Escape Hanoi crowds for this rural luxe hideaway
Vietnam’s busy city gets more than its fair share of tourism attention, but just a few hours away is a hideaway designed to celebrate the “wonders of nature”.
Hanoi gets more than its fair share of tourism attention, and rightly so. But drive southwest for less than four hours into the depths of Mai Chau province, edging away from the capital’s swirling traffic and mercantile mayhem, and it feels like entering a different era as well as place.
If one word were needed to describe the landscape, let’s go with green, that most versatile of shades, from lime and emerald to the deep darkness of tall forests.
My destination is Avana Retreat, a 36-villa spread covering 15ha of fertile countryside mixed with jungle.
There are terraced rice fields dipping down to a stream, a waterfall and an enveloping sense of calm. Mountains provide a backdrop that circles the site.
The retreat’s owners have reforested 10ha of land and planted more than 5000 trees. Verdant is a description that doesn’t begin to do it justice.
The property opened last year and is already hitting the radar as a best-practice example of light environmental footprints and the integration of local architectural styles and building methods.
In this case, it’s a meld of the district’s Thai, Hmong and Moung cultural groups. It’s no tokenistic approach, as all details have been carefully considered, even down to the pathways that weave around trees and beside buildings, following the site’s natural contours and lit by lanterns at night like an exotic fairyland.
Avana Retreat chief executive Vu Huy speaks of the project as being at one with the “wonders of nature”. The villas feature palm-thatched roofs and earthen walls, woven rattan ceilings, terrace or deck, and smooth timber and bamboo surfaces.
The decor includes lacquered umbrellas and brocade furnishings made by regional communities plus commissioned artwork that reflects Mai Chau culture.
It’s deeply comfortable without being burdened with unnecessary luxuries (although each villa’s deep tub with a view is a five-star beauty), which feels entirely appropriate on a botanic estate with bridges and slopes, the chatty sounds of birds, and the soundtrack of cascading water.
But lest that make it sound rustic, creature comforts are in abundance, including several villas with private pools and one top option with a tiered aspect that mimics the surrounding rice terraces.
But even the smallest category, at 98sq m, feels spacious, especially with a balcony jutting into the foliage, and the two-bedroom style is ideal for families or couples travelling together.
An open-air yoga pavilion is set by a stream, as is Orchid Spa, with eight fragrant treatment rooms where therapies are based on healing herbs and aromatic oils such as cinnamon and pomelo plus traditional Vietnamese medicine.
Four heated infinity pools dot the estate but there’s no sense of the environment being burdened by this resort.
There’s a lightness of touch at every turn and local Hmong farmers are able to cultivate the property’s rice fields and harvest the crops as their own. Ninety per cent of staff are from the immediate area and their hospitality is warm.
A banana blossom salad or cocktail infused with fermented hibiscus flowers, or a milky Indian lassi or flowery mocktail, at the Cloud Pool Bar, where lowering skies settle in skeins of mist? Or spicy fare at the well-named Green Chili all-day dinner?
The food across Avana Retreat is very good, with myriad ingredients grown on site or nearby. Lemongrass, peppery Vietnamese mint and pickled ginger are favoured in entrees and mains, and don’t miss afternoon tea, when the likes of spring rolls with a mango twist and delicate, herby pannacotta are served amid a large sweet and savoury selection.
An on-site chicken farm provides meat and eggs, and those vegetables and crunchy herbs in bowls of flavoursome pho soup have not had far to travel.
The property is plastic-free, has its own bottling plant for purified water and recycling is taken seriously, so all the feel-good boxes are well ticked. To stretch your legs, there are guided treks and trips by Jeep, all with a cultural context.
Also offered is a tour of the on-site museum, which showcases jewellery, musical instruments, artefacts and costumes of the three ethnic groups. Don’t expect TVs and late nights, but there’s fast wi-fi and wide-screen natural views.
Entertainment? Aside from an outdoor cinema on selected evenings and Saturday dance performances, there’s an expert weaver with a traditional loom who can teach you how to make rattan baskets or have a go at the intricate art of brocade.
But more importantly, this is a place of reflection, rest and a touch of healing. One of the signature spa offerings is called Wild Reconnection, which sums up Avana Retreat perfectly.
In the know
Seasonal rates apply, plus discounts for earlybird bookings and lower rates for multinight stays. From about VND12,100,000 ($760) a villa a night, with breakfast.
All villas can sleep two adults and two children; there are menus for junior guests and a free, staffed kids’ club for ages three-12.
For a villa with a private pool, book the Senna category. Extras across all categories include the services of a villa host, daily afternoon snack service, non-alcoholic minibar, and spa access.
Return road transfers can be arranged by appointment from Noi Bai airport or other pick-up points in Hanoi for VND500,000 ($32) per person, one-way.
Jo Makito was a guest of Avana Retreat.
