Tom For our final night in Phu Quoc, we checked into the 5 stars Novotel Phu Quoc Resort. As we were under the Gold status with Accor Plus, we looked forward to early check-in/late check-out and possible room upgrade – which we saw online that at Gold, it would be rather difficult (Diamond would have priority). To capitalise on the benefits, we checked out Seashells Phu Quoc Hotel at 9am and had breakfast before leaving this morning…
This morning, we concocted our cheese sandwich which turned out rather good. Our Grab ride to Novotel Phu Quoc came rather quickly (125k VND – $7SGD). After settling our bill and paying 50k VND ($3SGD) for the bath salt that Kate broke the night, we were on our way!
Checking-In at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort
The Grab ride took about 20 minutes and after alighting from the porch, we were greeted with an amazing view all the way out to sea. Though, not as grand as what we saw at Anantara Desaru Coast, it was still a welcoming sight. The gentle sea breeze that caressed us signaled to us that another resort experience was waiting for us.
We arrived at Novotel Phu Quoc at about 10am. During check-in, we were told that we were upgraded to the suites room due to our Gold status with Accor Plus. We were also given the vouchers for welcome drinks (also part of Accor) as well as a voucher for an hour’s massage at In Balance Spa for 500k VND++ – not too bad a deal. Even though we were entitled to early check-in, we were informed that our room was not yet ready. Hence, we went to In Balance Spa to book our massage session for the evening and checked out the infinity pool by the beach…
The entire Novotel premise was HUGE! From the lobby, you’d take a short walk past the first swimming pool in front of the lobby that overlooks the hotel’s premise. From there, you’ll have to walk down a flight of stairs, past a water feature and koi pond before you can reach In Balance Spa by Novotel. While we were there, we also saw a deal offered by the spa that reduced massage prices by 50% during Happy Hours from 12pm to 4pm. Hence, we wanted to make a booking for Happy Hours. However, we were told that it was fully booked and the next available timing was at 5pm, which meant that we had to miss the sunset timing. Nonetheless, we were told that the Happy Hour prices would still be honoured. Hence, we booked for 5pm massage, 1 at the HH price of 550K VND++ and the other at 500K VND using the voucher offered at check-in. Then, it was time to chill by the swimming pool at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort…
The infinity pool by the beach was beautiful with a swim-up bar next to it. We also love the proximity of the beach next to the swimming pool. You can walk right up to the beach, have a dip and return back to the hotel’s swimming pool – alternating as you like.
At about 1215pm, we were eventually allocated our room at 319…
Upon entry, Kate was a little taken aback as we were unable to locate the bedroom. In fact, we had entered the living room of the suite. There was a little kitchenette, a large sofa with TV and a balcony with amazing views. But where was the bedroom? Opening a door to the right, we were shown the bedroom! The housekeeping staff had also constructed a peacock out of the room towels, sprinkled with rose petals as a welcome for us. There was even a handwritten note as well! Totally loved the room along with the views over the palm trees that provided the privacy for the villas that our suite overlooked.
In fact, the suite was double the size of a normal room and yes, the balcony size was doubled as well. You can probably do shuttle runs there. After checking out our suite, we headed to the gym area…
Facilities at Novotel Phu Quoc Resort
Before reaching the gym, we walked past the tennis courts as well. Yup, that’s how big the Novotel Phu Quoc Resort is – that there are even tennis courts. There are also tennis lessons available if you’d like.
The gym area is also where the Kid’s Care programme is. Parents can drop off kids while they enjoy their couple time. The programme scheduled throughout the day ensures that the kids are well taken care of. As for the gym itself, it was pretty well-equipped with gym machines, free weights and treadmills. There’s also a table tennis table with good bats and balls in an enclosed space – where we had a great time the following day.
As we saw that there was a walking path along the beach, we thought that renting a bike to check out the other hotels along the beach, would be an interesting ride. Kate also tried to ride along the beach for a little bit but riding in tandem was not possible due to Tom’s poor balance.
The ride along the beach was very interesting. We rode past hotels such as Intercontinental Phu Quoc as well as Regent Phu Quoc. Especially at Regent, we saw how the guests dressed differently and were having their leisurely brunch while overlooking their own infinity pool. We later found that the rooms were priced at $650USD and up. A different clientele here.
Back at the hotel, we chilled by the pool in the afternoon and also ordered our welcome drinks. As you can see, there’s even an entire menu for welcome drinks. This time, we ordered Flashing Ocean and Smokey Barrel – gin and whisky-based cocktails respectively. When the bartender was concocting the drinks, we noticed that he was looking at the recipe quite a few times – apparently not very familiar with these 2 cocktails. As it turned out, they were a tad too sweet and perhaps on hind sight, the usual of mojito and sex on the beach would have been better choices.
Walking past the poolside bar, we noticed the Crispy Combo Deal that was priced at an affordable 250K VND nett ($14SGD). This we ordered to go together with our drinks. Turned out that it was value-for-money with as it came with shrimps, calamari, wings, chunky fish pieces, fries and a small salad on the side. Definitely good for two-to-share. We continued to chill by the pool till our massage at 5pm…
Massage at In Balance Spa Novotel Phu Quoc Resort
Upon entry into In Balance Spa, we were given iced blue pea drink to cool us down, along with a cold towel – definitely something that we need to cool off after hours at the pool this afternoon. We were then shown to the changing room to change into the spa robes. Here, we noticed that there were only 6 lockers available. Hence, the spa would only be able to, at their maximum capacity, serve 6 couples. After changing up, we were led to a room to start with our foot bath…
As for the massage itself, it was soothing. Love the soft piano music that created a relaxing ambience. The massage covered the legs (calf), back, legs (thighs) and the head. Drifting in and out of dreamy land during the massage. We then headed back to the beach area to catch the last rays of the sun and also take a little dip in the swimming pool…thanks bearie!
During this swim, we overheard that the Russian-speaking tourists were actually not from Russia but from Kazakhstan! A quick Google showed that many schools still in teach in Russia, not only due to the Soviet days but because of the business ties that Kazakhstan has with Russia. When we departed, we also saw that there were direct flights from Kazahkstan to Phu Quoc. Another interesting snippet of information that we learnt from this trip about Kazahkstan. We’d be careful to note in the future that fair-skin Russian-speaking people may not be necessarily from Russia – they could be form Kazahkstan.
Phu Quoc Food Street and Sonasea Shopping Centre opposite Novotel Phu Quoc Resort
In the evening, we headed to the Sonasea Shopping Centre opposite Novotel Phu Quoc Resort. That is also where the Phu Quoc Food Street is located…
One of the things to do here is definitely the manicure and pedicure. This time Kate did her nails (gel) for 150K VND ($9 SGD) which was a steal. It took about 45 minutes for the session but was definitely well done according to Kate. Thereafter, we shopped around for where we could get some dinner…
This evening, we bought a packet of beef fried rice for 80k VND or $5SGD which was good for 2 to share. We also bought some instant noodles and snacks for 66k VND from Supermart, after comparing some other local marts in the vicinity…
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As we snacked on our spoils from Sonasea Shopping Center, we watched a cooking show on KBS. It featured a rising Korean star that the hosts kept calling “97 Yoonsu” – a young celebrity who likes to clean alot. Good to see if he becomes famous in the years to come.
You can also find the full review of Novotel Phu Quoc Resort here.
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