Anantara Hoi An

Rooms

All rooms are delightful and roughly the same layout. We had a Deluxe Garden View Suite and loved it: airy, uncluttered, a little colour to add some style and a very good bathroom. They are accessed from wide verandas that curl round the front and overlook garden or river. Steps lead up to a small open terrace with plaster-cast cushioned sofas built into each side (thus giving every room an outside sitting room). Shuttered French windows act as your front door; step through and find green-tiled floors, ceiling fans, an open-plan feel and a soft colonial air. You walk directly into a sitting area - bamboo chairs in Deluxe Rooms, sofas in Deluxe Suites.

Beyond, more steps lead up to your bedroom, which is rather nicely separated from the sitting area by balustrading. Low-slung beds come coated in crisp white linen; silky throws and wall hangings add the colour. You get all the usual extras: WiFi, TVs, air conditioning, minibars and bathrobes; there’s a turndown service too. Excellent bathrooms come with deluge showers, delicious potions and big white towels wrapped up in bamboo baskets. Some Deluxe Garden View Suites have sunken baths, too.

Deluxe Balcony Rooms (Garden View), positioned on the upper floors feature generous private balconies.Deluxe Garden View Suites are not that much bigger than the Deluxe Rooms; the main difference is a slightly bigger sitting area, but the Deluxe and Premium River View Suites are lovely and worth splashing out for.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Fan
• Hairdryer
• Minibar
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

A grand staircase sweeps you up to the first-floor Lanterns restaurant that comes in colonial-style, with covered balconies giving views of river and gardens. Ceiling fans hang from exposed timber-frames and bamboo blinds drop to defeat the glare of the sun or monsoon rains when needed. Both breakfast and dinner are served here.

The buffet breakfast is a notch above most, with very good patisserie and some of the best coffee in Vietnam. There are jugs of freshly-squeezed orange juice, plates of freshly-cut fruit, a proper continental array of cold meats and cheeses, crispy bacon and that Vietnamese favourite - an egg station where the chef will cook up an omelette just as you want it. For dinner, you get traditional Vietnamese and Asian food alongside grilled steak and seafood.

Light bites, small lunches and drinks are served in the Riverside Café, Reflections and Heritage Bar, all scattered throughout the gardens or by the pool and river. Choose from delightful Viennese-style patisserie, afternoon teas, Vietnamese tapas and baguettes or more European fair (pizzas and burgers). The bars and cafe all have river views and spacious terraces.

Hoi An - a short stroll away - has a number of popular old-town restaurants, cafes and bars, where you eat, drink and make merry in attractive courtyards or on river terraces. Mick Jagger once stopped for a bite at Mango Rooms, where excellent food has won itself a big reputation. The Hai Scout Café offers good Vietnamese food (if you’re impressed, return for cookery classes that start at the market, return to the kitchen and finish in the dining room); the restaurant supports the WWF. If you want to eat by the river drop into Restaurant 96, where the food is as good as the view. Tam Tam Café is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, a French colonial house with a very pretty courtyard; the menu swings both ways, there’s a 1st-floor pool table and the bar serves a mean cocktail, making it one of the most popular spots in town day and night. Café des Amis offers an owner-cooked, no-choice, 5-course dinner that is extremely popular. Good Morning Vietnam is Italian-owned and cooked, so come here for a crispy pizza. Finally, try Brother’s Café for a little style and a garden overlooking the river.

Features include:

• Bar
• Breakfast
• Café
• Restaurant
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• The hotel offers something interesting to do every day: free Vietnamese lessons for beginners; quiz nights; yoga classes; how to make the perfect cocktail etc
  
  
• Bliss out in the hotel's spa which has a range of wonderful treatments: try a lemongrass Cham steam bath or a 6-hand massage!
  
  
• Wander the very pretty old-town streets of Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You’ll find Chinese temples, a Japanese bridge, grand French colonial houses and traditional Vietnamese homes. There’s a market, too, and lots of lovely cafés
  
  
• Catch a taxi boat through the river streets and discover yet more handicraft shops selling woodwork and silk products (the traditional Vietnamese lanterns are gorgeous)
  
  
• Get some clothes made: Hoi An is a hot-spot for tailoring, and the prices are rock-bottom. Bring a suit and ask them to copy it or flick through the piles of design books for inspiration. They'll whip you up incredible imitations of YSL, Prada and Gucci for a fraction of the price
  
  
• Don’t miss the much-ignored Museum of the Revolution. It’s above the rather dull Hoi An Cultural Museum and is full of fascinating propaganda art
  
  
• Catch a tuk-tuk to My Son (45km), another World Heritage site. This religious sanctuary was the capital of the Champa Kingdom, which flourished between the 4th and 13th centuries. A spectacular setting in a lush valley adds to the drama. My Son is one of the most important cultural legacies of Vietnam’s past
  

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Boat trips
• Cooking classes
• Cycling
• Museums / galleries
• Shopping / markets

Kids

Anantara Hoi An is child-friendly and there are lots of classes for older children and teenagers to participate in, plus there is a children's pool. Under 12s stay for free in their parents’ bed or in an extra bed for a small supplement.

Best for:

Children (4-12 years), Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

All rooms and suites can sleep 2 adults, a child and a baby.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Anantara Hoi An is situated on the banks of the Thu Bon River in central Hoi An. It's 30km from Da Nang and 624km south of Hue on the east coast of Vietnam.

By Air:
Da Nang (30km). Daily flights from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Ban Me Thout, Pleiku and Quy Nhon to Da Nang City. Regular international flights are available from Singapore and Siem Reap to Da Nang.

Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi are served by regular flights from several international airlines. Please click on the links below for further information. From these airports you can either transfer onto an internal flight or travel overland if you're planning a longer trip.

From the Airport
We'd recommend arranging a transfer with the hotel - see Rates for more details. The journey will take around 40 minutes. Taxis operate from the airport, but they are not as safe, much gets lost in translation and suddenly the fee has doubled.

By Rail:
The Reunification Express runs along the coast and offers services from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, stopping in Da Nang. There is also a scenic rail travel journey that runs several times a day from Hue to Da Nang. See Seat 61 for more details. All north and south bound trips connect to Da Nang City.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.

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