7. Ke Ga Bay hideaway

About 150km from Ho Chi Minh City in Bin Thuan province is Ke Ga Bay, a 40-minute drive south of Phan Thiet. The road winds along a blustery coast pounded by breakers. It is a rough, rocky coastline with scrub grass and soaring humps of sand with occasional stretches of beach hosting small local resorts seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

If you need a reason to visit Ke Ga, it is the Princess d’Annam Resort & Spa. In the shadow of a lighthouse (built by the French in 1899) with a fishing village at the far end of the bay, the resort is sited on a broad, undisturbed swathe of sand that slopes gently into the sea. Given the mayhem en route it is surprising to see the waters becalmed and learn that this is actually a very safe swimming area. The shallow incline affords easy wading which perhaps makes it easier for families with kids in tow. This is however an upscale sanctuary for the well-heeled and much in love, starched white with straight clean lines, none of that irksome tropical resort fuss, and dollops of splendid understatement.

A ginger garden lends its aromatic scents to the breeze. Lush eye-soothing foliage and brilliant blue pools offer a dramatic counterpoint to the dazzling white low-rise villa structures. The piece de resistance is surely the unadorned deep-blue rectangular swimming pool that runs along the shoreline, ringed by flaming magenta bougainvillea. In front is the beach, and at its back is the colonnaded lobby and a timber-deck restaurant.

This is a modern construct that blends well into the surrounds with 48 colonial-style villas, four swimming pools and a spacious 1,800sq m spa with 10 treatment rooms. Service is brisk, welcoming and attentive. Vincent Koh, the interior designer of the Park Hyatt Saigon, has fused French colonial with Oriental chic laying down a style that is easy on the eye yet distinct.

The Mandarin Villas offer 75sq m of stretch room with the usual mod-cons like flat-screen TV and Internet. Expect light pastel hues, big divans, cane chairs, large working desk, cream tile flooring and free WiFi throughout the resort. The hotel can loan guests a laptop if required. The lounge has an Internet station as well. The bathing area is well lit and spacious with a sunken tub and separate shower area. There’s a laptop-size safe and a decent hairdryer.

The 100sq m Princess Villas offer a plunge pool, four-poster beds, open bathing area with alfresco bathtub, a separate rainshower cubicle, twin vanities and lots of light. There’s the flat-screen TV, multi-pin electrical sockets near the work desk, a DVD player, and gleaming timber floors. The top-line Empress Villas (there are just three) serve up a more-than-generous 185sq m in a two-storey configuration with a private pool, a huge bed in the upstairs master bedroom on a raised wooden plinth, rich wood parquet, long glass work desk, lots of windows to let in light, a divan, large flat-screen TV with DVD player and funky sound system.

The bedroom leads onto a sun-drenched verandah with ocean views and sun loungers. The bathroom is huge with twin vanities and separate rainshower. The living room downstairs features an eight-seater dining table, plenty of seating and a spare bedroom. The entire ensemble is enclosed by a boundary wall so there’s privacy galore.

Despite the detailed top-drawer finish and not a leaf out of place, Princess d’Annam is a surprisingly child-friendly Vietnam resort. It’s posh yet homey, far from the madding crowd, and the ballroom will handle 162 guests theatre-style should you have a corporate meeting in mind.

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8. Long Hai, Con Dao, Vung Tau

A little farther south, before the three-star melee of Vung Tau is the Anoasis Beach Resort in Long Hai. Its cottages and villas occupy 13 hectares on a lush green hillside with a private beach. Accommodation ranges from 45sq m Pavilion Rooms and 50sq m Cottage Bungalows to slightly larger Family Bungalows and more spacious 120sq m Ocean View Villas (with two bedrooms, lounge, living area, terrace and Jacuzzi).

Find a range of decor and furniture from bamboo-frame beds to wrought iron chairs and deep, comfy sofas. The rooms offer cool tile underfoot and free Wi-Fi. There's a swimming pool, tennis and billiards as well.

On a nice stretch of beach on the Ba Ria coast road in Vung Tau is the Ho Tram Beach Resort & Spa. This is a Vietnamese-style low-rise construct where all rooms have a balcony looking onto garden or sea, air-conditioning along with ceiling fans, electronic safe, satellite TV, hair dryer and free Internet access.

Seaview Bungalows fronting the beach offer a king or twin-bed arrangement, a walled garden with outdoor shower, a bathtub, and a four-poster bed with gauzy mosquito net drapes. The Aurora Spa is on hand for treatments and massage. Expect the usual raft of activities from kayaking and fishing to billiards and kite-flying. A neat and clean escape.

In the sun-dappled Con Dao archipelago a 45-minute hop by air from Saigon (broadly, offshore from Phan Thiet and Mui Ne in Vung Tau province), you’ll find the Six Senses Con Dao, a luxurious retreat with timber boardwalks and clean zen lines that opened December, 2010. This is modern, low-rise construct, creatively imitative of a fishing village, and mightily welcoming of breeze and light. Expect 50 villas with private pools, running up to four bedrooms if elbowroom is your thing. Set on a bay amid mangroves with low hills providing a backdrop, the resort fronts a kilometre of powder sand. Also expect the usual spoiling distractions of a Six Senses Spa, a front-row seat to the annual turtle nesting, and all-day access to the Children's Club.

The first stage of the Ho Tram strip resort complex is Grand Ho Tram Beach (originally planned as an MGM and opened late July 2013). This 541-room mega resort in Vietnam's first casino hotel development and features everything from a nightclub to shopping esplanades, plus nine restaurants, three outdoor pools, a swim-up bar, beach cabanas, and a long stretch of coastline. But that’s not all. Expect another 549 hotel rooms with the second stage.

Inside the plum and ruby-hued Grand King rooms, look for 46-inch TV, touch-screen phones, free WiFi, plush beds, floor-to-ceiling windows and romantic balconies. The marble bathrooms are spacious and opulent, with stand alone bathtubs, plush toiletries and separate rain showers.

MICE goers may want to take note of 2,200sqm of convention space, including a 1,250sq m pillarless, soundproof Grand Ballroom that can seat up to 1,500 guests as well as five smaller meeting spaces. This is a substantial addition to the Vietnam beach resorts mix, that’s a good fit for families and corporate events.