David...

We have taken the shuttle in twice to Duong Dong. The first night we ate at Xin Chao. You pass it as you drive in, maybe 200 - 300 back. It was really good. We had 2 starters, 2 meals, 4 beers and a glass of wine for 760k. Last night we went ate in the night market. Food was ok, cockroach x2 on the wall next to us and it was 650 with no wine ordered. They do make home made ice cream in some stalls at the night market and it was worth watching, friends said it was good. Felt very safe and everyone was friendly.

estnet

What kind of food did you order at both places? Price comparisons are more helpful if we know what we are comparing - noodles to shrimp? Just would like to know - also your view of freshness, quality, etc. please.
As for cockroaches - I despise them but really hard to control in that kind of environment (I remember when I saw a rat at a restaurant near Tsukiji in Tokyo - one of the cleanest city/countries in the world but those little critters - insect and rodent have us beat)

AbelianGrape

Any data points on using an AmEx card at the resort? They tried but couldn’t use two of my AmEx cards at the French bakery/cafe.

ncSam

I charged everything to my room and then used my SPG card to pay the bill at checkout without any issues.

flybytheseat

ditto just charge to room and settle at checkout

flybytheseat

We needed to clear immigration, collect bags and walk to the domestic terminal and then re check in the bags. Took about 30-45 mins all up. Would’ve been quicker without small children! We estimated way too long and spent too long In the pp lounge. About 5 hours all up but difficult to predict as was hard to find data points on connecting, let alone the visa free entry process. If we’d only allowed one-two hours it would’ve been enough With the benefit of hindsight

hockeyinsider

Is it actually worth going here? What makes this different than any other beach resort?

MikeFly

I was there last week Thursday to Saturday. The hotel is unique in it's design which made the trip worthwhile for me. I was upgraded to a Turquoise Suite on an award stay. The staff was incredible throughout my stay. Everyone was friendly and willing to go out of their way to be helpful. In fact Joan at Red Rum was able to instantly read that I did not want to sit anywhere near "Eva" and found an appropriate table. (Inside joke for some people that were there during that time period. )

The amount of garbage on the beach and in the water was a real worry. The hotel worked overtime on Thursday and Friday to clean it up. I was impressed with what they were able to accomplish. I spoke with the hostess at the Department of Chemistry about it and she said it was a temporary issue and during the dry season the water is crystal clear wit no garbage. Sea urchins and jelly fish could still be a concern though.
The other thing I noticed is that despite being a year old the ravages of being seaside and in a tropical climate is starting to show with mold and water damage. The hotel is going to have a fight against nature on their hands soon.

I think there is a total of 4 or 5 public pools. I would highly suggest that at least one pool be designated as an adult only pool.

Pink Pearl also needs to open as a more upscale dining outlet would be appreciated. The empty shops on the shopping street rue Lamarck need to have tenants so that the existing ones have a better chance of surviving.

Closing on a positive note - the attention to detail to 'recreate' Lamarck University is impressive. I was extremely happy to have been in the region with some time off to check out the place. If I'm on vacation in SEAsia, I would consider this property.

C17PSGR

Thanks for the review.

The pictures look great on the website but it does seem there may be limited activities in the area and limited food off property along with the beach issues. Thinking about hitting SEAsia over the New Years. @VinceChan suggested that the JW at Phuket is better. Any other recommendations as alternatives to this property?

olouie

In the middle of a week long stay and this review is spot on. However, in talking to other staff and locals it seems like the dirty beach and water is not really a seasonal issue anymore due to the rapid pace of development in the area - much of it is just trash thrown into the water by people on Phu Quoc or passing cruise ships. I think when the waters are calmer less of the trash floats in so that could keep it cleaner, but still much more than other places during same seasons. In other top end resorts in SE Asia we have seen them raking the beaches to make them really clean - here it seems like they get most of the stuff, but lots of little particles of trash remain. Hard to fight it as it washes up all the time.

Would love an adults only pool / dining. The resort was overrun by families with kids the first two days we were here and almost every activity we have been at has had parents who let their kids run wild ruin the atmosphere. There is a kids center so not sure why they don't bring them there instead. Staff is super patient and nice to kids to the point of it being a problem - have seen young kids running around the main restaurant and through the drink preparation area and center cooking area. Not safe for them or the staff. Also makes service really hectic as during the peak times with a bunch of kids running around without supervision. Wasnt expecting that due to design of the resort, but itis very common in other Asian resorts where parents just expect the staff to watch over their kids.

tylerc

Anyone end up in suite 1501? It was phenomenal. It's a turquoise suite, but has the roof top courtyard with grass and garden, private tower with seating, and a plunge pool. It's the suite they use for the pictures of the turquoise suite and my understanding is that it is the only one with the massive rooftop area and pool.

hockeyinsider

I really want to visit Vietnam and I really want to visit this property, but on the other hand I don't want to spend my time on a beach full of trash when I could just fly to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur and spend my time on a nice rooftop pool.

olouie

This is today less than an hour after they cleaned the beach.

hockeyinsider

Yeah. As nice as the property looks, I'm not flying to Vietnam to get sunbath on filthy beaches and worse case scenario get hepatitis from broken glass or, worse yet, a needle.

flybytheseat

Breakfast is free. I’m only a lowly gold and it was part of the welcome letter plus discounts on food and lots of other things. They make you sign for breakfast then Credit it at checkout. Did they get a plat welcome letter?