What I liked
- Stunning views all over the property
- Unique hillside location with cable car to transfer you up and down
- Many resort activities
- Property is designed beautifully
- Excellent Breakfast spread with both western and Asian options
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The Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is beautiful. With a stunning hillside location next to the sea. It’s a good destination for couples and families. There’s tons of activities and amazing views from everywhere in the resort.
This Resort is on the bucket list of many luxury travel enthusiasts. And for good reason. I had an amazing time with my family!
This article is an in-depth review. So you know exactly what to expect. Each photo can be clicked and open out the full slideshow.
I also explain how I booked the resort, for over 55% off. Using a combination of two tricks, that the IHG program offers.
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Below is a short promo video from the hotel.
I stayed for 5 nights at the Intercontinental Danang. The cash price to stay at the hotel was $4,275. However, I only paid $1,905. That’s a 55% discount on the cash price.
I booked three nights with IHG Points. I used 210,000 points. I paid $1,050 to buy these points from IHG.
I booked two further nights using my Intercontinental Ambassador voucher. The two nights cost $855.
So the total cost was $1,905.
To book the 1st 3 nights with points, I went to the IHG website. When you search for your room, select Rate Preference as “Reward Nights”. I was charged 210,000 points for 3 nights. I purchased these points from IHG for $1,050. You can buy IHG points from this webpage.
The other two nights were booked with my Intercontinental Ambassador Voucher. I booked two nights for the price of one. So I paid $855 for two nights.
Intercontinental Ambassador is a paid program that IHG offers. For $200 per year, you get the following benefits at Intercontinental Hotels:
I’ve been an Intercontinental Ambassador for many years. It’s a great program. You can join the program on this webpage.
The Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort opened its doors in 2012 and is very famous in Vietnam. In November-2017, the resort paid host to 21 world leaders at the APAC summit, including Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau. One of the waiters said that Justin Treadeau was the only world leader that spoke to the staff, and insisted on taking photos with them!
This resort is one of the most aspirational properties in the IHG portfolio. You used to be able to be able to book rooms for 25,000 IHG points, however those days are long gone!
The Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is large! It is located around 30 minutes drive from Danang Airport, on a hillside that leads directly on to the beach. From every location in the resort, you have fantastic sea views!
The main buildings are located in the centre of the resort, with a cable car to transport you up and down the hill:
To one side of the main buildings are the guest rooms. There are 200 rooms, and these rooms are located in around 25 separate buildings.
Monkey Business!
As a guest, you need to share the resort with the monkey reserve! If you encounter a monkey, the advice given is to remain calm and stay still. On one day, a monkey entered my room. In a moment that will not got down as my finest hour, I shrieked like a girl and the monkey swiftly retreated.. I regretted this, as I would have loved to get a photo.
There was a 2nd occasion when a monkey appeared on our terrace. Fortunately this time I was calmer and was able to snap a photo.
The great thing about being on a hill, is that you get a fantastic view of the sea. The downside is that you need to travel up and down the hill to get anywhere. The Intercontinental Danang have come up with a great solution – a cable car!
Cable cars are awesome, and having one in the resort was amazing. Check the slideshow above for snaps.
I booked a King Room, and was given a one level upgrade to a Terrace Suite, as I am an IHG Platinum Ambassador. The room had the following features:
My only disappointment came from the view – which was blocked by trees. I was disappointed with this, as the suites on the higher floors had an uninterrupted sea view. As an Intercontinental Ambassador, I am entitled to a one level room upgrade. They did provide this upgrade, but I felt that they provided the minimum possible. Elite recognition is one area that the hotel can definitely improve on. From my conversation with the staff, it was clear that they did not have a good understanding of how the loyalty programs work.
The bathroom was very nice. The centrepiece was the giant stone bathtub. View the photos in the above slideshow
The Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort has 2 pools. The long pool is the adults only infinity pool, and it’s wonderful. It’s on the 1st floor above the long bar. When you are up there, all you can see are the tops of nearby trees and the mountains behind them. The visual effect of this is stunning – you feel like you are swimming in the middle of the mountains.
I did not spend much time in the Long Pool as kids are not allowed. But I did make sure to use it a couple of times and take some photos. You can see these photos in the above slideshow.
The family pool is located next to the long bar, but at ground level. While the pool is not as stunning as the long pool, it is very nice. The jacuzzi has a wonderful design, although it is a little dangerous! The jacuzzi is elevated with a stone staircase leading to the entry. It can get slippery, so be careful!
The family pool leads directly on the beach. From the beach you have a stunning view of the resort and the mountains.
There is a special area reserved for Club Intercontinental guests. As a club IC guest, you had the below benefits on the beach:
The fresh coconut water and green tea were wonderful to sip as we were on the beach.
There were tons of activities to do on the beach
I had club benefits for 2 nights. It came with the following benefits.
The Club Lounge is a wonderful building with stunning views of the entire resort. Sadly, kids under 12 are not allowed in the lounge. Families are required to sit in the Citron Lounge next door – which is a big downgrade from the club lounge. The Citron Lounge is the main restaurant in the resort, and it has to be shared with non-club guests.
I was disappointed that I did not get to use the club lounge, as it is beautiful. I did visit the lounge a couple of times to take photos for this review, and these are in the slideshow above.
The Citron Lounge itself has wonderful views of the entire resort. For a couple of days, we were able to sit on the outside pods.
The breakfast was excellent. The buffet had both a western spread and an Asian Spread, similar to when I stayed at the Hilton Tokyo.
My wife ordered a latte each day with her food, and she enjoyed it a lot.
Afternoon tea is served each day in the club lounge. The following are provided:
The sandwiches and cakes were good. As with every afternoon tea I have had, I filled myself up only by intaking 3,000 calories at a time!
Evening canapes and cocktails are provided to club guests. Tattinger champagne is offered. I found this to very good, and I ended up getting a couple of refills.
Sometimes you can get something close to a full meal during the evening canapes, but not here. Only a very small dish is given.
The resort has 4 main restaurants.
We ate at Barefoot and Long Bar and found the food to be decent. To the credit of the resort, the prices at the Long Bar are reasonable, with main dishes starting at $15.
One area where the hotel shines is the range of activities offered.
I have given a photo of the activity schedule. I love it when a resort offers a range of activities, and I had tons of fun at this hotel.
The hotel is a good destination for kids, and they provide tons of activities. They have the kids club, where you can leave kids over the age of 4.
Another benefit is that kids eat for free, when they are with an adult.
The major disappointment for me is that kids are not allowed in the club lounge. The alternative of dining in the Citron Lounge is a massive downgrade for families.
I have 2 sets of status with IHG
Elite benefits with IHG are the weakest of all the major chains, but this hotel managed to undershoot even those low expectations. I always felt like the hotel was doing the minimum possible with regards to elite recognition.
As an Ambassador, I am entitled to the following:
I got the room upgrade from a King Room to a Terrace suite. However, they gave me the very worst Suite with a severely blocked sea view.
For the first 2 days, I booked a club room with lounge benefits. The last 3 days were booked on points, without club lounge access. I had access to lounge benefits until 4pm on the 3rd day. During my discussions with lounge staff, it was made clear that if tried to enter the lounge at 4.05pm, I would have been denied entry!
On the 3rd day, I was told that I had to move rooms, as I no longer had lounge access. I requested to stay in the same room, but without lounge benefits, as I was travelling with my daughter. This request was accepted, but I should not have had to ask.
I did speak to the lounge staff and explain my frustrations. The lady asked why I cared as I had booked the room with points, and was staying for free – oh dear!
I would stay for 3 nights at the Intercontienntal. The hotel is a little remote. Better to spend more time here
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Lynn
Hi! Thank you for writing such a detailed review of the Interncontinental in Da Nang. It was well written and gave me a better idea about the place, as I am planning to book 2 rooms for me, my husband and daughter and another room for my parents and brother. I do have one question as I am having difficulty deciding. I'm not sure if I should stay 2 or 3 nights at Intercontinental, as I plan to book 1 or 2 night at Four Season Hoi An too. If I stay 3 nights at Intercontinental, then I only have 1 night in Four Seasons Hoi An.