When we were there in 2006, the resort looked pretty much as is does in your pictures. Doesn't mean no maintenance has been done, but they've not tried to move away from their ultra-rustic design.

We loved how secluded and untouched it felt. We were in a water villa and also found them very private. But there were things about the villa that we did not like (I wonder if they have changed any of these?). For example, the bathroom was completely open-air. And while there were no mosquitoes that I recall, there were lots of other flying insects. I still recall trying to shower and getting bombarded by wasps and other flying things. Even in the bedroom, we did not have much luck with the air conditioning. It 'worked', but it was just a tiny wall unit and struggled with the blazing Vietnam heat. At that time, it was not a place to go if you needed relatively cool interior spaces.

I recall enjoying the food. At least until I got a mild case of food poisoning and was in bed for 24 hours.

When we were there, service was good, but as with you, English was a problem for some. Our butler was also very good. This is one of the few places I've stayed that had butler service that actually worked well.

I recall having a conversation with the GM (who at the time was very good, but is probably long gone) and he referred to the resort as 'luxury camping'. I would agree with this assessment.

But if you like the style, the place is hard to beat (especially if the price is right). All things considered, I preferred our stay at their Con Dao property (especially if you can get in to one of their residences).