Overview of Mai House Hotel in Ho Chi Minh

proof that some of the best hotels aren’t chains – mai house doesn’t miss a beat, flawlessly combining sophistication with personality and incredible food

mai house, ho chi minh

The first thing you notice about Mai House is the grand lobby, replete with soaring ceilings and colonialist French style. It’s not quite what you expect from a small(er), boutique hotel with no luxury chain affiliation – and it’s an uplifting feeling the minute you step inside to seek relief from the stifling Saigon weather and bustle of Quận (District) 3’s motorbikes.

Mai House has all the amenities you might expect from any other 5 star hotel – excellent room and bar service, a lovely pool, gym, spa, laundry services, a rooftop bar and a fantastic French restaurant serving Vietnamese and European cuisine. More on all of that below…

the rooms

Located around 25 minutes from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Mai House Saigon hotel contains around 220 rooms – a mixture of rooms, suites, residences and apartments. These start at a generous 30 sqm and spanning up to the Presidential Suite at 169 sqm, bigger than my house!

As we were staying for 5 nights, we opted for a 1 bedroom serviced apartment, a 50 sqm home away from home. It contained a full kitchen (although the extent of our cooking comprised cutting up the enormous birthday cake they provided), dining area and living room, bedroom and ensuite with walk in shower.

The dining and living area were super cosy and had great natural light, overlooking green trees and a local school below. There was a big smart TV on the wall where we even plugged in our laptops and streamed an AFL game one night!

The kitchen was huge – plates, cutlery, a kettle and an electric stove with a full sized fridge with complimentary drinks restocked everyday. Note – if you plan on cooking you’ll need to request pots and pans. I imagine they don’t provide these as standard as given you’re in Saigon surrounded by delicious, cheap food no one’s actually doing any cooking!

It was my partner’s birthday and so they sent up not one, but TWO cakes. A smaller chocolate roulade accompanied by an incredibly decadent chocolate and raspberry cake as we are members of their loyalty program. It was absolutely delicious but honestly a bit excessive and ended up having to throw most of it away – it could have fed a gathering of at least 10 people.

The adjoining bedroom was just as grand, fulfilling all ones’ plush, white hotel bed dreams. The interiors were very French colonial meets New York grandeur, and we felt like we were channeling serious Diane Lockhart vibes (for all you Good Fight fans) getting to wake up there every day. I loved touches like the ornate analogue bedside clock – it felt like the designers purposely opted for a more old world, authentic feel instead of pandering to the business traveler.

One of the reasons we chose Mai House was for its carpeted bedroom – sounds ridiculous I know but due to the humidity in Vietnam, a lot of hotels opt for tiling in their rooms which neither of us like. Personal preference but worth calling out if you’re similar minded! Here the carpet was plush and didn’t seem impacted by the humidity or weather at all. Huge win.

There was also another giant smart TV in the bedroom, just in case for some reason you found yourself in a situation where you and your partner were both travelling in Ho Chi Minh and needed to watch two different TV shows at the same time…but honestly a big shout out to whoever decided to put HDMI ports into the walls so guests could easily connect their laptops. GENIUS. There’s also a desk in the bedroom if you did need to close the door to the living room and get some work or writing done.

There’s a generous walk in bathroom coming off the bedroom – note there’s no separate door however, something to be aware of if you need a little extra privacy! The actual toilet and shower have their own doors, and as it turned out the toilet door came in handy for one night when some dodgy Vietnamese street food felt like a fight…

The ornate marble and grand style continues on in the bathroom, and you’ll also find an enormous closet to hang your clothes, safe, bathrobes, slippers, ironing board and even a jewelry box! Roberto Cavalli amenities are provided and in keeping with the vibes of this hotel, they don’t skimp on either the quantity or range – you’ll find anything and everything you might need from toothpaste to shampoo, soap, combs, shavers and sanitary bags.

around the grounds

It feels like Mai House makes the most of its footprint – the pool area isn’t huge but well designed, with one side adjoining the wall showcasing a waterfall feature. Although there weren’t many seats, we always managed to find a spot every day for a post lunch swim and sunbathe.

There’s pool side bar and snack service, including a daily happy hour which we definitely took full advantage of! Is it even a poolside holiday if you don’t have a pina colada every day? Ok fine, I substituted this with a mojito one time…

We didn’t use the spa or gym but these looked great and the gym looked spacious and well equipped. Our next trip might contain a spa visit but I can’t promise I’ll use the gym as, well, I’ll be on holiday and that is just illegal.

the food

Mai House’s main dining fare is at C’est La Vie, located on the second floor as you ascend those ridiculous stairs from the lobby. We ate a lot of food here – daily buffet breakfast (included), their famous seafood buffet dinner, and a lunch on the last day before heading off to the airport.

buffet breakfast

If you’ve read any of my other posts (see, for example: The Barracks, The Fairmont, Intercon Da Nang) you’ll noticed I have a (severe) weakness for an Asian hotel buffet breakfast. I am pleased to report that Mai House nails it on this front. You’ll find a whole range of local Vietnamese fare (banh mi, a daily rotating noodle soup such as pho), fresh cut fruits, pastries, cereals, cold cuts, congee, dim sum, waffles, French toast, a cooked to order egg station and hot Western options such as hash browns, bacon and sausages. The most stress I encountered all trip was trying not too overeat at breakfast so I could fit in lunch out and about in Ho Chi Minh!

…there was so many different types of food I’m going to have to consolidate all the pictures into a slideshow!

As always, I like to take photos of my ridiculous buffet breakfast plate combinations where anything goes, so please enjoy:

seafood buffet dinner

We’d heard about Mai House’s famous seafood buffet dinner – offered every Friday and Saturday night in their C’est La Vie restaurant. It did seem like a bit of a waste of a night out to eat in the hotel, but it seemed too good to be true and when can you experience a decadent seafood buffet for around AUD $50 per person! Please prepare yourself for the onslaught of photos ahead…and maybe also a snack if you’re already feeling hungry. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

There was a whole oyster bar, with oysters served natural, with a Vietnamese style mignonette and also grilled…

…various prawns, clams, pipis, sea snails wok fried in various sauces…

…prawns, crayfish, crabs and other crustaceans I’m not sure I could name…

…salmon, tuna and kingfish sashimi…

…sushi…

…a carvery featuring beef and pork (and a creamy potato bake on the side)…

…and now I’ll have to switch back into slideshow mode because there’s just too many more to get through (noodles cooked to order, various cooked dishes, salads, pastries, fruit, cheese, cakes, ice cream, a chocolate fountain!!). I really enjoyed the Vietnamese style salads they had on offer – particularly one with peashoots and prawns, tossed in nuoc nam. No boring salads here!

It was an incredibly lavish meal – it almost felt like Christmas with how much was going on! All in all a wild experience – well worth it and one I’d definitely recommend for a special occasion. Worth also mentioning the wine offering – it’s AUD $30 a head for free flow red and white wine. We only tried the white (an Australian chardonnay) which was delicious – no mean feat as anyone who has visited Vietnam knows how hard it is to find a decent wine and it’s often crazy expensive compared to a beer or even a cocktail.

one more thing on the food

I also wanted to give a shout out to the room service and the restaurant outside of buffet meal time. Sometimes hotels have awesome breakfast and dinner service, but it can be really lack luster outside of the main fare. Not the case at Mai House! We had one room service meal (a burger after a long day adventuring) and a late lunch at around 3pm before heading off to the airport. The burger and fries were smashing – juicy, crispy, umami, all the things you want in a burger. My late lunch of a pumpkin soup and lamb rack was honestly one of the best lamb racks I’ve ever had – tasty, perfectly cooked and with a faultless quenelled Parisian mash. I’ve had a lot of lamb racks in my life and who would have thought the best one would be found in a boutique hotel in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam!

in the area

Mai House is located in Quận 3, known for being an expat area and less touristy than neighbouring Quận 1. It’s still super close to all the main tourist sites though, including walking distance from the Pink Cathedral, the War Remnants Museum, the Independence Palace and Turtle Lake. We also discovered some of our favourite restaurants around the hotel, with special mentions to Bep Cuon, Dong Pho and Hoa Tuc.