A five-star hotel in Vietnam's capital Hanoi has launched with a luxury twist that it hopes will lure in guests - a gilded exterior extending into parts of the interior and covering everything from bathtubs to basins and even toilets.
The aptly named "Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake Hotel" hopes to lure guests as Vietnam's tourism sector slowly reopens after closing during the coronavirus pandemic.
The hotel, which is owned by Vietnam's Hoa Binh Group and managed by U.S.-based Wyndham Hotels and Resorts Inc., marks a contrast to some of the weather-worn Soviet-era buildings nearby.
"At the moment there is no other hotel like this in the world," said Nguyen Huu Duong, chairman of the Hoa Binh Group.
Inside guest rooms, bath tubs and wash basins are gilded. Duong says it also comes with a 24 karat gold-tiled rooftop pool.
A stay at the five-star, 342-room hotel comes at the price of at least $250 per night. According to Duong, the hotel was completed in just 18 months.
"It has changed my mind because other luxury hotels usually use marble as tiles, but here everything is gold-plated down to the washing basin," said Luong Van Thuan, a 62-year-old guest.
Vietnam has been successful in containing the coronavirus outbreak with only just over 350 cases and no reported deaths. Duong said if it was not for the pandemic the hotel should have been fully booked by international guests.
Around a tonne of gold was used to cover the hotel, said Duong, who is a Vietnam War veteran and came from humble beginnings as a cyclo driver before making a fortune in construction and property. He said the hotel is a part of a "tribute" he continues to pay to his army comrades who died in the Vietnam War.
Duong is also planning gold-plated projects in Ho Chi Minh City and a resort in central Vietnam.