Amaryllis Resort & Spa

The beach is lovely and close to our room, so it’s easy to grab a drink and relax on the sofa. The grounds are beautiful and spacious, with plenty of room to clear your mind. The resort has a gorgeous saltwater pool with no chlorine, and the water is always just right for swimming. Staff are friendly and well trained.

It didn’t feel relaxing at all, and we felt very unwelcome. This isn’t a luxury resort, so don’t book if that’s what you expect. Staff were unfriendly and barely spoke English. The restaurant’s food was a disgrace to Vietnamese cuisine, and very expensive. Getting a beach chair meant going to the lobby at 7am to reserve one, or the beach guard would scare you away. It also felt like living in a shared apartment: you could hear the neighbors loud and clear, and they mostly spoke Russian.

The rooms and food were lovely, but I wouldn’t come back because I didn’t feel welcome. My dad was unwell and could barely eat, so I asked for plain rice at breakfast. They just said, “no we don’t have”. At a 4star Hotel in Asia, it was disappointing to be told there was no steamed rice. They could have offered to make some in a rice cooker, which wouldn’t take hours, and we would have waited. There were plenty of staff at breakfast, but most were standing around talking or waiting for someone to finish a plate. Nobody came around with coffee to offer refills. At reception, I went to ask questions for our large group because some people couldn’t speak English. We never got a friendly greeting and felt like we were bothering them. They interrupted me every single time, regardless of who was on duty, or answered something we hadn’t asked. Sometimes they were quite impolite. Maybe they were tired of seeing me come back, but that shouldn’t matter. In a 4 star Hotel, staff should be polite and welcoming, with at least a smile. Feeling welcome matters a lot to me at a place meant for relaxing, and I didn’t feel it here. There was a lot to like about the resort itself. We had booked 3 nights, and our room was great: a large double bed, a garden view thanks to an upgrade, lots of light, comfortable mattresses, and no loud street noise. They even hung a mosquito net over the bed. Breakfast had plenty of choice, including fresh bread, pastries and cakes, fruit, milk, yoghurt, cheese, omelettes and crepes made fresh, plus lots of local food. Yummy! The pool area was nice, but having to reserve a pool or beach chair early in the morning with vouchers felt like the usual race for beach towels. With the room, food, and pool, I would have given it 5 stars. We’ve worked for many years in hotels and restaurants, and there’s a lot of room to improve the service at Amaryllis Resort.

Amaryllis Resort was just okay, and I wouldn’t expect a 4 star resort experience. The rooms were clean and tidy, but a little run down, more like what I’d expect from a 2/3 star place. If you book one of the lower level beach “front” rooms in the beach front houses, be aware you may face a green hedge instead of seeing the beach. The staff got our check-in done quickly and efficiently, and they arranged a cab fast too, since there’s no grab/be in this area. Still, they didn’t make us feel welcome, and smiles or greetings were hard to come by. The location and beach were okay, though there was so much plastic in the sea that swimming was uncomfortable. Food was also only okay. Breakfast had a big range of Western and Asian items even in Corona times, with nice pho and fresh eggs or omelettes as a plus. The a la carte dishes lacked typical spices and flavors.