Danang Marriott Resort & Spa — Hotel in Đà Nẵng

Vinpearl Luxury Danang managed to do something no hotel has ever been able to do before - both underwhelmed and overwhelmed me at the same time. We were greeted with the most unenthusiastic service staff we have ever met in our lives. It could have been a bad afternoon for the lobby staff, who knows. The lady that checked us in sounded unsure of what was happening, stressing the best feature of the resort was the safety box in the room! There were at least 5 lifeguards on duty. There were a lot of rules about decorum, such as no diving, and no spitting, but all these were done right in front of the guards and nothing was done. A “smoking bong” was passed around in the pool and still nothing was said about it. I guess it is a norm here? We were quite bamboozled by the whole scene of guest screaming and jumping into the pool, when so many rules were being put in placed about decorum. We love the idea of a pool bar having happy hours, which they do, but not the idea of being at their mercy to come and get our orders. We moved to the pool chairs closer to them to get their attention, and it was a painful first day experience. All I wanted was a glass of red, a simple glass of red and I was asked if I would like it hot or cold, and if I would like a steak to go with it, maybe they are trainees. They show a huge improvement the next day after we share our unpleasant experience with the floor manager, Mr Chau. On our second day, we had our room made up. We were quite surprised that they forgot to replenish the bath gel. Could be an overlook. So we gave housekeeping a call, only to have them hang up on us. We can understand language can be a barrier, but there are a thousand ways that could have been handled instead of hanging up just because you do not understand. That was truly the impetus to us having to have a word with the floor manager about our experiences. We approach the whole discussion as ways they can improve as we do not want other patrons to experience the same thing. We noticed a slightly better improvement in service the very next day. The pool bar were a lot more proactive in asking guests if they would like drinks. The lady in charge of the buffet breakfast was a lot more cordial the next day too. Throughout our entire stay, we noticed one particular staff, Mr Long the F&B manager, was one of the few who goes around checking on the guests and the staff, making sure things are running smoothly. We saw him checking and helping out during breakfast buffet, and at the pool bar for the evening happy hours. We appreciate his kind gesture of him checking in on guests and in making sure the service is running smoothly. A special shout out the pool bar staff as well, we are glad that they have taken the advice on checking with the guests around the pool and being proactive, it changed the whole experience! So big shouts out to Khanh Trinh, Tuyet Nhung, and Giang Son. Honestly, the word Luxury has been used loosely on the name of the resort. They have a long way to go to achieve the standard of a luxury resort. The attention to care and details were severely lacking. Language barrier may be just 10% of the whole downfall, but I remembered telling the floor manager that there are a lot of way to communicate even if you don’t understand the language — you can sense how genuine a service is. Staff training will be the way to go for this resort to achieve their true potential. Instead of waiting to apologise for an unpleasant experience, the staff (or the managers rather) should strive to provide an experience that is truly a Vinpearl luxury — starting with the lobby staff as they are the face of the hotel and the starting point of the experience. We were left quite devastated of the whole experience but were quite contented knowing our sharing with the floor manager did not fall on deaf ears. To see the little improvements while we were there truly shows the potential in Vinpearl. We look forward to see a new and improved Vinpearl...

Upon checking in we were taken to our room, after a welcome drink and some chatting about the hotel and area. However once we got to our room our bags were not yet there, and we had not been given a luggage tag. We were assured our bags were on the way - 15 minutes later we call reception to ask again, and so again a further 10 minutes later. Eventually the bags showed up a good 30 minutes after we arrived at our room, that we wished to leave as soon as possible to head out to an activity soon closing. We would have been perfectly happy to take our bags to the room ourselves, and would certainly have done so given the outcome. The distance to the room was about a 3-4 minute walk, and the hotel was not busy at the time so clearly a staffing issue or a communication breakdown.

Staff in general are friendly and the concierge lady was helpful in giving advice.

Upon using the shower a quantity of long black hair on the wall was seen - so it had clearly not been properly cleaned.

After making some concierge enquiries, including asking for an 11am appointment for the spa next morning, before heading out to dinner on first day, I informed her of the cleaning issue, which she apologized for - but no further actions taken.

Day 2 at 10.45 am we get a phonecall that the spa is not available - after having just decided to skip breakfast (which closes 10.30) as we did not want to be completely full before a spa treatment. Clearly the concerige knew the spa was not available already the previous night and could have left us a message in the room or in reception when we came back from dinner. Or for that matter called a bit earlier...

Day 2 morning, after having re-planned the day from the missing spa appointment, we enquired about a bottle of water (as we had finished the ones in the room 0.7 litre per person) at reception when heading out for a 45 min cab ride - this was not available, but would be possible to get, however with a 10 minute wait (to get it from housekeeping/storage), which we declined as our car was about to arrive.

Evening Day 2: Just made it back from dinner to the hotel, when my partner was feeling a bit ill from stomach issues during the day. We get to the room to again only have water for 0.7 litre per person - upon which we requested more from the operator/reception. Shortly thereafter I receive a call-back that this is chargable and whether I accept the charge! I quickly protest that this is absolutely not a 5 star hotel or 5 star service and we are likely to check out next day and hang up... 20 minutes later 1.4 litres of water arrives with a "Merry Christmas" from housekeeping staff.

The hotel is not at all up to 5 star standards or Marriott group standards (Especially as a Platinum/Titanium member). Having drinkable water available in the room is a very basic thing in a country where tap water is not commonly drunk or advised to drink. Even most 3 star hotels offer it at a quarter of the price this hotel charges!

Rooms are spacious, a bit dated interior - overall acceptable (for a 4 star standard, not for 5 star!). The work desk has insufficient plugs (a single European plug, no internationals and only a single plug!).

The hotel boasts about its 5 pools, but not a single one is heated, which means in December with daytime temperatures around 20-25 degrees it is not very pleasant - especially with a pretty windy location. A few days ago we stayed at a real 5 star property which had 1) unheated pool, 2) heated pool and 3) jacuzzi which is what I would expect to meet at most resorts of 5 star standard.

Overall there are a lot better options to stay at in the Da Nang and Hoi An area. Either pay a little more for a true luxury experience or pay half and stay at a hotel of...

Stunningly beautiful resort and facilities. As expected it’s a destination for vacationers and a lot of tourist groups who are transiting for a one or two night stay so lots of turnover. ||It’s an a beautiful sandy beach that’s halfway between Hoi An and Danang downtown (roughly 30 minutes between each). Stayed 3 nights to use it as a base for our time between each city (we opted not to visit Ba Na Hills). It’s an easy 10 minutes between min walk to Marble Mountain although the walk up the actual mountain was challenging which was probably due to the 108 degree with high humidity. ||Initially booked a garden view room but received a nice ocean view upgrade prior to arrival. As a resort there’s no lounge but they’ll give you water daily and if you need more call. We just went to the gym to refill out bottles. Selected breakfast as the check in benefit (it’s otherwise $20pp). Breakfast was very busy, lots of families, groups who are generally well behaved but honestly with so many from other counties it was sometimes unfortunate to see how they mistreated/communicated with the wonderful staff who did all they could to keep it organized. Selections and quality were top notch. They had made to order eggs, waffles, French toast, noodle bar, and so much more. I could list it all but it would take another 4 paragraphs. ||Unlike the Sheraton Saigon where I started the staff where was just overwhelmed that they didn’t have time to stay and chat but they were always helpful. At breakfast Lai, Hoa and Kiet helped us over our 3 mornings. ||Took a yoga class on the grass with Nga and a tabata class with Sky. Each was nice and the right speed for what we needed. The pool is always so comfortable, space was plentiful (no silliness or rushing out to reserve chairs). There were 4 or more pools and often they were unused. The beach is so nice and reminds of of Hawaii but with a lot less people because access is only though the hotels. I think the public beaches are north in My Khe. Duy helped us set up towels on a couple of days. ||The room was spacious, cool and so comfortable after being out in the heat. The only odd part was how close the rain shower was to the spigot which forced you to stand against it and it was a the height of your lower back/butt. There was a lot of wasted shower space. Would have been nice to have a separate room for the toilet so multiple people could use the bathroom at once but oh well, it’s just a comment. ||We went to Hoi A with the intention of tailor made suits. Our driver point is to one (I’m sure they get a kickback) and it worked out to us. Also, we were going to use a Grab back and forth to Hoi An but it was 240k each way and the driver offered to do it for 500k total so we hired him; he drove us to a Banh Mi spot we wanted, the the tailor, coconut boat (i wouldn’t do it again) all while waiting and then getting us home. ||Kevin at reception was helpful bc we sent our laundry (170k for 5.5 kg with pickup and delivery). We went to get massages in Danang and Hoi An. If you do it, they will often reimburse you for transport. The only we did in Hoi An sent a car, we did the massage, walked around to see the lanterns at night, eat dinner and when were done we sent a message with our location and they sent a driver. That alone saved us 500k ($20). ||We had snacks by the pool, the menu is attached if you want to see the prices. They discounted 10% for being a Marriott member. ||To/from the airport we booked our own Grab for about 200k each way, very easy to do. ||Not here to promote any business but if you info on the driver, tailor, massage or other activities...