February 26, 2013 2:00 am
When Mrs. Selfish and I were looking at Vietnam, we decided to visit the places we skipped during our honeymoon: Nha Trang, Dalat, and Hoi An. Danang was more of an afterthought, the closest airport to the beautiful UNESCO heritage town, Hoi An, more than anything else.
After booking 5 nights in Hoi An, I started looking for a decent hotel to crash for 2 days in Danang. I settled on the Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, the place “Where Myth meets Luxury,” according to their website. Given how ridiculous their tagline was, how luxurious could it be possibly be?
The answer was, without a doubt, the most luxurious place Mrs. Selfish and I have ever stayed or will ever stay.
Up until this year, Mrs. Selfish and I had only stayed at one fancy hotel in our 13+ years together, and that was the Sofitel Hanoi for our honeymoon. Normally we tend to stay at moderately priced hotels – somewhere above hostel quality, but well below your Conrads, and or dare I say, Hiltons.
So this year has come as a bit of a shock to the old system. Miles and points have allowed us to stay at more expensive properties like the Westin Munich for Oktoberfest, or the Park Hyatt in Zurich, which we tried because I wanted to see what a $700 hotel room was like. We even paid cash to stay at El Nido in Palawan with friends, a once in a lifetime experience.
But the Intercontinental Danang took the cake. We booked a standard room using points + cash for two nights, for a grand total of 30,000 Priority Club points + $140.
The Intercontinental is about 30 minutes outside of Danang proper, and is roughly an $18 cab ride to the airport. Once you’re at the resort, it’s pretty difficult to leave. But why would you? Here’s what we were faced with on arrival:
Before leaving Hoi An, Mrs. Selfish and I discovered the Atrium Suite was the recommended way to go. We asked about upgrades on arrival, and were told Mrs. Selfish could pay to become an Intercontinental Ambassador for a year for a $200 fee. If you plan on staying at multiple Intercontinentals in a year, I highly recommend this option.
For $200, Ambassadors get complimentary upgrades at all Intercontinental properties – so we ended up getting the Atrium Suite (which retails for $450 a night). Ambassadors are also given a free night to use at any Intercontinental, and a gift on arrival.
Here’s what we ended up with for 15,000 points + $170 a night:
The Intercontinental is still under construction and doesn’t officially open until March 2013, so everything in the Suite was brand new. Mrs. Selfish especially enjoyed the bathtub, which came with a loofah and a Japanese-style wooden water cup which you use to pour water on your head. The shower (not pictured) was a true waterfall-styled experience. The bathroom was also equipped with separate Harnn amenities + Toiletries Kit for man & woman, bathrobes and slippers (which have since then continued their journey with us). The suite is equipped with a bose sound system + ipod docking station, and an illy espresso machine
What really took the cake, however was the outdoor patio, which had a dining table for 4, a desk, a living room area, and a day bed complete with mosquito net:
Complimentary bottle of wine & cake as an Ambassador Gift
They have tons of food options, but most are kind of pricey – entrees start at $20+ , while breakfast is $25 for an all-you can eat buffet. Breakfast was situated in the amazing Citron restaurant, which is perched at the top of the resort:
The resort is split up into 4 levels: sea, earth, sky, and heaven. Each level is accessible by one of the two running cable cars, which are themed as wooden boats:
Exploring the grounds, we found the resort to be all but empty. Given the size of the resort, I counted less than 100 guests, which was surprising given our proximity to Lunar New Year. As far as activities go, you can borrow a kayak or long board. There’s also snorkeling, and the pool is quite refreshing.
The Epic __LONG__ Bar which has a great 2-for-1 happy hour
Conclusion
The Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is easily the most ridiculous place we’ve ever stayed. At 25,000 points a night, or 15,000 + $70 for a points & cash redemption it’s totally worth the price of admission.
Priority Club does tons of surveys and promotions – I’ve earned 12,000 points without ever setting foot in a PC hotel. You can also apply for the Chase Priority Club Credit Card, which gets you 80,000 points on first purchase, a free night at any PC property anniversary, with the annual fee waived for the first year.
Posted by misterselfish
Categories: Accommodations, Asia, Travel Hacking, Vietnam
Tags: Asia, Chase Priority Club Credit Card, Danang, Flashpacking, Intercontinental, Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, Priority Club, Selfish Years, Travel Hacking, Vietnam
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Totally agreed to the post I had been once to that place it was just like a fairy land.
By ivanmendis on June 24, 2015 at 4:16 am
Hi,
Thanks for the report, it was awesome to see you had a good time there. Did you get the Ambassador member at the front desk or you get it before you got to the resort?
Also, did you stay for the breakfast? (i believe you have to pay for breakfast if you pay by points)
Thanks 🙂
By James on April 29, 2014 at 12:58 pm
We purchased Ambassador membership upon arrival after they told us it was a cheaper way to upgrade to the Atrium Suite.
Breakfast was excellent, though a tad pricey at somewhere between $20 – $30. Not bad by Western standards, but certainly expensive in Vietnam.
By misterselfish on April 29, 2014 at 6:02 pm
Hi I was wondering how did you get to the resort from Danang airport?
I am going there in FEbruary. Any help would be awesome. Thanks.
By JAcqueline on December 16, 2013 at 5:47 pm
We just took a taxi. I don’t think that there is any other way to get there but I would check with the hotel in case things have changed.
By mrsselfish on December 18, 2013 at 10:29 am
Hey! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d
ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe
guest writing a blog post or vice-versa? My site goes over a lot of the same subjects as yours and
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If you are interested feel free to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from
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By Cherie on June 16, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article!
It’s the little changes which will make the most significant changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
By Valarie on June 13, 2013 at 1:49 pm
We ended up flying to Singapore as part of a One World Explorer ticket, then fly by cash in SE Asia. Vietnam Airlines is a Skyteam member, so you could collect Delta points to get there. Your best bet would probably be to fly into Saigon or Hanoi. Hope that helps!
By misterselfish on April 25, 2013 at 7:48 pm
did you travel to vietnam by points? if so what program and how much needed? I like to visit. Want to know how to collect points for the trip. For flight that is. Thanks
By leslie on April 25, 2013 at 12:21 pm
[…] the last 8 months, we’ve been to 66 cities and 20 countries. We’ve stayed in luxury 5 star hotels, ghetto motels adjacent to strip clubs, and rustic huts swarming with rats and rusty nails. […]
By The Selfish Years – Interview with Kyle | Million Mile Secrets on April 19, 2013 at 2:49 am
[…] Regular 'ol Ambassador status gets an upgrade to the Atrium Suite – totally worth it. My trip report with pics here: http://theselfishyears.com/2013/02/2…insula-resort/ […]
By InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort [Master Thread] - Page 2 - FlyerTalk Forums on March 2, 2013 at 7:46 am
[…] Currently here as well (hey edbyu!) for a 4 night stay. The view is spectacular and the rooms are quite nice – especially watching the sunset over the pool. A quick note to any Hilton Golds – we are no longer eligible for massages as of 2/1! They apparently axed that benefit in favor of a really, really crappy bottle of wine. I opted for white after hearing reports of how bad the red is, but it wasn't much better I'm afraid. On the plus side, their welcome fruit platter + cookie platter is pretty great. The mini macaroons were exquisitely made, and reminded Mrs. Wanderlustre and I of the 6 weeks we spent in Paris, and the green tea madeleines were an interesting twist on the whole thing. All and all, pretty spectacular so far, but if you're in SE Asia I'd also recommend checking out Intercon Danang. More luxious (if it's possible), but no infinity pool: http://theselfishyears.com/2013/02/2…insula-resort/ […]
By Conrad Koh Samui Resort and Spa - Page 50 - FlyerTalk Forums on March 2, 2013 at 3:53 am
Fantastic! We’re off to Da Nang next week. Will check this hotel out.
By photravels on March 1, 2013 at 4:53 am