Overview of the Intercontinental Hotel in Da Nang

come for the bill bensley architecture and interiors, stay for the roving monkeys and knock out buffet breakfasts

the intercontinental hotel, da nang

Located in around 30 minutes from central Da Nang up the Son Tra Mountain, the Intercontinental Hotel (IHG Group) is a luxury retreat if you’re looking for seclusion and pampering. It looks and feels huge, with around 200 rooms and suites designed by famed architect Bill Bensley and incredible interior and furnishings (lots of pictures below!)

This Intercon has all the trappings you’d expect from a luxury resort, including a spa, pool, gym, three fancy restaurants (including the Michelin Star La Maison), and yes, a cable car lift you can take from the bottom level (Sea) up the top level (Heaven).

You know you’re in for a special time the minute you arrive at Reception – it’s expansive, gorgeously designed and I’m fairly certain there were two staff for every one guest that was milling around…

the rooms

The Intercon has several types of rooms, start at their “basic” Classic Panoramic Ocean View (no slouch at 70sqm), a few types of Suites, a Penthouse and topping out at their 3 bedroom Residence Villa (bigger than most houses at 2500sqm!) 😱

We stayed in the Classic Panoramic Ocean View room which was incredibly luxurious and more spacious than a lot of top class rooms at other hotels. The main bedroom area contained a very plush king bed, lounge, desk and TV (only local Vietnamese channels though – yes yes we’re not at a luxury resort to watch TV but each to their own), looking out onto an enormous covered balcony (tropical rain can’t touch you!).

The roof space and ceiling heights were cavernous – it made the entire room feel even bigger than it already was and felt like you could take in more of the view somehow…I don’t understand physics but I’m sure that is #science

The huge bathroom connected to the bedroom via sliding doors and was decked out with a lot of marble and an art deco flair. We LOVED the “egg” bath, complete with friendly ostrich statue gazing thoughtfully out at the ocean! There’s also a separate toilet room so you can close the curtain and have some privacy while doing your business.

All the amenities are also included – not just body wash, moisturiser (or “body souffle” as they called it), shampoo and conditioner but toothbrushes and toothpaste, combs etc. The rooms also have hairdryers and an iron – sometimes hotels have these “on request” which is super annoying, but no such issues here.

Each room also has a massive balcony with a outdoor 2 seater lounge, table, a minibar setup complete with mini fridge (very useful for storing your BYO wine as the included drinks are terribly expensive…), coffee machine and kettle. There is a wooden opening behind the mini bar that opens up into the shower if for some reason you needed to urgently reach the kettle (or more likely, your wine glass) whilst showering!

The balcony is a lovely space to enjoy room service – just watch out for the monkeys who are not shy about their insatiable appetites.

around the grounds

The Intercontinental Da Nang is expansive, sprawling out across the mountainside. You can make your way around the grounds either via foot or by buggy – it’s a bit annoying having to wait for a buggy to go longer distances, but they are fairly prompt and we never had to wait for more than 10 minutes (usually at peak hours like breakfast time). In the meantime, take in the views which given the resort’s vantage point, can be enjoyed from anywhere while you wait!

There’s also interesting architectural details everywhere, kids will love spotting all the different monkey statutes and the place lights up like a Christmas tree at night time just in case you need to see the Resort from space or something.

If you’re looking for activities, the Intercon run a full daily agenda including pilates, yoga, nature tours, coffee art classes, traditional arts and crafts, cooking classes and movie nights. The only one we really wanted to do was the nature tour (with the in-house zoologist!) but was cancelled due to the rainy weather.

the food

The Intercon features three restaurants – go for fancy Michelin starred French at La Maison 1888, seafood and other Western fare at Barefoot Bar and Grill and Vietnamese at the main restaurant Citron (breakfast is also served here). There’s also the Long Bar for casual bites and cocktails, a game of pool or table tennis and lounging on their luxurious daybeds.

We tried all the restaurants except La Maison (I’m not the Wolf of Wall Street yo). In no particular order (spoiler alert – buffet breakfast was my favourite and probably the best hotel buffet breakfast I’ve ever been to):

the long bar – casual bites and cocktails

I really liked this bar – it was super spacious, airy and opened out onto a sprawling green. Some might argue it should really open directly onto the beach sand but look it was close enough and the grass actually served as quite a clever “feet cleaning” technique so people didn’t track sand in and out of the bar.

We managed to snag one of their verrrrrry loungey daybeds on arrival and were immediately served a refreshment of cold fruit tea (cumquat I think?) and some nibbles (nuts and dried fruit). The perfect spot for a game of chess and to read your book! There’s also a pool table around the corner which was a nice touch.

At night time, the Long Bar seamlessly transitions into a more classy cocktail affair and for this you’ll want to nab yourself one of their “swinging lounges”. These are tucked up right against the bar so you can simultaneously order your cocktails and feel like Miley Cyrus comin’ in on a wrecking ball.

Price wise, it’s like any fancy international resort chain – expect to pay “home” prices (e.g. $20+ for a cocktail) but there’s a decent 1-for-1 happy hour from a limited list.

barefoot grill – seafood and western

Not going to spend time on this one. Food was ok, but super expensive and nothing too special. Great bread rolls though!

citron – vietnamese fare

Except a mix of north and south Vietnamese food here – I would have loved to see some more central region dishes available (e.g. banh beo, bun bo hue) given Da Nang is after all, located in central Vietnam. The food was pretty good – some dishes like the cereal prawns were done very well – but it just wasn’t as good as most of the Vietnamese food we had outside the Resort and the prices would make any locals’ eyes water. Like I said earlier, they’ve really made the most of the captive Resort audience and remote location!

Shout out again to the bread – this was a delicious, soft garlic bun with a lemongrass dipping oil. I would drink this if socially acceptable (aka no one was looking).

buffet breakfast

Ok if you’ve made it this far WELL DONE as we’ve really crescendoed to the piece de resistance. The buffet breakfast at the Intercon Da Nang is o.u.t.s.t.a.n.d.i.n.g. Like I don’t know how to do it justice other than rabbit on about it for a bit and then show you lots of photos.

Firstly the variety – a chef manned egg station (including more fancy options like eggs benedict), bakery, exotic fruits, Western grill (hashies, mushrooms, eggs, beans etc), sushi bar, a fresh juice bar, granola and yoghurts with more compotes and fruit toppings than I even knew existed, cold meats and charcuterie, honeycomb, a daily changing chef manned Vietnamese noodle station, congee with all the toppings etc etc.

There’s also included free flow coffee and tea, so I started each breakfast with a (very good) Vietnamese iced coffee and big ‘ol pot of peppermint tea. Omg take me back! There’s heaps of tables so don’t be shy about coming early and then sitting for a few hours while you graze and try a little bit of everything.

in the area

As mentioned, the Resort itself is pretty remote and it takes 30 mins by car to go into town. We didn’t get to explore much of Da Nang itself, but as seaside town there’s plenty of beach vibes and fresh seafood. Check out one of their (many) live seafood restaurants where you get to peruse all their live tank varieties, pick your catch and order it cooked how you like. Not for those who might be a bit squeamish about looking their food in the eye whilst it’s still alive fyi…

Paddock to plate is not quite right….from tank to table?