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Vietnam’s wonderful wellness resorts
Photography by Christian Berg
Even the most dedicated health enthusiasts among us need a boost from time to time. If your cookie consumption is on the uptake, your energy reserves on the decline, or if you’re simply looking for a few days of restoration, Vietnam’s wellness resorts have the answer. Discover a few of the country’s best retreats for wellness seekers below.
Intercontinental Sun Peninsula Danang
The Son Tra Peninsula claims some of the most soothing nature in Central Vietnam. Which is why it’s great that rather than manicure its sprawling grounds, the Intercontinental Sun Peninsula Danang allows nature to flourish and surround its guest spaces. One special attraction are the resort’s Lagoon Villas, which face a tranquil pond with bamboo thickets, and come outfitted with spa baths and treatment rooms.
HARNN Heritage Spa at the resort is undeniably one of Vietnam’s best, and picked up the award of ‘Global Spa of the Year’ from World Luxury Spa Awards in 2017, and the title of ‘Vietnam’s Best Resort Spa’ from World Spa Awards a year later. The spa’s Journey of Marble Mountains incorporates Da Nang’s famous marble into a detoxifying180-minute healing ritual.
The Anam
Without loudly claiming to do so, The Anam succeeds in delivering a genuine wellness experience for interested guests. Wellness here starts with the setting: A gorgeous sweep of ocean backdropped by forested mountains, rolling green lawns and tropical gardens. Make time on your first day to drop by The Anam Spa, where Asian traditions -- such as Thai massage, Indian head massage, and Balinese Boreh -- are the stars of the menu.
Yoga enthusiasts and beginners will enjoy the twice-daily classes with Indian instructor Mr. Umesh, who takes care to tailor the level of difficulty for each session, while delivering an authentic experience of Hatha Yoga. Sunset sessions include breathwork or pranayama, which effectively calms and clears the mind, setting you up to better appreciate the rest of your holiday.
TIA Wellness Resort
TIA Wellness Resort garnered attention when it opened as the first spa-inclusive five-star resort in Vietnam. The resort’s spa is the heart of the operation, providing two 80-minute treatments per day per guest, included in the nightly rates. The extensive spa menu allows guests to go beyond the usual massages to try something new and different, such as Himalayan heart stone therapy, Japanese Reiki, or crystal wands.
In addition to the inclusive spa treatments, TIA Wellness Resort also offers daily complimentary activities, which guests are encouraged to integrate into their holidays. Put together your own program from the array of daily yoga classes, creative workshops, and mindfulness practices. The resort’s private villas are stylish havens, with plunge pools and garden courtyards.
Four Seasons Nam Hai
The Four Seasons Nam Hai espouses the concept of interbeing, put forward by much-loved Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. This five-star haven on the beach just outside Hoi An promotes a reconnection to nature through small touches in its minimalist villas, such as recorded meditation sessions, essential oils, and mindful reading material.
In its award-winning ‘Heart of the Earth Spa’, therapists use singing bowls in each treatment session, which take place in floating villas overlooking a lotus-filled lagoon. The spa’s pride is a synchronized set of eight quartz crystal bowls, which are played for vibrational sound bathing and energy healing. Guests can complement their treatments with anti-gravity yoga, meditation classes and dips in the gorgeous beachfront infinity pool.
Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion - Hue
In the hills outside of Hue, Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion is the perfect escape for a few nights of self-care and silence. The resort’s bamboo bungalows are an oasis of calming space. Each comes with its own garden, outdoor rainshower, and a bicycle for exploring the grounds. The resort offers the only seven-step Japanese onsen in Vietnam, but the real treat are the natural thermal springs, which run through the gardens, inviting you to a hot, healing soak at any hour.
The spa is the heart of the operation, with daily sessions performed by expertly trained therapists, who will glide you from one treatment to the next with perfect professionalism. Spend your hours outside the spa sampling from the healthy menu, lounging in a kimono on your private porch, and enjoying Hue’s soothing scenery.
Six Senses Con Dao
Six Senses Spa Con Dao is one of those dream getaways that manages to tick all the boxes. Sustainable. Private. Chic. And deeply devoted to wellness. The resort takes a gentle and caring approach to helping guests find balance. There are guided yoga, meditation and stretching sessions for group or private bookings, and day-long wellness programs that address the heart, body and mind through a mix of healing modalities.
The Six Senses Spa mirrors the rest of the resort’s casual and effortless vibe. Vietnam-inspired treatments are given in five wooden rooms surrounded by tropical gardens. There’s a nail bar, an outdoor yoga and meditation platform, and of course a breathtaking sweep of empty shore in the shadow of Lo Voi Mountain, that’s all yours to explore.
Banyan Tree Lang Co
The magnificent landscapes of Lang Co in Central Vietnam are a tonic for guests who have had enough of staring at screens. One of Vietnam’s most sustainable luxury hideaways, Banyan Tree Lang Co offers the chance to immerse yourself in the rugged beauty of nature, with strolls on the long, sandy beach, and views of Hue’s jungle-covered mountains all around.
Wellness seekers should book a day of pampering at the Banyan Tree Spa, renowned for its tropical garden concept and Oriental spa traditions using ingredients sourced directly from the earth. For something different, try the Sense of Place, a 120-minute treatment that features honey and local cajuput oil from Hue in a deeply restorative massage.
