The Wafaifo Hoi An Resort in the ancient heritage capital of Hoi An in central Vietnam will open its doors to guests on 1 September this year.
Bookings are now available for the phase 1 opening of the privately and locally-owned boutique property which will ultimately offer 134-rooms and suites and a range of dining and lifestyle outlets, a 10-minute walk from Hoi An’s UNESCO-listed heritage attractions.
The resort will deliver a modern interpretation of Hoi An hospitality, dining, wellness and community lifestyles in a lively tourist city where analysts say visitor numbers could repeat 2019 record breaking levels by the end of 2024.
“The museums, night market shops, restaurants and bars in the old quarter in Hoi An are really bustling again,” said Mikkel Krantz (pictured), Commercial Director of Wafaifo Hospitality. “With the upturn in tourism, the timing is right for us to unveil wonderful new hotel rooms and dining options that reflect Hoi An’s unique melting pot culture,” he said.
From 1 September, four room categories will be available at the new downtown resort: Faifo, Swim City, Faifo Terrace, and Wheelchair Friendly.
The initial inventory of rooms include balcony options, king-sized or twin beds, high speed WiFi, 24-hour room service, electronically switchable privacy glass between bedroom and bathroom, ‘see out, not in’ main window, anti-steam bathroom mirror, and all the amenities international guests would expect in a high-end urban resort in Asia.
On food and beverage, the Xua & Nay international and Vietnamese restaurant in the resort will have the only Josper oven and grill in central Vietnam. The charcoal-wood grill is renowned for giving a prized smoky flavour to grilled seafood, meats and vegetables.
“In rooms and food, our quality will be high, but pricing competitive,” said Mr Krantz. “We are creating a community experience where both locals and international tourists, we believe, will be pleasantly surprised and delighted in equal measure.”
From 1 September the resort will also give guests access to a 25 x 6-metre swimming pool and unprecedented wellness, spa, gym, fitness, beauty and health options unique to central Vietnam. There will also be DJ sessions by the pool, a cinema, kids’ club, outdoor playground and a retail lobby shop available from that date.
A highlight for visitors meeting or relaxing in the lobby and adjacent areas of the resort will be a replica Japanese Bridge, a water fountain that ‘dances to music’ and a terracotta statue heritage walk, all suitable for social media posts.
In October the resort will open its fully equipped, high tech meeting facilities.
In early 2025, the Wafaifo Resort Hoi An will also add luxurious suites and a signature Vietnamese fine dining outlet.
The name “Wafaifo”, said Mr Krantz, is a portmanteau word combining “water” and “Faifo,” the ancient former name of Hoi An, a city which grew to regional eminence as a major port in Southeast Asia which traded with merchants from Japan, China, Holland, England and France between the 16th and 19th centuries.
The architectural legacy of that period now attracts tourists from around the world and is a 10-minute walk away from the downtown Wafaifo Resort.
Analysts at Wafaifo Optimisers, the resort’s inhouse tourism intelligence unit, predict that Vietnam has a chance to match its 2019 all-time high figure of 18 million visitors by year end 2024. Domestic tourism is already a robust and increasingly important market, it said.
Hoi An is a 40-minute drive from Danang International Airport in central Vietnam. Danang has direct air links with 22 cities in 11 countries and four destinations within Vietnam.