Vietnam has opened the world’s first gold-plated hotel, in the hope to welcome tourists as the country opens after three months of coronavirus-led lockdown. At Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake Hotel in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, bathtubs, toilets and even basins are all gold-plated.
The world’s first self-proclaimed gold-plated hotel is open for business – and the Vietnamese owners insist they have the Midas touch, despite the cramping of global travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.
For guests at the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake, coffee comes in a gold cup and bath time is taken in gilded splendour.
The hotel cost US$200 million to construct with a 24-carat plating across lobbies, an infinity pool and rooms, with even cutlery, cups, shower heads and toilet seats receiving the golden treatment.
The hotel wants “ordinary people to the super rich” to check in both physically and on social media, said Nguyen Huu Duong, chairman of Hoa Binh group that owns the hotel.
A gold-plated infinity pool overlooks the city, while meals at the 25-storey hotel in downtown Hanoi may be mixed with a mysterious “gold substance”, said the owners.
“Our group has a factory that can do gold-plated stuff, so the cost for our equipment and furniture here is quite cheap,” Mr Nguyen said.
The pandemic, which has strafed global tourism, has not put him off opening, with Vietnam winning praise for its swift lockdown which has contained the novel coronavirus spread.
“For sure next year, we will make money,” he added.
