InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort — Attraction in Đà Nẵng

2025.05.19-.05.21

Second Visit to a Bill Bensley Masterpiece

This was my second visit to a property designed by Bill Bensley. My first experience was at The Siam Hotel in Bangkok, and this time, I stayed at the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort.

Architecture and Design

The hotel’s architecture and interior design were truly outstanding. The entire space was meticulously crafted, resembling a piece of art, and staying there provided sensory inspiration. The staff were generally friendly, and the overall service quality was befitting of a luxury hotel.

Room Experience

I stayed in Room 308, a Club Panoramic Ocean View room. However, it didn’t include Club Lounge benefits and was essentially a standard room with an upgraded view. I arrived early for a program and was granted early check-in at 12 PM. Upon entering the room, a staff member unfolded a map and kindly explained the resort’s layout and locations in handwritten notes. This thoughtful gesture enhanced my understanding and connection to the space.

However, when I filled the bathtub, I noticed a slight drainage issue, making it difficult to enjoy a long soak. I reported this to the front desk during checkout, hoping it would be addressed for future guests.

Additionally, while preparing to check out and organizing my luggage, I stepped onto the terrace one last time and noticed very small insects. Given the resort’s natural setting, this is understandable, but I believe pest control measures are necessary. Sensitive guests should be cautious, as insects might also be present on terrace chairs or floors.

Sleep Quality and Room Comfort

While the room’s interior was beautiful and luxurious, the actual comfort during the stay left much to be desired. The room was highly susceptible to noise and humidity; footsteps in the corridor and cicada sounds were clearly audible inside. On the first night, the duvet had an odor reminiscent of damp laundry, and the air felt clammy, which was very unpleasant. I ended up experiencing sleep paralysis and stayed awake all night. The combination of noise, humidity, and the duvet smell made me consider switching to another hotel, a first during my travels.

Dining Experience at Citron Restaurant

During a meal at Citron Restaurant, there was a minor inconvenience. The assigned seat was right next to the aerial chair area and adjacent to the entrance. Initially, I thought the area was closed as it was empty. However, another guest soon occupied the aerial chair, and the staff had left the door open, allowing hot outside air to flow in, making it very warm. I had to close the door myself and request a seat change. While a small issue, it highlighted a lack of attention to seating arrangements and space management.

Personal Reflections and Judgment

Honestly, I often encounter issues during hotel stays, leading me to wonder if the problem lies with me. Additionally, I have difficulty sleeping in unfamiliar beds, making me more sensitive to discomfort. In this case, the noise, humidity, and duvet odor were particularly bothersome, making me contemplate changing hotels during my stay.

I chose to write this review candidly and decided to decline any compensation. The primary reason is that I don’t plan to stay here again and will only consider using the restaurant in the future. (The noise issues required me to take sleeping pills, and even then, I couldn’t achieve deep sleep or rest during the day.) Secondly, the staff’s bright smiles and warm service left a lasting impression. In particular, the lobby and buggy (tram) team provided exceptional service, which deserves recognition.

Overall Impression

This resort offers a rare opportunity to simultaneously appreciate mountains, the sea, and human architectural beauty. It’s an excellent destination for photography or dining experiences, but the comfort of the accommodations leaves much to be desired. If you plan to stay, I highly recommend requesting a...

Im not going to be popular with this review but you should read the full review to understand why. I have to admit that while this is a stunningly beautiful hotel, it wasn’t what we expected and not worth what we paid (in our opinion) for three nights (several thousand US dollars). There are so many amazing options that this one seemed extremely overpriced. I will start by saying that the staff are all excellent and gorgeously dressed. The décor is of high-end resort quality. The beds and pillows were comfortable, and the room was beautiful. So why didn’t they meet our expectations? Mainly the overpricing of everything considering this is Vietnam. You are paying high end US hotel prices which means you are paying 5-10X more than you need to in this country. If you are paying for the view, it’s important to remember that much of the time you are sitting in a cloud. When we arrived at our room, we wanted to celebrate with a drink from the mini bar, but the small bottles of liquor and small bottles of wine were ridiculously overpriced. For a small bottle of wine (not even a half bottle), the price was around $52 USD. The restaurants are said to be acclaimed and will cost you several hundred dollars a person. They are making a killing off these restaurants. It’s not an easy hotel to get around but that is because it was built for each room to have a view of the ocean, which I respect. Therefore, it’s built up and wide. They have many golf carts that run constantly for you to get around the property. You call the lobby 15 minutes ahead of when you need it. Once we figured out the way, we walked most of the time but not the best in the rain. There are two cable cars which take you up and down to various levels, including the lowest level for the beach, and some of the restaurants are interesting. You can walk it but it’s a lot of very steep stairs. You must plan your time to get from one place to another. There are two pools. One is a colder lap pool, and one is a warmer small pool but there is very little seating around this pool, and it is mostly filled with children. The beach area is nice, but the bar menu only includes beer, wine and mocktails. It’s so warm in Danang that wine isn’t a great choice. I feel there is a lost money maker there on the beach which is odd since this hotel feels like it’s all about racking in the money. Some alcoholic beach cocktails would have been a nice option. They have a bar called the Long Bar close to the beach. We tried to go there before dinner one night before dinner, but they told us that night was a beer package only ($40 for all the beer you want) and they had a DJ spinning outside the restaurant – not our style. There really isn’t a cocktail bar on the property which we found very odd. We had pre-paid for a very expensive sushi dinner at their Tingara (Michelin star restaurant) but they notified me a few days ahead that they were serving sushi that night. I looked at the Teppanyaki alternative but I do not eat squid or abalone so that wasn’t an option for us. We ate at Citron the first night but weren’t particularly thrilled with the food for the price. We ended up eating at the Barefoot restaurant for two nights to get food we thought was worth the price. We used them to book our airport transport but now realize that was a silly thing to do $112 USD each way for the two of us. This seems to be a very popular location for children. They warned us of monkeys getting into your rooms, but we never saw any monkeys on the property. One day we were trying to get to the beach area, but they had a hotel staff member using a huge fog/repellent machine outside all the rooms. It was so bad that we had to go back into the rooms until the fog dissipated as we weren’t even sure what they were spraying for or if it was safe to breathe. I’ve stayed in resorts all over the world and I can’t give this...

I have to admit that while this is a stunningly beautiful hotel, it wasn’t what we expected and not worth what we paid (in our opinion) for three nights (several thousand US dollars). There are so many amazing options that this one seemed extremely overpriced. I will start by saying that the staff are all excellent and gorgeously dressed. The décor is of high-end resort quality. The beds and pillows were comfortable, and the room was beautiful. So why didn’t they meet our expectations? Mainly the overpricing of everything considering this is Vietnam. You are paying high end US hotel prices which means you are paying 5-10X more than you need to in this country. If you are paying for the view, it’s important to remember that much of the time you are sitting in a cloud. When we arrived at our room, we wanted to celebrate with a drink from the mini bar, but the small bottles of liquor and small bottles of wine were ridiculously overpriced. For a small bottle of wine (not even a half bottle), the price was around $52 USD. The restaurants are said to be acclaimed and will cost you several hundred dollars a person. They are making a killing off these restaurants. It’s not an easy hotel to get around but that is because it was built for each room to have a view of the ocean, which I respect. Therefore, it’s built up and wide. They have many golf carts that run constantly for you to get around the property. You call the lobby 15 minutes ahead of when you need it. Once we figured out the way, we walked most of the time but not the best in the rain. There are two cable cars which take you up and down to various levels, including the lowest level for the beach, and some of the restaurants are interesting. You can walk it but it’s a lot of very steep stairs. You must plan your time to get from one place to another. There are two pools. One is a colder lap pool, and one is a warmer small pool but there is very little seating around this pool, and it is mostly filled with children. The beach area is nice, but the bar menu only includes beer, wine and mocktails. It’s so warm in Danang that wine isn’t a great choice. I feel there is a lost money maker there on the beach which is odd since this hotel feels like it’s all about racking in the money. Some alcoholic beach cocktails would have been a nice option. They have a bar called the Long Bar close to the beach. We tried to go there before dinner one night before dinner, but they told us that night was a beer package only ($40 for all the beer you want) and they had a DJ spinning outside the restaurant – not our style. There really isn’t a cocktail bar on the property which we found very odd. We had pre-paid for a very expensive sushi dinner at their Tingara (Michelin star restaurant) but they notified me a few days ahead that they were serving sushi that night. I looked at the Teppanyaki alternative but I do not eat squid or abalone so that wasn’t an option for us. We ate at Citron the first night but weren’t particularly thrilled with the food for the price. We ended up eating at the Barefoot restaurant for two nights to get food we thought was worth the price. We used them to book our airport transport but now realize that was a silly thing to do $112 USD each way for the two of us. This seems to be a very popular location for children. They warned us of monkeys getting into your rooms, but we never saw any monkeys on the property. One day we were trying to get to the beach area, but they had a hotel staff member using a huge fog/repellent machine outside all the rooms. It was so bad that we had to go back into the rooms until the fog dissipated as we weren’t even sure what they were spraying for or if it was safe to breathe. I’ve stayed in resorts all over the world and I can’t give this...