First published June 2020 | Words and photos by Vietnam Coracle
This post was last updated 4 years ago. Please check the comments section for possible updates, or read more on my Updates & Accuracy page.
INTRODUCTION | REVIEW | MAP | RELATED POSTS
Thanks to an immaculate rooftop infinity pool and sky bar with 360-degree city- and sea-views, Fusion Suites is set to become one of the most photographed places in Vung Tau. Positioned at the southern end of Bãi Trước (‘Front Beach’, the most attractive seafront in the city), Fusion Suites is likely to usher in a new standard for high-end accommodation in Vung Tau and herald a new era of luxury travel for this very likable seaside city. Fusion Suites Vung Tau is a sleek, modern, stylish, high-end, high-rise accommodation. The decor tends towards minimalism, and there are lots of lines and angles, but Fusion manages to avoid the sterility and coldness that often accompanies this style. Rather, it’s a cosy and comfortable place to stay. Less that two hours travel by road or sea from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Fusion Suites Vung Tau makes a superb mini-break for couples or families looking for something special within easy reach of Vietnam’s largest city. What’s more, Vung Tau is currently in great shape: probably one of the most attractive cities in Vietnam right now. [To check current rates, availability & make a reservation for Fusion Suites Vung Tau please BOOK HERE]
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REVIEW: FUSION SUITES, VŨNG TÀU
Address: 2 Truong Cong Dinh Street, Ward 2, Vung Tau City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam [MAP]
Average Rates: $75-$120 | Email: reservations.fsvt@fusionhotelgroup.com
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: All my reviews are independently researched & financed. I never receive freebies of any sort in exchange for positive reviews or listings. If you use the links on this page to book your accommodation, I make a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
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MAP:
Although the grand opening isn’t until July 10, Fusion Suites Vung Tau has been accepting guests during a soft-opening (prolonged by the Covid-19 pandemic) since February, 2020. Vung Tau, a medium-sized city at the tip of a promontory jutting into the East Sea (not far from where the Saigon River empties into the ocean), has long been Saigon’s unofficial coastal suburb, and the obvious choice for city-dwellers looking for a weekend by the sea . However, it’s only in the last few years that the city has really started to shine and realize its potential, thanks largely to new infrastructure projects and a beach-cleaning initiative. Indeed, just 10 years ago, Vung Tau would have seemed a strange choice for a small, smart, modern, high-end resort chain to open a new property. Now, however, it seems fitting that the new and improved face of Vung Tau should be adorned with a new, luxury accommodation.
Fusion Suites is a 20-storey building at the southern end of Vung Tau’s Bãi Trước, a handsome and attractive seaside park, walkway, and beach running parallel to a wide, tree-lined road between Núi Lớn (Big Mountain) and Núi Nhỏ (Small Mountain), the city’s two most prominent geographical features. Despite being a relatively high-rise structure on Vung Tau’s modest skyline, Fusion Suites isn’t an eyesore and doesn’t impose itself on the city and surrounding area. Instead, it’s a rather distinctive-looking block featuring geometric shapes and vertical slats painted in pastel tones of green, blue, and beige as if it were a three-dimensional reworking of a Mondrian painting. The overall impression is of a giant bookcase, with each storey a shelf on which books are arranged vertically with their spines facing out. It may not be an especially beautiful building, but it’s certainly interesting.
Reception, on the ground floor, is an open-sided, open-plan space with lots of light and air. (There’s also an underground car park if you’ve driven your own wheels here from Ho Chi Minh City.) Decoration is minimal and everything is clean and smooth, and colours are muted and controlled. Roast Coffee occupies most of the ground floor, a decent cafe but fairly pricey and empty, because, of course, most people head straight to the Breeze Bar on the rooftop if they’re going to have a drink. Guests pay a mandatory one million dong deposit upon check-in, which, although common in high-end properties, is still quite grating on arrival. Elevators whisk guests up to their rooms. Several room types are available and, as you’d expect, the higher the floor the more expensive the room and, accordingly, rooms with sea views are pricier than those with city views (although, in reality, both afford excellent vistas, even from the lower floors). All rooms are off square corridors which wrap around the elevator shaft in the middle. There’s something spooky and a bit ‘Black Mirror’ about the elevator landings: they have a modern, techie, impersonal, A.I feel to them.
No matter which room type you choose, all are spacious and neatly appointed with floor-to-ceiling windows, excellent views, and lots of natural light. (However, not all rooms have balconies). The four room types available are: Suite, Deluxe Suite, Studio Apartment, and Penthouse (in ascending order). Suites and Deluxe Suites ($70-$100) are the most suitable for couples or friends sharing, whereas Studio Apartments and Penthouses ($100-$200) are best for families or long-term stays. The latter room types also have exclusive access to private ‘sky pools’, which are infinity swimming pools overlooking the ocean on the top few floors of the building. Overall, rates are about right for the level of comfort, space, amenities and service that you get at Fusion Suites. The rooms are comfortable places to be (some have small kitchenettes and living rooms): they are bright, modern, clean and exciting spaces with great views that immediately make you feel like you’re in a special accommodation. This is what you want when paying upwards of $100 per night.
The pastel tones and geometry of the exterior of Fusion Suites continues inside the guest rooms. There’s a distinctive ‘seaside’ palette of muted blues, greens, and greys which works very well: from the bathroom walls to the headboards to the pillows, chair covers and lampshades. There’s a cosy mix of wooden panels, carpet, and tile throughout the rooms. The bathrooms, in particular, are thoughtfully laid out, including a shapely, freestanding bathtub. Furnishings are crisp and slender, and decor is restrained, elegant, modern and uncluttered.
A buffet breakfast, served on the 19th floor with panoramic views at Fresh Restaurant, is included in the room price. The food is good and the spread is impressive. However, you might want to bring a sweater with you, as the air-conditioning was so powerful when I was there, it felt pretty chilly. Fresh Restaurant is also Fusion’s main dining area. The menu features local specialities (including seafood), as well as other Asian and Western dishes. Prices are quite reasonable and quality is good. (Sadly, Fusion – like the majority of high-end accommodations in Vietnam – inexplicably plays saccharine pop tunes over the dining room speakers to accompany your meal: I’m yet to meet a diner anywhere in Vietnam that responds positively to this soundtrack.) Other amenities at Fusion Suites include the Maia Spa, which is meant to be excellent, although I can’t vouch for it, as I’m not really a spa person. But Fusion’s real showpiece is, of course, the rooftop Breeze sky bar and infinity pool.
The Breeze Bar, accessed via steep stairs from the 19th to the 20th floor, is Fusion Suite’s ‘Instagram-prop’: this is where people will flock to from far and wide to have their photos taken and spread the resulting snaps all over social media, thus advertising Fusion to the world. The rooftop is a sort of hexagonal space, half of which is a beautiful infinity pool indented with a couple of curtained and cushioned gazebos, and the other half is a wood and tile deck for sitting and sipping cocktails, with the bar in the middle. The views in all directions are superb. Vung Tau is a wonderfully positioned city – set on a promontory dotted with forested hills with the sea on three sides – and the Breeze Bar is the perfect place to get a good sense of it. The views alone are worth coming for, but the infinity pool adds to the wow factor (and, yes, you can wade in and perch yourself on the edge of the pool, staring out to sea as if you were contemplating flight). The drinks list is impressive, including good cocktails and craft beers. Prices are fairly reasonable, considering this is currently the bar in Vung Tau. There’s a happy hour for beer but not for cocktails (which is a bit of a shame). The best time to get here is after 4pm when the sun begins its descent over the ocean and eventually sets around 6pm. Already, Breeze Bar is packed with selfie-takers – most of whom are non-guests – and it can feel like a bit of a circus at dusk. But plans are afoot to curb this to a certain extent, by creating a minimum charge for all non-guests. Either way, there’s plenty of space and everyone is thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Located on Truong Cong Dinh Street, Fusion Suites backs onto Chợ Xóm Lưới, one of Vung Tau’s best fresh seafood markets, and is only a 5-minute stroll from the surprisingly clean and pleasant sands of Bãi Trước Beach (an ever popular spot for bathing, promenading, and hanging out from 4pm onwards, for locals and visitors alike). Also within walking distance is the grid of French colonial-era streets directly east of Bãi Trước Beach, where there’s some great street food, local restaurants, cafes, leafy boulevards, and handsome colonial buildings. Immediately due south of Fusion Suites, and also walkable (although quite steep), is the colonial-era lighthouse at the top of Núi Nhỏ (Small Mountain), which has excellent views of the city and the ocean, as well as being studded with Buddhist temples, tropical trees, flowers, and cafes. Indeed, Vung Tau in general is easily navigated on foot from Fusion Suites: walk north up the seafront road towards Núi Lớn (Big Mountain) to visit Bạch Dinh (White Palace), the former retreat of the French Governor General, and take the cable car up to Ho May theme park; or stroll south along the seafront to Bãi Dứa (Pineapple Beach) and all the way to the statue of Christ near the southern tip of the promontory. [To check current rates, availability & make a reservation for Fusion Suites Vung Tau please BOOK HERE].
*Please support Vietnam Coracle: All my reviews are independently researched & financed. I never receive freebies of any sort in exchange for positive reviews or listings. If you use the links on this page to book your accommodation, I make a small commission. All my earnings go straight back into this website. Thank you.
Disclosure: I never receive payment for anything I write: my content is always free & independent. I’ve written this review because I want to: I like this hotel & I want my readers to know about it. For more details, see my Disclosure & Disclaimer statements here
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