Last updated December 2019 | Words, photos and film by Vietnam Coracle

INTRODUCTION | RESORT REVIEW | MAP | VIDEO

Dalat is a former French colonial hill station, 1,500 metres up in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Surrounded by pine forests and with a year-round temperate climate, Dalat became known as the City of Eternal Spring. But today, there’s only really one place in the city that lives up to this romantic image: Ana Mandara Villas Resort & Spa. With seventeen beautifully restored colonial villas on a pine-studded hillside, this is the best luxury accommodation in Dalat, and one of the most atmospheric resorts in the country. [Average rates are $80-$130. To check availability & make a reservation for Ana Mandara Dalat please BOOK HERE]

*Please support Vietnam Coracle: I never write a review for money: all my content is free & my reviews are independent. You can support the work I do by booking your hotels via the Agoda links & search boxes on my site, like the ones on this page. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Any money I make goes straight back into this site. Thank you.

Ana Mandara Villas Resort & Spa is the perfect place to live out your colonial fantasy in Dalat

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REVIEW: ANA MANDARA VILLAS, DALAT

Address: Le Lai Street, Dalat City, Lam Dong Province [MAP]

Price: $80-$130 | Phone: (+84) 63 3555 888 | Website: www.anamandara-resort.com

MAP:

View in a LARGER MAP

Although the surrounding countryside is very attractive, the reality of Dalat City these days is a busy, noisy and rather ugly concrete jumble: It’s not what you’d expect if you’d read about the city’s ‘colonial charm’ or heard it described as the ‘Paris of the Highlands’. However, five minutes west of the city centre, Ana Mandara Villas is everything you wanted Dalat to be: peaceful, graceful, colonial, charming, semi-rural, and with views of the surrounding countryside. This is where the ‘fantasy’ Dalat really does exist.

10 Images of Ana Mandara Villas Resort & Spa, Dalat:

The seventeen restored French colonial villas at Ana Mandara are mostly from the 1920s and 1930s. The architecture and decor are predominantly Art Deco, and great care has been taken to ensure that the villas retain the character of their original design, both inside and out. Most villas are painted ochre yellow with brown, tiled roofs. The floors, furniture, and window frames are wooden, and there are fireplaces in the majority of rooms. Each villa consists of several guest rooms of varying size from 22-70m². All villas have spacious and elegantly furnished communal areas, including living and dining rooms, kitchen and pantry, and balconies. Even the bathrooms – with freestanding bathtubs – are graceful.

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Free-standing bathtubs feature in most rooms, as do many other elegant colonial touches

The villas are set among pine trees on a hillside, with views over the Dalat suburbs, small-hold farming, and Lang Bian Mountain (the area’s highest peak) in the distance. There’s a heated pool (one of the prettiest in Vietnam) with loungers and a pool bar. Breakfast, which is included, is served at Le Petit Dalat Restaurant. This is another lovely building with high ceilings, tiled floors and tall French windows that open onto the garden. Breakfasts are very good, especially the croissant with exotic local jams, such as pineapple and mulberry. There’s a softly lit bar and even a wine cellar.

VIDEO: Ana Mandara Villas Resort & Spa, Dalat:

Watch on YouTube

La Cochinchine Spa occupies an entire villa and is reportedly one of the finest spas in southern Vietnam. The resort offers various excursions to Dalat and nearby attractions. Also, the gardens are big enough that walking around them and admiring the villas makes a pleasant activity in itself. Some people might find Ana Mandara’s slightly isolated location a hindrance to exploring Dalat independently. But, it’s only a five minute taxi ride to the city centre and, personally, I’d much rather ‘dip’ into the bustle of the city by day, and spend my nights in the peace and quiet of the resort.

Villa interior: this is the communal living space where you can sit next to a cosy open fire in the evenings

I only have two issues with Ana Mandara Villas, both of which could be easily remedied. Firstly, the fireplaces – which are a lovely touch – fill the rooms with smoke whenever a fire is lit. Surely, all that needs to be done is to regularly sweep the chimneys. Secondly, Ana Mandara has fallen into the same ‘pop music trap’ as so many other luxury resorts in Vietnam. Pop music is played in all public areas – the pool, restaurant, bar and reception. Why would a resort that has so carefully considered every little detail – from the subtleties of lighting to the most appropriate style of bathroom fixtures – fail to realize that pop music doesn’t lend anything to its ambience? The sound of the wind through the pine trees is infinitely more ‘in tune’ with this resort than the Backstreets Boys. At my last visit, the music was, at least, more varied and lower in volume

The excellent heated outdoor pool is surrounded by pine trees – I just wish they’d turn the music off

Ana Mandara Villas is fantastic luxury accommodation that keeps the charm and romance of Dalat alive. A coherent style and attention to detail runs throughout the resort, something that’s often lacking in Vietnam’s other colonial era hotels. Tasteful and elegant, I still get excited each time I visit this resort in the Central Highlands. It’s perfect for a romantic getaway or a family holiday. [Average rates are $80-$130. To check availability & make a reservation for Ana Mandara Dalat please BOOK HERE]

*Please support Vietnam Coracle: I never write a review for money: all my content is free & my reviews are independent. You can support the work I do by booking your hotels via the Agoda links & search boxes on my site, like the ones on this page. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Any money I make goes straight back into this site. Thank you.

Perfect for a romantic getaway or a family holiday, I still get excited every time I visit Ana Mandara Villas

Disclosure: I never receive payment for anything I write: my content is always free and independent. I’ve written this review because I want to: I like this resort and I want my readers to know about it. For more details, see my Disclosure & Disclaimer statements here

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