Forget everything you thought you knew about the Mekong Delta. This isn’t just about languid boat rides and floating markets anymore. Can Tho, once a sleepy riverside town, now buzzes with the energy of a city on the rise. Sleek, chic and vibrant, Wink Hotel Can Tho is helping to define urban cool in the heart of the Delta.

Can Tho’s hospitality scene just got a stylish upgrade with the opening of Wink Hotel. Situated in the heart of the Mekong Delta’s largest city, and opened in June, Wink Hotel Can Tho offers a contemporary twist on the region’s traditional charm.

A Space That Reflects Can Tho’s Dynamic Energy

“We wanted to create a space that reflects Can Tho’s dynamic energy,” Dung Pham, the hotel’s General Manager nods, looking around the immersive Wink Space – the hotel’s social hub for self check-in, craft cocktails and Vietnamese coffee and cold brew.  

Gone are traditional stuffy reception desks and the oppressive waiting-room atmosphere. At the bar, Wink’s bartender tests out his flaring skills with a cocktail shaker, while a guest tucks into a bowl of bun mam – the scintillatingly sour southern gumbo – and another taps at the check-in screens, before snatching their automatically dispensed room card and heading up to one of Wink Hotel’s 238 rooms.

“Wink is about connecting our guests with the best of the city, from its rich culinary traditions to its vibrant art scene. But also, giving them a place to recharge, or forget the itinerary and just chill,” Dung Pham smiles. 

Time Traveling 

The one constant about any trip – whether it’s a holiday, business trip, extended break, or whatever – is time. It’s a commodity that Wink has considered carefully. 

So, besides the speedy self check-in, there’s mobile check-in through the app meaning guests can skip past the Wink Space altogether and head straight up to their room. 

But with the almost imperceptible creep of hotel check-in times getting later, and check-out times becoming earlier, Wink happily gives guests value. “It felt unfair,” Dung Pham nods, “if you arrive late in the evening and have to check out at 11 or 12 like everyone else.” 

At Wink, guests get to check out the same time they checked in. “We decided to liberate guests from the stress of pleading for a late check out with Stay24 – so if they arrive at 10pm that’s when they check out the next day,” Dung shrugs. “And that might just be enough time for a cold beer at our rooftop bar, called Endless Summer, breathing in the last moments in the Mekong, before heading off to the next destination.”

In this tech-driven always on world, guests schedules are all over the place – at any one time of day, there’ll be a solo traveler shooting off some emails, a group of colleagues holding court over coffees, and a couple sipping GnT’s made from Mekong Delta Gin at the bar. 

“Right,” Dung agrees, glancing around. “So the gym is open 24-hours a day, and so is our Laundromat, where you can zone out to CNN while your wash-cycle finishes. Or head off to explore and let the automated system message you when your washing is done.” 

Sustainability As Standard 

That diverse set of guests contentedly populating the Wink Space would probably agree that sustainability should be a pillar of any contemporary travel experience. Hotels can be so wasteful. 

There’s the plastic vanity kits and the bottles of disposable water, there’s the fold-up map and the printed invoice in a sturdy envelope when you’re leaving. Plus, there’s the invisible stuff – the use of water and energy, and even the atmosphere.

Since the first Wink opened in Saigon’s Dakao Ward in early 2021, the brand ditched bottled water, partnered with companies like PLASTICPeople – who give a second life to plastic waste – and offered vending machines on every floor if guests insisted on some essentials for the room. Thanks to innovations like that it became the first urban hotel in Vietnam to be LEED Gold Certified – the highest standard for sustainability. 

“The future of hospitality is now, not some undefined time down the line,” Dung continues, suddenly serious. “I think it’s every hotel’s responsibility to constantly innovate towards becoming more and more sustainable, and not only with a cursory card on the bed about not changing the towels – although that’s something – but right from hotel design through to operations.”

A Portal To The Mekong Delta’s Soul

Ethics box checked, we’re back to considering the destination. “We’re right next to Ninh Kieu Wharf,” he says gesturing down to the wharf and nearby Can Tho bridge. “Nestled at the confluence of the Hau and Can Tho rivers, Ninh Kieu Wharf is a 19th-century landmark, perched in the bustling Ninh Kieu district. It’s more than just a waterfront – it’s a portal to the Mekong Delta’s soul,” he smiles, encouraging us, like all guests at Wink, to go out and explore. And to return for a recharge anytime.