Sorry for going quiet for the last few months. Have been tied up with little things here and there and just didn’t get down to writing until now. Ok, in short I was just getting lazy ?.
Angsana Lang Co
Why the Angsana Lang Co?
We had planned for 4 vacations this year, one each quarter. First vacation of the year was our winter trip to Iceland for DH and I in March 2017. During the school holidays in June 2017, we decided to take a short break and go to Danang for a family beach holiday.
Danang, in Central Vietnam, is known for its beaches and is half an hour drive from Hoi An, whose old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had previously been to Hoi An in 2010, but had gone in Nov, during the raining season. I so much want to visit the place again especially during its monthly full moon festival when the streets of the old town is only lighted up by traditional lanterns. The monthly Lantern festival in Hoi An is on the 14th of every lunar month. In June 2017, it falls on the 8th.
Having decided on the date, next was to pick a resort. The boys, one on leave from the army and the second needing a break from his intense A levels revision had requested for a relaxing vacation with “nothing to do”. I was considering the Hyatt at Danang, but came across a promotion at the Angsana. I am a fan of Banyan Tree group hotels and so decided to check out Angsana at Lang Co. Angsana in Lang Co is part of the Laguna Lang Co resort which includes Banyan Tree resort and a golf course besides the Angsana resort.
Lang Co is a one and a half hour drive from Danang in the opposite direction from Hoi An. It is probably not an ideal location for sightseeing but as we had wanted a rest and relax holiday, I thought it would be ok for us. Furthermore, I was much attracted by its 2 bedroom suites which came which a private dip pool. In the end I booked the Skypool Party Package at a 2-bedroom Loft at USD366.45 nett per night for 3 nights which included the following:
- Daily breakfast at the Market Place
- Free Breakfast & Lunch for children under 12 yo in the restaurants
- 50% discount under 18yo dining in the restaurants
- One family BBQ dinner served in the Suite
- Return private airport transfer
- Resort credit of USD100 nett valid for Food and Spa.
I thought it was a good deal.
Upon arrival at Danang Airport, we were promptly met by the staff from Laguna Lang Co. We were shown to our vehicle which was a 10 seater and so could comfortably accomodate our family of 5 and our 2 medium luggages. The ride to the Hotel was 1 hour 20 mins and there was free wifi in the van. The wifi quality was excellent and kept us all occupied during the journey.
At the resort, we were promptly greeted and our check in well attended too. We were served with cold towels to freshen up and welcome drink and snack. Each guest is also given a bracelet made by locals as a welcome gift.
Sleeping @ Angsana Lang Co:
Then we were shown to our suite. We were given suite 6515. It is the last room of the resort near the water sports center and has a direct sea view. I had thought that it’ll be a long walk but it was really ok especially if you walk through the garden. It is actually the nearest to the water sports center and also near the all-day restaurant, Moonba. And unlike other rooms that are near the lobby which while face the sea does not have a direct sea view but has the garden view. Block 6 just walks out to the beach. Wow!
We enter our suite from level 5. Upon entering, we see the living room and the dining room. The dining room has a full table for 6. Behind the dining room is the little kitchenette. Overall deco is modern with a touch of Asia. Colour theme has a touch of orange which brightens the suite and is in line with the colour scheme for Angsana. A rollaway bed is set up for us in the living room as there are 5 of us. There is a bathroom on this floor. It has a shower cubicle but no bathtub.
One floor down is the 2 bedrooms. A king room in front with the sea view and a twin room with a view of the water sports center behind. Each room has its own bathroom. Each bathroom has a shower cubicle as well as a bath tub. The master bedroom bathroom has a window looking out to the sea too. A blind can be lowered for privacy. The master bedroom and bath room is huge. The king bed faces a wall with a full length panel window facing the sea. The second twin bedroom was smaller than the master bedroom, but still very comfortably sized.
One floor above the living room is our rooftop private dip pool. This floor is well equipped with a toilet and an outdoor shower where one can have a rinse before jumping into the pool. The deck is also furnished with 2 deck chairs for lazing around. There is also a table for six where we had our BBQ dinner on the last night.
We were overall very happy with the suite. It was luxurious and yet comfortable.
The Grounds @ Angsana Lang Co
The grounds of the Angsana Lang Co is vast and beautiful. It is part of Laguna Resort and there is a waterway connecting it to the other Laguna hotel, the Banyan Tree Lang Co. there is a boat that plies the waterway to ferry guests around Laguna resort and it is a very pleasant with view of the beautiful area.
Angsana Lang Co has a private beach. Although it was not a white sand beach, it was nonetheless a beautiful beach. It was not crowded when we were there.
Eating @ Angsana Lang Co:
1. Breakfast at Market Place
Buffet Breakfast is served daily at the Market Place. There is a wide buffet selection of international and Vietnamese and Asian choices.
The most interesting option for breakfast is flavoured champagne! Yes, champagne… alcohol! ?. You can add different flavours like roselle, pineapple, ginger & lemongrass and passion fruit flavours to your champagne and it is so good! I did non-alcoholic versions for DD with sparkling water ?.
2. Lunch & Dinner at Moonba
As it was low season in Hoi An, not all the restaurants were opened all the time at the Angsana. Moonba was the only restaurant opened for lunch and dinner everyday. We did not read the schedule given to us carefully and so went to Moonba for dinner on our first night. On hindsight, we should have gone to Rice Bowl another restaurant at the hotel which is only open for dinner. We did not have a chance to eat there again the whole trip.
Guests are served with welcome crackers served with hoi an chili sauce upon arrival at Moonba. The crackers are eaten with cucumber and some herbs and bean sprouts. The chili sauce is very spicy but goes very well with the crackers.
For our first dinner at Moonba , we had the papaya salad, fried spring rolls, salt and chilli squid for our appetisers. The apps were quite nice.
For our main course we went for the deep fried tamarind frog legs with garlic fried rice and luc luc stir fried beef with steam rice. And from the grill we had a lobster and a steak. The dishes were ok.
Portions are small and meant for single person rather than served family style like a traditional Vietnamese restaurant. So main courses are generally served with rice.
Only 3 of us had dessert. We ordered the fried ice cream in caramel sauce, Vietnamese Sorbet trio (apple & mint, mango and coconut) and Vietnamese sweet soup (sago, mango, white sesame in coconut milk). Dessert was acceptable.
Overall food was mediocre. So if we had any other choice, we won’t want to eat there again. But as we did not have any other options, we had lunch there the next day too. We decided to have noodles and dessert. For the noodles we had pho and cha ca (fried fish). Again mediocre. Dessert were better. We had the fried ice cream again, sorbet and banana cake served with sorbet.
3. Lunch at Pool Side Bar
We had enough of the food at Moonba, and so decided to just have simple burgers and hotdogs at the pool on another day. These were pretty good. And it was relaxing and fun to eat at the pool side bar.
4. In-Room BBQ Dinner
This BBQ dinner is included in our package. They came to our suite to put up a beautiful and elaborate setting.
We had 2 salads, and fried rice and bread rolls.
For the BBQ items, we had fish, chicken, chicken wings, kebabs.
After we finished with our dinner, they came back with dessert served in our dining room. Overall, it was an enjoyable dinner.
5. Azura @ Banyan Tree Lang Co
We were sick of food at Moonba and so decided to check out the other restaurants within the Laguna Resort. We took the boat ride to Banyan Tree to eat at Azura, it’s all day restaurant. Azura is the only restaurant opened at Banyan Tree for lunch. Azura is a casual beach front restaurant. Very relaxed setting. Only problem is no air conditioning! It was a hot day, so we were glad to be seated under the big fans!
We had pasta and they were not bad. A nice change from the food at Moonba. Our kids like Italian, so it worked for us.
Playing @ Angsana Lang Co:
The water sports center is next to our block. During our stay, we did several stuff there. We went on the Vietnamese traditional basket boat and the vertical columns. These non-motorized activists are free. The motorized activities were payable. The kids did the jet ski and had lots of fun. The boys went for the ATV too.
The resort’s swimming pool meanders around the whole resort. There were lots of tubes, noodles and floating devices around for residents to use. It was fun floating on the devices and going around the resort.
And when tired, one can always drop by the pool bar for a drink or snack,
Spa @ Angsana Lang Co:
DH and I each had a massage at the Angsana Spa. The treatment room was welcoming and decorated with hints of orange, the signature colour of Angsana. We started our treatment with the usual foot bath and scrub before our massage proper. The theorepists were skillful and we enjoyed our massages.
After our treatment, for refreshments, we were served lemongrass tea and fruits. It was an overall enjoyable spa experience and we were not disappointed.
Overall an enjoyable stay. We had an enjoyable break. Only complain is the food!
The hotel provides free shuttle to 2 nearby heritage sites, Hue and Hoi An. As the kids wanted to just laze around and do nothing, and was definitely not interested in seeing temples and citadels, we only visited Hoi An.
Next : Summer in Lang Co 2017 – Hoi An Full Moon Festival