Tom Novotel Phu Quoc Resort was our last hotel on the island of Phu Quoc. After staying at Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc as well as Seashells Phu Quoc Hotel & Spa, it was time to take things slow and rejuvenate before our flight back to Singapore. Afterall, having Gold Status on Accor Live Limitless (ALL) includes benefits such as early check-in OR late check-out as well as upgrade to the next room category. Can’t wait to find out what’s in store for us during this stay at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort!
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About Accor Live Limitless (ALL) Gold Status at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort
As we had the DBS Vantage Credit Card, the Accor Plus Explorer membership was included in the credit card as well. At the same time, we were also credited as Gold members that granted us benefits such as:
Welcome Drink
Enjoy one complimentary welcome drink per stay.
Any consecutive stays (check-out and check-in on the same day) in the same hotel will be considered as one stay.
Different beverages are offered, depending on the hotel brand (further details at the hotel).
Early check-in OR Late check-out
Upgrade to the next room category (subject to availability)
Receive an upgrade to the next room category, if available at time of check-in. Excludes villas, one-of-a-kind suites, speciality suites and presidential suites.
If unavailable, the hotel will seek to allocate you an enhanced room in your current room category i.e. a higher floor, more desirable view, corner room or better amenities.
At Fairmont, an upgrade is not applicable to Fairmont Gold Floor.
Upgrades are available up to the Junior Suite category at Raffles hotels.
This upgrade does not apply to ibis, ibis Styles, Adagio Original, Adagio Access and Adagio Premium brands or any other hotels that do not have different room types.
With these perks as Gold Status of Accor (ALL), we were looking forward to a great stay at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort. At the same time, we also dialled down expectations a notch as we knew that “subject to availability” was the usual clause if room upgrades were not available during our visit. Nonetheless, we still set off right after breakfast at Seashells Phu Quoc Hotel and reached Novotel Phu Quoc at 10am via Grab (125k VND or $7 SGD for the transfer).
Novotel Phu Quoc Resort Review – The Facilities
As our Grab ride pulled up to the lobby of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort, we could immediately feel the gentle sea breeze as we strolled towards the reception. The lobby was spacious and had views all the way out to the beach.
Soon, we were invited to sit down at one of the reception tables to check us in while being served with some welcome refreshments…
After checking in, we were told that our Gold status came with complimentary welcome drinks which we could redeem at any of the bars/restaurants in the hotel. In addition, we were also given a 500k++ VND voucher that can be used to redeem an 1 hour body massage – that’s about 50% discount from the usual rate and slightly cheaper than the happy hour prices. Lastly, we were informed that we were also given a complimentary upgrade to the Superior Suite due to our Accor Gold Status! We hid our joy and excitement as we found out that we were not able to head to our room as yet. Nonetheless, we would head back at hourly intervals to check back at the reception. This means that in the meantime, it was time to hit the pool!
There are 2 swimming pools at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort. One that is right in front of the lobby which allows you to oversee the premise of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort. The other swimming pool is a swimming pool right next to the beach…
The premise of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort is actually quite big. The entire resort includes 246 superior rooms and Suites, 80 Deluxe Twins, 40 bungalows, 2 restaurants, 2 bars, 2 swimming pools, a spa, kids club, tennis courts, ballroom, and meeting facilities. To reach to the beach, you’ll have to walk past the lobby, past the first swimming pool, down a flight of stairs and past the In Balance Spa (in-house spa of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort) as well as the another in-house restaurant, the Phu Quoc Seafood Restaurant…
Thereafter, you’ll have to walk past a couple of koi ponds with Non La hat decorations before reaching the pool area…
As our room was not ready at 10am, we chilled from 10am to 12pm by the pool and also checked out the beach area…
We also took the opportunity to check out the beach at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort. We are happy to report that Novotel Phu Quoc Resort has a pristine beach with white, fine sand as well as gentle shallow waters near to the beach. Great for beach-goers to just chill out and relax…
Although the beach is technically not a private beach (unlike Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc), it pretty much felt like one. This is because the public road that leads to the beach is quite a distance away and the deck chairs were pretty much meant for guests at Novotel only. Another thing we noticed is that there is sort of like a beach front promenade that connects hotels along the coast. Next door, we had Best Western Sonasea and M Villas to the north as well as Andochine Resort & Spa to the south. A spacious cycling/walking path that guests can enjoy in the mornings and evenings.
During the 2 hours while waiting for our room to be ready, we also checked out In Balance Spa and we saw that there was Happy Hour prices at 550k++VND for 1 hour massages from 12pm to 4pm. Though the next available timeslot was only at 5pm, we were given the Happy Hour prices for both of us…
At about 12:15pm, we returned to the lobby for the second time and our room was finally ready. Still very thankful as it is still considered an “early check-in” as compared to the usual 3pm timing…
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Novotel Phu Quoc Resort Superior Suite Review
The Superior Suite of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort that we stayed at (level 3) was probably one of the best Superior Suites on site. From the room, we had views of the palm trees of the hotel and ocean views in the distance as well as pool views and the hotel just to our left. On entry, Kate thought that the room was a tad bit small, little did she realise that the Superior Suite was double the size of the Deluxe Room that we had booked! 😮
Kate had actually noticed the living room of the Superior Suite. Hence, the original remark. Opening up the door to the bedroom, revealed yet another surprise…
The housekeeping team had welcomed us to the room with a beautifully decorated peacock towel artwork! It was immaculate! Moving further into the room, there was bathtub that also peered out into the palm tree and ocean in the distance…
In the Superior Suite of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort, there are therefore 2 toilets, a bath tub, a shower facility, a king-sized bed, 2 TVs with cable channels, coffee/tea amenities, luxurious Deep Nature shower amenities as well as a long connected balcony outdoors!
Overall, we were very pleased with the upgrade from Deluxe Room to Superior Suite because of the Accor Gold Status. Thankful to the Novotel Phu Quoc staff for making this upgrade available for us as well! Soon, it was time to check out the other facilities of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort…
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Novotel Phu Quoc Resort Review – Gym, Table Tennis, Tennis, Bike Rental & Kids Care Facilities
After checking out our Superior Suite, our plan was to rent a bike a cycle up and down the promenade before chilling by the pool till our massage appointment at 5pm. The bike rental is actually done right outside the gym. To get to the gym, you’ll have to first head towards the lobby. While facing the road (not the beach), make a left and walk all the way down till you hit a flight of stairs, there will be a sign that points you to the gym…
Before reaching the gym, you’ll also walk past the tennis courts of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort. They even have lessons if you are new to the sport. Once you reach the mini fleet of bicycles, you would have arrived at the gym of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort…
Within the same premise, you’ll also find Kid’s Care, the in-house kids programme by Novotel Phu Quoc Resort to take care of your kids while at the hotel. As the saying goes, “Happy Kids, Happy Holidays” right? They even have a host of programmes for the little ones daily as well…
Speaking of programmes, there’s also Resort Entertainment Programme for the guests of the hotel as well…
The gym of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort is relatively small as compared to its entire premise. Nonetheless, it has all the basics covered including treadmills, gym machines and free weights. Next door, there’s also table tennis available, complete with good rubber bats and balls!
After checking out the premise, we decided to rent the bike for 1 hour, which could be charged to room. At 50k VND, it was slightly less than $3 SGD for an hour. Not too bad. While we rode a couple of practices up and down the promenade, Kate was happy to just return to the pool while Tom continued to explore the hotels to the south of Novotel…
There were a couple of things that Tom realised from this bike ride. Essentially how “the other side” lives. As he rode southwards, he noticed that the hotels and beaches became more and more posh along long beach. All this came to a head when he eventually reached Regent Phu Quoc, possibly the poshest of hotel along the long beach stretch. He also noticed that guests at Ocean Club Regent Phu Quoc were dressed differently as they enjoyed their lunch by the infinity pool. A quick search reveals that rooms at Regent Phu Quoc starts at 600 SGD or 4 times the price at Novotel Phu Quoc resort. 😮
After a return distance bike ride of 5km, it was time for an afternoon tea break. This time, we found a deal at the Ocean Bar of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort – known as the crispy combo…
At 250k VND nett (or $14 SGD), you’ll get a seafood platter of calamari, fish, prawns and wings along with fries, salad and a mug of beer. We then asked for the welcome drink menu to order our drinks as well…
After looking through the menu, we decided on the gin and whisky-based Flashing Ocean and Smokey Barrel cocktails respectively…
After we ordered the drinks, we noticed that the bartender was actually not too sure of the ingredients and had to refer to the menu a couple of times. Secondly, the cocktails (both), turned out to be a tad too sweet for our liking. We should have gone with the usuals of Mojito and Sex on the Beach instead. Nonetheless, still great that the welcome drinks at Novotel Phu Quoc Resorts were not just lemongrass drinks at the reception. 😅
As the sun began to set in the distance, it was about time for us to visit In Balance Spa for our treatment this evening (sunset at Phu Quoc is about 5:45pm)…
First impressions were pretty good. We had the usual of cold tea and cold towels to cool us down a little – something that we really needed after a day out by the beach and the pools. Then, we were led to the changing area where we noticed that there were just 6 lockers. Meaning in total, the spa could only accommodate 6 couples. A small and exclusive setup, which explains why it was full till 5pm today. We were then led to a room with views of the garden villas for our foot massage in ginger and lemon slices before commencing our massage proper. The massage itself was soothing and relaxing. For most of the session, we were dozing in and out of dreamland due to the skills of the masseuse. For $32 SGD, the Happy Hour prices were definitely value-for-money.
After the massage, we checked that the staff had honoured our 500k++ VND voucher. Hence, one had the Happy Hour price of 550k++ while the other had the slight discount at 500k++ VND. After massage, we headed out to the beach one more time to see the last rays of the sun. Seeing that Tom wanted to dip in the waters once again, Kate also went along for one more night dip in the waters. It was also during this swim that we noticed that the Russian-speaking tourists that we saw in Phu Quoc all these while, WERE ACTUALLY FROM KAZAKHSTAN. This was when a little Google helped us to understand that most people in Kazakhstan speak Russian and are even educated in Russian since young due to the past links to Russia and also the business links today. This, we certainly did not know.
After a quick wash-up, we headed to Sonasea Shopping Center, right across from Novotel Phu Quoc Resort…
Here, you’ll be able to find lots of options for food. There are local cuisines, seafood BBQ and even Korean BBQ options that you can choose from. There’s even an entire food street (known as Phu Quoc Food Street) that has rows and rows of seafood options available…
For those who want to just get some groceries, you’ll be able to choose from the cleaner and more established Korean Mart, which is slightly more expensive than the Supermart nearby…
There are also lots of massage options available but at 400k VND, we thought that the deal at the hotel was definitely more worth it. Nonetheless, Kate went for pedicure for 150k VND ($9) – red colour gel, which was very affordable when compared to SGD prices at about 1/3 the price.
The pedicure took about an hour and it went pretty well, with the colours that Kate liked. On the way back, we packed some beers from Super Mart and a packet of Beef Fried Rice (80k VND – $5 SGD) from Morris Bistro, which was good for 2 to share.
This evening, we watched KBS and saw a rising Korean Star whom the guests termed as “97 Yoonsu”. He was pretty young as a celebrity and was able to cook and clean his living space – ALOT. Interesting to see if this chap does become famous in 10 year’s time.
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Novotel Phu Quoc Resort Review – Breakfast at Food Exchange
Breakfast at Food Exchange starts at 6:30am in the morning. Tom wanted to make full use of the morning and decided to go for a slow jog along the promenade and work up an appetite before breakfast…
The air was cool and fresh. Definitely worth while to start the day with a stroll or jog along the beach. This also gave us the “license” to pig out for breakfast this morning…
As with the breakfast buffets at the previous hotels that we’ve stayed in at Phu Quoc Island, the breakfast variety and selection at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort is very extensive as well. You’ll be able to satisfy the palettes for the kids with french toasts, waffles, hash browns and cereals. For the adults, there’s pretty much something for all cuisines from international to local to korean and indian. Though we must say that we were not particularly enticed by any of the dishes and were slightly disappointed with the tough meats of the Korean pork ribs. Still, it was a good selection that will keep you full and energised for the day and here’s what we had…
We found that the Beef Pho was not too bad, not as good as Vinpearl Resort & Spa’s version but better than Seashells Phu Quoc’s version. Also, we enjoyed the in-house freshly-made Mango and Dragon Fruit smoothies. The self-concocted cereal bowl with nuts and dried fruits, topped with yoghurt, turned out to be really tasty as well. Nonetheless, Kate is of the opinion that the breakfast menu lacks “character” – which is supposed to be the case so that the same concept can be easily portable from Novotel to Novotel. Let us know what you enjoyed in the comments section below!
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Check out this video review of our stay at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort!
Overall, Novotel Phu Quoc Resort is a superbly well-maintained resort. If you take a look around, it seems to be an oasis rising out from the beachfront. There are many instagrammable spots and chill out areas all around the premise such as these…
We were thankful to have been upgraded to Superior Suite at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort and entitled to the discounted spa treatment as well as the welcome drinks here. Proximity to Sonasea Shopping Center is also a draw, especially for Kate and her pedicure treatments. Tom also enjoyed the bike rental and exploration along the promenade to Regent Phu Quoc. Lastly, service all round was superb – from reception to housekeeping to spa, ocean bar and gym – we were given first class treatment by all the staff. If you’re thinking of having a resort getaway, without having the need to leave the hotel premise much, definitely consider Novotel Phu Quoc Resort during your visit to the island of Phu Quoc!
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