Woody Ylang bottle for posting
A melding of cinnamon, patchouli, ylang and a number of other secret ingredients, the fragrance has been burning in the hotel’s lobby since last month. The scent’s spray imbues each room with a smell that’s all La Residence.
“The idea was to create a scent that would take people back in time,” said Anthony Gill, the hotel’s general manager. “But it had to be just right.”
Lemongrass, according to Gill, would not have fit the bill. “Lemongrass is great if you’re running a property by the beach. If you’re a resort, you want a clean, citrusy smell.”
La Residence is a 1930-built art deco marvel. “The hotel takes you back in time, the design does,” said Gill. “And so should our scent.”
To brew this one-of-a-kind fragrance, Gill turned to Laurenct Severac, who has produced scents for other hotels in Vietnam. Severac’s travels have taken him all over Southeast Asia on collecting missions. His orchard grows kumquats, plums and other fruits he distills for their flavors.
“Nothing takes you back the way a scent does,” said Gill. “Not a picture, not a taste, not a touch. The smell carries you back.”
That’s why La Residence is selling its new scent in its gift shop. “So people will remember and come back,” said Gill.
ABOUT LA RESIDENCE
Set on a two-hectare site with 200 meters of frontage on the fabled Perfume River, La Residence celebrated its grand opening in December 2005 after a painstaking restoration of the former colonial governor’s residence. The hotel’s distinctive bowed façade, its long horizontal lines and nautical flourishes are hallmarks of the streamline modern school of art deco architecture.
The hotel’s 122 rooms and suites, restaurants, lounges, bars and conference room are tricked out in complementary art-deco furnishings and décor that evoke both the 1920s and 1950s. The hotel’s fine-dining venue, Le Parfum, serves Mediterranean and French cuisine, as well as dishes from a complementary Vietnamese menu.
The conference facilities, including board rooms, can accommodate 140 guests. The hotel provides complimentary WiFi Internet access in its rooms, the ground floor lounges and in Le Gouverneur itself.
La Résidence Hôtel & Spa
5 Le Loi Street – Hue City, Vietnam
Tel: (84) 054 3837 475
Fax: (84) 054 3837 476
E-mail: resa@la-residence-
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
