Cham Villas

Set on the beach at Mui Ne, Cham Villas occupies one hectare of tropical garden between the sand and the road into Phan Thiet. Eighteen villas sit among the palms: six face the sea directly, twelve look onto the garden. Each has a king-size bed, a private patio with a day bed, and a sunken bathtub overlooking its own small garden. The design threads in artefacts from Vietnam's Cham era, worked into the villas and grounds rather than displayed as museum pieces. It is a quiet layout. A short drive brings you to the Red Sand Dunes, good for sledding or simply watching the sun drop over the sea, and to the Cham Towers, a 9th-century Hindu temple site with views over Phan Thiet. The Fairy Stream and its Red Canyon rock formations lie nearby too. Back at the resort, the open-air Garden Restaurant runs from breakfast through dinner, serving Vietnamese and international dishes, while a German restaurant sits just outside the gate for something heartier. The Beach Bar serves drinks and a lunch menu straight onto the sand. Opened in 2004 by a German-Vietnamese couple, the resort has kept its scale modest by design. Check for the tide before booking a sunset sled run at the dunes.