Hoi An Life Resort**** (Haivenu Featured Hotel)
Our brief comments:
 The Hoi An Life Resort is located beside the Thu Bon River, a short walk away from the centre of the Ancient Town, and is one of the best hotels we have seen. The 94 rooms are housed in several French Colonial-style 'town houses' set in attractive tropical gardens, each with an 8m2 outdoor sitting area.
Interior design is an eclectic mix of several cultures: French, Japanese, Chinese and, somewhat surprisingly, Dutch. The stated rationale is that they all influenced the development of the Old Town, but the Dutch element has probably more to do with one of the sources of investment.
All rooms are divided into living and sleeping areas on separate levels, and soft furnishings and furniture are ultra-stylish. There are many attractive features - stone tiles in the bedroom area, traditional overhead showers, sunken baths in the suite rooms, overhead fans, and so on.
Outside, the rectangular pool provides a remarkable optical illusion - even standing on the grey slate edging, it appears to be no more than a few inches deep. It's actually 1.6m! Close by is an open air 'wellness' area with massage, traditional medicine, yoga, Tai Chi, reflexology and so on. It's right next to the river - a haven of peace and comfort.
 You'll be spoilt for choice for eating and drinking. Apart from a first-rate brasserie-style restaurant on the first floor, there's a Dutch Bar (serving draught Tiger when we were there - the management is hoping to import Amstel!), a Viennese coffee and pastry cafe, and a Japanese dining area.
No minibus for the Life Resort! To get to the beach, you wander down to the private quay to board the regular shuttle boat. Like everything else in the resort - real style!
The peaceful setting, elegant architecture, elegant rooms and furnishings, and value for money earns the Hoi An Life Resort's place on our carefully selected shortlist of Featured Hotels in Vietnam.
(Inspected August 2004)
Room facilities:
Room Categories |
Superior |
Junior Suite |
Grand Suite |
| Number of rooms |
48 |
44 |
2 |
Air-conditioner |
|
|
|
Satellite television |
|
|
|
Shower or bath |
|
|
|
Bath with shower |
|
|
|
| Bath + separate shower |
|
27 rooms only |
|
Personal safety box |
|
|
|
Coffee and tea facilities |
|
|
|
| Laptop connection |
|
|
|
| Free broadband access |
|
|
|
Extra bed |
|
|
|
Child's cot (on request) |
|
|
|
Room size (m2) |
36 |
42 |
84 |
View |
garden/pool |
garden/river |
garden/river |
Additional room facilities: ceiling fan, bathrobes, writing desk with broadband Internet connection, shower or sunken bath and sofa bed in Junior Suites, shower and sunken bath and DVD player in Grand Suites.
Hotel facilities:
Outdoor pool |
|
Non-smoking floor(s) |
|
Pool bar |
|
Non-smoking rooms only |
|
Fitness/health centre |
|
Vietnamese/Asian restaurant |
|
Sauna |
|
International restaurant |
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Massage |
|
Patisserie/coffee shop/cafe |
|
Jacuzzi |
|
Business centre |
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Additional hotel facilities: free Internet connection, computers available, child minding, private beach
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