Furama Resort in Danang Vietnam

From Hanoi, we took a quick flight to Danang where we were met at the airport by the transport team from the Furama Resort (www.furamavietnam.com); fifteen minutes later, we arrived at their fabulous beachfront property. We booked this hotel because we wanted to stay on the beach, reviews were good and the photos looked great on their website. Also, the price was right. Four nights with buffet breakfast and airport van for under $1200. Normally, I try to stay at a property where I know the Manager or at least someone who has stayed there and recommended it. In this case, we took a chance and picked a winner.

The property consists of a series of buildings spread out along a clean wide sandy beach. There are pools (2), a small but very good spa and several restaurants. The food was excellent and the breakfast buffet at Café Indochine (the resort’s signature restaurant)fueled us until dinner time…. Eggs were prepared as desired, fruit was fresh and plentiful and for those seeking Asian dishes, there were many to choose from. The bread and pastries were warm from the oven and service was impeccable.

We tried Don Cipriani’s Italian restaurant one evening and were impressed with the Vietnamese take on classic Italian cuisine. Homemade pasta with fresh sauces, lots of seafood and the pizza, served bubbling from the wood-fired oven, was perfect.

We were upgraded from a pool view room to one facing the beach with a separate seating area and comfortable balcony. The service was top notch and our fresh fruit platter was replaced daily.

It was a quick drive from Furama to Hoi An (about 30 minutes) and we had a choice of taking the hotel shuttle either in the morning or afternoon. One day, we hired a taxi (about $25) to take us to town in the early evening and pick us up four hours later, as we wanted to have dinner in one of the restaurants in Hoi An.