Luxury and relaxation in Vietnam

Breaking from the tourist trail reveals some of Vietnam’s most exciting luxury holiday destinations combining wellness, indulgence and glimpses into local culture.

We’re winding our way across a brackish lagoon aboard a local fisherman’s thung chai, the round basket boats that dot the coastline up and down Vietnam. It’s a slow and gentle race between the basket boat and our partner’s larger and less rickety timber fishing boat to get to a mangrove tree in the middle of the lagoon that is laden with oysters ready to be pried off, shucked and savoured on the spot. We’re in no rush, just taking in the scenery as we cruise under suspended fishing nets, past rustic little shacks on the water’s edge where local fishing families have lived for generations – a complete contrast to our luxurious resort nearby. It’s peaceful, simple scenes like this in Central Vietnam, mid-way through our trip experiencing the country’s up-and-coming destinations, that show us how Vietnam is finding its place in modern tourism just as gently as our little fishing boats. Get off the tourist trail and it’s guaranteed you’ll find holiday experiences with delightful snippets of traditional Vietnamese life that feel like stumbling across a well-kept secret.

Above: All images © Natalie Bannister

Wellness + relaxation

I’d never heard of Vietnam’s many thermal hot springs prior to this trip but as we discovered, the country is a mecca of minerals! There are, in fact, 169 thermal streams or springs scattered across Vietnam, and if you fly from Ho Chi Minh into Hue, in Central Vietnam, you’ll find the perfect opportunity to spend a few days at an exceptional wellness retreat that has harnessed these remarkable healing waters.

Located at the source of the Thanh Tan Hot Springs, 30km north-west of Hue city, the Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion offers a unique combination of wilderness, adventure and wellness. At the core of the resort’s appeal are a Japanese Onsen-style spa and thermal mineral springs that snake their way through the property, which guests can access at any time during their stay.

We arrive at Alba at night, and check-in is relaxed and delightfully low-key, setting the tone for our stay. Smiling greeters press perfumed cold towels into our palms, and the scent of lemongrass instantly soothes the senses before we are ushered into a golf buggy to head off along winding lantern-lit paths, across bridges and lotus ponds and through bamboo groves to arrive at the door of our little thatched roof one-bedroom bungalow, its rustic facade entirely, and pleasantly, at odds with the understated luxury to be found inside.

Rustic and removed enough to feel like a wild escape, yet comfortable in every way, the bungalows have a lush green outlook, an outdoor shower and your own little deck to lounge and relax. There’s a plush bed draped with soft netting, and Japanese-style yukuta robes to wrap yourself in for visits to the spa and onsen. There’s even a bamboo swing in our bathroom, because, why not? I instantly fall in love with it all – but it’s what lies outside the room that impresses me the most. No sooner have the bags been dropped off than we’re in our swim gear and robe and headed to the open-air hot springs for a nighttime dip under a starry sky.

*Above: Image courtesy Alba Wellness Valley*

The healing powers of hot springs have been used for thousands of years as a natural therapeutic treatment for ailments, boosting blood circulation, relieving pain and healing skin problems. The local villagers knew about the hot springs here long before the French arrived in Vietnam, naming it Thanh Tan – an old-fashioned phrase which means ‘fresh life’ or ‘new day’. Today, Alba Wellness Valley has not only harnessed the springs, but have also bottled it – every guest sips on bottles of Alba Mineral Water during their stay.

A visit to Alba’s Wellness Spa and Onsen is a daily highlight. With a minimalist Japanese design (and a hint of Scandinavian style) the spa features 11 treatment rooms, with five rooms designed just for couples. Immediately drawn to the traditional Vietnamese massage on the spa menu, I settle into the quiet treatment room for an hour of pure bliss, with a muscle-melting massage followed by a visit to the onsen quarters. Men and women are divided into two separate enclaves, and full disclosure: it is full disclosure (onsen is traditionally taken naked to allow the minerals to absorb into the body fully). Using hot spring water sourced from the depths of Truong Son mountain, Alba’s Onsen spans both indoors and outdoors, with a series of seven steps and levels of therapy combining hot and cold temperatures, steam and plunge pools.

Above: All images © Natalie Bannister

We wake at sunrise the next morning to hop on our bicycle – it’s the resort’s primary mode of transport (you’ll find them parked at your bungalow doorstep) – and head out along meandering paved pathways and forest tracks to the foot of the hills and the source of that miracle water supply.

Walk across the rickety wooden bridge that spans the crystal-clear river here and you’ll discover that there’s a working farm at Alba, which offers an authentic farm-to-table culinary experience. Guests have the option of enjoying private dining at Alba Farm by night, which I highly recommend (try the traditional hot pot, washed down with a glass of chilled Huda, the refreshing local beer).

Those who like a hit of adrenaline with their zen can head to the Alba’s high-wire challenge, a treetop adventure course with a 587-metre wire cable, six metres from ground level. Or, for the ultimate thrill, scale the steep incline of Ma Yen mountain to the top of the zipline for an exhilarating 560-metre-long high-speed ride down through the forest canopy.

Above: Images courtesy Alba Wellness Valley

The early hours are slow and quiet at Alba Wellness Valley, and I catch myself smiling as I ride my trusty bicycle to the meeting point on our final morning. It’s just after sunrise, the birds are singing, and water meditation awaits.

I’m meeting with the property’s spa director, Nyoman, a quietly spoken and gentle man who is passionate about the gifts from Mother Nature that he is blessed to work with here. Ask him why he loves Alba so much, and he’ll tell you – the hot springs course through everything that he and his team do, from the onsen to the spa treatments to this, right here, at the source, in the water where we now find ourselves sitting.

Nyoman leads us in a guided meditation, and we submerge ourselves softly, silently in the hot spring, eyes closed, weightless in body and mind, thankful to have found this extraordinary place and all that it offers.

Alba Wellness Valley has, quite literally, been a fresh sip of nature on this Vietnam itinerary. The resort promises guests “a journey back to your true self.’’ Fair to say, my true self is already planning her return visit.

Luxury + indulgence

A two-hour drive from Alba or just under an hour’s drive from Danang International Airport brings us to our final destination, the emerging resort enclave of Laguna Lăng Cô. This pristine 280-hectare chunk of coastline with an amphitheatre-like mountainous backdrop is the setting of the first world-class integrated resort in the country – home to the award-winning Banyan Tree and Angsana resort hotels and an 18-hole championship golf course designed by professional golfer Sir Nick Faldo – putting it top of the list of emerging destinations for absolute romance and luxury in Vietnam.

We arrive at Banyan Tree and are shown to our stunning Lagoon Villa, and in typical Banyan Tree style, no whim or want is forgotten. The room is absolutely stunning, beautifully furnished and the courtyard garden, with its sundeck and private pool overlooking a lagoon laden with lotus blooms, is lovely and lush. It’s all pure perfection, but lunch awaits our hungry bellies, so we make for the resort’s beachside restaurant, Azure, to dine on pizza and chilled rosé with a fresh sea breeze. We spot an arch with white chairs being set up on the sand a short walk from the restaurant, and we hear it’s for a wedding that is to take place at sunset for an Australian couple who were engaged right here during their previous stay at Banyan Tree Lăng Cô. They’ve brought all of their family and friends back with them for a dream destination wedding and honeymoon – a real-life romantic fairy tale, set in this perfect seaside escape in Central Vietnam.

Above: Images courtesy Banyan Tree Lăng Cô

A visit to the Banyan Tree Spa is a must (Banyan Tree properties are internationally renowned for their spas, with holistic treatments inspired by the locale). I pick the spa’s signature Cajeput Healer, a rejuvenating treatment using locally produced cajeput oil, traditionally known and used in Vietnam for its healing benefits. Specially created for Banyan Tree Spa Lăng Cô, it’s an incredible full-body therapy to stimulate blood circulation, relieve joint pain, and soothe tense muscles. Finishing with a visit to the steam room, we float out afterwards to sit and sip herbal tea in the spa’s tranquil courtyard with its water fountains and ponds, feeling blissful, restored and renewed, before closing the day back at our villa and the refreshing respite of our private pool.

There is also a small selection of beachside pool villas at Banyan Tree Lăng Cô – ones where you can step directly on to the sand from your private sundeck, and take your pick of ocean or pool swim. Or, head up high for the ultimate indulgence at the Banyan Tree Sea-View Hillside Villas, one and two-bedroom residences offering sweeping views of the East Sea.

Above: Images courtesy Banyan Tree Spa Lăng Cô

Banyan Tree Lăng Cô is a sanctuary for the senses – little wonder there’s a huge focus on gastronomy. A candlelit dinner at the property’s award-winning signature Thai restaurant, Saffron, doesn’t fail to impress – we dined on morsels of spicy appetisers, fried betel leaf and papaya salad, and the most delicious Massaman curry I’ve ever tasted – and even the buffet breakfast at The Water Court the next morning provides an outrageously over-the-top and delicious start to the day (hello, free-flow Champagne mimosas and Bloody Marys!).

Head out from Laguna Lăng Cô to the surrounding countryside and you’ll gain a glimpse of local life at places like Lap An Lagoon, where the Bach Ma mountain range meets the sea and clear waters yield the region’s freshest seafood (you can savour a haul fresh from the boat at the many seafood restaurants lining the lagoon shore). There’s lots of smaller lagoons nearby as well, which is how we found ourselves trying to manoeuvre that little round basket boat with no end goal other than some fresh oysters, loving every minute of the journey.

It’s this juxtaposition of luxury and simple pleasures that makes Laguna Lăng Cô so fabulous. You can tailor your stay between the two properties, and with so many cultural sights within easy reach, easily spend your days exploring the UNESCO World Heritage-listed imperial capital of Hue, the charming old town of Hoi An, and the relics of My Son Sanctuary (the site of the country’s most extensive Cham remains) and be back in time for sunset cocktails on the beach. Perfection.