As if we weren’t already feeling the wanderlust, the beautiful Southeast Asia region has a string of truly spectacular five-star hotel openings in the pipeline. If you’re planning on travelling to the enticing area this year, then we’ve done all the hard work for you and handpicked three of the finest new hotels in the region to look out for in 2022.
Fusion Original Saigon Center
The first Fusion Original branded property, Fusion Original Saigon Centre, will welcome guests from Q2, 2022. Located in Saigon Centre, alongside the fashionable Takashimaya Shopping Mall, the 146-room property occupies 10 floors in one of the most iconic buildings of the city. Its prime position delivers expansive views over Ho Chi Minh City’s heart, District 1, and as much to look at in the depths of Vietnamese culture.
Inspired by and connected to the local art scene, the hotel has a whimsical, youthful vibe with bold colours and statement pieces throughout. Iconic polyart walls feature prominently in public spaces, as do towering floor-to-ceiling paintings of Vietnamese women in traditional ao dai.
In the hotel’s all day dining restaurant, Miss Thu, the ceiling design is inspired by traditional lotus flowers and lotus leaves, while the restaurant’s textured windows flutter like mandarin hand fans.
The property’s outdoor swimming pool is perched on the sixth floor and embraced by a tropical vertical garden, while The Nest lounge cultivates a spa lounge vibe with plush sofa chairs framed by curtains for additional seclusion.
Meliá Chiang Mai
Towering over the Ping River and bustling Night Bazaar in the heart of Chiang Mai in Thailand’s mountainous north, Meliá Chiang Mai is the first five-star hotel to open in Chiang Mai since the onset of the global pandemic.
Slated to open in April 2022, the 260-key urban hotel’s jewel in the crown is a 360-degree rooftop bar on the 22nd floor, the highest in the city. Featuring two bars connected by a glass bridge, Mai The Sky Bar offers spectacular views of the River Ping to the city’s east and famed Doi Suthep Temple on the mountaintop to the west.
Drawing on Meliá’s Spanish origins and celebrating Spain’s famed gastronomy, the hotel’s dining landscape also features restaurants Mai Restaurant and Bar and Laan Na Kitchen, poolside Tien Pool Bar, and lounges Ruen Kaew and The Level Lounge; the latter a 21st-floor executive lounge with panoramic views of the city.
Meliá’s signature YHI Spa with seven treatment rooms, a fully-equipped fitness centre, swimming pool, ballroom and four other meeting spaces are also among the hotel’s host of facilities for business and leisure travellers alike.
Situated on lively Charoen Prathet Road, close to a broad spectrum of tourist attractions, markets and Buddhist temples, the hotel is six kilometres from Chiang Mai International Airport.
Meliá Phuket Mai Khao
Meliá Phuket Mai Khao, a 30-suite and 70-villa resort on eight acres of Phuket’s north-western coastline overlooking the sky-blue Andaman Sea opened its doors in December.
Fronting Phuket’s longest stretch of sand, the resort on Mai Khao Beach is close to an array of attractions such as Sirinat National Park, Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, and Wat Phra Thong temple. Phuket International Airport is a 15-minute drive. The resort’s saltwater swimming pools, private villa pools, a reflection pond with sunken seating areas, water gardens, vertical falls and irrigation mist evoke a restorative atmosphere.
The Mediterranean-inspired accommodations comprise 30 one-bedroom suites and 70 one-bedroom villas and all feature outdoor bathtubs, and open-air showers. The 78sqm suites are complemented by cabanas and the 85sqm one-bedroom villas have private plunge pools. Fifteen wellness villas feature an open-air Vitamin C shower, daily massage, ultrasonic essential oil diffuser, GermGuardian air purifier, Tempur-Pedic pillows, fit ball and yoga mat.
The resort explores a diverse culinary landscape from four outlets including chic Gaia Beach Club.
