Mövenpick Villas & Residences Phu Quoc — Hotel in Phú Quốc

Not a 5* hotel

Although a luxury setting on the beach, our stay here has been far from 5*.

We arrived here with warm welcomes and what seemed like a promising start, but as our stay progressed, we noticed the care and attention from staff in their work is just not that of a 5*.

THE ROOM** Our main niggle has been our room. After the first day we came back and our room hadn’t been cleaned even though we had left the sign on the door from 9am that morning. I messaged to ask for it to be cleaned which it was then done. The next day, the same thing happened so I said I’d like the room cleaned earlier as we like to come back to the room to rest and get ready for the evening. The 3rd day we come back at 5:30pm and had to wait outside whilst our room was being cleaned, I also noticed by this point the sheets hadn’t been changed (I fell over and cut my foot there was blood on the sheets) & left us with no towels. Again I messaged and requested our sheets to be changed and again asked for our room to be cleaned earlier. By the 4th day our sheets were finally changed and we were told our room would be cleaned before 1pm daily for the rest of our stay, which they have now stuck to, but the standard of cleaning is poor. The floor hadn’t been swept or mopped, the surfaces hadn’t been wiped clean, just made the bed and took the bins out.

This is just not 5*, not what you’d expect for the price you pay. I also don’t think we are asking for much on the basis of a clean room and clean sheets.

They also have cooking Hobbs in the room which work, but when I asked about this at reception I was told we couldn’t use them, why have them then?

The room itself is nice, large bed, sitting area, large bathroom and shower, also a large fridge/freezer which has come in super handy on our stay.

THE BEACH** A stunning location, beautiful white sand & turquoise waters let down again by the cleanliness. Broken stools & rubbish left along the beach (see pictures) The sun loungers themself are minimal, there isn’t enough, they have a long stretch of beach and all the beds are crowded together and there just isn’t enough for guests. I also found the cushion on the bed extremely hard, not a comfortable lounger - again not 5* luxury. The beanbags are comfortable.

I like that they have QR codes for table service on the beach, but the staff moan if you’re too far down the beach, your glasses and plates are also then left the whole day, no one tidying the beach or clearing up - even when another drink is bought over they don’t take away the used glasses/plates.

SEA/SUN** The sea itself is warm and enjoyable, no marine life unfortunately but still perfect for a swim. The sunsets are something else, absolutely gorgeous!!

RESTAURANT/FOOD** The Islander & Aura beach club are both beautiful, wonderfully designed. The food is top class, I can’t fault it. Everything is fresh, cooked well and presented well.

For breakfast if you’re staying in the residence you’re supposed to have breakfast at Lang Chai restaurant, but this restaurant is small and the spread at breakfast isn’t as captivating as the islander - I think you should be given the choice. I understand it gets busy, but everyone is paying for 5* so why should some of us be stuck in a smaller restaurant and not have the experience of the islander buffet - yes it is the same food, but the islander have the little extras for your salad etc, and it’s just a much nicer breakfast experience. Also the coffee machine in Lang Chai restaurant is unbelievably slow the queue always has around 6 people in it blocking other stations. I did make a complaint about this, and we were offered breakfast in The Islander for the duration of our stay, which was appreciated - we’ve enjoyed every breakfast.

EVERYTHING ELSE** I think everyone should receive a little tour on arrival. Hire a bike/car or be prepared to pay for taxis as the resort is quite far out. We hired a bike and had a...

We booked a villa 3 bedrooms with private pool and beach view for 6 nights. 6 adults, 3 small kids between 1 and 4 years old. When we arrived they were very friendly and service minded. Quick to answer questions and request through their app. The first day we reported a crack in the kitchen bench and ants coming out of it. They were quick to respond and sending people to fix it. However, it didn’t solve the problem. Still ants in the kitchen even though we didn’t have any food or fruits there. The next day we noticed that water from the AC ventilation in the roof was leaking down on the floor, making on of our kids slipping and hitting his head. It was a small incident, but the water was leaking from 3 different ventilation openings. Mövenpick were this time also quick to try to resolve the issue, but it didn’t fix it. The days after it was still leaking and we just had to be careful with the kids. It could have been worse with the kids or grandparents slipping on the wet floor. It’s was the rain season and heavy raining some of the nights. One morning we woke up with a lot of water on the bedroom floor, coming from outside. Leaking through some windows. It was quite a lot and we tried to clean it up, but it kept coming more water after just a couple of hours. We did report this as well, and this time they offered us to change villa. This is on our fourth 4. Honestly, we didn’t want to do that because of all the hassle with packing down, packing it out again and then down the last time when we would leave. 3 small kids and 6 big luggage’s would result in a couple of hours with packing. We spent a significant amount of money and payed for comfort, and we didn’t want to get out of our planned days spending it to fix Movenpick’s problems. We were kind of fed up, the problems had already taken a lot of stress and time from our vacation, and didn’t want to spoil more time and effort. So we asked for a compensation, they responded with an apology and a small platter of fruit. Frankly, that provoked me a little. We did pay for a luxury villa, comfort and service. A small platter of fruit was just a joke. In the end they offered us free private airport transportation, that is around $20 (we paid that for private transportation from the airport to the resort). Which would be the least they could have offered, and wouldn’t cost them that much! I’m quite disappointed in how they tried to service us, considering the amount of money we had already put down on this place. The cleaning was ok. The villas was a little old, water was running slow in the shower drain and the day we came we found some used paper tissue under the bathroom cabinet. On the positive note, the beds were very comfortable and breakfast buffet great! You would definitely find something tasteful and leave the breakfast full. The location is a little far from center, but we knew that when we booked. Just disappointed that the value and money spent, didn’t reflect the service or standard...

We holidayed from Australia and visited three different areas of Vietnam and I just want to say off the bat, that Movenpick Phu Quoc was a great place to take the family.

We booked a two bedroom villa with a private pool. The villa was very spacious and well appointed and the air conditioning worked well. A private pool outside your bedroom was very convenient to say the least. Highly recommend staying in a villa.

There were many aspects about the resort we loved. The main pool area was lovely but defiantly needs more shaded areas. The daily afternoon happy hour was also very inviting. The kids club proved to be a hit with our two children and the pool foam party was so much fun.

The buffet breakfast is incredible. The quality and variety of food options were almost limitless. We looked forward to each and every day.

The resort staff were absolutely incredible. They are a true asset to the hotel. So polite, happy and attentive. Yes there were a few times where the language barrier created some challengers, but they were usually quickly overcome. The staff can't do enough for you. My wife and I were very impressed with the level the service and attention they all provided.

I'd like to personally mention a few that went above and beyond to make our holiday so great.

Firstly, Ms Quyen who was our personal guest relations officer. I was able to text and call Ms Quyen directly and she took care of all our inquiries and requests in an efficient manner. It was really nice to have that service.

Ms Anh (Annie) from the kids club. She was amazing with the kids. So energetic and fun. Look out for her killer dance moves at the foam party. The treasure hunt and water fight where a great hit as well. Thank you Annie for entertaining our children.

The restaurant manager Olivier and assistant manager Annie (yes another Annie), who took care of us each morning for breakfast. Both of whom were very mindful to our requirements and provided a wonderful experience because of this.

As fantastic as breakfast was, there was an unfortunate side. It's my only criticism about our stay, and really it's not the hotels fault at all. The one negative point about our stay is the way hotel guest acted during breakfast. It was an absolute feeding frenzy. Like a pack of hyenas attacking an elephant carcass. I was literally pushed aside and had people run around me just so they could get to the food before me. Basic manners and etiquette just didn't exist and at times it become too overwhelming. Without going into detail, there was one morning that I just couldn’t tolerate the rudeness from some guest next to us. I brought it Olivier’s attention and and he dealt with it appropriately. Thank you again Olivier for your assistance and understanding.

Our stay was wonderful and we would not...