Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô Hotel

Where the emerald hills of south-central Vietnam’s Phu Yen province meet porcelain-white sands, Zannier Bai San Ho offers a sophisticated coastal retreat. It feels like a world apart, even though it’s just a 90-minute drive from the domestic airports of Phu Cat and Tuy Hoa. The journey sets the tone as you meander through narrow fishing-village lanes, past water buffalo grazing in the rice paddies, and through the discreet entrance that opens to 100 hectares of untamed wilderness.

The resort’s 73 villas are tucked into hillside jungle, set among rice paddies or placed directly on the beach, offering seclusion and views that feel entirely your own. The villas blend local heritage with understated style, using dark wood, rattan and hand-made ceramics to create a sense of place.

From your window or private pool – included in 48 villas – you might spot fishermen casting their nets in the bay, known locally as Lobster City, or gaze over serene lotus gardens.

Service reflects Vietnam’s celebrated warmth, with 70 per cent of staff drawn from nearby villages, bringing an authentic sense of place and connection to every guest experience. With an emphasis on local produce, eat breakfast at the main restaurant as you look out over the Bay ofCorals. Try the live cooking stations as local dishes of banh cuon (steamed rice rolls filled with pork, shrimp or vegetables) are freshly made just for you. Lunches may be spent at the traditional wooden-structured Lang Chai, and dinners at the hotel’s Vietnamese restaurant, Ba Hai, perched atop stilts among the rice paddies.

There is plenty to do for those who can rouse themselves from the sun loungers: paddleboarding or sailing in bay’s calm waters, and snorkelling among the offshore reefs. Or visit a local market with a chef and try your hand at creating Vietnamese dishes in a cookery class.

Words by Isabella Machin. Photography by Frederick Wissink.

Villas from £208. +84 257 383 0000. zannierhotels.com