...pictured here the Rooftop Rex Elephant

Favorite Dish: If your craving an American dish this is the place to go, although the Vietnamese food is so good that I didn't really crave American food while I was there.

The main draw is the history of the place.

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This was one of our favourite restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. The food and service here were absolutely superb - not to mention the view. The outdoor area is wonderfully lit and a romantic place to enjoy a quiet dinner.

Favorite Dish: The Imperial spring rolls and the bass fillets with banana flowers are a must!!

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Having dinner at the Rex Hotel is quite a nice way to end a busy day in Saigon! It's quite a romantic venue to spend with your significant other and its crazy to think that it used to be the spot where reporters and military personnel used to have dinner during the war. Eating dinner at the restaurant on top of the hotel was wonderful because you could see awesome sights of nightime Saigon with all the streets and buildings lit up. The food is ok, overpriced, but you can't beat the nostalgia.

Pop up to the Rex Hotel Rooftop Garden Bar and have a cocktail.
There are amazing views over the streets below and out onto the wider city.
The decor was too kitsch for our tastes with fake grass, mini-pagodas and temples, birds in cages and potted bonsai trees. Finishing touches were the fairy lights and lighted water fountains.

Favorite Dish: The obligatory blue hawaiian went done a treat. The menu looked ok, nothing ground-breaking, but prices were a bit steep. We were only there for the view, so passed on the cuisine.