20 Best Hotels in The Central Coast, Vietnam

The incredibly romantic Banyan Tree Lang Co is the ultimate beach stop midway between Danang and Hue, with fabulous villas, azure ocean views, a tranquil lagoon, and a wraparound mountain backdrop. The opulent pool villas take their lead from the imperial garden houses of Hue, in muted tones enlivened with splashes of gold silk and flamboyant artwork. The luxurious bathrooms with floor-to-ceiling glass windows look out over each villa's private tropical garden, and a private queen-size cabana on a raised deck overlooks the pool.

Set on an idyllic beach on Vietnam’s culturally rich Central Coast, Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai harmoniously combines sultry resort vibes and inspiring ancient traditions to form a luxury property now regarded as one of Vietnam’s finest. Its grandiose villas are sprinkled along a marvelous stretch of golden beach, while atmospheric dining choices, inviting infinity pools, and manicured gardens complete the experience, all gently cascading toward the calm East Sea. Every corner of this exquisite property feels exclusive and laid-back, but it can also be engaging and enriching with a variety of activities and offerings on sea and land.

Ocean views await at this luxurious resort that is nestled on rain forest slopes and is notable for its funicular train that descends through room levels to a private bay on the Son Tra Peninsula. It took famed architect Bill Bensley six years to design this masterpiece, where Vietnamese architecture meets modern design. The colors and patterns are intense, with black-and-white fabrics splashed with a fiery red that begins in the marble lobby and continues throughout. Suites have indoor–outdoor living rooms, giant bathtubs, and wet bars. There are three restaurants, a library, an extraordinary spa, a cooking school, the impressive beachside Long Bar, Planet Trekkers kids' club, and a host of cultural activities including traditional Vietnamese lantern-making.

With four swimming pools—saltwater, freshwater, infinity, and kids—and staff who make a point to learn your name and preferences, this beautiful resort offers the very best in customer service and design. Hourly shuttles will take you to An Bang beach, where sunbeds are reserved for La Siesta guests, or to the Old Town. The suites feature giant balconies with outdoor tubs, and both the Red Bean and Temple Restaurant serve excellent cuisine.

Reminiscent of a rural Vietnamese village, this peaceful property has artisan shops lining a brick pathway that lead to spacious villas with hardwood floors, private balconies, and marble bathtubs framed with river stones. Canopy beds are massive, and bathrooms come equipped with organic shampoos and creams in clay pots. Throughout the sprawling grounds are two swimming pools, a spa, two restaurants, and a lounge bar built above a lotus pond.

Rooms and bungalows here exude supreme comfort, blending elegance with subtle touches of local artistry. Equipped with bathrooms tailored for meticulous grooming, rooms also feature balconies offering captivating sea vistas. At Epice, the resort's main restaurant, guests are treated to a culinary spectacle as skilled chefs craft inventive fusion dishes in open kitchens. The culinary journey continues at Azure, the beachfront dining venue, where fresh local seafood takes center stage in imaginative presentations. From early-morning beach Tai Chi and invigorating aerobics to stand-up paddleboard lessons, activities cater to various interests. After a day of beachside adventures, unwind with a meticulously crafted cocktail as the sun dips below the horizon.

Vietnam’s modus operandi is generally fast-paced, but the focus at this contemporary beachfront retreat is on slowing down. Although it is ostensibly a wellness resort, the ethos here is a gentle one. Sure, you can go fully vegan or opt-in for the daily rolling roster of yoga or breathwork classes. Alternatively, you can simply kick back and enjoy resort highlights such as its creative healthy cuisine and gorgeous beachfront infinity pool. Each private villa boasts a serene color palette and expansive glass walls that flood the interiors with natural light. Tailor-made programs cater to the pursuit of mental and physical relaxation—complete with two treatments daily included in the nightly room rate.

With a hot spring running through its property and the backdrop of Annamite Range, this resort is an all-season wellness retreat. Guests won’t have much time to stay in their comfortable rooms or lovely thatched bungalows as the resort offers a long list of complimentary wellness as well as outdoor activities. The resort's on-site organic farm is the main source for its kitchens. The mineral water from one of the emergence spots of this hot spring is bottled and sold throughout the country.

Situated in low-rise buildings, rooms here have an apartment-like feel, with small living areas and three stairs leading to king-size beds. Outdoor daybeds face the garden, river, or pool. Suites have Jacuzzis, hardwood floors, and four-poster beds draped in silk. The European-style café and the swanky cocktail bar have more charm than the somewhat unimaginative rooms. Bikes, yoga, board games, and a shuttle to the beach are available free of charge to guests. Other options include sunset cruises and spa treatments.

On a 3-km (2-mile) sandy beach, hugged by the Truong Son mountain range, this resort offers golf, quad bikes, water sports, a kids' club, and a beach club, and despite daily excursions to Hue and Hoi An, it's easy to see why most guests don't venture off the property. Stylish rooms come equipped with gadgetry, a living room, and luxurious bathrooms, and almost half of them come with their own private plunge pool. On-site dining spans a menu of Vietnamese and international cuisines by the pool, and a three-hour buffet breakfast served in Market Place.

For beach villa stays, the colonial-style Boutique Hoi An Resort located on the sandy coastal stretch between Cua Dai and An Bang Beach is one of the most decadent in town. The large, airy rooms have an art deco theme and coconut-fringed beach views, which you can enjoy from sumptuous oversize beds. There's a huge pool surrounded by shady tropical gardens, fully serviced by a decent pool restaurant, a stone's throw from the net-draped massage pavilions of the resort spa.

French Vietnamese–style villas surround a tropical swimming lagoon right on the Bac My An beach. Rooms overlook either the lagoon or the ocean. Shuttered windows, dark wood furniture, ceiling fans, and Vietnamese pieces hark back to the French colonial era. The resort has five dining venues. The resort also has the largest menu of water sports activities in the area. Complimentary shuttle services are available to Hoi An, Danang, and the nearby Montgomerie Links golf course.

The best feature of Hoi An's oldest beach resort is its riverside setting, and river views somewhat make up for the lack of beach (rapid coastal erosion took the last of the beach). The renovations have successfully injected style and character, with sleek lines, colorful soft furnishings, and local artwork. Bathrooms are modern and luxurious, with Western-size tubs, monsoon showers, and marble accents.

All 40 of the riverfront rooms of Hue Riverside Boutique Resort and Spa sit in a verdant 10-acre pomelo garden and line the Huong River. Most of the land is filled with seemingly thousands of pomelo trees, many banana trees, and three organic vegetable gardens, which make this eco-resort one of the most poetic and tranquil getaways in town. Both the restaurant and spa source the vegetables and herbs from the gardens. Solar panels and a windmill help supply electricity to the resort.

Although not the swankiest, this huge riverside property offers all the benefits of resort facilities, a central location, and pool, all at low prices, while the helpful staff make this one of the most pleasant places to stay in Hue. The large rooms come decorated in traditional Vietnamese style, with rattan furniture. Ask for one of the renovated older rooms—they're better than the newer, more hastily built ones surrounding the pool.

Right in the middle of the coastal strip between Hoi An and Danang, the fabulous Hyatt Regency is the perfect beach compromise for those that can't decide between the two cities (both are within a 25-minute drive). This modern resort is a maze of similar-looking structures stretched along miles of white sandy coast and well manicured gardens. Rooms have lots of wood, a comfortable lounging area, and minimal styling, and the bathrooms are of the glass and optional blind variety, so not very private. As with any Hyatt property, the list of facilities and activities is vast. Standouts are the enormous pool and kids' program, although the kids' club comes at an extra cost if you leave your little ones there for extended periods.

This has the feel of a state-owned hotel, though the facilities and beach location are first-rate. Rooms are basic but have whirlpool tubs, comfortable beds, and most have fantastic ocean views. The staff are charming, but on weekends and holidays it can be crowded and noisy with domestic tourists. The positive aspect is that during weekdays you'll have the whole beach to yourself. The restaurant can be a bit hit or miss, but just a stone's throw from the resort lie some of the best seafood restaurants on the Lang Co coastal stretch; their specialty is oysters char-grilled by the dozen.

Sitting at the midway point between Hoi An and Danang, between a beach and a golf course designed by Greg Norman, the pool villas, beach, and facilities at Ocean offer the perfect compromise for nongolfers. The modern, self-contained villas are located in a secure gated development, with restaurants, shops, spa, and gym. They come in all shapes and sizes (from one to five beds) and are outfitted with everything you could possibly need.

On a peaceful lagoon halfway between Danang and Hue, this 67-acre luxury resort is the only property to offer over-the-water villas in Vietnam. The tranquil waters and lush mountains beckon forced relaxation, as do the spa, yoga, and isolated location on Tam Giang-Cau Hai, the largest lagoon system in Southeast Asia. Fashioned from natural materials, villas have outdoor showers and sundecks with distant views of Bach Ma Mountains. Despite access to the free shuttle to Hue, most guests stay on the premises, enjoying such activities as kayaking, fishing, tennis, swimming, and cooking classes. The restaurant has traditional Vietnamese cuisine and live jazz nightly.

Public spaces at this popular, family-friendly resort are well positioned to take in the panoramic coastal view, and all rooms come luxuriously appointed with beautiful bathrooms and traditional Asian furnishings. Best are the deluxe (the French-colonial-theme rooms win hands down for style in this category) and suites, which come with sunken Jacuzzi bathtubs and alfresco showers. L'Annam, the resort's main restaurant, pulls in the expat crowds for its exceptional seafood specialties and buffet breakfasts. The free-flow Sunday brunch is well worth extending your stay.