Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô
Resort hotel · Song Cau
Hòa Thạnh, Song Cau, Phú Yên, Vietnam
Highlights
Airy villas, private pools, beach access, spa, 3 restaurants
Airy villas, private pools, beach access, spa, 3 restaurants
"Vietnam’s Zannier Hotels Bãï San Hô is a hotel certified by Green Globe."
"With 73 villas cascading down a hillside to a sweeping arc of beach, the Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô might just be the most beautiful property in Vietnam."
"Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô is set on 240 acres alongside a powder-white beach on a secluded peninsula in Vietnam’s seaside province of Phu Yen." - Mark Fedeli
"Why book? This is a design-lover’s hideout: every detail is ultra-considered from the hand-washed textured walls to the bamboo fan placed just so on top of the reclaimed-wood dresser. But it’s not just for architecture snobs, it’s a beachy retreat for people who love fresh seafood and the sound of the waves first thing in the morning.Set the scene: Compared to Vietnam’s big-hitting destinations—Hôi An, Hạ Long Bay—Phú Yên, on the south central coast, is virtually unknown. But the closest city, Quy Nhơn, has been drawing locals seeking out smart stays at Anantara and Avani for a few years. While borders are closed, you’ll find weekenders from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi here, along with a few curious expats. The backstory: Purchased in 2014 by French hotelier Arnaud Zannier, Bãi San Hô is as ethereally eclectic as his other far-flung properties in Namibia and Cambodia. The area’s local dishes, traditions, materials and architecture take centre stage—a common theme across Zannier’s clutch of distinct properties.The rooms: Each of the four villa types draws on different styles of Vietnamese architecture. The Hill Pool Villas are the most popular for their wide-screen views across the rice paddies. But the pitched roof Beach Pool Villas, just footsteps to the waves, steal the show. If you’re on a budget or visiting when the weather is less than ideal, the Rice Paddy Villas are cosy for couples, with low ceilings and no reason to leave the comfy bed and plunge tub. Food and drink: Seafood is a must here—especially the lobster. Try it at boho beachside spot Làng Chài, but don’t bypass the freshly squeezed sugarcane and tea mixes either; they’re a brilliant refresher in the sun. The smartest restaurant Bà Hai, meaning Grandmother Hai, is set in a traditional communal home with soaring ceilings, where each course of the set menu is a zhuzhed-up version of the country’s street-food favorites. The spa: Another curvy, softly designed space, the partially subterranean spa specializes in using local herbs and healing practices.The neighborhood/area: What neighbors? There are no other places to stay within 30 minutes. But do go on a bike ride with a guide through the local fishing villages.The service: Warm, welcoming and genuine. Service here is attentive yet unpretentious, which reflects local life in the region. Zipping you around the property in a buggy, the staff love a chat about how your day is going, where you’re from, and where else you’ve traveled in Vietnam. For families: While the smaller villas are more suited for globetrotting couples, there are two enormous houses—with a pool for cannonballs—that families can spread out in. Eco effort: During construction, the team created a plant nursery to house local vegetation and planted acres of greenery after completion—more than 96.5 percent of the plant life was preserved and replanted later. Accessibility: Wood-slatted pathways and multiple steps don’t make the property accessible for those with mobility issues. Anything left to mention? The hotel is spread over a whopping 240 acres, so bicycles are scattered throughout to get around the sprawling, sloping space more easily. Or a buggy ride is on speed dial." - Katie Lockhart
"Vietnam has over 2,000 miles of coastline, and huge swathes of it remain untouched by tourist development. Think white powder beaches, shimmering paddy fields, and seafront hamlets where coracle boats, fishing nets and reed baskets are still crafted by hand. This is one such spot – a half-mile beach at the tip of a spidery peninsula south of sub-radar Qui Nhon – and it's an absolute jewel. We first visited the bay in 2015, when there were only five villas. Hearing it was slated for expansion, we held our breaths – and then let out a big sigh of relief to hear it was our friends at Zannier, the pioneers behind Sonop, Omaanda and Phum Baitang. These guys have mastered the art of sustainable luxury in spectacular, remote settings. Launched in late 2020, Bai San Ho remains a boutique resort: its 73 villas (from 1 to 4 bedrooms) are comfortably swallowed by a bay this size; the hotel melts into its natural surroundings. The villas are beautifully designed with reclaimed timbers, bamboo, inside-outside living spaces, pared-back interiors and phenomenal attention to detail. The service – be it in the beach bar, the three restaurants (good food and cocktails on tap), the kids club, or the watersports- and activity centre – comes with big smiles and genuine kindness. And those magnificent views, that huge infinity pool! It doesn't really get any better than this. Highs The fine-sand, half-mile beach is the star of the show: fringed by palms and pines, dotted with exquisite shells, crashing waves, and bare minimum visual intrusionThere's tons to do: tennis, yoga, spa, watersports (from sailing to efoils), fishing villages to visit, even a golf course nearbyAnd the snorkelling is superb – the resort's name means 'Bay of Corals' – with year-round warm watersTheir commitment to sustainability is admirable: recycled building materials, 600 re-planted trees, no single-use plastics, and rice from their own paddies (with excess harvest being donated locally). They are the temporary caretakers of the bay and seem genuinely dedicated to protecting itThe breakfast buffet is a dream, an epic spread Lows Make no mistake, it's a long journey – an hour from Qui Nhon's domestic airport, 4 hours by road or rail from Nha Trang. We hear an expressway is being built which will reduce the transfer time but is likely to open the area up; enjoy it now while you can!Occasional big waves can make sea swimming tricky – but there's a panoramic pool, plus private plunge pools in most villasHillside paths mean it's not suitable for the infirm or for pushchairs, but free bikes and buggies around the resort can assist; if in the hilltop villas you need to plan ahead a little for lifts to the beach and restaurantsAt quieter times of year only two restaurants and about half of the villas are openThis is a slightly bigger property than most i-escape hotels" - Michael Cullen
