Review: Maia Resort Quy Nhon
Nestled on the scenic Phuong Mai peninsula, Maia Resort Quy Nhon is a relatively new beach resort in Quy Nhon. We recently had an excellent two-night stay at this resort. In this post, we’ll share our experience at the property and everything you need to know to plan your future stay. We hope you will find our detailed review for Maia Resort Quy Nhon useful.
Overview
Developed by VinaCapital and managed by Fusion Group, Maia Resort Quy Nhon officially opened its doors just last year and offers a blend of modern facilities and commendable service. We have stayed at other VinaCapital properties; specifically Mia Saigon (one of the best hotels in HCMC) and Mia Nha Trang, several times before and have always been pretty satisfied with the quality. So, choosing Maia Quy Nhon for our trip from September 1-3 was an easy decision.
Overall, Maia Quy Nhon stands out as a solid beach resort in Vietnam. It is truly a beach resort in the sense that the beach is suitable for swimming. There are a number of beautiful beachfront resorts in Vietnam with beaches not great for swimming, including the famous Amanoi, Intercontinental Da Nang, and Six Senses Ninh Van Bay.
The contemporary, elegant design of Maia Quy Nhon harmoniously complements the surrounding natural beauty. With its new facilities and clean private beach, paired with the reputation of its developer, our stay was enjoyable. We think this is an upscale property rather than a luxury one. Given its reasonable price point, we were happy with what it offered.
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Location
Maia Resort Quy Nhon is situated on Phuong Mai peninsula in Binh Dinh Province in the Central region of Vietnam. The resort is just 25-30 minutes away from Phu Cat Airport by car. Additionally, it takes about 30-40 minutes to reach Quy Nhon’s city center from the resort.
One of the reasons we chose it was its proximity to some of the top attractions in Binh Dinh and Quy Nhon. Popular spots such as Eo Gio and Ky Co were a 15-20 minute car ride away. Ong Nui Temple was also just around the corner. The best part is the resort opens up directly to a beautiful, clean stretch of beach.
An interesting feature of the resort’s location is its proximity to Phuong Mai wind farms, allowing guests a unique view of a couple of wind turbines from within the premises.
Check-in
The check-in process took place in an open-air arrival lounge. We were greeted by a team of enthusiastic and friendly staff. The process went smoothly and swiftly.
The staff also helped us install the resort’s app, through which we could browse dining options, services, and activities offered. Following that, they transported us and our luggage to our villa using a buggy.
Accommodation
Our garden pool villa was bright, clean, and spacious, featuring a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and an outdoor private garden with a small swimming pool. While the decor is not luxurious, its design elements were elegant and aesthetically pleasing.
Overall, the pool villa had a nice balance of upscale decor and a relaxed ambiance. It was also pleasant to sit in the outdoor garden, but we didn’t use the pool at all since we preferred the beach. There was no working desk in the villa, so we’ll definitely inquire about this if we decide to return for a remote work-cation.
Maia Resort Quy Nhon boasts a collection of villas ranging from 1-3 bedrooms. From what we can see, none of these villas has a direct ocean view. The beach is just a short walk away though. Most of the guests were Vietnamese families, with just a few Korean guests.
Facilities and Activities
One of my favorite parts of the stay was the beach with a long stretch of sandy shores sloping gradually into the ocean. The sand was soft, and the blue waters were very clear. During our visit, the waves were sometimes a little strong due to a tropical storm offshore. However, it didn’t deter us from enjoying the beach.
The resort offers free water sport activities, such as kayaking and paddle boarding. It also has a tennis court, a gym, and a spa onsite. You can check out the list of activities here. The resort can also arrange transportation for sightseeing in Quy Nhon.
Food
We booked a half-board plan for our stay, which included daily morning buffet and either a dinner set or dinner buffet at the resort’s restaurant called Vị. The breakfast spread was quite diverse, featuring noodle soups, banh mi, egg dishes, stir-fries, yogurt, and fresh fruits. We also enjoyed their coffee, especially the coconut coffee. It was rich, creamy, strong, and refreshing – perfect to start the day.
We had one a la carte lunch at the resort, and the food we ordered was pretty decent. I particularly enjoyed their shrimp noodle soup.
However, Maia’s a la carte menu seemed somewhat generic, missing out on local specialties and a broader selection of fresh seafood. For those seeking an authentic local culinary experience, you can take a short ride to Eo Gio where there are various seafood restaurants located.
Our dinners were buffet style. While the first night’s offerings were fairly decent, the food quality on the second night was not up to the mark, perhaps owing to the increased crowds that night.
Service
The service in the restaurant was commendable with servers being friendly and courteous. Even during the busiest moments at the restaurant, they still displayed a positive attitude and made us feel they cared about and enjoyed their work. As locals, we genuinely appreciate the effort involved in training Vietnamese staff to this standard of service, especially in a town where tourism is not at an international level yet like Quy Nhon.
The service remained efficient and consistent throughout the resort. We felt that Maia Resort Quy Nhon had established robust procedures for staff to follow. One thing we cannot comment on is staff’s ability to communicate in English since we talked to them in Vietnamese.
We also quite like the resort’s mobile app. It not only facilitated simple tasks, such as asking for an extra flip-flop or arranging housekeeping at a specified time, but also offered a built-in map and other information – a nice touch to reduce paper waste.
Naturally, not everything was seamless. There were a couple of instances that fell short of perfection, mostly due to the large crowds during the national holiday. Such things are not uncommon, even at luxurious resorts such as Amanoi, Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, and Banyan Tree Lang Co.
Communication via the app’s messaging function sometimes lagged, with hours passing before receiving a response. Consequently, we had to reach out to the front desk over the phone, which was a bit frustrating.
Check-out
The check-out process was just as smooth as the check-in. Our overall experience at Maia Resort Quy Nhon was delightful. The location, combined with commendable service, reasonable rates, and a serene beachfront, makes it a worthy consideration for us to return. At the moment, there is a lack of upscale hotel options in the city center. While some local hotels in Quy Nhon center, such as Anya Premier, brand themselves as 4-5 star establishments, they fall significantly short of such a designation in our experience in terms of both hard products and service.
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Other Things to Note
There’s currently construction going on next door. During our stay, the noises were relatively minimal even though our villa was located in the row closest to the construction site. Actually, we often went out for sightseeing during the day, which likely coincided with the noisiest times. If you plan to spend a lot of time in the villa during the day, inquire the resort about the location of your villa and potential noise disruptions.
For the best experience at Maia Resort Quy Nhon (as well as at popular attractions in Quy Nhon), avoid traveling on national holidays. If that’s not possible, consider reserving your dinner in advance if you plan to dine at Vi restaurant. The restaurant may be fully packed at your desired dinner time.
The rainy season in Quy Nhon starts from late September – early October until February. The waves can be a bit rougher, especially when heavy rainfalls occur.
