Emotional Connection is the Key to Luxury Travel at Banyan Tree Lăng Cô

What does luxury travel mean? The center of countless hospitality conference panels, LinkedIn posts, and marketing pitch decks, this question will elicit different answers depending on who is asked. Exclusivity, indulgent comforts, unique experiences, and dedicated service surely play a part, but a visit to Banyan Tree Lăng Cô, recent recipient of Two Michelin Keys,  reveals that no matter one’s definition, true luxury travel requires an emotional connection.

Banyan Tree Lăng Cô’s collection of private villas overlooks the golden sands of a pristine private beach halfway between Huế and Đà Nẵng. The resort’s name is deceptive, however, as it’s technically located in Cảnh Dương. Lăng Cô, the small town a few kilometers away, provides the name simply because more people are familiar with it. Now associated with delicious oysters enjoyed while traveling along the coast, in 1919, Emperor Khải Định built a summer palace there thanks to its extreme serenity. The residence, unfortunately, burned down, but a remaining piece of it still contains his poem which concludes: “Looking towards the mountain, one sees strange clouds rising from cliffs, like fairies dancing in the mountains; looking down at the water, the clear wind drives the waves like thousands of returning horses. Only then does one stop the carriage and look around, blissfully look around, the fresh air, the gentle wind, the cheerful scenery, the beautiful things. After a long time spent admiring, one suddenly feels cool all over, the heat disappears, the heart feels joyful, and the scene stirs emotions.”

When gazing across the clear waters, blessed by a breeze hushed in from the nearby forests, the magical imagery of his lines makes perfect sense. 

Before Banyan Tree Lăng Cô opened 12 years ago, there wasn’t a reasonable way to reach it. The Banyan Tree Group’s decision to enter Vietnam necessitated the construction of the area’s first main road. This road, along with the resort itself, transformed life in the surrounding villages. New education and employment opportunities are now possible, so children can dream of futures that don’t involve fish nets and rice fields. Supply chains, connected economies, and infrastructure connect locals with the outside world. The drongos, bee-eaters, and sunbirds that flitter in the mountain trees inspire people from around the globe, while a sense of pride flourishes among the families that call the area home.

Design Inspired by Vietnam

This impact on the surrounding community is not the first thing you will notice when arriving at the resort, however. Rather, your eyes will be drawn to its sheer beauty and meticulous design. Majestic, forest-covered mountains tumble gracefully towards a picturesque blue sea. Scattered like precious seeds, the resort’s villas rest in this space where cliff meets coast. 

Large metallic lotus leaves and flowers greet you at the resort's entrance, with lotus blossoms gracing the handrails of the imposing entrance steps that usher you inside. It’s a fitting introduction to a motif that weaves itself through the entirety of your stay. Lotus appear in lacquer paintings in each room, lotus leaves wrap local dishes in the restaurants, and the spa uses lotus-scented Clarity oil, lotus flower baths, and lotus seeds. The resort draws from a wide array of historical elements to create its elegant aesthetic, including the large ceramic urns once used for storing rice, placed prominently on shelves in Thu Quan lounge. Meanwhile, the square and circular centers of ancient coins appear in light fixtures, windows, and wall accents.

The Lagoon Pool Villas exemplify how design creates a holistic experience that is inspired by, but not limited to, Vietnamese culture and style. Each private space is fully surrounded by vegetation with a pool overlooking a calm lotus pond. The open terrace with garden reminds one of a cozy Vietnamese home where adults lounge on backyard furniture as children run and play in the grass. While the high ceilings with slow-looping bamboo fans and wooden furniture maintain local aesthetics, the enormous windows that fill the rooms with light and fresh air noticeably do not. Guests can therefore appreciate the Vietnamese elements, whether they are sources of nostalgia or novelty, while still soaking up the full possibilities of premier, global quality. 

The Importance of Expertise

Adherence to local knowledge rests at the core of Banyan Tree Lăng Cô’s culinary offerings as well. The resort’s Vietnamese restaurant is unsurprisingly led by a Vietnamese head-chef, and áo dài-clad servers bring dishes that are faithful to Central cooking with some elevated details, such as bánh bèo served in oyster shells. An understanding that locals know best extends to Azura, a Mediterranean restaurant helmed by an Italian chef, and Saffron, the premier Thai restaurant, which is top-rated by the ThaiSelect Program for authenticity. 

A determined belief that expertise underpins luxury informs Banyan Tree Lăng Cô’s wellness services. All therapists at the spa graduate from the Banyan Spa & Wellbeing Academy, meaning they’ve had 650 hours of training before they see a single guest. They supplement this mastery with uniquely local ingredients, including lotus seeds, sugar, and red beans for their signature treatment. The standalone spa treatment villas embody the resort’s commitment to profound privacy that is also found in the Beachfront Villas, which make use of thoughtfully arranged hills and vegetation in such a way as to not be visible by any other guests while still offering unobstructed views of the ocean. Meanwhile, the Hill Pool Villas provide stunning overlooks of the sunrise over the ocean, complemented by fishing boats. 

The Power of Pride

The spa therapists, wait staff, reception team, and buggy drivers you meet at Banyan Tree Lăng Cô will be kind and helpful because they’ve been well-trained, but it's deeper than that. More than 90% of the resort’s employees are from the surrounding small villages, and the resort’s existence has provided their families with opportunities while ushering in positive, community-wide changes that they are proud to be contributing to. Whether these employees are introducing foreigners to Vietnamese culture or sharing the standards the nation’s hospitality industry can reach with a fellow-Vietnamese, there is an overwhelming sense of pride that fills the resort. Banyan Tree professes to open resorts in places with a reason that is more than making a profit. This sense of purpose is most obvious when observing staff members smiling and laughing amongst themselves as they wait for you to get in the buggy, or when a server shares an off-menu coffee drink simply because it is her favorite and she is excited to share it with as many people as she can. Being around people who are not just happy to have their jobs but proud of what the company represents is truly a luxury. 

Of course, being proud of something necessitates treating it well. Banyan Tree Lăng Cô is committed to preserving the area and the unique nature and traditions that make it so noteworthy in the first place. This is achieved via small but meaningful details, such as Banyan Tree Gallery’s sale of Bao La products, which helps preserve a community’s centuries-old tradition of bamboo knitting and items produced by the Tòhe social enterprise, with 100% of profits supporting underprivileged local individuals. Significantly, the Stay of Good program involves visits to the local fishing village to support children learning English and the elderly in need of care and attention. 

Participants in the English for Fun activity. Photo courtesy of Banyan Tree Lăng Cô.

No one wants to feel guilty after a vacation, to think our presence came at an intrinsic cost to the surrounding communities and ecosystems we enjoyed. We want to believe that by visiting, we not only embraced the area’s unique natural beauty and cultural heritage, but in doing so, helped ensure that its special charms will remain relatively the same for decades to come. Banyan Tree Lăng Cô makes this possible.