Guido A.J. Gydé General Manager of the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh

In July, Guido A.J. Gydé stepped up as the new general manager at the five-star Caravelle Hotel, replacing Stephen O’Grady at the helm.

Since his appointment, the new GM has already overseen the renovation and rechristening of the Port Orient restaurant, now known as Nineteen, and has developed plans for a face-lift for the lobby and lounge bars, plus refurbishment of guest rooms. Gydé’s appointment follows July’s unveiling of Qi at Caravelle, an elegant urban spa looking out on the city skyline from the hotel’s seventh floor.

Gydé, a Belgian native, is a seasoned hotelier with 35 years in the hospitality industry, predominately with the Hilton hotel chain, in countries as diverse as England, Egypt, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Morocco and Cameroon.

His tenure in Ho Chi Minh City kicked off earlier this year with a short stint as general manager of the Legend Hotel.

The Caravelle is located at 19 Lam Son Square, across from the Municipal Theater, in the legendary heart of the city. The hotel opened in 1959, boasting a suite of amenities never before seen in Saigon, including bulletproof glass, a Berliet generator and Trane air conditioners (a first for any hotel in the city). In 1998, after more than two decades of operation on a shoestring budget, the aging landmark was resuscitated with a complete renovation and a complementary, 24-storey tower.

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