Top 9 Luxury And Upscale Resorts in Vietnam For A Romantic Trip – From A Local
Vietnam is home to a variety of luxury and upscale resorts that are perfect for a romantic getaway, honeymoon, or simply ultimate relaxation. The diverse landscapes – from tranquil beaches, secluded islands to serene mountains – provide a splendid backdrop for romantic experiences. To help you decide where to go and whether it’s worth a splurge, we’ve hand picked the top places across the country based on numerous vacation trips we took in the last few years.
A resort that’s great for a romantic trip should feature several key elements and activities for couples looking to enjoy a special and intimate experience. Here are what we look at when we put together this list:
- Location and setting: we love scenic locations that provide beautiful and private backdrops for the stay. Ideal places include beachfront properties, secluded islands, or resorts nestled in the mountains or lush forests.
- Accommodation style: private villas, suites with elegant decor, stunning views or private pools would be perfect.
- Activities: the places should have activities that couples can enjoy together, such as private dinners, sunset cruises, cooking classes, or guided nature hikes, snorkeling, kayaking, and couple spa treatments.
- Personalized services and attention to detail: small gestures and personalized services can make a significant impact.
- Overall privacy: a sense of seclusion will allow you to feel more relaxed, enhancing the experience.
We think you will have a great stay at any of the resorts mentioned below. Just know that from our experience, no places are perfect and there will be some small hiccups. However, if you communicate about the hiccups, the staff at these resorts will try to make things right or provide as much help as they can.
Luxury Options
Luxury also means expensive. At the resorts in this category, you will look at upward of $500 per night. We will make a lot of comparisons so you can choose the best place for your preferences and make your money worthwhile.
Six Senses Ninh Van Bay
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Location: Ninh Vân, Ninh Hòa, Khánh Hòa – a complimentary speedboad trip will take you to the resort (Google Maps)
- Rating: 4.5 on TripAdvisor
- Pros: secluded setting closed to the nature, spacious private villas (rustic style), private pools, mesmerizing views, healthy breakfast, friendly services
- Cons: food is expensive and not great (Vietnamese dishes are better than Western dishes), coarse sand, beach is not great for swimming
- Link: Official Website
Six Senses Ninh Van Bay (SSNVB) is our number 1 choice for a romantic getaway in Vietnam for its secluded location and scenic setting. We have been to this resort a number of times, staying in different villa categories. We once stayed there for a week! One caveat is that the rustic style may not be to everyone’s taste.
If you can splurge and don’t mind taking a small hike of about 100 steps to your villa, I highly recommend booking a rock pool villa (villa #3 is the best) which overlook the water directly. We loved listening to the sound of the waves splashing on the rocks. It was incredibly relaxing and we could free our mind and forget about the outside world.
Of all the villa types, we don’t like the beachfront villas. They are quite close together with more noise, less privacy and no open view of the beach from the pool. The duplex layout also makes the villa feel small.
For couples, you can simply spend time together in your villa or go hiking, snorkeling, and morning fishing. I don’t recommend their sunset cruise – it does sound romantic but is very weather dependent. We went twice and it was too cloudy both times. The night squid fishing is also tricky.
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Amanoi
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Location: Vĩnh Hy village, Ninh Hải, Ninh Thuận (Google Maps)
- Rating: 5.0 on TripAdvisor
- Pros: secluded setting within a national park, stunning views, spacious private villas with high quality construction, polished services
- Cons: food is expensive and not great, lack of local/cultural feels, beach is not great for swimming
- Link: Official Website
Amanoi is among the most expensive resorts in Vietnam and the entire site is pretty impressive with elements of traditional Vietnamese architecture. The place feels very neat, but somehow a bit cold for me.
The service is very good and polished, but if you have stayed at other Amans in the world, it may not feel satisfied enough. Having visited Amandari in Bali, our expectations for Amanoi weren’t met 100%.
With that said, the level of anticipation from the staff is the best you can find in Vietnam. It reflects the brand value where we can leave it to them, we can request anything, and don’t have to come planning or preparing too much. Forgot your sunscreen? There’s one in your villa. No sun shirt for snorkeling? We’ll send one to your villa.
The highlights of our stay were hiking the Goga Peak to watch sunrise, the stargazing session, and snorkeling in Vinh Hy Bay with Richard. It was very memorable as I didn’t know how to swim, but he made me feel very safe and comfortable the whole snorkeling trip.
Overall, for the best experience at Amanoi, you should take some of their guided activities. Additionally, there’s a pavilion over the lake where I saw that the resort often set up a private dinner for guests to propose.
Banyan Tree Lang Co
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Location: Phú Lộc, Thừa Thiên Huế (Google Maps)
- Rating: 5.0 on TripAdvisor
- Pros: secluded setting, spacious private villas with Vietnamese architecture, decent foods, good beach for swimming
- Cons: the level of anticipation in service is not as high as at Amanoi or Six Senses
- Link: Official Website
Banyan Tree Lang Co is a more affordable luxury resort than Six Senses and Amanoi. We had an enjoyable overall experience, but there was somewhat a lack of attention to details, such as no luggage rack in the villa, curtains not completely blacking out light. Those are all small things, but when it comes to luxury properties and services, small things make big differences. The good thing is when we brought those things up, their staff and management took it seriously and eagerly offered solutions.
The setting may not be the most special, but they have a long stretch of beach with soft sand which is good for swimming. For couples that love outdoor, Bach Ma National Park nearby is great for hiking. If you love sports, one of the most beautiful golf courses in Vietnam is right there.
We stayed in a pool villa on the beach and also toured a villa on the hill which offered stunning views of the bay. Riding bicycles around the resort is pretty relaxing too. If you like to watch sunset, you can ask staff to give you a buggy ride to the top of the hill for a great view.
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Six Senses Con Dao
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Location: Dat Doc Beach, Côn Đảo, Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu (Google Maps)
- Rating: 4.5 on TripAdvisor
- Pros: secluded setting on a beautiful island, spacious villas (rustic style), private pools, healthy breakfast, soft sand and crystal clear beach for swimming
- Cons: limited flights, villas are quite close to each other
- Link: Official Website
Six Senses Con Dao (SSCD) is my top recommendation for those who are looking for a very clean and secluded beach to swim. It’s the most beautiful beach we’ve been to in Vietnam.
Most villas have a duplex layout which we found to be a little inconvenient. There are two rows of villas along the beach as you can see from the photo above. The paths inside the resort are quite linear, so there is less sense of exploration compared to at SSNVB.
If you come at the right time of the year and are lucky, you may be able to participate in sea turtle hatchling releases and watch these tiny creatures make their ways to the ocean. In addition, in Con Dao, the sky is very dark at night with no light pollution so you will be able to see a lot of stars.
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Intercontinental Da Nang
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Location: Bãi Bắc, Thọ Quang, Sơn Trà (Google Maps)
- Rating: 5.0 on TripAdvisor
- Pros: secluded setting on Son Tra Peninsula, surrounded by lush forests, spacious suites and villas, stunning architecture
- Cons: this is a larger scale property, room rates have increased significantly, the beach is small and not great for swimming
- Link: Official Website
Intercontinental Da Nang has impressive architecture and beautiful, luxurious interior decor. The design reflects Bill Bensley’s unique style, characterized by a bold black and white palette accented with vibrant splashes of color. It incorporates traditional Vietnamese elements with a contemporary flair.
We have a soft spot for Intercontinental Da Nang since it was where we took our pre-wedding photos over 10 years ago when the resort just newly opened. However, I feel like it has become a bit overpriced compared to other options in the last few years. And nowadays, if we want to go to a luxury resort, we will prefer a property with fewer accommodations for more privacy.
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Heritage Line Luxury Cruises
Although not a resort, an overnight cruise in Lan Ha Bay aboard one of the Heritage Line ships offers a uniquely romantic and memorable experience. Lan Ha Bay, part of Cat Ba Archipelago, lies adjacent to Ha Long Bay. Together, the whole area has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The bay features emerald waters and hundreds of limestone islets covered in lush greenery.
Heritage Line ships that cruise in the bay have spacious, elegant suites and attentive service. Couples can enjoy activities such as kayaking in the bay and cycling on Cat Ba Island. You can discover more in our detailed review of the Heritage Line Ginger Cruise.
Upscale Options
The following resorts are more budget-friendly than the luxury places above. That also means the decor will not be as elegant, the furnishing will not be as high-end, and the services will be less personalized. They still provide spacious, comfortable villas and efficient services.
Mia Resort Nha Trang
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Location: Bãi Dông, Cam Lâm District, Khánh Hòa (Google Maps)
- Rating: 5.0 on TripAdvisor
- Pros: reasonable prices, good foods, easy access to Cam Ranh Airport, great services
- Cons: rocky beach not suitable for swimming, hard beds and pillows
- Link: Official Website
This resort has a selection of accommodation types including garden view rooms, ocean view villas, and five-bedroom residences. We once spent three nights in a two-bedroom ocean front cliff villa and it was very relaxing.
Though this is not a 5-star resort, they still execute a high level of hospitality. None of our requests was answered with “No”. One morning Long had to have an early morning meeting until past breakfast hours, and the staff arranged to serve breakfast in-room for us. We were also quite happy with the foods during our stay and prices were reasonable.
If you come at the right time, you’ll see vibrant bougainvillea flowers all around the resort. We’ve been talking about doing a work-cation here again at some point.
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Tia Wellness Resort Da Nang
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Location: 109 Võ Nguyên Giáp, Khuê Mỹ, Ngũ Hành Sơn, Đà Nẵng (Google Maps)
- Rating: 4.5 on TripAdvisor
- Pros: reasonable prices, healthy breakfast, direct access to My Khe Beach, easy access to attractions, inclusive spa treatments
- Cons: private pools in villas are very small with no open views, villas have simple interior decor
- Link: Official Website
Tia Wellness Resort is a beach resort with a spa-inclusive concept in Da Nang. Its location is also quite convenient for checking out local restaurants and sightseeing in Da Nang, Hoi An, and My Son Sanctuary.
We really enjoyed the buffet breakfast spread which featured a variety of fresh and healthy dishes such as summer rolls, yogurt, overnight oats, and salads. The villa is spacious, but the interior decor is quite simple.
If you like spa, Tia may be a great option. Each night comes with two wellness treatments per night, totaling 80 minutes per person. Here’s my detailed review of Tia Wellness Resort with more insights into their spa-inclusive concept.
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Maia Resort Quy Nhon
QUICK OVERVIEW
- Location: Phù Cát, Bình Định (Google Maps)
- Rating: 5.0 on TripAdvisor
- Pros: reasonable prices, direct access to the beach, spacious villas with private pools, efficient service, contemporary design, soft sand and good beach for swimming
- Cons: the restaurant can be quite crowded and noisy on national holidays
- Link: Official Website
Though Quy Nhon has become a popular destination for domestic tourists, it remains unknown outside of Vietnam. It is a region with a rich history and picturesque coastline. Here’s my article about Quy Nhon with an overview and list of things to do.
Maia is currently one of the few resorts in the area and though it is still fairly new, the service is pretty smooth. I also have a detailed review of Maia Quy Nhon, and this property was a nice find for us last year. Since the area is still lesser-known, the rates are very reasonable.
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Summary
I hope this post has helped you choose a property for your romantic getaway or honeymoon in Vietnam. Please feel free to comment and let us know if you have additional questions about the resorts mentioned above, or if you need recommendations for specific room or villa types and activities.
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