Saint Simeon Resort & Spa

We had a good time with friends and might come back. The resort had just opened and was still finishing construction, so we nearly had the whole place to ourselves. The buildings were clean, new, and nice, and the rooms had lovely bathrooms. Service was very good. The restaurant food was good, though not outstanding. I didn't sleep well because the beds were much too soft for me, so I'd take half a star off for that.

The staff were fantastic and made us feel very welcome. It's very pet-friendly, and the private beach is spacious and peaceful. Highly recommend.

The worst part came at checkout. We were told a bath towel was dirty and charged an extra cleaning fee, even though the fee was only mentioned on a paper in the bedroom and nobody had warned us verbally. They couldn't explain what counted as a mark that required the charge. We were also told there were blue or black beach towels, but couldn't find any in the room or villas. That left a bad impression, especially after our earlier trouble getting into the villa. A day before we arrived, the resort told us the A/C in one of our booked rooms was broken. They offered another two-bedroom villa at a discount plus a voucher. We asked for another option with a private pool near the beach, as we'd originally requested, and agreed they would hold two villas matching our choice for Saturday. Check-in was listed as 2pm and checkout as noon. We arrived at 2pm on Saturday 26th Feb 2022, chose a three-bedroom villa with a private pool, and only then learned it still needed cleaning. We waited, went to a convenience store for snacks and dinner supplies, and returned around 4-5pm. At that point, staff said the A/C in one bedroom had problems and was nearly fixed. It was frustrating to lose 2-3 hours of our stay to cleaning and repairs after arriving right at the announced check-in time, especially since we'd come a long way for a family getaway and for our child to play. They let us check out an hour late the next day, but we still felt we'd wasted time and money while paying the full price. Despite all that, we had a good night. The room was spacious and clean, though some furniture was a little old, and breakfast was good. This was my second visit, and I'd been planning to recommend the resort to others. After this experience, I won't be coming back.

I was hoping this would be a good option since there are so few pet-friendly places near Vung Tao. The location could make it a paradise, but it doesn't seem to be looked after. There were cigarette butts all over our garden, and garbage across the generally dirty beach. I know how hotel star ratings work in Vietnam, and this was nowhere near four stars. Two would be more realistic. Such a pity.