Vietnam’s finest hotels are sparing no costs to bring the Christmas spirit throughout the nation.

Britain’s strained finances may have caused the Queen to cancel her annual festive bash, but Christmas 2010 is colonizing new ground in the Far East.

Some might say old St. Nick’s usual haunts are being put to shame. Look no further than Vietnam, where a communist government is no impediment to making merry at Christmas.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the Caravelle Hotel is planning the grandest of festive celebrations in its storied 51-year-history. Further north, The Sheraton Nha Trang will be marking its first Noel in the country’s top beach resort with a $10,000 extravaganza. Meanwhile, up in Hanoi, the Metropole will be marking the season with Francophone flair – a cornucopia of lights and the capital’s tallest Christmas tree counting among the hotel’s array of uplifting attractions.

“We are well aware that some people find it hard to get their head around the concept of celebrating Christmas in Vietnam,” says John Gardner, the general manager of the Caravelle Hotel. “However, in fact, weather-wise, it’s one of the best times of the year to be in Saigon. And more than that, the holiday is remarkably well suited to the festive nature of the country’s culture. The Western traditions of illumination, especially, are really popular in Vietnam, so when the international calendar licenses a light-up, it’s go-go- go.”

Not so back in the Old World. The UK is one of many European countries to have implemented harsh austerity measures in an attempt to cut its huge budget deficit. With many of her subjects facing up to a long, hard winter, the British monarch has vetoed the $75,000 shindig at Buckingham Palace as a way of showing empathy.

Meanwhile, some of the most desirable addresses in Vietnam are pulling out the stops to ensure that Christmas in eastern Indochina goes off with a bang.

Guests at the Caravelle are unlikely to complain about any half-heartedness on the part of their host. The hotel has given a renowned local interior decorations company carte blanche to transform the property into a glittering winter wonderland. Utilizing the biggest budget ever made available for festive decorations at the hotel, the firm is set to produce a lavish display of violet and silver lights and Christmas balls.

The extravaganza is due to be unveiled on December 3 at the hotel’s annual Christmas light-up which will also feature a performance of festive favorites by a 30-strong children’s choir from Thang Long School in Saigon.

On the south-central coast, the new Sheraton Nha Trang is also pushing the boat out for the season of goodwill. The hotel, which held its grand opening last month, is dishing up all the trimmings in its first Christmas as the resort town’s only internationally renowned five-star property. In addition to its 6-metre high tree, there will be a gingerbread house to entertain youngsters while Director of Rooms Nick Lee will be moonlighting as Santa Claus on the 18th of December when the hotel turns on its Christmas lights.

A little further up shore, the acclaimed Nam Hai is trucking in a pair of 2-metre high evergreens down from nearby Hai Van Pass for guests to decorate while sipping Christmas concoctions at the bar, whose combination of white lights and dark woods make for one of the coziest watering holes in the country.
Nevertheless, no expense has been spared to ensure that guests at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel don’t miss out on the festivities. The halls of the legendary hotel – a landmark in Vietnam’s capital since 1901 – will be strewn with ornaments and decorations while approximately 5,000 lights will be strung along the façade and the interior gardens.

On December 1st, the country’s biggest Christmas tree, a 15-metre pine imported from Hong Kong, will be displayed in the Metropole’s courtyard. Over the course of December, the tree will be hung with ‘wishing cards’ – hopeful notes written by local orphans. Guests will be invited to pluck a red wishing card from the tree and to make an orphan’s dream come true.

“It’s completely in keeping with the overarching message of Christmas,” says Kai Speth, the hotel’s general manager. “Yes, there are the lights, there is the music, there is Santa Claus, but it’s also a time to give, whether you are in New York, in Bethlehem, or in Hanoi.”