Ana Mandara Resort****

The resort stands on 2.6ha of beach shielded by trees from the traffic noise of Tran Phu Boulevard, the busy seafront road that runs the entire length of Nha Trang City. It's enclosed on three sides - it's easy to forget that a bustling city is only a couple of hundred metres away.

The accommodation is also designed for privacy - the gardens are thick with mature tropical plants and palms, and each villa has a covered terrace for the exclusive use of its occupiers. The site is on the small side compared with other beach resorts, so the Villas are quite close to each other. However, the lush flowering and fruiting plants and trees are so dense that each small accommodation block seems to be alone in the jungle!

All around the complex, small details catch the eye. Bamboo tubes pipe a continuous cooling babble of water at locations around the site, lily ponds packed with exotic carp are dotted around, small wooden bridges and thatched shelters tucked away among the vegetation, and so on.

Inside, the rooms are spacious and well-appointed. The open raftered roof gives the interior a 'cottage' appearance - decor and soft furnishings are high quality. Furniture is replica Vietnamese - single hardwood units, not 'built-in' fixtures. All rooms are double-glazed, and villas towards the rear of the property have additional sound attenuating features to ensure uninterrupted sleep.

Superior rooms have attractive tiled floor, a period overhead fan, a good writing desk, and a pleasant verandah with suitable furniture.

The en-suite bathrooms are above average in quality and size. A good-sized bathtub looks out to a small inner 'garden', and granite composite fixtures with modern fittings make it a comfortable place to relax.

Rooms in other categories have similar features - differentiation is mostly based upon views and facilities available.

There are two main restaurants. The 24hr Ana Pavilion serves an international menu and enjoys an excellent view of the bay. The Beach Restaurant is traditional in design with an air-conditioned dining room and an outdoor wooden deck area. Seafood is prominent, and there's a good à la carte menu and wine list.

Menus are well constructed and the quality of the cuisine and service is high. Prices are in line with the resort's status.

There are two rectangular swimming pools, one located near the reception area and Ana Pavilion, and another larger pool beside the Beach Restaurant with clear views across the bay and an adjacent children's pool.

The Six Senses Spa emphasizes holistic health and 'wellness' treatments and regimes. Located in a coconut palm grove next to the beach, it includes two outdoor sunken 'salas' (Indian-style guest houses) with pools, and three indoor treatment rooms, each with a Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and so on.

There's a daytime activities programme and evening entertainment operating six days a week, a range of watersports including parascending, and a programme of activities for children supervised by qualifies staff members. Scuba diving is also available from a PADI Gold Palm Resort dive centre.

The Ana Mandara scores highly on details. It provides many 'extras' - a 'Hospitality Room' with free tea and coffee, board games, books, magazines etc., a curiously-named 'Men's Relaxation Area' , a 'Herb Garden' with information about their use, market visits and cookery classes, 'Spice Corner', selling spices used in Vietnamese cuisine, and more besides.

Vietnamese hotels are rated according to their facilities and number of rooms. With only 74 guest rooms, the resort doesn't qualify for five-star status despite its obvious high quality.

It's not cheap, but its reputation has spread widely - it's one of the few hotels that are specifically requested by our clients. We rate it 'First Class'!

Inspected June 2005

Room facilities:

Villa Categories	Garden View	Superior Sea View	Deluxe Sea View	Ana Mandara Suite
Number of rooms	35	11	24	4
Air-conditioner
Satellite television
Shower or bath
Bath with shower
Bath + separate shower
Personal safety box
Coffee/tea facilities
Laptop connection
Free broadband access
Extra bed
Child's cot
Room size (m2)	27	27	35	42
View	garden	sea	sea	sea

Additional room facilities: open timbered roof, private covered terrace, in-house video, CD player and CDs on request

Hotel facilities:

Outdoor pool		Non-smoking floor(s)
Pool bar		Non-smoking rooms only
Children's pool		Vietnamese/Asian restaurant
Fitness/health centre		International restaurant
Sauna		Patisserie/coffee shop/cafe
Massage		Business centre
Jacuzzi		Disabled access*

Additional hotel facilities: 'Six Senses Spa' with skilled therapist, VCD rental from Business Centre, watersports, motorbike and bicycle rental, tennis courts, six-day entertainment programme