The InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is an extraordinary property from designer, architect and landscaper Bill Bensley. It sits on top of a private bay and beach, offering rainforest-edged seclusion that’s still just half an hour from Da Nang and 45 minutes from the enduringly charming Hoi An.
What’s the deal?
Bill Bensley has a cult following among a certain kind of hotel geek. He’s an unabashed maximalist whose properties are deeply rooted in their environments, but also richly whimsical – merging the real and the imagined to forge a new kind of story for each and every hotel.
The “InterCon Danang” was Bensley’s largest project to date back when it opened in 2012, marking the first time he had truly free rein to craft everything from the landscape and villas down to the signage and flatware.
The result is an undeniable winner. The whole place is intensely photogenic, whether you’re gazing upon the flower-lined water feature at the entrance, the placid reflecting pools, the layered architecture, or the precisely placed furniture. The resort unfolds over four distinct levels as it flows from the mountainside down to the beach, named Heaven, Sky, Earth and Sea. Linking them is a small funicular inspired by traditional Vietnamese basket boats, which trundles between the levels in a piece of pure theatre.
The aesthetics lean heavily into the black-and-white of Indochine, offset by Bensley’s signature playful touches. Shocks of lemon yellow and lime green grab your attention, while monkey statues dot every bridge and balcony – much like the real monkeys often seen leaping through the forests around the property at sunrise.
We stayed in a King Club Suite; its wraparound balcony, with a view of the rainforest, beach and ocean, made for the perfect spot for that first coffee of the day. All guest rooms merge indoors and outdoors like this, welcoming nature while retaining the pleasure of air-conditioning. Bathrooms feature rainforest showers which fall onto wooden floors, and generous bathtubs for long, deep soaks.
Why stay?
As this is a stay-and-don’t-leave kind of resort, there’s a lot of fun on offer. Alongside a superb kids’ club and myriad water sports, you’ll find a comprehensive programme of activities that includes regular movie nights, cooking classes, and a monkey-spotting buggy ride that takes you up into the hills. Chances are high that you’ll spot one of the rare red-shanked douc monkeys native to the peninsula.
For food and drinks, the magisterial Long Bar is true to its name – 50 metres in total, making it the longest in Vietnam. Above it lies the equally sizeable main swimming pool reserved for adults, while the family pool sits alongside.
You’ll find pizzas and pastas at the beachfront Terra Mare – if you’re there on a Saturday, don’t miss the open-air seafood barbecue buffet and bonfire. Citron offers breakfast and all-day dining, with the highlight being the circular open-air booths that float above the water, designed to look like upturned conical non la hats.
But the real star of the show is La Maison 1888. Central Vietnam’s only Michelin-starred restaurant is set in a French-style mansion built into the hillside, serving genuinely interesting fine French fare from chef Christian Le Squer of the three-starred Le Cinq in Paris. The food is uniformly excellent and, much like the resort itself, full of the unexpected. A highlight is the pistachio sorbet over which a lobster bisque is poured – intriguing, seemingly implausible, but resolutely delicious.
Cathay editors say…
"The InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula is a Bill Bensley classic for a reason. Standout food and a private slice of rainforest and ocean to call your own, underpinned by design that’s simultaneously super-smart and deeply whimsical.”