Dalat, City of Love, is a cool mountain resort but a hot favourite for tourists. Dalat is described as a beautiful, romantic place with lovely weather. It is renowned for its scenery, the fresh mountain air with a hint of the scent of pine, the flowers, the vegetables and fruit, lakes and waterfalls; and how it’s such a romantic place. Dalat is often referred to as the City of Eternal Spring or Le Petit Paris of Vietnam.
Dalat lies at 1,500 meters above sea level, located, on the hillside in the heart of the city, in the south-central mountains not too far from Ho Chi Minh city, is top high on the guests’ list of places to visit.
It is very easy to fall in love with Sofitel Dalat Palace, “a Hotel of the Past, Today”, restored and refurbished, and re-opened in 1995, the hotel retains the old-world charm of the original hotel built in 1922 by the French administrators of the day.
Once we stepped inside, it was like ...”Wow!” We stepped into another world, to another time of graceful stylishness, distinction, and excellent taste. The guest is greeted by a richly elegant interior where no less than 2000 artworks grace to the public areas, the corridors, and the guests, rooms, even the guests’ bathrooms and the public rooms. Although reproductions, they are superb replicas of most famous and beautiful pieces. You’d be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into an art museum of works by old masters. Chandeliers and period lamps provide added accent to the atmosphere of old-world charm. A fireplace is the centerpiece in the lobby lounge, around which is a gathering of very inviting leather settees and armchairs. Softly, popular old French tunes fill the air, completing the warm and cosy setting. This could well be somewhere in France.
The guest rooms are on the upper floors of the three-storey hotel. On the second floor, facing the lake, several rooms with a generously proportioned terrace, large enough for a table that can accomadate four, and two sunbeds. But the best part was that it opened out to an inspiring view of pine trees and a lake, set against a backdrop of mountains. Most of all when guests were on the roof top of Sofitel Dalat Palace for the “Dalat Moonlight Cocktail Party”. What a panorama!
Sitting on arguably the best location in Dalat city, on a rise overlooking the tranquil and picturesque Xuan Huong Lake and sometimes cloud-shrouded mountain ranges in the distance, Sofitel Dalat Palace is truly appealing piece of work, and a romantic one at that.
The guestrooms are large and very airy, and yet cosy, and very well appointed. The canopy beds are invitingly fluffy with duvets and have this ooh-it-feels-so-good sinking-in affect when you lie on them. There are fireplaces in the higher-grade rooms. Chandeliers hang from the lofty ceilings, even in the spacious bathrooms where the bath fixtures are all period pieces – the standalone bathtub, the brass taps, faucets and showerheads.
This is an old-world as it gets in these modern times in which we live. And guests found it interesting that, next to an old-style dial telephone on the old-style writing desk in the guestroom, was an Internet-age broadband modem… all the appeal of the charm and elegance of a bygone era without sacrificing modern day creature comforts and technology. The best of both worlds, really.
The hotel is also a culinary joy. Le Rabelais, the French fine-dining restaurant looking out onto the hotel’s sprawling grounds (5 hectares), serves up dishes for lunch and dinner. The Executive Chef’s creations are simply divine.
Cafe De La Poste boasts a French bistro on the ground floor, and a Vietnamese restaurant, Y Nhu Y, on the upper floor. Great food and ambience, and wonderful staff and service. Having meal or drink on the terrace at Cafe De la Poste when the sun is shining is truly delightful.
If there’s anything that’s a problem with Sofitel Dalat Palace, it’s that it’s such a beautiful place to be, where the food’s excellent, the service impeccable, and the people so warm and helpful that, when it comes time to leave, guests always wish they could stay.
M.T
Vietnamese
