Vietnam & Singapore 2014 Hotels

This was a somewhat different trip for hotels.  You get a lot more hotel for a little more money in much of Asia, so I spent more to stay in only four and five star hotels.  The Hoi An Historic Hotel was really nice although the room faced a wall and had no view at all.  But that meant that it was away for all the street noise which was worth the blank view
The Dalat Saigon hotel in Dalat was a large six storey white kind of monster, but it was so nice.  Maybe because it was the lowest of the low season, I was nearly the only guest in the whole place.  The sixth floor included several suites, one of which was the Presidential Suite advertised as having a Panic Room for security.  I was on fifth with a huge room that had every modern convenience including CNN, BBC and seemingly ever present RT - Russian TV in English - which is in most major hotels and cannot get out of the cold war - every newscast bashes the U.S. somehow.
The bed was eight feet wide, and the floor of reddish pine planks was the most attractive floor you could wish to see.  Oddly, the hotel swimming pool was in the middle of the lobby.  Each night it was used as a party room and stage for ear-busting entertainment.  There was lots of serious drinking so I am sure that every night some drunk took a dip on his own or with assistance.
There was a room near the front desk with four internet computers for guests.  Oddly, this was the only place I saw a mosquito on the entire trip.  It actually came out from behind a computer.  That was a concern as Dengue fever is a serious health threat and in some places -  like Malaysia - it is nearly at epidemic levels.
The Dengue mosquito is a daytime creature and grows in locally available water like a teacup or waterglass - so unlike the nocturnal, swamp or still water non-Dengue variety.
On my previous trip to Saigon (now, Ho Chi Minh City), I thought badly of the place.  As a result, on my epic trip from Toronto through Frankfurt to HCM, I deliberately found a flight on to Danang immediately instead of spending even a night in HCM.
But as things worked out, I was back in HCM for two nights on the way to Singapore.  To compensate for my suffering, I booked into the Nikko Hotel - the JAL brand.  Wow.  It is a five star and the lobby is impressive.  The rooms are spectacular with great views of an ugly city.  The bathroom was huge with a stand alone tub and a glass enclosed shower apparently designed for about three people, with two rain shower heads - one fixed and one mobile.
It is shocking what people do to nice hotels.  The granite in the entrance was permanently stained with make-up, as was some of the custom-made carpet.  There was also a wad of gum in the rug.  In Vietnam, every hotel had a list for the guest of every little loose thing in the room, down to the soap dish and a price attached if it disappeared so you just know what people do there.
The breakfast was more than $25 and was worth all of that.  I think there was more than 40 ft. of juices, fruits baked goods, omelettes and many kinds of eggs, cereals, and Japanese and Chinese breakfast items in a beautiful set of rooms.
I stayed at the Fairmont Singapore because it offered the most remarkable rate I ever saw.  That room was normally $425. and they had it on the internet at $175.  That is only about $25 more than you would pay for almost any hotel in the city.  Breakfast was $40 so I went to one of the many places nearby instead.
The luxury of the place was nearly ridiculous.  The view was of the entire downtown, Marina Bay development, part of the Harbour and all of the largest ferris wheel in the world.  Singapore is very pretty at night so the view from 16th floor was welcome. Everything was heavily designed and it was beautiful.  It was probably the most over the top hotel room I ever stayed in.  The other fancy hotels I stayed in all had those toilet stools with seated seats which also wash and dry the customers bottom.  The machinery looks so intimidating that one does look around for some safer and more primitive place to do this matter.  I admired the Fairmont for not having this bizarre feature.
There were a few fancy people at the Nikko and Fairmont who has their chauffered Mercedes waiting at the door. But I was shocked too at the huge number of slobs dressed as though they were coming in from slopping the hogs or cleaning the pit bull cages.  The Japanese travel well and dress well, but others seem to have no idea of what it means to be presentable any more.  Grunge is their style for every situaton.