Even before guests have set foot inside one of the handsomely decorated rooms at Tui Blue Nam Hoi An or dined the excellent, supple chicken cordon bleu served at the Green & Grill, the central Vietnam resort makes an initial impression that wows.
The first thing I saw upon arriving is a one of the kind arrival hall: a large, spacious guest lobby invites the eyes to look up first at the chandeliers and ornate woodwork before looking through the hall’s rear doors that open to the rest of the resort. The layers of blue seen beyond are the hotel’s generously sized pool, the sky and the East Sea. It’s a sort of subtle, visual opulence that well presents the resort as what it is: a beautiful place nested inside an even more beautiful place.
Lobby
Meet Tui Blue Nam Hoi An. There are 88 hotels around the world that bear the resort’s name. The central Vietnam resort is a newly renovated addition to the luxury resort brand. The property contains 318 rooms and 25 2-story villas. Buildings are set around staggered intervals and the property is designed in such a way that every room has a view of the main attraction: the wide, azure expanse of sea.
Walking in only strengthens the first impression. On my way to my accommodation, I walked past a lovingly crafted expanse of green including tufts of grass on the property arranged in pleasant, orderly rows for no other reason than just for visual pleasure. The resort’s remote location means the noise of Vietnam’s metropolises is far out of reach. Around the pool, pleasant music greeted me as I strolled through the resort taking in subtle music playing from speakers lining the pool. The wide sidewalks one strolls on invite slow ambling and are attended by shady palm trees. The property is expansive but the sea at the east always helps one orient on the way to find their way to the apartment or villa booked inside the resort.
Royal Villa Seaview
Tui Blue resorts are found in 18 countries around the world. The resort brings a global standard to its central Vietnam location. Resort staff are trained for guest care that mirrors what you’d see at a Tui Blue in Greece or Cyprus, from the warm guest introduction at the front to the attentive table service at Green & Grill restaurant, one of three within the resort. Chef David Lacroix serves a menu that combines both Vietnamese staples, like zesty goi salad, with dishes that would be at home anywhere else in the world, like the creamy heat of his peppered beef entree.
The guest accommodations follow a similar design strategy. Buildings are arranged in such a way that all guests can open their curtains to a view of the sea. It remains visible lying down on a pillow, a fine last image before sleep.
The rooms themselves are handsome. A pairing of cool, dark brown with honey-colored woods provides accents and borders around a white interior that you favor clean lines through strong contrasts. A cloud square of bed with fresh linens sits atop honeyed, hardwood floors. A There are small visual notes throughout the room’s composition, little pleasure points like a subtle wood lattice, but nothing that feels overstated or overwrought. The space feels welcoming and immediately comfortable as well as attractive.
Junior Suite
There is balance at Tui Blue Nam Hoi An that makes room for both the resort itself and the location, a complement rather than competition with the natural splendor that abounds the rural location. The rooms themselves provide welcome refuge from the afternoon sun but during the morning and evening hours the design of the grounds encourage exploration from the abundance of shady areas and rehydration points—the resort’s three bars means one is never far from cocktail—to little touches like walking paths contoured in to the sand and the semi-private pods perched on the beach invite one to go out, explore and linger.
Pool Bar
What you lose in not being closer to another landmark tourist-friendly city like neighboring Hoi An or Da Nang is made up for in the quiet, unblemished ruralness of the surroundings. The resort’s closest city might be the nearby hilltop hamlet called Tam Thanh, which is worth the short bike ride over to see its wide array of building-sized murals, painted coracles. It’s quiet enough to hear the waves, wind and little else. The inner peace one might seek in their day to day envelops the resort and in its surroundings.
Tui Blue staff were happy to show me to Tam Thanh and loop in a visit to Tam Tien, the village which hosts the bustling morning fish market. Local fisherman convene at the harbor at daybreak selling the day’s catch: fish, shrimp, octopus and so much more. The market’s throng of people and wares are a sight to behold. It’s well worth the visit just to take in the energy of the dawn bustle. Seafood bought at the market can be prepared by Tui Blue’s staff.
Sunday Brunch
The whole resort is perhaps best taken in from the open sea, which Tui Blue’s seafaring instructors offer to guests through a collection of water sports, including kayak and sailing aboard a catamaran. My suggestion: take the last. Even with a slight breeze, one can sail at a nice clip through gently rolling waters that part with a white spray. Maybe you’re doing it in the evening as the sun’s setting and you’re getting the full evening show of day’s end, a transition from light to dark with almost every possible color as the sun meets the horizon. Don’t forget to look back to see Tui Blue’s handsome cream-colored buildings catching the shade of the hour looking stately framed by the pale yellow of the beach and the green hillsides beyond that all work together to make this a truly special place.
Watersports
Images provided by Tui Blue Nam Hoi An
