Regent Phu Quoc

“A gem in Southeast Asia”

We are high-end resort travelers -- New York, London, Tokyo, Niseko, Bali, Hong Kong, Taipei, Rio de Janeiro, Nantucket etc -- in past 12 months. I can say this property is truly exceptional and a real gem. I rarely write reviews but am writing one because of how much I appreciated it and wish for … lisää

We are high-end resort travelers -- New York, London, Tokyo, Niseko, Bali, Hong Kong, Taipei, Rio de Janeiro, Nantucket etc -- in past 12 months. I can say this property is truly exceptional and a real gem. I rarely write reviews but am writing one because of how much I appreciated it and wish for it to reach greater heights -- just please don't ever let it get over-crowded. All the glowing reviews here about the warm service, food, rooms, views, pools are accurate. Omakase at Oku the French/Japanese restaurant is not to be missed. The Ember & Tide dinner on the beach -- just a few feet from gentle crashing waves -- was a delight. Each restaurant was full but, importantly, not over-crowded. The other clientele seemed to be adventurous, experienced, educated travelers from all over the world. The prices here are not obscenely high but the quality of traveler that comes here seems to be high. Lots of tasteful resort-wear and people reading books around the pool. To nitpick a bit, I will say that the Spa could be better. There are no facilities and just a nice relaxation area, no snacks. The customer before me asked why there was a "service charge" on her receipt if she only came to purchase a product and did not receive a service. The manager blamed it on hotel policy so the lady eventually gave up and left. When it was my turn, I was informed that the treatment I booked 30 days in advance was not available (a supplier problem) so I could choose a different one. During the treatment the therapist's energy was business-like and not very gentle. I had to wear a towel with a scratchy velcro closure. I also pointed out some sunburns on my decollete that I think she forgot about. One of the products, while natural, smelled very bad and the therapist was not able to give any explanation about the odd scent (online reviews I read later said it was natural but often compared to Vegemite). At the end, I felt rushed to leave the treatment room when I was actually waiting for the therapist to leave first so I could have some privacy getting up. Instead she actually put her hand behind my head and forcefully pushed me up. When paying, I received a discount for the treatment change but we were told a different discount available to us throughout the resort was not available inside the Spa and so the "apology discount" merely took the place of the missing one. Overall I felt that the Spa was shockingly bad compared to everything else at the resort, where things are done to such a high standard. Don't feel bad about giving the Spa a miss. Housekeeping. While the rooms were well-appointed, well-stocked and generally kept immaculate, we had a couple of experiences where we turned on the housekeeping light (green) only for the crew to mistake it for the Do Not Disturb light (red). On one occasion they left a dismantled espresso machine and a dirty glass behind, and on a different occasion they left behind a tupperware box of turndown chocolates in our room. Lastly the glass in the bathroom, toilet flushes, balcony glass sometimes showed fingerprints that hadn't been cleaned off. Compared with everything else these were minor problems, and I think just comes down to better training. Another feature of the rooms (at least in the Ocean Wing) is that volume on the TVs is capped at a low level. I think this is because the stone flooring causes sound to echo too much and the low volumes prevent too much noise disturbance to nearby rooms. I thought this was quite brilliant. If you are hard of hearing, though, you will need to bring headphones and watch shows on your personal device. Phu Quoc itself is a developing destination. We had one external excursion that felt a bit more "adventurous" with a toddler than I would have liked, especially given that spoken English in Vietnam can be hard to understand. If you are there more for the luxury escape and not for a "cultural experience" then stay inside the resort! The international airport being 20 mins away was one of the main reasons we chose to visit, but keep in mind that it's still developing. We waited in line for a good 40-50 mins to get through outbound Immigration. Visa-free access is something that is touted about Phu Quoc but it seems to cause some administrative frictions. Otherwise, things seemed to operate efficiently and we greatly appreciated the hotel staff member who waited with us at the check-in counter. There are so many wonderful, wonderful details about this property that you can read about in all the other reviews. My favorites were the sweeping architectural proportions; the enormous in-room, door-less showers; the paper they used to deliver letters to the room; the well-maintained swimming pools and infinity pools; koi ponds; fun buggy paths; the large shallow area along the shoreline perfect for families and small children to have a dip in the ocean. There are simply not many places like this in Southeast Asia to have this high-quality, high-value of an experience during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year.

vähemmän