On a quieter section of Vietnam’s Phú Quốc island, a stay at Bamboo is like going back in time. This hotel on blissful Vung Bau Bay is a locally run hideaway with eco-friendly credentials: it was the first off-grid, solar-powered accommodation in the country. Today, it lures guests with homestyle Vietnamese cooking.
When you’re not snacking on dishes like aromatic clay pot aubergine and moist snapper steamed in a banana leaf, you can slice through the sea in a free kayak to Fingernail Island or take part in one of the complimentary daily beach yoga lessons. In June and July, you can even sweat it out in the tropical heat with on-site CrossFit classes.
In your simple but stylish room, sleep cocooned in nature in your four-poster bed made of bamboo. If you’re the sing-in-the-shower type, you’ll get a background chorus of birdsong in your open-air shower, or you can opt for a soak in a hand-poured concrete tub.
Book a room with sea views so your morning wake-up call will be the ocean gently lapping against the sand. Then over a healthy, organic breakfast, choose your day’s itinerary – a Swedish or Vietnamese massage on the beach? Or a diving trip organised by the hotel?