Sun Spa resort latest luxury hot spot on the coastline of Vietnam

Sunny daze: the Sun Spa resort aims to crack the high-end market in central Vietnam

The first phase of the resort, which was just completed, offers 236 four and five-star rooms, while developer Truong Thinh General Construction Company plans to add another 250 rooms in the next two years.
Built on the tip of a sandy peninsula facing the Eastern Sea and the Nhat Le River, the resort features a spa centre, a 350-seat conference hall and three restaurants that can serve 1,000 diners.
Truong Thinh general director Vo Xuan Hoai said the company would spend $14.3 million to complete the final phase of the resort by 2006. To accomplish this, the company will borrow $4.4 million from Vietcombank and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam.
“We are hopeful that Sun Spa Resort will become an ideal stopover for tourists travelling in Vietnam, particularly the World Heritage Road,” Hoai said.
The World Heritage Road was launched by hotels and travel agents in central Vietnam in 2002 to promote road and railroad tourism and to develop hotels and services stations in an area that has four world heritage sites.
The tourism road stretches from Vinh city in the north to Phan Thiet town in the south, incorporating Phong Nha cave, the imperial city of Hue, Hoi An, and the My Son ruins. Sun Spa resort is another stop on a road that boasts some premier resorts, such as Furama in Danang, Victoria in Hoi An, and Lang Co beach in Hue. Hoai said Sun Spa asked Furama’s assistance in training its staff.
Furama general manager Paul Stoll said Sun Spa resort would benefit from central Vietnam’s tourism boom, which has come as a result of improved road and air access.
“Phu Bai airport in Thua Thien Hue is being upgraded to service large aircraft, while Chu Lai airport in Quang Nam is expected to open in 2005 or 2006, adding two more airlinks to central Vietnam,” said Stoll.
Meanwhile, Hoai said he hoped that a planned upgrade of Quang Binh airport would bring in more Vietnamese and international tourists.
To support local tourism development, aviation authorities are upgrading the airport to receive its first commercial flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in early 2006. Although Quang Binh is one of the poorest provinces in central Vietnam, it found itself in the international spotlight after Phong Nha cave and Ke Bang national park were recognised as World Heritage sites by UNESCO last year.
A Hanoi company is building a resort in Quang Binh to capitalise on growing tourist numbers in the province. Cividec’s planned $19 million resort is to be built near Phong Nha cave, featuring hotels, a stone park, sculpture garden, amusement and sports park, food court, and a lakeside conference facility.
The Phong Nha cave complex and Ke Bang national park won world heritage status for their unique geological formations.
The Phong Nha cave complex is made up of 14 small caves, attracting a large number of tourists every year.