Hoi An Beach Resort

We have traveled all over the world, but our first time in Vietnam completely blew us away. The people, the food, the culture, the prices, and the beautiful South China Sea are simply unbeatable—this definitely won't be our last visit!

Hoi An Beach Resort was a fantastic base for our 8-night stay. Here is a detailed breakdown of our experience and some top tips to help you get the most out of your holiday.

Arrival & The Room Move

From the moment we arrived, we were looked after. We were greeted with a refreshing cool drink, and the check-in process was entirely seamless. They even whisk you and your luggage directly to your room on an electric golf cart.

A heads-up on room selection: We were originally placed in the end block near the side exit. However, there is currently building work going on nearby which is quite loud and runs daily from around 7:30 AM. On our first morning, we asked to be moved. The staff could not have done more to help us.

The Upgrade: For a very modest upgrade fee (around £10 extra per night), they moved us to a River View Suite. These are situated in lovely, quiet blocks of four (two down, two up). Top tip: Request a ground-floor unit. You get a brilliant mini garden where you can watch the fishing boats laze up and down the river, alongside some truly wonderful sunsets. They are incredibly spacious, lovely, and quiet. Honestly, just book these from the off!

Room Amenities: The beds are absolutely enormous. There is loads of drawer space and a fridge stocked with drinks. The wardrobe space is plenty, though if you're staying for a week or more, I’d recommend asking the staff for half a dozen more coat hangers. All rooms have great air conditioning and a smart layout.

Dining & Facilities

Breakfast: Plentiful and fresh. There is a chef on hand doing eggs and omelettes to order, and the coffee and juices are great. Some reviews mention a lack of choice, but we honestly don't know what else you could want: there’s cereal, fresh fruit, baked goods, breads, and both hot and cold meats. You won't get fed up, and sitting at the tables overlooking the river is a beautiful way to start the day.

The Pools: There are two clean pools. The water temperature was like getting into a warm bath because it was 38°C during our stay, but it was incredibly refreshing. One pool is slightly bigger; the smaller one features some great double cabana-style daybeds. Each pair of sunbeds comes with a table and an umbrella, and we never struggled to find a spot. There is a designated smoking area near each pool, safely tucked away so it doesn't bother anyone. Waiter service for drinks is excellent, and the daytime snacks are tasty and reasonably priced. Minor note: The tiles around the edges could do with a slight update, and the floor gets very hot—keep your flip-flops nearby!

The Beach: Just a short walk across the road is the hotel's private beach, complete with toilets and a dedicated bar. The bar serves basic canned drinks, which you can conveniently charge straight to your room. The sea is lovely, and the beach is great for a long walk.

The Local "Village" & Dining Out

A few minutes' walk from the hotel brings you to what the locals call "the village." It features the usual local shops, clothes stores, and beauty salons.

Massages: Getting a massage in the village is about a third of the price of the hotel spa. While the local shops aren't quite as fancy, they are great value (around £9 for a 60-minute massage). They will pester you a bit as you walk past, but a polite "no" is always met with respect.

Best Restaurant by Far: You must visit Nhà Hàng Bảo Hân. The owner speaks fantastic English, is incredibly lovely, and will cook you absolutely anything. It’s legitimate, delicious local cuisine. Make friends with her! She can even arrange your laundry and just add it to your dinner bill.

A Warning on Convenience Stores: A couple of the smaller local convenience stores (often run by the clothing shop owners) stock wine and Western snacks, but they will try to overcharge you and haggle. Walk a bit further to the larger ones to avoid getting ripped off.

Laundry: There are plenty of places in the village to do your laundry. We had 5kg done for just £8—it was washed, dried, folded, bagged, and returned within 12 hours. It's about five times cheaper than using the hotel service.

Getting Around & Tailoring

The Grab App is a MUST: Download Grab (Southeast Asia's Uber) before you go. It is brilliant. We took a Grab to An Bang Beach (3km away) for just £1.70 each way, and it always arrived in a minute or two. We also took a 50-minute trip into Da Nang for just £7.80. Tip: Link it to a card that doesn't charge international fees (First Direct just gave us the straight exchange rate).

An Bang Beach & Soul Kitchen: An Bang Beach has everything—Western food, sports bars, and fish restaurants. We visited Soul Kitchen a few times and highly recommend it. Reserve a table on the decking in advance, get there around 16:30, and stay for the night. You can chill on big sofas in your shorts, listen to great live music, look out at the ocean, and watch them cook fresh fish on the beach below you. Our entire night of eating and drinking cost less than £40 for the two of us, and we didn't hold back!

Nightlife Note: The hotel restaurant and bar area is very peaceful with low instrumental music, but it is dead after 10:30 PM. The village doesn’t really have "bars," though restaurants will happily let you just sit and drink cheaply. If you want something livelier, head to An Bang, though even most places there wind down around 11:00 PM.

Tailoring at Duc Minh: Instead of using the dozens of tailors in the Old Town (the hotel offers three free shuttles there daily), we walked 5 minutes down the road to Duc Minh Tailor. They are excellent quality, offer fair prices with zero stressful bartering, and can copy anything from a picture. Using an Old Town tailor means giving up the equivalent of 2 full days of your holiday to travel back and forth for fittings. At Duc Minh, we just walked up, agreed on adjustments, went for a beer, and saw them the next day. We did our fittings across 4–5 days and the results were superb.

Travel & Money Advice

Do NOT Exchange Money in the UK: We made the mistake of exchanging some cash at an M&S travel shop in the UK. What cost us £300 at home (9.5 million Dong) would have only cost us £244 if we had exchanged it at the hotel or drawn it from a local ATM. Bring GBP cash with you to exchange there, or just use the local cash machines. ATMs usually have a maximum withdrawal of 3 million Dong (~£77) at a time, but your money goes so far you will struggle to spend it!

Flight Route: We flew Manchester > Singapore > Da Nang. It is a long journey (13 hours + layover + 3.5 hours, plus a 45-minute drive from Da Nang to the resort), but routing through Singapore means you entirely avoid the Middle Eastern airspace risks at the moment, which gave us peace of mind.

We had an unforgettable holiday and can't recommend this resort and the surrounding area enough!

I have been hotel many time. It was lovely staying. The staff so friendly. They alway helpful and take care me. Specially reception, Diem, Toan at the reception is great, helpful. I will be back

Diem was the receptionist. She is a very nice woman and so helpful. The room was clean. Good services. We will be back.