Culture or Nature? At Vietnam's Banyan Tree Lăng Cô, You Can Have Both

Stay Here For

A getaway immersed in Vietnam’s wild, natural beauty—while just a day trip away from the postcard sights of Hội An and Huế.

With a shoreline hemming its entire eastern side, Vietnam has no shortage of pretty stretches of sand. But Banyan Tree Lăng Cô, draped over a rugged bay on the central coast, proves that not all beaches are created equal. The resort is home to one of the region’s dreamiest: almost two miles of caramel-colored sand peppered with seashells, largely undeveloped and dramatically framed by mountains dripping into the jungle. Add a glittering pool, a sprawling spa and a handful of restaurants, and guests have little reason to leave. And the villas? With private pools and lots of outdoor space, those are pretty plush, too.

Getting here is half the fun. Once you’ve emerged from the Hải Vân Tunnel (at 3.9 miles, it’s one of Southeast Asia’s longest) and left Đà Nẵng’s skyscrapers behind, rural Lăng Cô unfurls as a picturesque patchwork of rice fields and lagoons dotted with floating oyster farms. You’ll have to dodge water buffalo crossing the road, and you will spot farmers wearing conical nón lá hats tending to their crops. By the time you arrive at the resort’s entrance, half-hidden on a 700-acre estate, you’ll feel as if you’ve landed in Jurassic times.

Before Banyan Tree opened in 2013 (as part of a leisure complex that includes residential villas, a golf course and a second resort), only a small village occupied this bay. There were no roads leading to it, and most residents made their living in fishing. Since then, the villagers have relocated to communities nearby, and many of them now work at the resort. Ask your waiter, housekeeper or the bellhop driving you around in a golf cart buggy for their local intel, and you’ll sense their genuine connection to the area.

The resort itself feels similarly rooted in its surroundings. The central pavilion, which houses the lobby, a Vietnamese restaurant and a boutique stocked with gorgeous crafts from around the country, pays homage to the Imperial City of Huế with lotus pond courtyards, clay-tiled roofs and dragons dancing over the timeworn pagoda bells in every corner. Colorful lanterns dangling from the poolside plumeria trees and a replica of the Chùa Cầu temple bridge leading to the beachfront villas hint heavily at Hội An. These ancient towns are about one and two hours away in either direction, making the resort an ideal base for day trips.

That said, staying in is just as tempting. Whichever villa you book, you’ll have a private pool and spectacular views of the surrounding landscape. There’s that beauty of a beach, of course, and you’ll have a hard time tearing the kids away from the floaty toys in the communal pool. Restaurants range from Vietnamese and Thai to Italian, and if you’ve got something to celebrate, the team goes all out with private dining setups in a canal-side pagoda or a torchlit table on the beach.

Thanks to Banyan Tree’s commitment to keeping its surroundings as pristine as possible, you don’t even have to leave the grounds for a nature fix: A three-hour hiking trail snakes up the resort’s hilly spine, and a resident expert is on call to organize bird-watching trips around the lush gardens, where more than a dozen jewel-toned bird species have found a home. Here, you can be as wild or as tame as you want.

The Essentials

The Location

Apart from Lăng Cô’s stunning landscape, there’s little else to see within a short drive from the resort gates, which sit about five miles away from the main road. The drive to Đà Nẵng city will take about an hour; factor in about two hours for the drive to Hội An (a free shuttle bus leaves the lobby twice a day, depending on the season) and a little more than an hour if you plan to visit the ancient pagodas of Huế.

The Room

The resort has villas only, and picking one is no easy feat. They’re roughly divided into three categories, and even the entry-level ones perched around the lagoon open, like all others, to a private pool (the lagoon fills up with lotus flowers from May to September). If you’re planning to spend a lot of time on the beach, the Beach Pool Villas, with their tropical garden and sala pavilion covered in pillows, are just the ticket; just make sure you snag one at the very end of the U-shaped row if you want the lapping waves to lull you to sleep at night (the others are set slightly farther from the shore). For ocean views, you’ll want to book one of the villas sprinkled over the rocky cape that juts out from the resort’s northern end, some of which come with three bedrooms and a heated pool.

Design-wise, the beach and lagoon villas are roughly similar, with polished wood floors, high-pitched roofs and a wall-spanning painting of a lotus flower as the bedroom’s centerpiece. Cushions with northern Vietnamese embroidery add a pop of color to the otherwise beige palettes, while wicker lampshades and wood latticework further establish the local touch.

The Bars and Restaurants

With three restaurants and a handful of special dining options to choose from, Banyan Tree keeps mealtimes interesting throughout your stay. Days start at Water Court, with a breakfast buffet packed with Vietnamese staples such as steamed bánh cuốn rice rolls, phở and Saigon-style iced coffee (shaken and less sweet than the regular Vietnamese cà phê sữa đá, though that is available as well). During lunch and dinner, Water Court serves up sharing-style set menus and hot pots with local catfish, squid and blue crab. For a different Asian flavor, hit up Saffron, which specializes in Thai curries, smoky stir-fries and som tum salads (leave room for the mango sticky rice). Or,switch to Mediterranean fare at beachfront Azura, where you’ll want to order a second helping of the truffle-dusted Parmesan fries. Need more variety? Banyan Tree’s sister resort, Angsana Lăng Cô, puts a Japanese spot, a Southeast Asian dining room and a breezy, global-minded beachfront restaurant just a short stroll away.

The Standout Feature

For something special, have tea service delivered to your villa.

The Complimentary In-Villa Viet Tea Culture Experience is delivered daily to your villa on a bamboo shoulder yoke by a staff member dressed in a traditional áo dài and conical hat. Snacks include steamed bánh bèo rice cakes with sweet chili sauce and mung bean cakes that melt in your mouth. It’s disarmingly simple, but just one of the many thoughtful touches that give the resort a strong sense of place.

The Time to Go

Central Vietnam’s dry season lasts from around February to August, though temperatures toward the end of the season can reach a rather uncomfortable 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Monsoon rains appear from September to January, though you’ll often experience plenty of sunny moments in between. Do note that the water is too rough for swimming in autumn and winter, but with a pool just steps away, that’s hardly an issue.

The Vibe

The golf course, part of the resort complex, comes with a dramatic backdrop. (Photo courtesy of Banyan Tree Lăng Cô.)

The highly specific reason you’d come here: You’re an avid golfer on a quest to swing some balls around the world’s prettiest putting greens. The resort complex’s 18-hole golf course, wedged between rice fields, jungled mountains and the beach, is a real stunner.

Do it for the kids: You have access to all the facilities of Banyan Tree’s sister resort, Angsana, just next door (which is home to one of Central Vietnam’s largest swimming pools). A golf cart buggy brings you there in a few minutes, but the slower shuttle boat over the canal that snakes through both resorts’ grounds is, of course, much more exciting.

The secret spot to roll out your towel: Pack your bag with some towels, water and a good book and trek to the very end of the beach, where you’ll find a mirror-flat lagoon and a jumble of mammoth-sized boulders that look like a scene plucked straight out of the Seychelles.

The one thing you’d change: If you could Photoshop real life, you’d want to airbrush out the giant cargo ships anchored around the industrial port on the horizon. It’s the only blemish on this otherwise picture-perfect landscape.

The glittering main pool is another gorgeous space to while away the day. (Photo courtesy of Banyan Tree Lăng Cô.)

Everything Else

• Number of rooms: 89
• Number of pools: 1
• Fitness center? Yes
• Spa? Yes
• Salon? No
• Number of bars/restaurants: 1 bar, 3 restaurants
• 24-hour room service? Yes
• Childcare and kids club? Yes