The Place I first stayed at the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort back in 2017 and I knew I have to be back again after my first stay. Fast forward to 2023, I managed to revisit one of the most stunning beachfront resorts in South-East Asia. Perhaps one of the most awarded and luxurious resorts in Southeast Asia, InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort has been a destination by itself. 

The drive from Danang city itself will take you 30 minutes by taxi through the Son Tra Peninsula Nature Reserve, east of the city. And the first steps into the resort, you will have no doubt that it is not going to disappoint.

A small lobby caters sufficiently for the 200 luxury rooms here in the resort, with a mix of classic rooms, terrace suites, penthouses, and villas. First impression certainly counts as you would be treated to a panoramic view of the resort from the lobby.

To stay on top of its game, the IHG property went through a renovation of parts of the resort over the past two years, such as the spa and club lounge.

To get around the resort, you can choose to go by foot, by a buggy or the cable car built in the centre of the resort – which brings you through the 4 levels of the resort, cleverly named Heaven, Sky, Earth and Sea.

Heaven is where the lobby, concierge, Citron (the resort’s main restaurant) and the club lounge are located, with the renowned Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire’s La Maison 1888 located at Earth, and of course, the swimming pool, beach and 2 other restaurants, Barefoot and Long Bar located at the Sea level.

The Room I checked into the Club Terrace Suite Panoramic Oceanview with Club InterContinental benefits. This is located on the upper floor of the resort at the Heaven level, so you get a good view of the whole property from the suite.

At 80sqm, this is a spacious room to say the least, of which you get a huge balcony with a full view of the resort’s private bay at the Son Tra Peninsula. The large balcony space include a marble top dining table where you can enjoy your in-room breakfast should you be feeling lazy or all-too-comfy to step out of you comfort zone. We all have our dreamy moments.

The King-sized bed sits in the middle of the room, overlooking the bay, with a very generous space allocated to the entrance of the room, complete with traditional Vietnamese wooden furniture.

One of the highlights of our spacious room is definitely the showers – you get double vanities, complete with a huge and deep bathtub with ocean views and one of the best rain showers we have personally stood in – and if you prefer, feel free to open the windows for a full glorious view of the bay while showering.

The Facilities From a beachfront rooftop swimming pool, to the well-equipped gym and tennis court, the resort has all the basic facilities and more. At InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, you can do way more than in any other resort, and I do not have any reason to step out of the resort at all.

One of the highlights during my stay, and probably a spot which I spent a great deal of my time, was the gorgeous 50-metres infinity Swimming Pool.

From here, you get a full view of the resort with the hillside backdrop, and get to soak in the waters with sounds of the waves hitting the shores. This pool is quiet, temperature-controlled and for adults only.

The service at the resort during our visit was top-notch, as the attentive service staff would prepare a bottle of cold mineral water and lay the towels for my chosen deskchairs during each of my visit to the pool or beach.

There is also the garden pool located right beside Long Bar along with the kids pool.

The Fitness Centre is tucked away behind Long Bar and it includes an outdoor work out zone as well.

The 700-metre long Beach is great to sit back and relax with the sea breeze, and there are also complimentary water sports like kayaking, stand up paddling or surfing if you fancy. I managed to get my hands on surfing, though it is also subjected to the weather conditions at the bay.

And yes, travelling between the facilities and within the resort is well-facilitated by the 24 hours service cable car, or if you fancy, a ride on the buggy upon your request. And of course, you can always choose to take a leisure walk to clock your daily steps count.

If you have booked any of the Club InterContinental room, suite or villa, you would be able to access the Club Intercontinental Lounge, one of my favourite spots in the resort. I arrived at the resort well ahead of the check-in time, and I was ushered first to the lounge to have a drink and wait for my suite to be ready. You are able to check in or out right at the comfort of the Club Intercontinental Lounge.

In fact, Club Intercontinental Lounge had undergone a big revamp in the sense that it was relocated from its original location (which I is slated to be a new dining concept) to its current location right below the main lobby. The interior of the lounge plays with bits of colour popping and there is definitely more seating capacity as compared to the previous. The best seats are the tables right beside the window for sure.

The design of the seating in the lounge fits various group sizes be it couples or families with children where there are family rooms.

It is a non-stop eating affair at the Club Lounge, which also serves up complimentary daily Afternoon Tea and evening cocktails with canapés for club guests. It is definitely one of the most private space in the resort where it is not too crowded at any point, and this is the spot to hang out with a nice ocean view if you are not at the beach or pool.

I am also glad that I managed to secure a booking at Mi Sol Spa for a one hour body massage. The spa reception is located right beside the garden pool, though the treatment rooms are tucked away in a relatively quiet part of the resort.

I like the treatment cabins right beside the water, which instills a sense of calmness.

The body massage treatment I had uses sound vibration to relax the mind, and I must say I had a very good massage session.

The Restaurants Without a doubt, the highlight of the dining options at the resort has to be La Maison 1888, the fine-dining French restaurant managed by renowned Three-Michelin Starred Chef Pierre Gagnaire from France. I recommend going for the lunch serving if you are looking to enjoy the nice natural light sipping into the black-white French grandeur interior décor of the beautiful restaurant. 

For daily breakfast, Citron restaurant located at the heaven level is where most of the hotel guests will be having their buffet breakfast at.

The buffet spread at Citron restaurant is very impressive, which include the likes of ala minute authentic Vietnamese pho counter and egg station. Just make sure you leave some space for the International spread too, this is easily one of the best hotel breakfast buffet we have ever had.

If you are lucky, do try to get one of the 5 exclusive outdoor pods within Citron restaurant, where you can dine while enjoying full views of the resort.

As Club Room guest, I had the privilege of enjoying breakfast at the Club Intercontinental Lounge where the service is more personalised. The breakfast menu is a good mix of local dishes such as pho and International selections. I probably overdrank the fresh coconut juices too.

Other restaurants here include the beach front casual bites and bar lounge, Long Bar, and the seafood and grill concept, Barefoot. Long Bar is a beach facing bar where you could enjoy some natural sea breeze while having a drink.

I managed to check out the Barefoot Bonfire BBQ which takes place every Saturday evening where there are live cooking stations offering grilled meats and seafood, pasta, cold cuts, cheeses, fresh vegetable salads and sensational desserts.

You could go barefoot on the sand and relax in the live band music ambience by the sea, which is quite a different dining experience for me.  

If you are looking for a round of drinks, you can head over to the Buffalo Bar located in the same building as La Maison 1888 for some wine and cocktails.

Rants I stayed two nights in the resort, and never once managed to find enough reason to step out of it to visit the nearby Danang City. So if you would like to make a visit to the key attractions in Central Vietnam, including Danang City, Hoi An, My Son and Hue, perhaps it would be a good idea to visit them before or after your stay here. Just FYI, the resort does provide complimentary scheduled shuttle service between the resort and both Danang City and Hoi An.

If anything, I feel that service could be better and more polished where I do experience moments of slight language barriers even at the Club Lounge.

Overall Experience Second time back, and in terms of hardware, the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort still impresses. I couldn’t help but compare this to Conrad Koh Samui, an equally stunning resort on its own, though I lean towards InterContinental Danang more comparatively. It also helps that there are direct flights from Singapore to Danang and this slice of paradise is not too far away from Da Nang International Airport as well.

InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort
Bai Bac, Son Tra, Danang, Vietnam

For more information, check out InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort website.

Ranted by The Ranter