November 2026 was my seventh trip to Vietnam, and it changed how I would plan a trip here. The best luxury hotels in Vietnam are no longer only the famous beach names. This time my favorite stays included a tented wellness lodge beside a national park full of caves and a 20-cabin wellness cruise in Ha Long Bay.
This guide runs from north to south with one angle: luxury, wellness and adventure. It covers 19 hotels and resorts plus one cruise, from a mountain lodge in Sapa to an island resort off the southern coast. Whether you are looking for the best hotels in Vietnam for a first trip, the best resorts in Vietnam for a week by the sea, or dependable 5-star hotels in Vietnam’s cities, this is how I would choose.
Why Trust This Guide
I have been to Vietnam seven times. My latest trip, in November 2026, was 11 nights from Ha Long Bay down to Hoi An. I have slept in six of the hotels on this list, one of them three times, and each of those has a full review on This Is Luxury Travel, linked from its section. Where I say “I stayed”, I slept there and I am describing what I experienced. There is a seventh, the Metropole in Hanoi, which I stayed in about 15 years ago and never wrote about; I say so in its section rather than counting it as a review.
The rest are here on reputation, and I say so inside each section rather than in the headings. I checked that every one was open and operating in November 2026, I read live rates for all but one of them myself, and I only mention an award where I could confirm it at the source. For awards I use the Michelin Guide’s 2026 Key selection, Vietnam’s second, published in September 2026, which lists 21 hotels in the country.
My Quick Picks
- Best beach resort: Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An. Three stays, a week each.
- Best island escape: Six Senses Con Dao, for four or five days at the end of a trip.
- Best wellness retreat: Namia River Retreat, Hoi An, where every villa has a private pool and 90 minutes of spa a day is included.
- Best for adventure: Auko Eco-Wellness Lodges, Phong Nha, 30 minutes from the best cave I have ever seen.
- Best city and heritage hotel: Azerai La Residence, Hue, on the Perfume River.
- Best cruise: Bhaya Soul, a 20-cabin wellness cruise in Ha Long Bay.
- Best value five-star: The Reverie Saigon, from about $326 a night for a hotel this extravagant.
The Best Luxury Hotels in Vietnam at a Glance
| Hotel | Region | Best for | From (per night) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hôtel de la Coupole – MGallery | Sapa (north) | Mountains in comfort | About $142 |
| Capella Hanoi | Hanoi (north) | Design, small scale | About $768 |
| Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi | Hanoi (north) | History | About $442 |
| Fairmont Hanoi | Hanoi (north) | New build, big spa | About $437 |
| Bhaya Soul | Ha Long Bay (north) | Wellness cruise | From $388 (1 night) |
| Auko Eco-Wellness Lodges | Phong Nha (central) | Wellness and caves | About $166, all-inclusive |
| Azerai La Residence | Hue (central) | Culture and heritage | About $250 with breakfast |
| Banyan Tree Lang Co | Lang Co (central) | Secluded pool villas | About $360 |
| InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort | Da Nang (central) | Showpiece resort, fine dining | About $775 |
| TIA Wellness Resort | Da Nang (central) | Spa-inclusive pool villas | About $504 |
| Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai | Hoi An (central) | Beach holiday | About $1,060 (villa) |
| Namia River Retreat | Hoi An (central) | Wellness near the old town | About $545 (villa) |
| Zannier Bai San Ho | Song Cau (south-central) | Remote beach | About $488 |
| Six Senses Ninh Van Bay | Ninh Van Bay (south-central) | Boat-access hideaway | About $937 |
| Amanoi | Vinh Hy Bay (south-central) | Top-end seclusion | About $1,974 |
| Park Hyatt Saigon | Ho Chi Minh City (south) | City stopover | About $342 |
| The Reverie Saigon | Ho Chi Minh City (south) | Maximalist value | About $326 |
| Regent Phu Quoc | Phu Quoc (south) | Big-island beach resort | About $495 |
| JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay | Phu Quoc (south) | Design spectacle | About $472 |
| Six Senses Con Dao | Con Dao (south) | Island escape | About $1,086 (villa) |
Rates are the lowest Booking.com showed me for two adults in the entry room type, taxes and fees included, checked on 13 November 2026 for two sample nights: Tuesday 8 December 2026 and Tuesday 9 March 2027. Bhaya Soul is the lowest departure price on Liveaboard.com for its two-day, one-night itinerary. Treat them all as a starting point, not a quote.
The Same Room, Three Booking Sites: How Much You Can Save
This is the part most hotel round-ups skip, and it is worth more to you than any ranking. The same room, on the same night, does not cost the same on every booking site. So before writing this guide I priced every hotel on all three of the sites I link to below, for the same night: Tuesday 9 March 2027, two adults, the cheapest available room, totals with taxes and fees included.
| Hotel | Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hôtel de la Coupole, Sapa | $170 | $152 | $165 | $18 (11%) |
| Sofitel Legend Metropole, Hanoi | $523 | $483 | $526 | $43 (8%) |
| Capella Hanoi | $957 | $956 | $934 | $23 (2%) |
| Banyan Tree Lang Co | $454 | $424 | $493 | $69 (14%) |
| InterContinental Danang | $775 | $730 | $780 | $50 (6%) |
| Six Senses Ninh Van Bay | $1,399 | $1,093 | $1,366 | $306 (22%) |
| Six Senses Con Dao | $1,086 | $943 | $1,084 | $143 (13%) |
| Park Hyatt Saigon | $434 | $423 | $424 | $11 (3%) |
| The Reverie Saigon | $335 | $335 | $327 | $8 (2%) |
Checked on 13 November 2026 for Tuesday 9 March 2027, two adults, one room, lowest available rate including taxes and fees. The cheapest site for each hotel is in bold, and “you save” is the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive site.
Three things stand out, and all three cost real money.
The gaps are biggest at the top end. At Six Senses Ninh Van Bay the same villa was $1,093 on one site and $1,399 on another: $306 for a single night, which is more than a night at the Metropole. Six Senses Con Dao was $143 apart, Banyan Tree Lang Co $69. The cheaper the hotel, the smaller the gap, so if you are booking a $170 room in Sapa it is barely worth the two minutes. If you are booking a $1,400 villa, it very much is.
No site wins every time. On this particular night Trip.com was cheapest at seven of the nine hotels, Expedia at two, and Booking.com at none, which surprised me. Change the dates and that order moves around, because each site negotiates its own allocation with each property. That is exactly why I put all three links under every hotel in this guide instead of picking one.
It adds up fast over a real trip. Take the itinerary I recommend further down. Three nights at Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, four at Six Senses Con Dao, two at the InterContinental Danang and two at the Metropole, all booked on the cheapest of the three sites rather than the dearest, comes to about $1,676 saved on four hotels. That is the flights, or four extra nights somewhere.
So: open two tabs, price your own dates on each, and book whichever is lower. It takes two minutes and the links under each hotel below go straight to the right page.
And watch the season, because it moves more than the site does
Vietnam is three climates in one country, and hotel prices follow the weather rather than the calendar. I priced every hotel twice, once in early December and once in early March, and the seasonal swing dwarfed the gap between booking sites. A villa at Four Seasons The Nam Hai was $1,060 in December against $1,611 in March, a difference of $551 a night, or $3,857 across the week I usually spend there. Six Senses Ninh Van Bay moved $462 and Capella Hanoi $189.
It does not run one way, though. The InterContinental Danang was $68 a night cheaper in March, the JW Marriott on Phu Quoc $124 cheaper, and Namia and Six Senses Con Dao were cheaper in March too. March is high season on the central beaches and low season nowhere; December is wet in the center, dry in the south and cool in the north. Each resort is priced for its own patch of coast, not for the country, which is why a single “best time to visit Vietnam” answer costs people money.
Northern Vietnam: Sapa, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay
The north is where most trips start. My advice is to give the nights to the bay and the mountains, and keep the capital short.
Hôtel de la Coupole – MGallery, Sapa
The mountain hotel that makes Sapa easy. I have not stayed, but it is the obvious base up here and it is the cheapest hotel in this entire guide, which still surprises me. Bill Bensley designed it, and it is exactly as theatrical as that suggests: a collision of French colonial architecture and H’Mong textile motifs, 249 rooms, none of them the same. There is an indoor pool, Le Grand Bassin, and the Nuages Spa on the seventh floor, where treatments draw on Red Dao herbal practice. It opened in December 2018 and holds One Michelin Key in the 2026 selection.
What makes it practical is the position: it has direct access to the Fansipan cable car station, so the mountain starts at the door. It is not for you if you came to Sapa for simplicity and silence, because this is a big, busy, heavily decorated hotel in the middle of a busy town.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Then there is Hanoi. I will be honest: I find it loud, crowded and the center of cheap tourism in Vietnam. One or two nights is enough, and Hue is the better city for traditional Vietnam. If you do stop, these are the three hotels I would look at.
Capella Hanoi
The small, theatrical choice, and the most expensive city hotel in this guide. Capella Hanoi has just 47 rooms and suites, designed by Bill Bensley around an opera theme, in an Art Nouveau building near the Hanoi Opera House in the Hoan Kiem district. Every room nods to a performer or a designer, and the top-floor Opera Suites have private terraces over Hoan Kiem Lake. There are four places to eat and drink: Hudson Rooms for oysters and caviar in 1920s New York dress, Diva’s Lounge for Vietnamese small plates, Backstage for all-day dining, and Koki for Japanese. The Auriga Spa and an indoor pool handle the rest.
It is one of only two hotels in Vietnam with Three Michelin Keys in the 2026 selection, the guide’s highest hotel rating, and the only one in a city. I have not stayed. It is the one to pick if you want the opposite of a large business hotel, and not for you if you dislike heavily decorated interiors or are traveling with small children.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
The historic address, and the one hotel on this list I have slept in without ever writing about it. I stayed at the Metropole about 15 years ago, long before this publication existed and long before the latest renovation, so I am not going to pretend that counts as a review. What I remember is the sense of the place, which is the reason to come: it opened in 1901, marked its 125th anniversary in 2026, and the three Legendary Suites are named for Somerset Maugham, Charlie Chaplin and Graham Greene, all of whom slept here.
There are 358 rooms across two wings, the original Heritage wing and the newer Opera wing, and the Heritage rooms were renovated in late 2023. Le Beaulieu does French haute cuisine, Spices Garden Vietnamese, angelina is the bar and whisky lounge, and the outdoor pool is heated in winter, which matters more than you would think in a northern January. The wartime bomb shelter under the hotel is open to guests on a free 30-minute history tour every afternoon at five, and it is the most interesting half hour in the building. Michelin promoted it from One Key to Two in 2026.
Choose it for the history. With more than 350 rooms it is a large hotel, so it is not the place for anyone who wants something intimate, and recent reviewers note that some rooms show their age in small ways, including a shortage of power sockets.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Fairmont Hanoi
The newcomer. Fairmont’s first hotel in Vietnam opened in February 2026 in the Old Quarter, a short walk from Hoan Kiem Lake, with 241 rooms and a very large spa and bathhouse, the Cirua Spa, built around a lap pool. There is a Japanese omakase counter, Hiryu, and a rooftop bar. Several of its restaurants were due to open in stages after the hotel itself, so check what is operating for your dates. I have not stayed.
It suits travelers who prefer a new building and modern facilities over heritage, and it is the only one of the three Hanoi hotels I would call a straightforward choice. I wrote about the launch in my Fairmont Hanoi opening article.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Bhaya Soul, Ha Long Bay
The best cruise I have taken in Vietnam. I spent three days and two nights on Bhaya Soul in November 2026. The boat launched in 2025, is 61.5 meters long and carries only 20 cabins with a crew of 40, which is two crew members for every cabin.
It is run as a wellness cruise. There is a heated pool, a foot massage is included, and one morning started with a meditation inside a cave at dawn. The route matters as much as the boat: we sailed to quieter corners such as Ba Ham Lake, Tien Ong Cave and the Cua Van floating village rather than the busiest anchorages.
It is not for you if you want a party boat or a one-night taste of the bay.
Departures start from about $388 for the two-day, one-night itinerary and $777 for the three-day, two-night trip I took, which is the one I would book: the second day is where the quiet anchorages are.
Read my full review of Bhaya Soul.
Check availability for Bhaya Soul on Liveaboard.com
Central Vietnam: Phong Nha, Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An
This is the part of the country I know best, and where I would spend most of a luxury trip. It has caves, an imperial city, Hoi An’s old town and a long run of beaches.
Auko Eco-Wellness Lodges, Phong Nha
My pick for wellness with adventure. Auko opened in July 2026 with 30 tented lodges on stilts along the Son River, at the edge of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. I stayed two nights in November 2026.
The stay is all-inclusive, and that means more than three meals a day. Every night there is a 90-minute wellness journey: clay, a warm rock chamber, a forest shower, a cold plunge on top of a cliff and a foot ritual. Movement and breathwork classes and a sunset boat trip are part of the rate too. I paid about $230 a night in November, remarkable value for what is included.
The adventure is on the doorstep. Paradise Cave is 30 minutes away, and it is the best cave I have ever seen. When you leave, the new Hue–Phong Nha heritage train takes you south to Hue in about four hours.
It is not for you if you want a conventional hotel room. These are tents, however comfortable, and the days follow a program. Rates have come down since my stay: the lodges were from about $166 a night all-inclusive for a December night when I checked, and about $210 for March.
Read my full review of Auko Eco-Wellness Lodges.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Azerai La Residence, Hue
My choice for culture. Azerai La Residence is an Art Deco former governor’s residence on the Perfume River, and I spent three nights there in November 2026.
The hotel has 122 rooms, but only ten “Colonial” rooms are in the original building, so book one of those if the architecture is why you are coming. The pool is salt water, and the spa gave me the best massage I have had in Vietnam. Rates start from about $250 a night with breakfast, which makes it one of the best-value 5-star hotels in Vietnam. Hue station is a five-minute walk away.
It is not a resort. There is no beach, and with 122 rooms it is not a small boutique hotel either.
Read my full review of Azerai La Residence.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Banyan Tree Lang Co
The secluded option between Hue and Da Nang, and better value than its neighbors. Banyan Tree Lang Co sits on a crescent beach about an hour from Da Nang airport, and all 49 of its villas, from one to three bedrooms, have a private pool with a whirlpool; the Sanctuary Villas include unlimited spa treatments, which is unusual at this price. Saffron is the signature Thai restaurant, The Water Court does Vietnamese and international, and Azura is Italian. The Nick Faldo championship golf course and the kids’ club are next door at sister resort Angsana, and guests can eat there too. It holds Two Michelin Keys in the 2026 selection. I have not stayed.
Its position is both the attraction and the drawback: you are roughly halfway between Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An, about an hour from each, so every outing is a drive, though the free daily shuttles to Hue and Hoi An and the free airport transfers take the sting out of that. Choose it to stay put, not as a base for sightseeing.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort
The showpiece on the Son Tra Peninsula, above a private bay outside Da Nang. Bill Bensley designed it in black and white across four levels named Heaven, Sky, Earth and Sea, linked by a funicular styled on a Vietnamese basket boat that takes about 90 seconds end to end. There are 189 rooms, suites, penthouses and villas.
The food is the real argument for coming. La Maison 1888 kept its Michelin star in the 2026 Vietnam guide, the only starred restaurant in central Vietnam; Citron serves Vietnamese food from cliffside pod tables that need booking days ahead; Tingara does omakase and teppanyaki. There is a private beach at the bottom of the hill, an infinity pool, the Mi Sol Spa, and red-shanked douc langurs in the trees, which are genuinely wild and genuinely there. The resort entered the Michelin Key selection in 2026 with One Key. I have not stayed.
It is about 30 minutes from Da Nang airport, but Hoi An is on the far side of the city, so consider it if dining and dramatic design matter more to you than being near the old town. For a quiet beach week, I would still choose the Four Seasons below.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
TIA Wellness Resort, Da Nang
The other wellness-inclusive resort on this coast, and the one most often named the best resort in Vietnam by the big review sites. TIA has 87 villas, every one with a private pool, on the sand between Da Nang and Hoi An. It opened in 2008 as Fusion Maia and took its current name in 2021. I have not stayed, but it is the direct comparison to Namia further south, so it belongs here.
The model is the appeal: the Spa Inclusive rate covers two treatments a day, plus yoga, tai chi and breathwork classes, and breakfast is served anywhere, at any time, which is the detail everyone remembers. A Retreat Inclusive rate adds a personal wellness guide and full-board plant-based meals, and close to half the menu is plant-based either way. It is not Michelin-listed.
Choose it if you want daily spa and a beach in the same place and do not need Hoi An’s old town on the doorstep. It is not for you if two treatments a day sounds like an obligation rather than a holiday.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An
The best beach resort in Vietnam, in my experience. I have stayed three times, a week each time, and I would go back tomorrow. The resort is on an empty stretch of Ha My Beach between Da Nang and Hoi An, with about a kilometer of sand in front of it.
Everything here is a villa, and rates start from around $1,060 a night in the low season, rising past $1,600 in March. The resort kept its Two Michelin Keys in the 2026 selection and is marking ten years as a Four Seasons. What brings me back is how easy a full week is, with Hoi An close enough for an evening in town.
It is not for you if you want to walk to the Ancient Town; that is a drive.
Read my full review of Four Seasons The Nam Hai.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Namia River Retreat, Hoi An
My pick for a wellness stay close to town. Namia opened in December 2024 on a river islet, ten minutes by bike from Hoi An’s Ancient Town. All 60 villas have a private pool. I stayed two nights in a River Pool Villa in November 2026.
The resort is wellness-inclusive: 90 minutes of spa a day is part of the rate, so you use the spa every day instead of once. Michelin added it to the Key selection in 2026 with One Key. Villas were from about $545 a night when I checked.
It is not a beach resort. You are on the river, and the sea is a ride away. If the beach is the priority, book the Four Seasons; for the old town, a private pool and daily treatments, book Namia.
Read my full review of Namia River Retreat.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
For more options in and around town, see my full list of the best luxury hotels in Hoi An.
South of Hoi An, the south-central coast is where the most secluded resorts in the country are. I have not stayed in any of the following three, but they belong on any shortlist of the best beach resorts in Vietnam.
Zannier Bai San Ho, Song Cau
The remote one. Zannier Bai San Ho has 73 standalone villas in three styles drawn from local building traditions: stilted Paddy Field Villas, Hill Pool Villas and Beach Pool Villas, with three- and four-bedroom Grand Bay Pool Villas for families. Forty-six of the villas have private pools, so check before you book, because the Paddy Field Villas do not. There are four places to eat, including Lang Chai for beach barbecue and Ba Hai, which does private dinners on fixed traditional menus, plus the Hoa Sen spa, an infinity pool, tennis, padel and a private beach. It holds Two Michelin Keys in the 2026 selection.
Getting there takes commitment: a domestic flight to Tuy Hoa or Phu Cat (Quy Nhon), then about an hour and a half by car. The nearest town is more than 45 minutes away. That makes it a poor fit for a short stay, and the steep site makes it a poor fit for anyone with limited mobility.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Six Senses Ninh Van Bay
The boat-access hideaway near Nha Trang. There is no road in: you arrive by boat, about 20 minutes from Nha Trang, and Cam Ranh airport is roughly an hour south of the town, so budget half a day for the journey and expect the transfer to cost extra. All 62 villas have private pools, in five styles: Hill Top, Beach, Beachfront, Rock and the Water Villas, which sit among the boulders at the water’s edge with a ladder straight into the sea. Dining by the Rocks is the special-occasion restaurant and needs booking; there is also a wine cave. Diving, snorkelling, island hopping and a kids’ club from age four. One Michelin Key in 2026.
Choose it if arriving by boat and being cut off sounds appealing. If you like to leave the resort for dinner or sightseeing, the boat transfer will feel like a barrier, and with a pool at every villa it needs close supervision with small children.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Amanoi
The top of the range, and the most expensive hotel in this guide by a wide margin: rates started around $1,974 a night when I checked. Amanoi overlooks Vinh Hy Bay from inside Nui Chua National Park, part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve next to a marine reserve, 55 kilometers south of Cam Ranh airport. Accommodation is 9 Pavilions, 22 Pool Villas, 12 Residences and 2 Wellness Pool Villas, the last with their own hammam and banya. There is a hilltop infinity pool, a beach club with a second pool on a private beach, a lakeside Aman Spa with five double treatment rooms and two hydrotherapy suites, and a yoga pavilion built out over the water. It is the other hotel in Vietnam with Three Michelin Keys in 2026.
This is for travelers who want privacy and space above all and have the budget for it. It is far from any town, so do not plan it as a base for touring, and note that it is the one hotel here with no Booking.com inventory at all, so the rate below comes from Trip.com.
Check rates: Trip.com | Expedia
Southern Vietnam and the Islands: Saigon, Phu Quoc and Con Dao
I use the south as the end of a trip: a night in Ho Chi Minh City if flights require it, then an island.
Park Hyatt Saigon
The classic city hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Park Hyatt Saigon has 245 rooms on Lam Son Square in District 1, with a colonial-style facade and an outdoor pool in a garden, a real asset in the middle of the city. It holds One Michelin Key in the 2026 selection, and rates are reasonable for what it is, from about $342. I have not stayed.
It is the obvious choice for a night or two before a flight to Con Dao, and the one to pick if you want restraint rather than spectacle.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
The Reverie Saigon
The best value of any five-star hotel in this guide, and the least restrained. The Reverie occupies the upper floors of the 39-storey Times Square building on Dong Khoi in District 1, with 286 rooms and suites and a check-in desk on the seventh floor. The interiors were commissioned almost entirely from Italian houses: a 1,000 kilogram malachite and gold-plated clock, a five-meter sofa, chandeliers everywhere. Da Vittorio Saigon does Italian fine dining, The Royal Pavilion Cantonese, and there is a 24-meter pool on the sixth floor and a spa with twelve treatment rooms. I have not stayed.
From about $326 a night, it costs less than hotels with a fraction of its ambition. The decor is the only real objection, and it is a real one: reviewers consistently call it ostentatious. If that is not your taste, book the Park Hyatt instead.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Regent Phu Quoc
The leading name on Vietnam’s biggest resort island. Regent Phu Quoc is on the white sand of Bai Truong, also known as Long Beach, and all of its accommodation is suites or villas, 176 and 126 of them respectively, many with private pools and none more than a few steps from the beach. There are four pools, including a rooftop one at the Regent Club, a spa with ten treatment rooms, and restaurants including Oku, a French-Japanese concept, and Ocean Club on the beach. It is about 17 minutes from Phu Quoc airport and holds One Michelin Key in 2026. I have not stayed.
With close to 300 keys it is a big resort, so look elsewhere if you want something small. It was also sold out on both nights I tried to price, which is the clearest signal in this guide that you should book well ahead.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay
The most committed piece of design theater in Vietnam, and the reason some people go to Phu Quoc at all. Bill Bensley built the whole resort as a fictional French colonial university, Lamarck University, founded in 1880, with the buildings arranged as faculties and the bars named after departments. There are 244 rooms, suites and villas on Khem Beach in the south of the island, about 20 minutes from the airport, a shell-shaped pool, the Chanterelle Spa, and five places to eat including Pink Pearl, the fine-dining room in the pink mansion. DestinAsian’s readers voted it the second best resort in the country. I have not stayed.
It is not Michelin-listed, which says more about the Keys than about the hotel. Choose it if you want the design to be the holiday. It is not for you if an invented backstory sounds exhausting rather than fun, in which case the Regent down the coast is the straighter choice.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
Six Senses Con Dao
My island pick. The Con Dao islands lie off the southern coast, and Six Senses Con Dao is the reason most luxury travelers know them. I have stayed, and I recommend four or five days here as a beach finale after the cities and the caves.
Getting there shapes the plan. Con Dao is reached by a flight of about an hour from Ho Chi Minh City; there are also flights from Can Tho, but none from Da Nang. From central Vietnam you route through Ho Chi Minh City, which is why it works best at the end of an itinerary. The resort holds One Michelin Key in the 2026 selection, and villas were from about $1,086 when I checked.
It is not for you if you only have two nights, or if you want shopping and nightlife. I have written about what to do in Con Dao, and if you are choosing between my two favorite beach stays, see Six Senses Con Dao vs Four Seasons The Nam Hai.
Read my full review of Six Senses Con Dao.
Check rates: Booking.com | Trip.com | Expedia
How to Combine Them
Vietnam is long and thin, so the order matters more than the list. This is the route I would repeat:
- North: two nights on Bhaya Soul in Ha Long Bay, then one or two nights in Hanoi, and two more in Sapa if you have the time.
- Center: two nights at Auko for the caves, three at Azerai La Residence in Hue, then Hoi An, with Namia for wellness and the old town and the Four Seasons for the beach.
- South: fly to Ho Chi Minh City and on to Con Dao for four or five days at Six Senses.
Tip: there are no flights from Da Nang to Con Dao. Plan the island for the very end, and allow for the connection in Ho Chi Minh City.
The day-by-day version, including how I traveled between Phong Nha, Hue and Hoi An, is in my luxury Vietnam itinerary.
When to Go
Vietnam has three climates, and they do not line up.
- North (Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Sapa): the best months are March to May and September to November. December to February is cool and can be gray, and Sapa gets genuinely cold. June to August is hot and wet, and summer storms can cancel Ha Long Bay cruises.
- Center (Phong Nha, Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An): the dry season runs roughly from January or February to August. Most of the rain falls from September to December, which is also when typhoons and floods are most likely.
- South (Ho Chi Minh City, Con Dao, Phu Quoc): the dry season is December to April. May to November is wet, usually with heavy afternoon downpours.
I traveled in November, which suits the north but is the rainy season in the center: it rained for my entire two nights at Namia. At wellness-inclusive places such as Namia, TIA and Auko, the best part of the day happens whatever the weather. For a beach week at the Four Seasons, aim for the dry months, and remember from the rate section above that those are also the expensive ones.
Best Luxury Hotels in Vietnam: FAQ
What is the best area in Vietnam for luxury hotels?
Central Vietnam. Within a few hours of each other you have Hue for heritage, Hoi An and Da Nang for beach and wellness resorts, and Phong Nha for caves and adventure. Four of the hotels I have stayed in on this list are there. For a pure beach stay, look at the south-central coast and the islands of Con Dao and Phu Quoc.
How much does a 5-star hotel in Vietnam cost per night?
From the rates I read in November 2026, roughly $142 to $300 at the lower end, for Hôtel de la Coupole in Sapa, Azerai La Residence in Hue and Auko in Phong Nha; $320 to $550 for city hotels such as The Reverie Saigon, Park Hyatt Saigon, Fairmont Hanoi and the Metropole, and for pool-villa resorts such as Banyan Tree Lang Co, TIA Wellness and Namia; and $750 to $2,000 at the top, for the InterContinental Danang, Capella Hanoi, Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, Six Senses Con Dao, Four Seasons The Nam Hai and Amanoi. Rates swing by hundreds of dollars between seasons, so always price your own dates.
What is the best beach resort in Vietnam?
For me it is Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, on an empty stretch of Ha My Beach between Da Nang and Hoi An. I have stayed three times, a week each time. If you want an island instead of the mainland, Six Senses Con Dao is my pick.
What is the best wellness resort in Vietnam?
Auko Eco-Wellness Lodges in Phong Nha includes a 90-minute wellness journey every night and sits beside a national park full of caves. Namia River Retreat in Hoi An includes 90 minutes of spa a day and gives every guest a private-pool villa close to the Ancient Town. TIA Wellness Resort in Da Nang includes two treatments a day. On the water, Bhaya Soul is a wellness cruise in Ha Long Bay.
Which luxury hotel in Vietnam is best for a honeymoon?
I would choose Six Senses Con Dao for four or five quiet days on an island at the end of the trip, or Four Seasons The Nam Hai if you want a beach villa with Hoi An close by. Namia River Retreat is a good addition for couples because every villa has a private pool and daily spa time is included. Among the hotels I have not stayed in, Amanoi and Six Senses Ninh Van Bay are the secluded options.
Which luxury resorts in Vietnam are best for families?
Start with the larger beach resorts. Four Seasons The Nam Hai has three-bedroom pool villas on a long beach. Banyan Tree Lang Co is all pool villas and has a kids’ club next door at Angsana, Regent Phu Quoc is all suites and villas steps from the sand, and Zannier Bai San Ho has three- and four-bedroom villas, although I have not stayed in any of those three. I would keep the wellness-led places, such as Namia, TIA, Auko and Bhaya Soul, for trips without young children.
Con Dao or Phu Quoc: which island is better?
I have stayed on Con Dao, not on Phu Quoc, so this is a one-sided answer. Con Dao is the quieter choice: a small group of islands off the southern coast, about an hour’s flight from Ho Chi Minh City. Phu Quoc is a much larger island with far more resorts to choose from, including Regent Phu Quoc and the JW Marriott. Choose Con Dao for peace and nature, and Phu Quoc if you want more choice and more to do.
How many days do you need for a luxury trip to Vietnam?
About two weeks for the north and center: two nights on a Ha Long Bay cruise, one or two nights in Hanoi, two nights in Phong Nha, three in Hue and four to seven around Hoi An. Add four or five days on Con Dao as a beach finale and you have close to three weeks. With only ten days, skip either the north or the island.
Disclosure: this article contains affiliate links. If you book through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy.
Julie is the founder of This Is Luxury Travel and writes every story first-hand. Read more about how I review, or visit my Work With Me page.
