Products of Bách Tác Space. Hotels in Việt Nam are organising many programmes offering their customers chances to enjoy Vietnamese cultures. — Photo Courtesy of Sheraton Hotels and Resorts

HCM CITY — Hotels across Việt Nam are partnering with local artists and artisans to offer guests hands-on experiences of the country’s traditional culture.

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts has launched the Vietnamese Craft Journey, a programme bringing artisan-led workshops to three hotels. Presented with Bách Tác Space, a platform dedicated to preserving and reinterpreting Vietnamese crafts through contemporary cultural experiences, the programme features Pháp Lam enamel art in HCM City, lacquer in Hà Nội and Thanh Tiên paper flowers in Đà Nẵng.

At the Sheraton hotel in HCM City, guests can explore Pháp Lam enamel art, historically associated with the Nguyễn royal court, from November 13 to 16. Artist Trương Thanh Tùng of Lam Sắc will guide participants in choosing designs and enamel colours to create their own painted-enamel pieces.

On November 23 and 24, artist Dương Đức Mạnh of Lamphong Studio will introduce guests in Hà Nội to lacquer techniques, including sanding to reveal layers of colour and applying eggshell inlay to a lacquer coaster.

From November 27 to 29 in Đà Nẵng, artisan Phan Ngọc Hiếu of Maypaperflower will lead workshops on the nearly 300-year-old Thanh Tiên paper-flower craft from Huế. Participants will learn to dye and assemble petals into a contemporary flower inspired by the former imperial capital.

The Việt Nam programme is part of Gatherings by Sheraton, an initiative running across 15 markets that brings guests and local communities together through experiences shaped by each destination’s culture, people and everyday rituals.

The global programme features recurring events in hotel public spaces, giving guests and locals opportunities to meet and share experiences, the company said.

Lobby at a hotel of Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. Hotels are among the few places where people from different walks of life naturally cross paths. — Photo Courtesy of Sheraton Hotels and Resorts

“Hotels are among the few places where people from different walks of life naturally cross paths, whether they are travelling for work, discovering a new city or part of the local community,” said Cristiano Rinaldi, chief lodging product and services officer for Asia-Pacific excluding China at Marriott International.

“By inviting each hotel to interpret Gatherings through a local lens, we hope to give guests and communities new reasons to come together,” he said.

Renaissance Hotels also offered cultural activities at its properties in Việt Nam, including craft workshops, food and performances.

At its Hội An property, guests took part in silk eco-printing with Gomee Collective, wet-plate portrait photography with Mot Met Studio and workshops inspired by local farming traditions. The evening programme included local artist Minh’s “Cowcycle” collection, a traditional rice-pounding performance and the hotel’s Silk Road Punch Bowl Ritual.

At Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, activities included woodblock printing on traditional dó paper, indigo dyeing with Saigon Indigo, conical hat painting and mosaic making. Guests can also meet woodblock printmaker and illustrator Jack Clayton, who has lived in HCM City for 14 years, and sample dishes inspired by ingredients from across Việt Nam.

The hotel’s Tropical Silk Punch Bowl Ritual concluded the evening programme.

The collaborations give hotels opportunities to introduce guests to local traditions while creating events that bring visitors and communities together through the culture and everyday life of each destination. — VNS