A detailed review of one of Vietnam’s best luxury hotels – sharing my personal experience after a 10-day stay
There are those hotels you see in a catalog or online, and you just WANT to visit them, but then things never really work out. The Six Senses Ninh Van Bay is, or rather was, one of these hotels for me. Seen from Germany, it’s literally on the other side of the globe, and the trip just takes way too long for my tastes. Well, I finally managed to fit it in, and now we need to answer the question: Is this super luxury hotel worth the price and the journey?
A detailed look at the Six Senses Ninh Van Bay
This Six Senses property is located right in the middle of a beautiful national park at the very tip of a peninsula close to Nha Trang. No roads lead to the resort, and you can only reach it by boat. It’s utterly serene and quiet.
The crescent-shaped bay is probably among the most spectacular beaches in the world and utterly private. Stunning doesn’t even capture it.
The way those huge granite rocks enclose the whole ensemble just feels like paradise. Water villas can be seen on either side, while enchanting hilltop villas are nestled in the forest above, offering spectacular views.
Birds are constantly chirping in the background, and if you are lucky, you will see one of the endangered white-tailed langurs that often can be seen in the canopy above the many walkways.
The resort is huge, and exploring every little pathway on foot probably will take you half a day. Luckily, every guest gets a complimentary bike, and the staff will also happily pick you up with a buggy wherever you are.
So, while the distances are pretty big, they also allow you to have your privacy. Even fully booked, this resort rarely feels even remotely crowded. In fact, barring breakfast and dinner, you barely ever get to see anyone.
It has to be mentioned that there are quite a lot of stairs involved. The biggest will get you to most places, but not all – and even then, there will be a short walk involved. So, it certainly is the perfect place for those looking for privacy, but maybe less so for infirm people.
The private villas
There are multiple room categories at Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, but we decided to stay at a beach villa. I personally love it when you can just walk out of your bedroom right into the ocean. And that is certainly possible at this resort.
Each villa has its own spacious private pool. It’s not big enough to truly swim in, but it’s definitely big enough for 2 people looking for some refreshment. Huge hedges enshrine the pool on all sides. Your neighbors won’t ever see you!
I say enshrine because the hedges sadly block the view. So, while you sit on your sun deck, you barely see the ocean, only a few meters away. In hindsight, I probably would have enjoyed a villa further up the hill. We could have stayed at the “public” beach/pool in the morning and then spent the afternoon at the villa to enjoy the spectacular view of Ninh Van Bay.
However, each of the beach villas does have an upper deck/outdoor living room that offers nicer views. We hardly used this part, though.
But, as I said, if you are someone who enjoys the view, then I’d definitely pick a hilltop villa. Do keep in mind that they will need to walk some stairs, and the buggies cannot reach all of them directly.
For even more privacy and undisturbed views, you could also pick one of the rock villas. I never really was a big fan of overwater bungalow kind of rooms. They look pretty in pictures, sure. But having to enter the water via a stair and only a stair just doesn’t sound appealing to me – especially since these rooms are more expensive. I want to feel sand under my feet.
If I could name one bad thing about the beach villas is that very few of them actually have a meaningful beach in front of them. The strip in front of our villa was barely wide enough to fit in two sun loungers, and they were partially submerged during high tide.
This also meant that you couldn’t really set up a sunshade, and we ultimately didn’t spend a lot of time on the beach – only for sunset. Sure, it does look pretty in the pictures. But remember that this is low tide. Plus we had to call the staff to set up the umbrella for us each time anew, and it quickly became a bit exhausting.
Other than that, the villas are well-appointed in the familiar rustic Six Senses style.
At the center, you will find a normal bed. I say normal because this is probably only around 2,00m x 1,80m. Since I was traveling with my dad, we asked them to set up two single beds. But judging by the bedside tables, that wasn’t the issue here. I found the mattresses to be a bit too soft for my liking, but they were able to shore them up a bit after I voiced my concern.
There is also a lovely sitting area and a desk, but no proper sofa downstairs.
Upstairs, you have a huge space we barely ended up using. You’ll find the minibar(s) there as well. It’s a beautiful place, but we are more the outdoorsy people, and this felt a bit too enclosed. Beautiful but not out in the open.
The bathroom
Calling the bathroom spacious would be an understatement. It truly is HUUUGE with two separate washing areas, which I really loved (one on each side)
There is a big wardrobe where you will be able to store even the biggest suitcases and plenty of storage space – even for an extended stay.
There is a lovely outdoor shower you can use that will be illuminated at night, and of course, a big bathtub.
We mostly just used the indoor shower, but it’s always nice to have options.
The restaurant/food
The food at the Six Senses Ninh Van Bay is, all in all, quite okay. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to truly complain about either. Breakfast is served at the main restaurant, and you get so many options. There’s probably something for everyone, and it’s definitely all at a solid international level.
I mean, I certainly did have better eggs Benedict in my life. But they also have a live noodle soop station (for pho) that is definitely noteworthy. I’m sure the thousand-year eggs that gave me food poisoning were a one-time thing, and the kitchen went out of their way to accommodate my special needs in the following days.
Dinner is served in the same restaurant as well, and it’s all quite lovely and romantic at night. Again, the food is quite lovely but I’d only rank it average. They are trying their best, but it’s probably more at the level of a nice restaurant next door rather than one you’d travel two hours for.
There’s also a dining option at the very top of the hill. This is a really spectacular setting, offering splendid views of the bay. Sadly, this restaurant isn’t open every night (which felt a shame), and pre-booking was needed.
There’s also a farm-to-table restaurant but due to my food poisoning, I’d get to enjoy it. My dad said the food was excellent despite being vegan only. They have a couple of gardens right on the island where they produce (some of) their own food.
One thing I absolutely need to mention is the little ice cream parlor. If you’ve been to a Six Senses property before, you’re probably aware that this is a theme (e.g. Six Senses Koh Yao Noi also has one). It’s open (more or less) all day long and you can just pop in and get one of the daily rotating flavors for free. So awesome!
Beach and pool
I already briefly mentioned that I was mostly disappointed by the beach. It is beautiful. Saying anything else would just be a lie. It’s also huge. Almost a mile long, can you imagine? At the same time, it’s very narrow most of the time. There are a couple of villas on the left side of the jetty that have a larger stretch of beach in front of them, though.
The sand is rather coarse. So it looks super fine, but I personally found walking across it barefoot rather uncomfortable. Setting aside that it would be too hot in the midday sun anyway. But hey, of course, you are in Vietnam.
There is a coral reef right in front of the surf. So ultimately this means you have to be either rather careful or wear shoes to go into the water.
Sure, the water is nice and warm. It sure looks pretty…but what I am trying to say here is that it looks a bit prettier than it actually feels usable.
There is also a big pool area. If you have a rock or hilltop villa and want to enjoy the beach, this is where you can settle down. We rarely saw many people there, but the area is quite beautiful.
Of course, there is the added benefit of drinks and food close by. I can’t really tell you a lot about that because the temperatures were really high during our stay, and we typically had little appetite around noon.
The pool is probably not the biggest you’ve ever seen. Then again, each villa has a private pool, and there is the undisturbed ocean right in front of the doorstep, so I’m sure it will be perfectly fine for anyone but an Olympic swimmer.
Spa
Six Senses is famous for its spa therapies, and the Ninh Van Bay subsidiary certainly didn’t disappoint in that regard. You’ll find the spa nestled into the forest further up the hills with a very beautiful reception area.
The treatments are on the pricier side (especially considering that this is Vietnam), but nothing that will bankrupt you either. I booked two massages, both very well executed, and the staff was also well-trained. I’d say it’s not a top-notch spa experience, but certainly among the upper 80%, and I don’t think you could do any wrong here.
The treatment rooms are quite beautiful and spacious, with a huge dressing room. Some even have a big hot tub that looked quite inviting but you’d have to book that separately.
Activities
We booked several activities during our stay (most of them complimentary because you get these when you stay for 10 nights) and I would say almost all of them were disappointing. It seems Six Senses Ninh Van Bay rather caters to people less active and less experienced than true adventurers.
For example, we went on a hike to find the langurs. It was a pleasant little walk through the foothills and then onwards to the reservoir. Why we were supposed to watch a 10-minute trailer before we started was beyond me (having the option is great. Being forced to watch it is weird). Our guide was nice enough, but when I told him to slow down a bit, he resorted to walking fast for 5 minutes and then stopping.
We also booked a boat trip to explore the nearby islands. It was pleasant enough, but if we hadn’t told the driver to stop a bit along the way, it probably would have been just an excursion to a very touristy floating restaurant that kept fish in, let’s say, less ideal conditions, ready to be served.
We left right after breakfast, and they offered us fruits and drinks right after we left. Of course, we weren’t hungry then. But well…4 hours later, one would have expected them to make another attempt to offer something. But maybe that was because our guide and driver enjoyed our snacks during their lunch time.
Another day, we booked a snorkeling trip. Well, when we arrived at the activities center, they said visibility was low (there was a storm during the night) and we wouldn’t be able to see anything. For whatever reason, they still wanted to take us and were very surprised when we said, we’ll cancel it then (it was complimentary).
We also went on a sunset cruise with cocktails. Well, turns out they only had one kind of sparkling wine and soda….and the ship returned to shore before sunset.
Now, one could say that I am spoiled or entitled. But then again, you ARE paying maybe a $1000 a night, and that comes with quite a lot of expectations. And to me, the activities team just felt utterly inexperienced. They were all nice, sweet, and friendly. Fair enough. But if you are looking for memorable experiences beyond the ordinary and truly see something of the beautiful surroundings, you’ll be disappointed.
Overall Service
When you arrive, they will assign a guest experience manager (GEM) to you. They will be in charge of booking activities, making restaurant reservations, and whatever else you need. This is what sets most Six Senses properties apart from your average 5-star resort. You certainly do feel like a VIP.
Our GEM was just lovely and overall friendly and very willing to make our stay as memorable as possible. We didn’t quite like her trying to upsell activities to us, and it made things feel a bit like a Ryanair flight. There were also quite a lot of occasions where the language barrier got in the way, and quite some weird misunderstandings, and endless back and forth via WhatsApp.
And I would say this pretty much explains the service at the whole hotel. Everyone is very friendly and trying to be professional. At the same time, most of the waiters, etc are pretty inexperienced and probably never served at a different hotel either.
Now, I truly appreciate when a hotel tries to make an effort to hire locally. And I totally understand that one cannot come to a different country and expect everyone to be fluent in English (or any other language). However, I would expect that if someone doesn’t understand something, they would ask you to elaborate, ask you to say things with different words, etc.
It probably is a cultural thing but the locals never did, and this led to many misunderstandings. Like I ordered peppermint tea, and they brought me jasmine tea because they didn’t have any. I ordered mushroom spaghetti, and they brought me sauteed mushrooms.
Mistakes like this can happen, but it happened a little bit too often to be noticeable. Again, this is critizing at a very high level as are the prices per night.
How to get there
It takes quite a while to reach this beautiful property. You need to take a flight to Cam Ranh Airport (CRX), where you will be picked up by a van or private limousine (depending on your group size). This shuttle will take you to Nha Trang, where you will take a boat to the resort proper. While it is a peninsula, there is no serviceable road through the national park to take tourists to the property.
All in all, it will take around 90 to 100 minutes to get there, and it does feel like quite a drag. I mean, the boat is lovely, the van is lovely, the lounge is pretty okay, and the landscape is pretty nice on top of that. Still, do consider that most international tourists will then have to take a connecting flight to Ho Chi Minh City and probably another connecting flight to Dubai, LA, Singapore, or whichever hub you are using.
So the full journey there will be long, and it’s best to split it up a bit. I made the mistake of going back directly without interruption, and that probably took 38 hours for me. And even with business class, this became very unbearable at the end. Mind you, that’s no fault of the property. I’m mentioning this so you can plan accordingly.
Summary of my Six Senses Ninh Van Bay review
All in all, what makes this property special is its location. Ninh Van Bay is just outstandingly beautiful, and the resort is so spacious it can probably never feel crowded – even at full occupancy.
Six Senses typically brings a very rustic charm to the table, but it felt less in your face than at some of their other properties. Everything felt very refined despite the quite apparent lack of gold leaf and lacquer.
The food was, all things considered, enjoyable, as was the service. Personally speaking, my biggest letdown was the beach. It looks just so perfect in the pictures, but in reality, it’s rather mediocre simply because it’s so narrow, there are sharp coral reefs 2 meters in, and there’s literally no shade apart from a tiny spot close to the main pool area.
I think what speaks most for the hotel is its current, still rather competitive pricing. A lot of the luxury hotels around the world hiked up their prices astronomically in the past couple of years to a point where it feels like you can either buy a house or spend a week on the beach. Six Senses Ninh Van Bay still offers you a good bang for your buck in a pristine location. Are there flaws? Yes, but I’d definitely consider going again.
