DANANG, Vietnam, March 20, 2008. The golden sands of Vietnam’s 3,400-kilometer coastline scored its first internationally renown brand March 19 when Hyatt Hotels & Resorts broke ground on an expansive beach resort in Vietnam.

Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa on China Beach joins the Park Hyatt in Ho Chi Minh City’s first district as the second Hyatt property in Vietnam. Worldwide, Hyatt operates 750 hotels. Its other beach resorts in Southeast Asia include Hyatt Regency Hua Hin in Thailand, Grand Hyatt Bali and Bali Hyatt in Indonesia, and Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort in Malaysia.

“While some excellent beach resorts have opened in Vietnam, none possess the brand appeal of the Hyatt,” said Peter Ryder, CEO of Indochina Capital, the resort’s developer. “We expect that Hyatt’s reputation will attract legions of new travelers to Vietnam from around the world.”

Scheduled to open in early 2010, after a US $100 million investment, the resort’s 226 guest rooms will be complemented by residential developments, including 150 condominium and 30 two-storey oceanfront villas for sale. The resort is located 15 minutes by car from Danang International Airport, at the base of the Marble Mountains and near the UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Hoi An (10km), My Son (40km) and Hue (80km).

“This setting is renown throughout Asia for two reasons — China Beach and the Marble Mountains,” said Grahame Carder, vice president of marketing – Asia Pacific at Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. “We’re building on 650 meters of beachfront, and we’re at the foot of the legendary Marble Mountains. In Vietnam, we can’t think of a better combination of cultural appeal and tropical getaway.”

Four architects are combining talents to build the resort on the 20-hectare site. RMJM Singapore Pte Ltd. is the lead designer. Diana Simpson Designs, based in Australia, is working up the interior designs. Site Concepts International, based in the United States, is developing the landscape. And Studio Daminato, based in Singapore, will design the resort’s restaurant.

The hotel’s 226 rooms are grouped in clusters of three-storey buildings, angled to optimize views of the ocean. A number of two-storey blocks are set amid tropical gardens. The rooms segue from indoors to outdoors over spacious outdoor decks that act as extensions of the personal space within.

“Architecturally, Vietnam — and central Vietnam in particular — is an incredible visual resource for designers,” said Karen Lim, design director at RMJM Singapore Pte Ltd. “For Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa, we’ve preserved the essence and intimacy of the Vietnamese village in clusters of buildings. We’ve also integrated one of the region’s most fabled architectural attributes — the rampart’s of Hue’s Citadel — as a gateway to the property.”

RMJM has designed the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh, the Oktha Tower in St. Petersburg, Russia and the Beijing Olympic Green Convention Centre in China.

Another of the resort’s distinguishing features will be a subterranean spa setting, accessed by a canyon-like gallery visible as a crack in the landscape at ground level. Each of the 30 beachfront residences feature three bedrooms, a pool and a garden, as well as views of the sea.

At the resort’s north end, the apartments will be situated in a suite of buildings, ranging in height from six to 14 storeys. Nearly every one of these units will offer a sea view.

“Indochina Capital’s vision for this project is a testament to the group’s ambition to put Vietnam on a par with the world’s most distinguished destinations for travelers,” said Carder. “We’re proud to be associated with a project of such magnitude.”

As Vietnam’s third largest city, Danang’s rising appeal as a destination has prompted the inclusion of a convention center, anchored by a 500-square-meter banquet hall.

“The wider world is just waking up to this region,” said Ryder. “The days of Good Morning, Vietnam are long over, and the Hyatt’s enthusiasm for this project attests to that.”