In a little more than a decade, Vietnam has turned Phu Quoc from an island afterthought — known for fish sauce and a French colonial prison — into one of Southeast Asia’s most successful mass tourism destinations.
It’s an easy place to get wrong by aiming for a name brand hotel, which might leave you in construction zone, with cranes out one window, farms out the other.
We were pleasantly surprised by a diplomat’s recommendation of Mango Bay, a three-star property with four-star relaxation and food. Off the main highway in the middle of the island, it sits on a pair of small beaches, with rocks and the hotel’s terrific restaurant in between. The water was pleasant and clean when we visited last year. The property resembles a small nature preserve, with about 40 bungalows woven amid the resort’s plants and pathways.
We chose a Deluxe Seaview Plantation Bungalow with breakfast included (4.8 million VND). It had an outdoor bathroom that managed to be private. There was no TV and only “natural air-conditioning” (I don’t know how, but it worked) while entertainment consisted of a bar on the sand with a singer.
On a beach to the north, Vingroup, a Vietnamese development company, has set up a supercity of family entertainment with roller coasters, water slides, a safari park and the country’s first teddy bear museum. At the island’s southern tip, Sun Group, another developer, has added the world’s longest sea-crossing cable car and Sunset Town, a Mediterranean-themed village meant to resemble the Amalfi Coast.
To my eyes, it had more pink than the original.
Island calm in spring and summer: Poulo Condor, Con Dao
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
