This post was originally published on this site
In 2019 my wife Kat and I left Newport Beach and started our five plus year journey as full-time nomads. With 43 countries behind us, we have been exploring southeast Asia for more than a year and have lived in five different countries.
The central coast city of Da Nang, Vietnam, totally took us by surprise. After 90 days stay, we knew we would return.
For anyone who may think that Vietnam is “behind the times,” you may want to take another look!
Driving into the Hoiana New World Beach Resort just south of Da Nang was not what I expected. When I thought of Vietnam (and maybe you do, too), I pictured a still somewhat backwards country, possibly mired in the past, and not up to the luxury benchmark that you might find in Thailand, Bali, or other Southeast Asian countries.
Boy was I wrong!
Hoiana was just the first of three unique and different luxury resorts we visited last June, and they all exemplify five-star resorts, yet each of them was different from each other. Each of them justify your own personal visit.
Hoiana Beach Resort
I was invited to the opening of their new beach bar, called NOX, but also got a chance to tour the resort and stay for two nights. When you consider the term “all -inclusive,” this resort illustrates that. Almost anything you need—beach, pools, spas, restaurants, gym, activities, and even casino play—are all on site.
Approaching the entry was reminiscent of entering a Las Vegas casino, including an entry sculpture shaped like a deck of cards. The ballroom-sized foyer is large enough to host several hundred people, and while one side goes to the hotel, the other sides lead to the restaurants, the ocean to the rear, and the casino off to the right.
With plenty of places to sit and relax and watch the views (along with the people), you could spend hours just in the lobby!
We were offered a tour through the NOX bar area, which was filled with form-fitting lounge chairs in the pool itself, plus they offer cabanas of various sizes. Along the edge was their fine dining Argentinian and Australian steak house, next to a more casual Banh Mi sandwiches and noodles eatery, which ran into their more popular Italian dining house, Osteria, and finally their Seafood Shack cafe.
The easy-to-follow path around the perimeter led us to yet more pools, including a large family and kids’ pool, and each afternoon they have a soap bubble jet come out to entertain the youngsters in the wading pool. With four kilometers of beachfront, this resort is a Mecca for water lovers.
Next we toured the indoor pool and spa area, followed by their well-appointed gym. The Hoiana is an easy place to push yourself as well as pamper your body in total luxury.
With 330 rooms, plus an entire building for residential owners, virtually every room has a view of the ocean, and since this property is the only significant structure on hundreds of hectares of land, there are no obstructions to get in the way.
We visited the large suite, with two baths, a wraparound balcony, and half-kitchen. For a reasonable amount, a small family could spend a week here in comfort.
The resort is just a year old and all the built-ins, from lighting to button-controlled drapes and curtains, are user friendly. All rooms have a full-size tub, and the bathrooms themselves are generously sized.
During our stay we enjoyed the Osteria Italian restaurant, their more casual casino lobby food court, and their exceptional Mien Noodle House. But the highlight was their morning breakfast buffet, which offered all the usual stations hosting fruits, soups, Asian foods, yummy baked goods, plus an egg station. There was no way anyone would leave there hungry.
The Hoiana is unique in that it is very private, out of the way, yet you can easily taxi or take a shuttle into Ancient Hoi An town, about 30 minutes away—which I highly recommend you do. The ideal balance would be an early morning visit into Hoi An (after a scrumptious breakfast, of course!), shop until it gets too hot, then hightail it back to the resort to enjoy the water offerings.
With Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon) as the largest city in Vietnam, and the lynchpin in the south, and Hanoi, the largest city in the north, Da Nang, and nearby Hoi An fit snuggly in the middle, both geographically, as well as population and culturally. The Hoiana is less than a one-hour ride from the airport, and with the low prices of taxies would probably cost less than $20 USD.
The Da Nang area lures many tourists from Korea, Taiwan, and China, and so cater to the Asian community. But Da Nang is growing in reputation among Australians and westerners from as far away as the US, and with the incredible affordability, has been highly rated on many expat and tourists recommended places.
InterContinental
With the Hoiana in the far southern part of Da Nang, the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort lies on the furthest northern part of the city, nestled in the Son Tra jungle and Son Tra Peninsula.
At the end of the Hoang Sa highway lies the entrance to the InterContinental. After going through the customary security station, it’s time to enter into your own version of a mini-tropical jungle.
No vehicles are permitted inside the gated area, so a brief golf cart ride into the complex sets the mood of the resort.
It takes just a few minutes to see the approaching ocean views, and they only get better as you get closer to the front reception area. Magnificent, almost indescribable views from the lobby looking out.
Before you lie hundreds of palm trees enveloping the bay, with villas along the beach with presumably extraordinary views as well. It’s opulence to the Nth degree, at an unbelievably affordable price by non-Vietnamese standards. It’s an entire resort, a complex, that totally takes you away from civilization.
The entire resort was carved out of the jungle by internationally known designer Bill Bensley. Everything was structured to conform to the land and leave as much nature as possible.
Bensley has over 200 resorts and hotels in 30 countries; the InterContinental was the first resort he built in Vietnam. Since this land houses one of the rarest—and beautiful–primates on the planet, the Red-Shanked Douc, extra care was taken to allow the less than 3000 remaining five-colored creatures to grow and hopefully, repopulate.
Bridges were molded into the landscape, and natural as well as manmade spans allows the lemurs greater natural access. One of the largest surviving populations resides on the Son Tra Peninsula, and the resort is determined to ensure their growth.
The resort is built on four levels on 39 hectares and contains 189 rooms, with 17 villas and residences, 88 suites, and 84 guest rooms with different styles. Many of the rooms have private pools, and offer up to four bedrooms in size, and cost up to $8,000 USD nightly.
Bensley is an artist as well as a designer, and the resort houses a beautiful gallery of his artwork, along with other artists showcasing the history of the country.
Since the resort is quite a distance into Da Nang, having adequate eateries on site is vital, and the half dozen or so offerings will meet anyone’s expectations.
The culmination is the new La Maison 1888, which is a beautiful recreation of an old-fashioned French eatery, helmed by Michelin-starred chef, Pierre Gagnaire. It has recently been granted a Michelin one-star rating. For special events they offer a Chef’s Table alongside the kitchen for smaller, private, and more intimate dining. They also house one of the most elaborate wine and champagne cellars in the country.
On the more casual side are the L_O_N_G Bar (with a long pool!) and Barefoot Bar on the beach sand. In between is the Citron restaurant, offering traditional Vietnamese food, and where we had a delicious lunch, highlighted by sitting outside at a half-circle shaped dining table, reminiscent of a traditional non la (Vietnamese hat). Plus they also offer those stunning panoramic views out to the ocean.
With 50 countries behind me, and more than my share of luxury resorts as well, I kept coming up with one word that represented the InterContinental Danang, and that word was Opulence. It exudes that from the first step entering until the eventual last step exiting, but leaves behind a memory that will remain with me forever.
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An
From the out of the way city-sized Hoiana, to the jungle hidden luxurious InterContinental, our last stop was almost dead center in between them and was so discreetly hidden in plain site that it was possible to pass the entrance and miss it.
Which I did!
Whereas opulence was the word I used for the InterContinental, the focus on the world renowned Four Seasons in Hoi An, centered on the word Understated.
The Four Seasons is not a hotel, so does not offer rooms: they only offer suites, from one bedroom up to five, and they cater to the well-heeled traveler who wants discretion, quality, and most importantly, privacy.
A magnet for celebrities, executives, and Fortune 100 owners, the resort does not try to overwhelm or impress; it just is.
The front reception area is understated as well, and instead of showering the guest with flowers and fanfare, it is simply a place to check in before being escorted to your room.
But room is not the correct word for it. With just 100 villas (most with ocean views and pools) nestled among 35 acres and 4,500 palm trees, each unit has spacious living and work areas, places to socialize with family, an outdoor dining area, and large work areas for those who come to do that in privacy. Some units, called Hilltop Views, are more secluded, away from the beach.
The complex was built in 2007, but was acquired by the Four Seasons in 2016, and the entire resort was reimagined to cater to those with style and money. The carefully designed villas are based on Feng Shui to maximize the space, natural lighting and ventilation, and some come with your own butler.
There are 60 villas without a private pool, and 40 with, and whereas the other resorts mentioned cater to the Asian crowd, true to its brand that speaks luxury and style, here the typical visitor is from the west, with a primarily US audience.
Along with the privacy and discretion of the villas, they also offer an award-winning spa, Heart of the Earth, which has private treatment rooms on a lotus-filled lagoon, with no noise other than nature, soft music, and singing meditation bowls, which they play for their customers.
Treatments at the spa are categorized into three spa virtues – Stability, Creativity, and Non-Judgement – based on the mindfulness teachings of Vietnamese Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh.
Using all-natural ingredients, the spa team blends local herbs from the resort garden into massage paste, body mist, foot scrub and detox elixirs.
Being healthy is a focal point of the Four Seasons, and they have their own self-sustaining garden which grows many of the ingredients on their dining menu, and is part of one of their biggest attractions, the Nam Hai Cooking Academy. I asked if some guests come primarily because of the cooking classes, and I was assured that they do. Adjacent to the garden is the Chuon Chuon Kids Club, where young jet setters can have fun in a private kids’ pool or spend time making new friends while playing indoor and outdoor games.
After culinary classes and a spa treatment, it’s time to visit the closest thing to the social center of the resort: their cascading pools in the Central Area. As you look outward towards the water from the lobby area, all you see is infinity pool number one, followed by pool number two, for laps, and culminating in their Olympic sized beachfront pool, number three.
From there you have one kilometer of Ha My Beach sand to frolic in, and they also offer tours out to nearby Cham Island, where refreshing cool sea breezes will brush your cheeks and memorialize your vacation.
On the perimeter of the pool area is a unique Christian Dior boutique, life sized animal statues and all, plus a special and exclusive feature, a Dioriviera pop-up store, one of the first collaborations the resort has done with the world-famous design house.
In the world of travel and marketing, separating yourself from the competition is an ongoing effort. The Canadian-based Four Seasons chain, founded six decades ago, is represented in 44 countries amongst 129 properties, and they do that as well as anyone in the industry. Many guests come to Da Nang specifically to stay at the luxury brand, as they do at many of their different venues. Four Seasons doesn’t have to try: they just Do.
Norm Bour wrote for the Newport Beach Independent from 2013 till he left Orange County in 2019 for life on the road. He recently wrote the book “Nomadic Travel for All Ages” (available on Amazon) which documents his journey from the beginning, and shares experiences and lessons of life on the road. He and his wife, Kat, travel like the younger generation and share their experiences on their website and Facebook blog called TravelYounger.com. Contact him at asknormb@gmail.com.