Mango Bay Resort — Hotel in Phú Quốc

We stayed at this resort, which is priced above average, looking for a peaceful vacation surrounded by nature. The interior and the grounds are indeed cozy, and the design clearly had a thoughtful touch. However, all of that faded into the background due to the actual living conditions.

First, we want to note: we understand this is the tropics, and insects are part of the ecosystem. But here, the level of cohabitation crosses all boundaries. The house is completely “open” — no glass, no screens — nothing separates you from the surrounding wildlife. • On the very first day, we found a large forest spider in the shower — it became a “regular resident” afterwards. • Two evenings in a row, a massive gecko the size of a cat ran along the walls inside the house. A polite security guard came when we called — he even managed to catch one and take it out into the bushes. But the next day, a new one appeared — even bigger. • A black scorpion ran across our feet in the shower. • Millipedes crawl along the walls and floor of the bathroom daily. • Various bugs gather in the sink every evening. • Once, we had to chase out a tropical cockroach and another large spider with a broom. • The last straw was the appearance of regular household cockroaches that showed up on the bed every evening. Even under the mosquito net, it was impossible to relax when cockroaches are crawling over your pillows.

Additionally, in the evenings, they burn mosquito coils inside the rooms, which cause headaches. These are meant for outdoor use. And during heavy rain, we constantly felt like the roof might collapse at any moment.

In the end, we left two nights early. The hotel flatly refused to refund us. We spent half a day messaging and calling Booking.com — thankfully, they helped us recover at least part of the money. I just don’t understand this kind of service at a resort of this level. Why should we lose money and waste time on negotiations and complaints when the issue is clearly on the hotel’s side? We would have loved to stay longer, but it was simply uncomfortable and unsafe.

It’s a real shame that the beautiful exterior and friendly staff cannot compensate for the fundamental issue — a complete lack of basic comfort, as well as the hotel’s absolutely non-customer-oriented policies. We’re not demanding sterile conditions, but we would at least like to feel safe in our own room.

Also worth noting is the depressing state of the beach area: unkempt and dirty, very small, with a rocky entry into the water. Swimming there was not enjoyable. Moreover, some of the “sea view” houses actually face a cemetery and overgrown bushes. It’s unclear why anyone would pay such a high price to stay here — we definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

The only positive: a nice view from the restaurant and very sweet, smiling staff — until any sort of conflict arises. Everything else was a huge disappointment. For this price, you can find a proper 5-star resort on the island and spend your time without battling the local wildlife. If anything, just come here for the restaurant. The place is a total mismatch between price...

Stayed here for three nights at the deluxe seaview plantation bungalow. The airport transfer is included if you’re staying more than two nights, but you have to inform them at least a day ahead about your arrival.

When I first arrived at the resort, was famished so had my lunch at the On the Rocks restaurant, and tried their grilled squid with fries and salad - pretty scrumptious!

Was then led to my bungalow P14 at the south part of the resort, near the yoga, massage and snorkeling area. This side was a bit quiet compared to the beach side and felt a bit more wild with the garden and jungle setting but the waters were clearer than the beach side and managed to snorkel for a bit, although the overgrown seaweed and rough waves near the rocks made it a tad difficult to snorkel safely.

The seaview bungalow was pretty much an upscale shack with an outdoor toilet, which looked a bit exposed as there are two other cabins behind my bungalow. The staff assured me that no one could see me showering but I could see some towels and clothes from the other cabin so who knows…

Since the bungalow is in the middle of the jungle, I was privy to night time visitors in the form of two huge geckos and one of them even decided to call for its mate on my last night…needless to say, it was a worrying night of sleep for me.

Oh, and during my whole stay there, the restaurant that belongs to another resort would blast loud music and bass like a nightclub from 10pm onwards and would last until 2am. Was told by the Mango Bay front desk that they couldn’t do anything about it so for those who’re staying at the south side and are light sleepers, beware of this. On my last night, the music started from 8pm and lasted until 1am.

The bungalow is well ventilated and since I get cold easily, I didn’t need to use the portable a/c system attached to the bed. Mosquitoes were a big concern though so had to use the repellent and coil at night to deter them.

I ate at the resort during my stay and have to say that the price is not too bad, considering you’re on the other side of the island. For those who are abled bodied, you can probably find cheaper options elsewhere but the resort gives you a discount when you charge your food to your room - only knew this during checkout, so wished they also deducted the discount when I paid in cash.

Tried the Mango Bay Signature Massage at the spa and it was one of the most relaxing massages I ever had in my life! My masseuse, Thuy, was diligent and ensured that the pressure was to my liking…I enjoyed it so much that I went there again the next day.

On the day of my checkout, because I was going to another resort, was told that the airport shuttle would only go to town twice so had to take Grab instead. For those going straight to the airport, you may need to arrange this a day prior or pay for Grab/taxi at your own cost.

Overall, had a good time except for the loud music at night, and creepy crawlies entering the room. If I were to go back to Mango Bay, a night or two is plenty...

First off let me start by giving some of the good.

This place is beautiful, fresh, clean and remote. The owners daughter/manager is as helpful as possible and communicates well with the guests.

That about sums it up for the good.

I do understand that tourism in the country as a whole is in its infancy and did my best the whole trip (we spent a month travelling the country). This was probably the most expensive place we stayed the entire time as we wanted something laid back, higher end and warm before heading back to Canada.

This resort charged western prices and that's where the problems for me started. The fact they were remote meant that they felt it acceptable to charge 4-6 times for food items than what would be standard in town.

The food quality was good/average and nowhere near where it needed to be to justify the added expense.

The service was awful for the most part and their staff had no clue as to what a boundaries were when it came to superiors. Simple things like opening wine, to shoving their bosses and joking while guests were talking to them about simple issues compounds their displeasure.

You were only allowed to have 1 key for the room which meant that if you are independent people like my wife and I we had to hide the key or regularly be together or leave our room unlocked. At one point during the stay I had left breakfast to use the bathroom while my wife stayed at the table to enjoy her coffee. While I was sitting naked on the toilet the cleaning staff opened our room, WITHOUT knocking and proceeded to enter the room and subsequently into the bathroom where I was. After I finished my business and went downstairs to discuss this with the manager I had asked that our room not be entered again by any staff member until we checked out. My request was ignored and they continued to enter the room against our wishes. The snickering at me when I explained what happened didn't really help either. I cannot imagine how my wife would have reacted if that was a man doing maintenance on our room.

These are a couple of the larger issues we had. I would say that the lack of understanding to what a westerner is accustomed to regarding service compared to price was a big issue for me. Holding a door or offering water is nice. Not knowing how to open a bottle of wine properly (ie: not leaving the foil over where the cork is removed and causing it to drip on the table especially after paying a huge premium due to lack of alternatives) to shoving your boss in front of guests are not things that are worthy of what they are charging.

To sum it up, the place has great potential, and if they were priced according to experience and level of service I would have given them a much higher rating. Such a shame they decided to try and over capitalize...