Lost in the very sameness

The 20-lane highway to the Parliament or the pink elephants at Uppatasanti Pagoda? Visitors to Nay Pyi Taw are not really spoilt for choice when asked to name the biggest draw in Myanmar’s capital. I decide to forgo both in favour of a beer at the Kempinski Hotel. 

Tucked away in Myanmar’s five-year-old almost empty capital, the Kempinski Nay Pyi Taw with its piano bar, chilled Champagne, long list of fine wines and hot shower is an oasis in a cultural desert. 

“People always describe Nay Pyi Taw as a ghost town. I don’t like that idea. I see Myanmar’s new capital as a “blank page”, says Franck Droin, the hotel’s French general manager, when I ask him what the Kempinski doing in downbeat Nay Pyi Taw.

“When it’s a blank page, you can start from zero and you have the space to do it the way you like it. And if you’ve done it well, you leave a remarkable footprint.”

Opened last November to coincide with the first Asean Summit to be held in Myanmar, the Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw is one of four international hotel chains along with Hilton, Parkroyal and Accor to have set up shop in the capital. It stands proudly on Shwe Pyi Taw Win Road in the hotel zone, a 20-minute ride to the airport and a few minutes to everywhere else, including the Myanmar International Convention Centre and Yan Aung Myin Golf Course. When the international embassies are made to relocate to Nay Pyi Taw, Droin says, they will be the Kempinski’s neighbours.

Like many hotels in the National Guest House Zone, Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw has been converted from an existing building. With its red-tiled roof and white walls, it’s hard to tell the Kempinski from Parkroyal or other hotels. Waking up late one morning, my travel mate found himself looking for his ham and eggs in the wrong hotel. A kindly bellhop spotted the mistake and whisked my poor friend on his moped to the Kempinski. 

But while the exteriors can be bewilderingly similar, that’s not the case inside and the Kempinski is distinctive by its European elegance infused local character. At the main entrance is a teak pavilion boasting a Pyatthat, the multi-tiered and spired roof commonly found in Burmese royal architecture, which welcomes visitors into the reception area with its gold leaf-adorned ceiling. 

Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw comprises 141 guestrooms, including 35 suites located in three large one-storey villas – Ava, Bagan and Pinya. All rooms and suites enjoy relaxing views of the garden and floor-to-ceiling windows add brightness to the modern decor. 

My room, 306, is a Deluxe Room in Ava Villa. The square room is decorated with a king-sized bed, side-table and cupboard, 40-inch flat screen television and personal digital safe. All in all it reflects the global standard of five-star hospitality that you come across all around the world. But here, in Myanmar where luxury hotels are outnumbered by pagodas, my room is one of finest in the country. The room is also equipped with a healthy Wi-Fi signal for Internet connectivity plus an in-room tea and coffee-making machine. A large print showing Burmese folk life and legend hangs over the headboard. 

The restroom is fine and sizeable with single sink and rain-head shower. 

US President Barack Obama stayed at Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw on his visit to Myanmar in last November. His room, the Grand Royal Suite in Bagan Villa, is far more elegant than mine with two bedrooms (with bullet proof glass), a nanny and bodyguard room, two bathrooms, separate living room, an office, meeting room, media room and dining room. 

Rangoon Kitchen – an all-day dining restaurant – serves European and Asian cuisine created by French chef Vladimir Siljegovic. Mornings, you rub shoulders with diplomats, dealmakers and other official types planning their days over coffee. After dinner, you’ll probably see them again in the piano bar exchanging jokes over night-caps before retiring.

Luxurious and beautifully appointed, the Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw, doesn’t really give off a strong sense of soul. It’s a sort of “unofficial” government guesthouse managed by the Kempinski group. After all, guests don’t come here for the pink elephants but to seal deals with government. You certainly won’t see kids lining up for scoops of ice cream at the pool bar. 

“Nay Pyi Taw needs time to grow and develop its own spirit. The new capital needs a stronger sense of belonging,” Droin agrees, adding that he is keen to help this young capital stand on its feet in the hospitality and tourism industry. 

“When the locals here say ‘I am from Nay Pyi Taw,’ then many more visitors will come here for leisure. Nay Pyi Taw can become a centre of Myanmar’s tourism since it’s not far from Bagan, Mandalay or Inle Lake.”

Perhaps I’m being pessimistic but I can’t help but feel that Droin is in for a long wait.

 

AT A GLANCE

High points: It’s good enough for Barack Obama. 

Low points: The design is boring and identical to other hotels because it’s been converted from a national guest house. 

Pay for it: Contact the hotel for the best rate.

Find it: 11-12 National Guest House Compound, Shwe Pyi Taw Win Road, Dekkhina Thiri Township, Nay Pyi Taw

Phone it: (+95 67) 8106061

Browse it: www.Kempinski.com