Great Facility by the beach in Central Vietnam

We spent 5 great days relaxing by the pool, working out in the gym, pampering by in the SPA and enjoying the wonderful local food in the town of HOI AN. Great Hotel, not exactly 5 Stars but wonderful none the less.

Overall, a wonderful resort

Our family -- 4 adults -- spent 1 week at this resort just after Christmas, and including New Year's. Overall, it was a very good experience.

As previously stated, the hotel grounds are *beautiful.* They are very well manicured and tended-to. The pool area is lovely also. It is a large pool with several different areas. And the beach is marvellous. Overall, the beauty of this property is that it is so well laid-out that even when they are at capacity (as they were over the holidays), you do not get the sense that it is really that busy. It's wonderful.

Food in all of the restaurants was great, including room service. Very fresh, especially at Colibri's, which does up great Italian fare (and I'm Italian, so I'm rather critical!). Breakfast was lovely, also, with lots of choices.

Our only complaint was the service. The staff were trying *very* hard to help, but it is clear that they at times simply don't know what to do. However, I see this as an issue of tourism in Vietnam in general, and not specific to this resort (I live in Vietnam, so I get a lot of this!). Hospitality staff in this country are not properly trained, and so do not know how to respond to "unusual" requests. I mean, there was nothing *major* to complain about, just minor irritations ... they are so eager to please, for example, that they will serve you your omelette before it is actually cooked, just because you are standing there waiting. Several times I witnessed guests asking for food to be put back on the pan / grill / oven because it wasn't *quite* cooked enough or warm enough. Another example was when I asked if I could borrow some scissors at the front desk, and they looked at me like I had just sprouted an extra head. Eventually I got the scissors, but it was out of their normal realm, and so it caused a bit of a disturbance.

The internet - specifically the Wi-Fi - was not working when we were there, and that was a fairly major issue for me and my father, who rely on the internet probably too much. I'm not sure how much of this had to do with the hotel, and how much had to do with the earthquake in Taiwan... English / Vietnamese communication started to break down after a couple of questions and so I'm sure I'll neve know.

The staff worked *very* very hard to put together the New Year's Eve Gala dinner and reception, and it was a wonderfully well-organized event. Much fun was had by all, even if the entertainment was a bit unusual... I have to add that I really, really did not like the Philipino band who "lives" at the resort and plays 6 nights a week. I probably would have spent more time in the lounge/bar if they had *not* been playing.

However, overall it's a great resort, and I would probably stay there again, but maybe not for a week. After 4 days, the "minor" service irritations start to become so frequent that they are more major. But in another 5 years or so, when Vietnam's tourism industry has more trained staff, I'm sure this resort will flourish.

Incidentally, on the last day of our stay, we were able to meet the General Manager. He is a lovely Philipino- Canadian gentleman who lives permanently in Vancouver, but travels to VN for 5 months out of the year to manage the property.

Wonderfull !!!!!!

We had toured Vietnam in 2005 travelling from Hanoi to Saigon we stayed only one night in Hoi An and we decided to stay ten nights this year only in Hoi An.

The Palm Garden has just been upgraded by the Vietnamese tourist board to a 5 star resort.

From the moment we arrived the service was absolute first class, nothing was to much trouble, at check in we were shown to our room which overlooked the sea, the room was very comfortable and contained a king size bed the bathroom had a walk in shower but no actual bath which might dissapoint some people, the all important air con was superb, room and maid service was excellent.

Food

Breakfast was an absolute delight with a huge range to choose from as for the evening meals we only ate twice in the hotel at night this was due to a large APEC meeting being held there this was a blessing in disguise as we sampled the local quisine in Hoi An, although when we did eat in the hotel the service and food were faultless

The staff in all the bars and restaurants were always on hand to assist with your every need especially those down at the Colibri bar, they were a great bunch.

Going back to eating out in Hoi An a special mention must go to a small place called Treats Bar, you could easily walk past it but the food and once again the service is superb it is situated on Tran Phu St. basically if you stand with your back to the famous Japanese brindge it is the street straight in front of you walk up this street and the bar is on the right hand side with a large board on the wall Treats Bar Same Same But Different directly opposite are two small jewelers shops.

Back to the hotel as for the pool it is huge the gardens are constantly being maintained, their is a small mini mart on site for essentials.

The beach is clean and safe and there are plenty of watersports on offer if you are that way inclined.

Whilst at the hotel we became quite friendly with the general manager Mr. Jose Arcilla who always had time for a chat and if there was the slightest problem he would reslove it (but there weren't any)

We had previously e-mailed the hotel and inquired if there were any trips to Mi-Lai the scene of a dreadful massacre of innocnet Vietnamese carried out by the Americans in the war.

We were informed upon our arrival that no regular trips were available to go there but we could hire an English speaking driver / guide employed by the hotel for $10 an hour.

The vehicle was a Ford 4x4 superb in comfort the trip to Mi-Lai was about two and a quarter hours, we never saw another caucasian after leaving Hoi An (proper Vietnam), the site of the village now houses a museum which contains a large marble plaque deatilg the names and ages of all 504 villagers that were murdered.

There is also a selection of large photgraphs taken by the U.S. forces on the day the massacre took place, I defy ANYONE to walk through this small buliding and not be emotionally affected both my wife and I were both in tears at some of the pictures that had been taken.

Outside the village has been "restored" in parts to show were the families lived and how many died in each household.

We were the only people there that guide who could not stay in the musuem because he was so upset at the pictures and models of what had happened, told us that no English people ever come to see Mi-Lai, we felt that as being as we were so close to it we had to visit it, a truly unforgetable and emotional day that we remain in our minds for the rest of our lives.

The total cost for the trip including taxes was $69 and worth every penny.

We hope that everyone ignores what we have written about our stay and decides not to go to Hoi An and the Palm Garden Resort as we want Hoi An to stay as charming as it is and for the fantastically friendly people of Hoi An to remain our secret.

Beautiful location

We had a beachview room - an upper room in one of the four-room two-storey dwellings. The room was huge with a high ceiling and reasonably-sized balcony overlooking the beach. The bathroom was very large but had no bath - although the shower was very good and as you would expect, it was well equipped with smellies etc.

The location is beautiful - the pool is a good size and the Jacuzzi was lovely to relax in. The resort is right at the beach with towels, hammocks, sun loungers etc provided. The beach was beautiful and quiet with lovely clean white sand. There are also pool tables and table-tennis table on the grounds in a shaded area.

We ate outdoors at the restaurant by the pool which specialised in Italian food and was very reasonably priced and good - in fact we went back a second night.

It is of course called Palm Garden for a reason - there are beautiful lush green gardens, fountains etc in the resort. But with that comes insects, gecko lizards and the odd frog! It's not a huge problem but I would advise using insect repellent. We had a baby lizard in the room and I noticed the people in the room beside us had a towel permanently at the door (there was a gap between the bottom of the door and the ground) so I suspect they may also have had a similar problem. But cleanliness was generally excellent - a member of staff called one day to check that we were happy with the cleaning (I am not sure if this is standard practice or if they were just doing a random check) - when we said there was one thing we were not so happy with, a cleaner was there within 5 minutes and the problem was sorted.

There is also a complimentary shuttle to take you into Hoi An town itself. It is not a continuous service (timetables available at reception) but for a small charge per person, you can ask for it to leave you in at a time outside the scheduled bus service. Most people, ourselves included, tended to use a taxi one way and the complimentary shuttle the other.

All in all, a beautiful resort - not too big and beautifully located at the beach.

Großartige Anlage

Wir haben fünf Tage in dieser reizenden Anlage verbracht und ich habe nicht eine einzige Beschwerde. Das große Zimmer mit Meeresblick war großartig und es hatte einen schönen Balkon mit Blick auf den Strand und den Ozean. Das Personal war äußerst freundlich und immer hilfsbereit. Das Essen war sehr gut und für eine Ferienanlage ziemlich preiswert ($6 für eine große Pizza mit Meeresfrüchten, $7 für den gegrillten Wolfsbarsch). Zusätzlich zum reizenden Strand gab es auch noch einen reizenden großen Pool. Tolles Wellness-Center. Bei meinem letzten Aufenthalt in Hoi An war ich im Hoi An Riverside, auch sehr schön aber das Palm Gardens ist sehr viel besser. Zwischen dem Hotel und Hoi An verkehrt zu den ausgeschlagenen Zeiten ein Shuttlebus. Wenn Sie zu einer nicht angeschlagenen Zeit dort hin wollen, dann kostet das $2 pro Person. Ein Taxi von Hoi An bis zum Flughafen kostete $3. Wir kommen hier auf jeden Fall wieder hin.

Eine großartige Erfahrung

Waren zu unserem Hochzeitstag in Vietnam und haben die letzten vier Tage im reizenden Palm Garden Resort auf Cua Dai Beach verbracht, nur 5 km von der kleinen historischen Stadt Hoi An (Feifo) entfernt. Die Anlage verteilt sich wunderbar über einen grünen Palmengarten direkt hinter dem Strand und es gibt alle nur möglichen Annehmlichkeiten, einschl. eines großen und wunderschönen Swimmingpools. Wir waren mit unserem Zimmer mehr als zufrieden, obwohl es das zweitgünstigste Angebot war. Das Personal war außergewöhnlich hilfsbereit und freundlich, machten das streckenweise sehr schlechte Englisch mehr als wett. Der kostenlose Shuttlebus in die Innenstadt von Hoi An ist sehr komfortabel und verläßlich, obwohl der ruhig öfter fahren könnte. Es ist schwierig, hier am Hotel etwas aussetzen zu wollen, wir hatten einen unvergesslichen Aufenthalt. Die Ruhe und der Frieden dieses Ortes und die hohe Qualität des Service macht dies zu einem der besten Aufenthaltsorte der Welt.

A great experience

While on a wedding anniversary trip to Viet Nam we spent the last four nights in the delightful Palm Garden Resort on Cua Dai Beach, just 5 kms from the historic small town of Hoi An (Faifo). The resort is beautifully laid out in a green, landscaped palm garden just behind the beach and has every conceivable amenity, including a vast and beautiful pool. We were more than satisfied with our room, even though it was the second least expensive on offer. Staff were exceedingly helpful and friendly, more than making up for their occasionally poor English. The complimentary shuttle bus service to downtown Hoi An is comfortable and reliable, though it might be a trifle more frequent. It is hard to find fault with this delightful place, however, where we had an unforgettable stay. The peace and calm of its location and high level of service make this one of the best places to stay in the world.

Great resort

We spent 5 nights at this lovely resort and I cant think of a single complaint. The large sea view room was great with a nice balcony view of the beach and ocean. The staff was extremely friendly and always helpful. The food was very good, and reasonably priced for a resort (ex., $6 for seafood pizza; $7 for grilled sea bass). In addition to the nice beach, there's also a very large, lovely pool. Great spa. Last time I was in Hoi An I stayed at the Hoi An Riverside, which is nice, but the Palm Gardens is much better. There is a free shuttle between Hoi An and the hotel with posted times. If you want to go at a non-posted time its $2 per person. A taxi from Hoi An to the resort was $3. We'll definitely stay there again.

Wonderful beach resort with lovely full service spa

We stayed at the Palm Garden for two nights and it was a lovely experience, beginning with the open air reception lounge, beautiful landscaping, spacious modern rooms with teak trim, large bathrooms,ocean view balconies. A very peaceful environment.

On our first day we made spa appointments - massages and facials - which were done by a well trained staff. This felt great as we had just spent the past four days biking in the Mekong Delta.

Service was excellent and friendly. Although the hotel is a few kilometers outside of town, it's only about a 5-10 minute drive and the hotel offers frequent shuttles.

Palm Garden a great experience

My partner and I stayed 3 nights at this top quality hotel and found it hard to find fault. It lacked some atmosphere as it was not long opened and there were not many guests but the attentive staff made up for it and couldn't have been more accommodating and friendly.

The rooms, chalets, villas are sensitively laid out in the expansive grounds and our room (deluxe sea view) was well laid out and sensibly stocked with all the usual bathroom necessities plus extras such as a safe, umberellas, flipflops.

The swimming pool was beautiful, next to the beach bar/restaurant and the attendant. Some of the step changes in the pool where difficult to see - attention required. At night the trees, pool and grounds are subtely lit.

The beautiful sandy beach was well maintained and had guards/staff on duty to anticipate your needs e.g brought us beach towels when they saw we hadn't any and advised us on the safety aspect of swimming in the sea when it was too choppy.

Breakfast comprised of good quality and wholesome ingredients and as we found with their other bars and restaurant, the service was excellent.

The complimentary shuttle service was punctual, comfortable and safe (seatbelts for all).

Would definatley recommend this place to our friends and colleagues in Ho Chi Minh City, or anyone in fact, who wants a quiet, pampered break in a top quality beach front hotel and the flexibility to visit the very interesting but busy, hectic town of Hoi An.