Four Seasons The Nam Hai is set on one of the most spectacular beachfronts on the coast of Vietnam between Danang and Hoi An. We’ve always loved our stays at Four Seasons resorts around the world, thanks to their peaceful properties and stellar amenities and Nam Hai is no different. We absolutely loved the private villas and stunning views so read on to find out what you need to know before you book.

Location: 5/5

The Four Seasons is approximately 40 minutes from Danang International airport and only 5 minutes from the town center of Hoi An. Four Seasons is perfectly situated for exploring the UNESCO world heritage site that makes up the historic town filled with custom tailors, beautiful shops and gorgeous ancient architecture. The property is 86 acres big and spans over a kilometer of beachfront, making it an incredible respite from the hectic city life. While the water as a bit rough during our stay in the winter, during many months of the year, guests can use kayaks to explore the sea just steps from their villas. The property is large and expansive, with lush gardens and beautiful foliage. Given it’s size, there is ample space to explore and meander the winding walkways.

There are three UNESCO world heritage sites near the Four Seasons: the town of Hoi An, the temple of My Son (1 hour drive) and the ancient capital of Hue (2.5 hours drive) so this area is the perfect launch pad to explore the region. There is also a small historic temple on the property that is still used for Buddhist worship by the locals to this day.

If you’re looking to have access to the hustle and bustle of the area, such as Hoi An’s incredible town center, but are looking for a luxurious and peaceful resort accommodation, Four Seasons is the perfect choice that gives you pristine beachfront and excellent access to shops and restaurants.

Lobby & Check in experience: 5/5

We were picked up at our previous hotel by the resort’s luxury van and the driver offered us cold towels and water. We had a short drive from TIA Wellness and when we arrived to the Four Seasons, we drove through the gates to the property and immediately were greeted by the incredible foliage and lush gardens. The lobby is open air and we were immediately seated for a check in and provided a delicious welcome beverage. The check in process was efficient, informative and friendly. I also happened to tell the front desk agent that I love hotel pens and he gave me one to keep during the check in. From there, we were taken on a tour of the resort to get our bearings. Our room wasn’t ready as we arrived before noon so we stopped by the restaurant for a coffee while we waited. The entire experience was seamless and we never saw our bags again until we arrived to the room.

Rooms: 4.5/5

Every room is a villa at Four Seasons and most rooms up to the suites are the exact same interior, just with different locations on property. The One-Bedroom, One-Bedroom Ocean View and One-Bedroom Beachfront all feature 860 square feet of beautiful interior space that are designed in a traditional Vietnamese style. We were in Beachfront Villa 5300 with a stunning, direct ocean view from our room.

As you enter the space, the bathroom is on the left side in the back of the villa and features a his and hers vanity, indoor and outdoor shower as well as a his and hers closet. The products are all made by Natura Bissé (one of my personal favorites) and refilled daily.

The main living space is encased in a canopy and contains a raised lounge bed with a sunken tub, sunken desk space and the king bed facing the view. There are a few steps down to a sunken living room set with access to the patio containing two oversized lounge beds on either side of the patio.

While the layout of the room is certainly untraditional and perhaps not ideal for people with mobility issues, they are designed in a traditional style that optimizes the view both from the bed and from the sunken living room. The furniture is comfortable and covered in beautiful fabrics representative of the region’s history of textiles and tailoring. The details in the room are beautiful with carved wood furniture, accent beams in the ceiling and even the way the television comes out of the console in front of the bed so it doesn’t obstruct or detract from the room’s traditional look in any way.

There are higher room categories including suites with separate living spaces and pools if you are looking for a bit more space or private plunge pool. Most of the one-bedroom plunge pool rooms do have a slanted view of the beach so if you are looking for a beachfront room, I would consider booking this villa. While you can currently see your neighbors very well since there is no hedge between the villas, we did notice they are currently growing hedges between many of the other beachfront villas to add a layer of privacy.

Every room does come with bicycles as well so you can explore the resort at your own pace. Our room was quite far from the main lobby and we loved taking the bikes around to explore the expansive resort. They do also offer buggy service if you call the front desk and they arrive within 10 minutes, making it easy to get around.

Service: 4/5

Vietnam was hit incredibly hard during COVID and has yet to fully recover. This region in Vietnam is still focused on hiring new staff, training them and upleveling their service skills to provide the best level of service. Four Seasons did have a good set of seasoned staff, but there were still a number of newer staff that were not yet fully attune to 5 star service. While staff were extremely eager to help and eager to provide good service, we found most of the misses in the dining service. Items were typically forgotten and never brought and particularly when it comes to dinner service. We were brought wine after our meal was done and ended up having to turn it away, as an example. While it could be considered a one-off if it happened once or twice, this was consistently the case across the restaurants. They also happened to be rolling out new menus and it was clear the staff had never tried to food. When asked for recommendations, the response was typically “I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it”. We’re confident with some more training, they will excel in this area and we can’t wait to come back and test it out.

They do offer buggy service around property and you can call them from the restaurant and spa. They are not super proactive on calling them for you, for example if you have spa treatment and need to go back to your room after, so I would recommend requesting the buggy during dessert at a restaurant or before your spa treatment so it’s ready for you when you are done. Similarly, if you bike to dinner but take a buggy back, you may need to ask them to return your bike to the room as ours sat for a few days in the lobby area without being returned. Small tweaks in how to provide proactive service would go a long way to surprise and delight guests.

Dining: 4.5/5

Four Seasons was in the middle of upgrading their dining options during our stay and we had the opportunity to try a few different experience on property.

Cafe Nam Hai is the main restaurant at the resort and we had breakfast and dinner here. Breakfast is a buffet and a la carte mix so you can choose what you want from the buffet as well as order a selection of classic breakfast items from the a la carte. Breakfast is included, the only exclusions are things like kombucha. Their breakfast was fresh and delicious everyday with a wide variety of options.

Dinner was an interesting mix of Indian and European. There are two sides to the menu and you can order from either side of the menu. We went with Indian as it was a new addition they had made and they have an excellent Indian chef at the hotel. The food was delicious and we ordered a selection of our favorites including naan, butter chicken and kerala prawns. Everything was fantastic and we were glad we went with the Indian menu. Overall, this restaurant was very good but the service was not at the level we expected for both breakfast and dinner. Items were slow to arrive or simply never came which was a disappointing experience. Our recommendation is to check frequently if you don’t receive your drinks at the speed you would expect. 

La Sen is recently converted to a high end Vietnamese restaurant for dinner but are open for lunch with more standard western dishes. We did not have a chance to try the Vietnamese menu, but the restaurant does have excellent coffee and lunch. The lunch was fantastic with fresh flavors and ingredients. We loved the summer rolls, caesar salad and poke bowl. The surf & turf banh mi was also excellent and we can highly recommend it. The service at this outlet was good overall and they did an excellent job being attentive to refilling water constantly. We love the setting next to the pool with the ocean view.

They did just launch a beach bar and the Japanese restaurant, which were not open during our stay but the beach bar is a great addition for a cocktail with a beautiful setting.

We had the opportunity to experience their romantic beach dinner and it was excellent. The quality of the barbecue was great and we had a dedicated chef and server for the night. The setting is beautiful, just in front of the pool with ocean views and beautiful lanterns hanging around the table. You can also have the romantic dinner outside your villa which would be a great option if you have the beachfront villa.

Overall, the quality of the food was what you would expect at a Four Seasons – quality ingredients, beautiful flavors and unique dishes. We are very excited to return to try the new outlets as we love their emphasis on constant improvement and change to improve the guest experience.

Facilities: 5/5

The Four Seasons The Nam Hai is a true resort with excellent guest facilities. Whether you are staying for a few nights or for a week, I feel confident in saying you will not be bored on property (unless you want to be).

The Spa is a beautiful retreat located on the natural lagoon inside the property. It features overwater treatment rooms with separate relaxation areas over water. We had the chance to experience the Vietnamese massage and it was excellent. Our massage was at 6:30pm and it was the perfect time to go to the spa. I highly recommend evening treatments because the lighting is exceptional and all the fire bowls on the lagoon are lit. While we didn’t, I would also recommend adding on a bath ritual to be able to enjoy your private bungalow on the lagoon before your treatment, it really is a beautiful experience.

Every evening, the spa also hosts a “Goodnight Kiss to Earth” ritual that was incredibly beautiful. While a member of the spa team plays the crystal singing bowls, you can write your wishes on a lantern and send it out into the lagoon. The experience almost brought us to tears- it was truly wonderfully orchestrated and was a very special experience. I would add this to your must-do list for your visit. We did the ritual before going to our spa treatment and felt that was a great way to take advantage of the spa facilities in the best way.

Next to the spa is the yoga pavilion where they host many of their fitness classes like Fit Lean and the Cocooning meditation. We love starting the day with a workout and had a great time at Fit Lean. It’s only offered complimentary 1 day a week and it was excellent. We were the only two people in the class so it felt more like a personal training session with an amazing instructor than it did a cookie-cutter class.

We also went to cocooning meditation, which was a lovely experience if you have not tried it before. Guests lie down in a cocoon hammock while the instructor plays the singing bowls. It’s a beautiful experience and incredibly peaceful. It’s a great experience if you are looking for deep relaxation. They offer this multiple times a week. There are a variety of complimentary and paid options to take advantage of during your stay, Ive added a photo below of the activities that were currently available during our stay.

The Fitness Center is located closer to the entrance of the property next to the tennis and pickleball courts. It’s a fantastic facility with ample equipment and a his and hers locker room. It was very quiet when we went and has great equipment if you’re looking for a good gym session. They have cold towels, scented water and regular water as well.

The Cooking Academy is located next to the fitness center and offers paid classes where guests are taken to a local market to purchase food and then taught how to make a variety of dishes. We didn’t get to experience this on our trip, but we heard it is very popular with guests. We’d recommend the Vietnamese cooking class since that will give you the greatest look into Vietnamese culture.

There are several activities throughout the day that are complimentary such as hat making and lantern making that are particularly great on a rainy day. It gives guests a nice look into the culture of Vietnam without a lot of effort and are a great way to spend the afternoons if you are looking to get out of the sun.

There is also a complimentary shuttle service that runs throughout the day into Hoi An and drops you right in the town center. Taxis are also an option and cost less than $10 if you prefer to go at your own pace.

Finally, there are two large pools on property: one for families and one that is adults only. The adults only pool is closest to the beach and offers a good amount of shade throughout the day. The beachfront also has seating in the sun and both areas offer full service from the bar. They did a nice job overall coming by with water and treats throughout the day.

Style: 4.5/5

The Four Seasons is a beautifully landscaped property with traditional looking architecture with beautiful sloping roofs and ornate interiors. It has a zen, beach chic vibe coupled with a style steeped in Vietnamese culture. They are upgrading furnishings throughout the resort and we saw this happening during our stay so there are certainly some areas that have a more “chic” vibe than others, but it continues to improve day by day. The new beach bar looks incredible, with it’s comfortable seating and light colors to compliment the dark woods. In some of the older areas, you still find the old-school furnishings that have yet to be changed.

Overall, we love the mixing of new with the old and as the property continues to upgrade it’s spaces, it will only become more stylish.

Overall: 4.6/5

Overall, we had an amazing stay at the Four Seasons and can highly recommend the property for anyone looking to experience a luxury beachfront resort within a short drive of the most spectacular small town with excellent shopping and cultural experiences. If you’re looking to book the Four Seasons, be sure to reach out to us at team@voyagerguru.com to book with VIP benefits like a room upgrade, complimentary breakfast and a resort credit.