Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An

This peaceful place has beautifully designed villas with great ocean views, private gardens, and heated pools. The service is amazing, the food is top-notch, and the tranquil Heart of the Earth Spa makes for an unforgettable experience. Just a quick drive from the ancient charm of Hoi An, this resort perfectly mixes cultural history with modern style. It’s the ideal spot for anyone who wants a super romantic and relaxing getaway.

The Four Seasons Resort in Hoi An is special. From the moment we arrived, the team made it clear their goal was for us to relax and enjoy every minute. They delivered! The overall feeling is luxurious serenity. We’re grateful we got to spend a week here. Annie from guest relations checked in with us daily. She was warm, welcoming, and treated us like family. On the beach, Namh greeted us each day with a big smile and looked after us. Annie and Namh set the tone for our whole stay. We stayed in a family suite which was perfect and seemed as though it was just renovated. It has two separate bathrooms and two living areas which gave our family plenty of room to spread out. Breakfast was a highlight and a great way to start each day. The buffet has anything you'd want with views over the pools. While these pools are gorgeous, we spent most of our time on the beach. The ocean is warm and the shoreline uncrowded, perfect if you’re looking for space and calm. Also, a huge thank you to the FS for celebrating our son’s birthday! Though we hadn’t mentioned it, the team somehow knew and surprised him with a cake, chocolates, and sparkling tea. He loved it!

OK, so let me start with the tl;dr version: this is arguably the best Four Seasons Resort on the planet, and if you're reading this and do want to visit Hoi An and/or Da Nang, just stop reading here, make your reservation and then come back for some tips. Reservation done? Alright, so let me take you through my experience with this spectacular resort... The Great 1. The Villa: We stayed at a 2 bedroom villa with pool; I am obviously very spoiled and I do particularly love the design and aesthetic of the Four Seasons, but this was one step above anything I've ever experienced before; impeccably designed, built and maintained, from the rooms to the spectacular infinity pool, this puts to shame even other Four Seasons resorts. Sure, the standard in Vietnam is high but I challenge the reader to find a flaw with the accommodations. Of particular praise, given the heat, was the AC in the villas, that was both effective and almost invisible and inaudible, an amazing balance to strike. 2. The Breakfast: given Vietnam's ambition as foodie paradise (an ambition that has undoubtedly been achieved -- I have yet to meet a human that doesn't like Vietnamese food, much less the food in Vietnam), the Four Seasons had a high bar to overcome. It did, and in spades -- if one thought it impossible to come up with an absolutely flawless (included/free) breakfast that will keep any person happy, they have achieved it. Honestly -- Hoi An itself did NOT impress me food wise; but we all know the Four Seasons has high standards in terms of food; after all, it is not uncommon for it to be the highlight of my stay at any of their franchised properties (even in countries with high food standards, like the FS Florence, CDMX or Koh Samui). But words do not even begin to describe the level of the food here; somehow the team here managed to find a way to perfectly execute pretty much anything that can be had as breakfast. Even non-Vietnamese food. I genuinely had the best pancakes (yes, pancakes -- the most Northern European thing you can imagine) of my life here. Chinese food? Excellent. Japanese food? Superb. French Pastries? Fantastic. And then of course Vietnamese staples -- from the Pho to the Ca Phe Sua Da -- were absolutely flawless (I'm a coffee snob and I will be dreaming of their Ca phe Sua Da for months). 3. The Beach: Arguably the piece de resistance of this place, and almost undoubtedly why the Four Seasons picked this particular location, words can't describe how amazing the (arguably private) beach is. There's nothing quite like being able to walk off from your beautiful bedroom at sunrise into a perfect white sand beach, and calm, warm, quiet tropical waters. 4. The Grounds: perfectly maintained, with abundant, beautiful wildlife -- and probably some of the most effective mosquito mitigation that I've ever seen. 5. The Staff: with the exception of the GM, the staff is all Vietnamese and if you know the amazing people in this country that's pretty much all you need to stay; in spite of the insanely hot weather we experienced nothing but smiles and quick responses to anything we asked for. They always remembered who we were, where our villa was, and even remembered our breakfast preferences. Never had to wait too long for a golf cart, which was appreciated especially in the, again, insanely hot weather that did not lend itself to walking or biking to the main building. So, again -- as someone who's been to a lot of different Four Seasons resorts all over the world, including all the ones made famous by White Lotus, this is the best of the best... no doubt. It is with that in mind that I have some constructive feedback / notes for the team there -- because even outstanding can be improved upon: Food for thought 1. Heat mitigation: Unsurprisingly (at least for environmentalists like me), each Summer has been hotter than the last one, and everyone needs to adapt to the new reality of insanely hot days. For better or worse, water is the solution, and I strongly encourage the property team to a) add plenty of water foggers / misters in the outdoor areas, both common and of the villas b) get in the habit of handing guests cold towels all the time c) better stock of the minibars with cold drinks 2. More diverse grounds: the ONE thing about the FS Koh Samui and the FS Costa Rica that I missed here was the beautiful landscaping. No, White Lotus didn't do that FS justice; in both of those resorts I literally took the time to simply walk around and take pictures of the immense variety of plants and flowers. The grounds here are, as I wrote above, very well maintained, but they look a little...boring maybe? Nitpicking here I know but... 3. Rethink the butler role: I always hesitate talking about resort or hotel butlers, because I have an impossible standard; in my early days I held similar positions and I am extremely passionate about these types of roles; I always thought about the role as kinda having the mind-reader responsibility of a bartender or DJ (i.e., a superb butler is able to predict a guest's needs before they express them, much like a really good bartender knows to customize a drink for the taste of the person who orders it, or a really good DJ lets the crowd guide the story they want to tell with music). Our butler was very competent and nice but... I'm not sure if she was trained to be a predictor. She was extraordinarily responsive, helpful and nice, but I always felt that she was either spread too thin or just not empowered to be proactive. Something to think about. (do note that to be completely honest, in relative terms our butler was still the best one I've had in any resort where I was assigned one; I'm really just being nitpicky because I do believe whenever there's room for improvement, it's good to provide constructive criticism) Things you can't change, but guests should think about: 1. Location: to be completely honest, I really really really wish this exact resort was down the coast in Nha Trang, or up in Hue, instead. Hoi An is really not that interesting; sure, it has some important History, but it's become kind of a tourist trap. It kinda lacks the charisma and interest to match the Four Seasons experience... maybe that's the point (never leaving the resort) but... the other FS resorts and hotels I've stayed in, are in very specific locations that have their own charisma and interest... Hoi An does not, I am sorry to say. Nha Trang definitely does and, in a different way, so does Hue. The thing is: not sure if it would be possible to find the right location for this resort in either of those areas... then again maybe the FS can take over the An Lam in Ninh Van Bay and completely redo it... ;-) The Six Senses there needs some competition. That's it folks. Hope this is useful!

A truly remarkable 4 days! We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived and they walked us to our villa. We got upgraded to a villa on the beach with its own private pool and the best butler ever, Nok! From morning to night Nok made sure our stay was impeccable. She wowed us by decorating our room with balloons for my husbands birthday. She hand wrote little notes throughout our stay - such a nice touch. She recommend great restaurants, activities and checked in with a fruit platter or an iced cold coffee from time to time. The property is breathtaking, the food is amazing (the breakfast buffet alone is worth it) and the staffs kindness and hospitality is what made our trip so memorable- talk about everyone literally remembering your name. We even extended our trip an extra night! Musts: omakase with chef Alex, breakfast buffet every morning, pickleball lessons with Coach Dan.

Our four night stay ( family of four) was delightful! The resort property is beautiful, peaceful and meticulously maintained. Our ocean view pool villa was stunning-many thanks again for the unsolicited upgrade! We enjoyed delicious meals featuring both local cuisine and more Western dishes. The staff was attentive, knew our names and full of smiles. Our butler Nok was exceptional! She took great care in meeting our every need and was such a pleasant and sweet young woman. She even texted us upon our return home to see that we arrived safe and sound. WELL DONE Four Seasons!! We look forward to our next Four Seasons experience.