Hoiana Hotel & Suites

When talking about Vietnam, iconic symbols like gravel, embankment, Mekong River, French shutters and celadon mottled walls always come to mind. Slender Vietnamese girls dressed in red Ao Dai wander to and fro in the bustling market, and streets and alleys are filled with the fragrance of rice noodles and coffee floating in addition to the aroma of jasmine and earth. As depicted in Marguerite Duras's writings, Vietnam is such a country where French romance and the unique gentle temperament of Southeast Asia coexist.

Hoi An, as a "gem" in Vietnam, enjoys a unique location, right in the middle of Vietnam's s-shaped coastline, and was once a major Southeast Asian trading port in the 16th century. Dating from hundreds of years ago, generations of Chinese people immigrated here and cultivated the roots of the earliest Chinatown and a prosperous Chinese community. Japanese, Dutch as well as French merchants and colonists chose to stay and conduct business here as well, making this port a place where Eastern and Western cultures converge.

Hoiana Hotels & Suites is located in Hoiana Integrated Resort, which is Vietnam's first world-class integrated resort as well as a top comprehensive resort & tourism development in Asia.The built environment of the ancient town Hoi An is predominated by time-honored heritage buildings with delicately preserved authentic Vietnamese style, containing no trace of modern architecture. In addition, the French colonial style has been deemed as one of the architectural features of this town for more than a century. Inspired by the French colonial era in Vietnam, the design of Hoiana Hotels & Suites incorporates representative French colonial architecture style and decoration elements.

While taking French colonial style as the design thread, local customs and artistic elements are combined to create a memorable experience and trigger sensory emotions in space. Stepping into the hotel lobby, what comes into sight becomes the first impression to guests. Bearing that in mind, CCD adopted classic French-style symmetric layout to organize the space, which is incorporated with natural tropical rain forests and original local culture as well as orderly placed decorations like floral art to enhance a sense of ceremony and generate a refreshing and elegant ambience.

The design team picked Southeast Asian-style lamps, ceiling fans and dark black-toned ebony furnishings, portraying a spatial scene that recalls the colonial period. By deconstructing and recombining design approaches and materials, CCD team interpreted old materials in an innovative way, and created a contrast of the old and new in different functional areas, thereby producing varied spatial experiences.

Light and shadows interplay on material textures, resulting in a stunning yet illusionary visual effect and responding to local context as well. While inheriting the cultural quintessence of Hoi An, CCD team reflected on how to cater to people's diversified functional demands for space in the contemporary context, and creatively introduced new meanings and functions into the space.

The restaurant blends colonial style and Oriental elements, such as retro wall decorations and wooden lines. Woven textures, French shutters, pendant lamps and prints show the fusion of modern and retro styles. Culture is revealed from trivial details of daily life. Articles that echo a certain period such as tea wares, lamps and flower decorations represent local aesthetic taste and cultural features. These elements enrich the space and enable it to transcend time, inviting visitors to interpret and redefine it and hence gaining everlasting charm.

Interior design: CCD / Cheng Chung Design