Sheraton Hotels and Resorts have targeted May 2009 as the debut for its hotly anticipated Nha Trang property. The 281-room, 30-story Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa will be the first international upscale hotel brand  to open on the beach in Vietnam. A grand opening is planned for June. With successful towers operating at full capacity in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Sheraton has expanded to the coast with a nuanced understanding of the Vietnamese hospitality market, and a hotel that sends up an ocean view from every room.

“Nha Trang is exactly the place,” said Scott Hodgetts, general manager of the Sheraton Nha Trang. “The town won a worldwide audience in July when Miss Universe was crowned here. Prestigious travel magazines have hailed this bay as one of the world’s most beautiful. The allure of this town and our location on the edge of this bay promise an experience that should prove to be both singular and resonant.”

In the early 1990s, Nha Trang emerged as Vietnam’s first major beach resort with international appeal. Its seven-kilometer-long crescent of beach was roundly lauded by guidebook writers. Its island-studded bay harbored exceptional snorkeling and diving. And its quaint town, with roots that sink into the colonial French era, won raves from pioneering travelers who celebrated its laid-back appeal and genuine night life.

Other coastal resort towns stole the limelight in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but with the Sheraton’s opening, Nha Trang now offers a familiar base for exploration of Vietnam’s storied south-central coast.

Sheraton’s first beach resort in Vietnam complements its existing properties in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City - the 299-room Sheraton Hanoi Hotel and the 483-room Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers.

The Nha Trang hotel’s eight categories of accommodation range from deluxe rooms to 62 square-meter executive suites and one 180-square-meter presidential suite. Its food-and-beverage outlets include a 180-seat international buffet, an upmarket, 102-seat dim sum and noodle restaurant (a first for Nha Trang), a deli and a wine bar. “As pho is to Hanoi and bun is to Hue, so is seafood to Nha Trang,” said Hodgetts. “These coastal waters consistently put up some of the best seafood I’ve ever tasted. The whitefish is extraordinary, and we’re looking forward to making a name for ourselves on the quality of our seafood alone.

For business and leisure travelers alike, the hotel’s full-service spa offers nine treatment rooms, as well as separate locker rooms for men and women, each with steam, sauna and whirlpool. The 21-meter lap pool will be complemented by a children’s pool.  And a state-of-the-art health club is shaping up as Nha Trang’s most ambitious fitness center by far.

Given the proximity to Ho Chi Minh City by air (55 minutes), the hotel anticipates robust business traffic. The Sheraton’s nine meetings rooms - including a ballroom and an equally large function room — open up to 1,800 square meters. The Executive Club Lounge will offer spectacular ocean views. “Given the Internet and other communication technologies, there’s been a tremendous blurring between where and when and how you can work,” said Hodgetts. “Hotels have to roll with the demands of travelers who are not only here for vacation but work, and who are not only here to work but vacation.”

Upon opening, Sheraton will be rolling out its Link@Sheraton environment, a lobby lounge space that provides comfortable work stations, free Wi-Fi access and Internet-enabled computer stations to guests. The new cafe concept also provides ready access to plasma televisions, daily newspapers and a variety of food and beverages. The product debuted at Sheraton hotels worldwide in September.