Developer digs deep at Quang Binh luxury resort

Indoor spas are the key to attracting tourists to cooler regions

The Viet Kieu-run firm will spend $9 million building a spa resort in Dong Hoi town, an area in the north known to deter tourist with its long cold winter months.
Developers in Vietnam mainly locate beach resorts between Danang and Phan Thiet where warm weather is ideal for year round tourism.
Ho Thieu Tri, founder of the architectural firm, said he had plans to buck trends by establishing the resort in the cold northern region.
“Spas are our key product. After sightseeing around the province, tourists can relax at our in-door and out-door spa areas which are ideal during both winter and summer,” said Tri.
Located on a spacious seven-hectare beachfront property, the spa resort will feature strings of villas, bungalows and detached houses totalling 150 rooms.
Phase one is expected to see the opening of the spa and the first 100 rooms by mid 2007, with the remaining work to be completed over next few years.
“The resort’s concept will be used for the first time in Vietnam,” said Tri.
Responsible for the acclaimed restoration of the Hanoi Opera House in 1997, Tri said he found it difficult to convince developers to buy his unique concept.
“The villas and rooms will be designed in harmony with nature so that tourists will feel they are not constrained by four walls,” said Tri.
He said the concept was the end result of lengthy dealings with developers to build resorts across various landscapes in Vietnam.
Asia’s leading construction information service BCI ranked Ho Thieu Tri & Associates among the top ten architecture and design companies in Vietnam this year.
The distinction followed the firm’s involvement in various projects such as the Tan Hoang Cung Hotel in Hue, Tam Dao Golf Club in Vinh Phuc, and the 21-storey Bitexco Office Building in Ho Chi Minh City.
Tri said along with the 230-room Sun Spa Resort which he designed, the new development would help put Quang Binh on the international tourist map.
“It is not enough to attract tourists to Quang Binh with only the Sun Spa Resort,” said Tri. “With our resort, Quang Binh will have a tourist complex to promote itself to tourists.”
Tri also said he would select a well established management company to operate the resort.
Quang Binh was in the spotlight last year when Phong Nha caves and Ke Bang National Park were conferred by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as a world heritage site.
Local developers have since proposed several resort projects to provide accommodation for an increasing number of tourists.
Quang Binh is currently an arduous journey for tourists, consisting of a 500 kilometre trip from Hanoi and 150 kilometre trek from Hue.
Travel time is to be shortened with aviation authorities upgrading Dong Hoi airport and reopening the long-closed facility to commercial flights, with the first arrival from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi expected next year.