The Rex Hotel (Vietnamese: Khách Sạn Rex, French: Hôtel Rex de Saïgon) is a famous luxury and business hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, the daily U.S. briefings on the rooftop garden of Saigon’s Rex Hotel became known as "The Five O'Clock Follies".[1][2][3] In these briefings, United States, South Vietnamese military and civilian press officers would give a breakdown of the day’s hostilities, casualties and alleged successes.[4][5]
Constructed in 1927, for French businessman Bainier, during France's colonial rule of Vietnam, the building started out as a two-story auto dealership and garage complex, called "Bainier Auto Hall". The building showcased Citroën and other European cars.[10] From 1959 to 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Ung Thi renovated the building into the 100-room "Rex Complex" hotel, which featured three cinemas, a cafeteria, a dance hall and a library.[11][12][13] The cinema was adorned with the most developed technology at the time, such as high-speed air conditioning, a 150-square-meter Todd-AO screen, and a stereo sound system to indulge up to 1,200 customers.[14]
In 1960, the building was hired by the American Culture Centre and at that time the Abraham Lincoln Library was established on the building’s ground floor.[12] At its height in the late 1960s, the Rex complex had around 600 employees and was frequented regularly by over 450 international journalists covering the US war effort.[15]
The first guests in the Rex came in 1961, while it was still in its final construction phase. They were 400 U.S. Army soldiers,[16][17] 200 each from the 57th Transportation Company from Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Washington.
During the Vietnam War, the hotel was the site of the United States military command's daily press conference, derisively named Five O'Clock Follies by cynical journalists who found the optimism of the American officers misguided. The daily event was hosted by Barry Zorthian, chief spokesperson for the U. S. government in Saigon from 1964-68.[18] Its rooftop bar was a well-known hangout spot for military officials and war correspondents.[19][20]
Decline and revival of the Rex
After the Vietnam Warended, the state's Saigon Tourism Bureau took ownership of the hotel and renamed it Ben Thanh Hotel in 1976.[21][12][22] In 1986, the hotel was renamed Rex Hotel.[23][24]
