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Cool & green swimming pool
Stepping into through the wooden gate, we were welcomed by a green "forest". I call it a forest because it's so huge, so majestic. From the check-in counter to our designated room, we have to go around two roads, very chilly and green under the trees. Then from the room to the food court and the restaurant, we need to walk a few more rounds, sometimes downhill, sometimes uphill - it is like walking on the winding roads in A Luoi, the only difference is here, there are many beautiful villas nestled under the neatly trimmed trees.
The rooms are clean and luxurious. The interior is delicately furnished. My kids, while waiting for the sun to cool down, rushed into the swimming pool. Here, there are 4 swimming pools, including 3 large ones and one small one, for all respective ages. In every swimming pool, there are always two or three lifeguards ready to go. What the kids love most about staying here is being able to swim comfortably, not having a time limit as they are only allowed to swim by hour at the serviced spots. Moreover, the swimming pools are very large, even the adults can swim freely.
In the evening, when most people leave, I saw the staff hanging up the pool water treatment signboard to have clean and clear water to pick up guests in the morning. Thus, we felt very secure to set the alarm for 5 a.m. for the first swimming slot - cool, clean and uncrowded.
The greatest thing about traveling near home is that - we don’t need to worry about forgetting to bring this and that, as we are so familiar with the area, it would only take some minutes to find them. Therefore, if you want to have dinner outside, it will not be difficult to have a satisfying meal at a familiar restaurant. My family chose to eat on the spot to experience the feeling of sitting amidst the green hills when choosing a table close to the hillside, right along the road connecting the two terraced villas.
Mussel rice is added to the morning buffet menu by Pilgrimage Village
The food is also very diverse. Nearly all Hue dishes are on the menu - consisting of banh beo, banh nam, banh loc, bun mam nem, grilled fermented pork, spring rolls, white rice, mussel soup, and boiled meat with fermented shrimp ... One thing though, the price was quite pricey for a Viet restaurant, ranging around 200.000-300.000VND/dish per person.
However, you also have a better deal when you order a designated set (up to 5 dishes), with the price of 250.000 VND per person. Drinks are relatively affordable compared to market prices, 20.000 VND per unit of regular drinks such as soft drinks, Huda beer.
My favorite is still the morning buffet with many Hue dishes, including perfectly cooked mussel rice. An employee said that they have changed the menu to serve domestic customers, especially the in-province tourists since the pandemic resurged.
Therefore, it is not difficult to explain to my daughter why every time we travelled before, we heard all kinds of Northern and Southern dialects, but this time we only hear the familiar Hue accent.
It is evident that many Hue people chose Hue for a weekend vacation in recent times - something that has rarely happened before. The pandemic has definitely created negative impacts on the economy, but it also brings many opportunities - especially for families to stay in 5-star resorts, when service prices go down by a half.
On the other hand, this is also the time for tourist businesses to make reasonable adjustments, to cope with difficulties as well as paying tribute to the local residents in the areas they visit. That is probably also the reason why most 5-star resorts like Laguna, Venada,… were full on last weekends and are the same on the coming week when we geared up for a luxurious and fancy holiday but had to miss the opportunity because we didn’t book early enough.
It seems that "Hue people have really started to travel to Hue".
Story and photos: Hong Tam