31 Mar2023
You might know that Phu Quoc is the biggest island of Vietnam and the most touristy one. In early 2023 I spent 28 relaxing days there and the last hotel I stayed at was Lahana Resort Phu Quoc. In this blog post I am going to tell you pros and cons of the resort and my personal experience there.
What I liked at Lahana Resort Phu Quoc
- Location – the resort is situated approx. a 15 minute drive from the Phu Quoc International Airport which I found very convenient. Lahana Resort lies on a side street, not on the main street which was an advantage to me. But at the same time, there’s restaurants, shops, grocery stores and fruit street stalls within walking distance. And obviously, the Long beach can be reached within a 10 minute walk from the resort.
- I appreciated a welcome drink at check in and also welcome fruit waiting in the room.
- Buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant – I was really happy about many breakfast options. When hotels have great breakfast, it’s always a big PLUS as then the guests start their day in a good mood. I truly enjoyed buffet breakfast, especially fresh fruit and fresh juices. Every single morning I was looking forward to guava or pineapple fresh juice and then 5 different tropical fruits (papaya, bananas, dragon fruit, pineapple, watermelon, Vietnamese green fruit, rambutan etc.). When it’s hot outside, all I want to eat in the morning is fresh fruit to hydrate myself. I was really grateful for fresh fruit there and it was also perfectly ripe and ready to eat which is not often the case at many hotels, but there it was. Thumbs up for fresh and good quality food! Obviously, they have many other meals there as well: fresh salads, hot meals, soups, noodles, rice, meat, cheese, pastry, cakes, eggs etc.
- Lahana Resort Phu Quoc offers vegan and vegetarian breakfast options as well. If you inform the resort about your special diet, you will be able to choose from 4 different veggie breakfast sets. Each set contains a couple of different plates with vegetables, tofu, rice, soup etc. I only tried number 2 and 3 and have to say that 3 was my favorite. I loved tofu in tomato sauce and also veggie curry which were part of option 3. If you want to be sure to get a vegan or vegetarian breakfast (depending on your diet), just inform the reception the day before so your breakfast will be ready for you the following morning.
I have been vegan since July 2013 which means that I do not eat any animal products at all. If you’d like to learn more about healthy vegan diet and how to feel and look better, check my ebook How to be fit when traveling.
- Next to the restaurant there’s a lovely outdoor infinity pool that has 2 parts: swimming area for adults is 28 meters long and 1.5 meters deep. And next to it there’s also a shallow kid pool where children can play. I loved the pool views of the sea and lush green forest around the resort. Honestly, I could spend hours both in the pool and on the sunbed next to it just chilling with the light smell of frangipani flowers around me. Aw, and the pool is open until 10pm which was amazing for me as I enjoy swimming in the dark.
- Next to the pool you can find the Ca Go restaurant with pool bar where you can get drinks and food during the day.
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I found out that when they started building the Lahana Resort Phu Quoc, they were aiming for everything from the materials to be eco-friendly, for example the chairs at the reception are made of bamboo trees. And for take away breakfast they use boxes made from bagasse (dry fiber from sugarcane).
- Free toiletries in the bathrooms. Both shampoo and shower gel are made in Vietnam, contain no parabens and are biodegradable. They are both made from ingredients that do not affect land, trees and groundwater.
- The hotel landscape is breath-taking: many trees and flowers, also my favorite frangipani trees, some fruit trees (e.g. jackfruit) and many other green plants. Many of those plants have been there for a long time and they were not destroyed when the resort was constructed. I appreciate that they tried to keep them there on purpose. At the same time, thousands of new plants were planted. And there’s a cute small river with tiny waterfalls flowing through the resort, yay!
- Free fast wifi around the property. It did work rather well in most parts of the property.
- I had 2 different experiences at the resort. First, I stayed in a Deluxe Double Room with garden view and then in a Deluxe Bungalow with garden view. Bungalow was bigger, with a nicer bathroom and had a mosquito net around the bed.
- Bungalows have outdoor showers and indoor bathtubs. That’s exactly the kind of bathroom I’d always prefer in a warm exotic place like Phu Quoc. It made me feel like taking a shower in the forest.
- Surprisingly, I had no mosquitos in my room/bungalow which made my stay more pleasant.
- There’s also a spa, conference room, kid corner, billiard and a gym. Good news is they have not only various gym equipments available there, but yoga mats for you to use, too.
What I’d improve at Lahana Resort Phu Quoc
All my recommendations for Lahana Resort Phu Quoc are only details but details do matter. Especially, when talking of eco-tourism and our impact on nature, right?
Becoming more eco-friendly
Personally, I’d focus on even more eco-friendly approach:
- swap plastic straws at the restaurant with bamboo/metal straws
- swap water in plastic bottles for glass bottles. I am talking of water bottles that guests receive in their rooms/bungalows every day. I tried to avoid new plastic bottles so I did not ask for daily house keeping service and instead, I was refilling my bottles at breakfast buffet from glass bottles.
- I’ve already discussed with the hotel employees that their future plan is to replace small shampoo bottles with bigger ones. Hopefully they’ll be able to implement all these eco-friendly changes as soon as possible.
More recommendations:
- I’d add labels with written food allergens next to each meal at buffet breakfast so people with special diet do not have to ask what they can and cannot eat, or even worse, they do not have to completely avoid some meals just because they don’t know their ingredients; e.g. dairy, nuts, gluten etc.
- I’m sure that European guests would enjoy gluten-free pastry, bread and cakes at buffet breakfast. I usually don’t eat those but in Europe it’s already very common to have gluten-free options.
- unfortunately, I am very sensitive to noise and I have to confess that I couldn’t sleep at Lahana Resort Phu Quoc very well because of loud music at night coming from bars from the street. The music would finish between 1am to 3am every single night. I wish the rooms/bungalows were soundproof. Music noise at night was the biggest problem for me and the only thing that was really disturbing my relaxing stay.
Overall, I did enjoy my stay at Lahana resort. Thank you so much for hosting me and big thanks to all the staff members who made my stay better.
You can check more information and book your stay clicking here.
TIP 1: Not sure if to plan a trip to Vietnam? Read my post about 7 reasons to visit Vietnam to make up your mind.
TIP 2: Wondering how cheap or expensive Vietnam really is? If so, you need to check how much I spent there in 4 weeks.
TIP 3: When on Phu Quoc already, go on a snorkeling trip or take a cable car to another island. Expect stunning views!
What do you think of this resort? And have you been to Vietnam or is it still on your bucket list?