Vietnam: Resorts as retreats

As Jayna Chester neared her 50th birthday, the dawn-to-dusk chores on her farm in Australia were taking a toll. Meanwhile, her husband’s job in finance had fired up a head of steam that wanted release. They knew that they needed a retreat as much as a holiday. Relaxation, not sight-seeing or cultural immersion or soft-adventure sports, was the over-riding prerequisite.

So she and her husband, and their three grown children to boot, checked into the Life Wellness Resort Quy Nhon, signing up for the “De-stress Programme”, which consists of five days of spa treatments, meditation, yoga and other exercises, and a special spa diet. In between all the hard work of relaxation, they felt like adventurers, way out here in Quy Nhon – a backwater tourist destination if ever there was one.

“No one’s heard of Quy Nhon,” Chester said. “It’s out-of-the-way, and feels like you’re really in Vietnam, not just at a huge hotel chain.”

Demand for luxury travel, both in and outside Vietnam, shows no signs of slowing. But a new group of high-end travellers is emerging that seeks more from a holiday than just indulgence. A holiday must yield something besides two weeks of manicures and room service; travellers now want something to take home that lasts longer than a tan. Meditation, exercise, healthy diets, natural settings – all these things are part and parcel of a new class of leisure travel designed to meet spiritual as well as physical needs. “Wellness”, as it is termed in the hospitality industry, has become big business, and resorts are exerting themselves to meet the challenge.

Over the last decade or so, Vietnam has become a more and more attractive destination for travellers. Its growing tourism industry and recent entry into the WTO have generated ever-increasing numbers of tourists (growing an average 20% per year over the past 15 years, according to the Asia Times). Although Vietnam, unlike many of its neighbours, has no real history as a place to come for healing, a large portion of these visitors are seeking some kind of retreat.

Michelle Ford, General Manager of the Life Wellness Resort Quy Nhon, a 63-room boutique resort and spa focused on wellness, thinks this change is due to the fact that “people want more than just pampering holidays now. They realise that they’re not treating their bodies as well as they should.”

The Life Resort splices the amenities of a high-end hotel with a retreat’s mission of health and mindfulness, offering five-day all-inclusive programmes for energising, de-stressing, and detoxing. Increasingly, instead of room service and poolside cocktails, this is what people who visit the resort are looking for

In a country that hasn’t been done before, Quy Nhon itself is a destination that hasn’t been done. Off the beaten track and isolated from other tourist attractions, midway between Nha Trang and Danang, the Life Resort trades on its remoteness as the ideal location for a holiday of rest and peace.

“It’s not well known, and it’s away from everything else,” said Jodi Downes, thinking of mountains that aren’t popping on many radar screens and a beachscape more familiar with basket boats than bathing towels. “It’s different from all the other locations that most people use for retreats.”

The Life Resort splices the amenities of a high-end hotel with a retreat’s mission of health and mindfulness, offering five-day all-inclusive programmes for energising, de-stressing, and detoxing. Increasingly, instead of room service and poolside cocktails, this is what people who visit the resort are looking for. Downes is a case in point. She’s booked the resort for a “Soul Sisters Sanctuary” retreat next spring.

Likewise, Eric Dowsett, who helps people to makes changes in their lives through “energy work”. He’s booked the Life Resort for 28 days in July-August 2007 for a “Turn Your Life Around” retreat. “I was looking for a country that was safe, accessible, exciting, and different, one that was not overrun with tourists, and a little off the beaten track,” Dowsett said.

The Life Resort Quy Nhon satisfied his geographical priorities without sacrificing his desire for a 4-star hotel with extensive spa services. Furthermore, Dowsett was keen on a resort that would hold out off-season rates, offer good value, good food, spacious rooms, proximity to beach and mountains, an attractive, safe location, a conference room, lots of space and the possibility of taking over an entire resort.

In the Life Resort, he got what he wanted. Over 28 days, his group will endeavour to make fundamental life changes at the same time as they enjoy the peacefulness and splendour of their surroundings. Facilities like the open-air spa, surrounded by trees and overlooking the sea, should help.

Gilles Poggi, General Manager of the luxurious Princess d’Annam Resort and Spa in Phan Thiet (opening in summer 2007), agrees: “Vietnam offers the satisfaction of curiosity. It has a mystique that few countries can match; there has for a long time been an exclamation point attached to the name of the place. People want to know what’s beyond the exclamation point. The same is no longer true of Thailand, or even Bali. It’s Vietnam’s turn.”

Thuy Poggi, Deputy Manager of the Princess d’ Annam and Gilles’ wife, confirms the importance of a natural setting: “Luxury spans beyond the opulence of marble bathrooms, four-poster beds and exotic plunge pools, all standard in today’s five-star resorts. The discerning traveler values the exclusivity of private beaches and quiet, secluded places that bring him closer to nature.” She adds that Vietnam, “still graced with unspoiled nature and a rich cultural heritage, is the ideal venue for this new kind of retreat.”

By Nell McShane Wulfhart