If you’re looking for a family-friendly five star beach resort in Vietnam we can recommend New World Phu Quoc Resort. This was the fifth and final stop on our 14 day Vietnam itinerary and the perfect location for a few relaxing days before we flew home.
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We’ve learnt that offering a sweetener like this at the end of our trips goes down well with the kids. There’s only so many early mornings and long days of sightseeing they can take before they rebel.
So, if we can offer them a grand finale with a pool, a sumptuous breakfast buffet and a beach, balance is restored. And New World Phu Quoc Resort more than delivered on all of these things.
Having said that, I wished we’d made it the first stop on our Vietnam holiday. I’ll explain why in a bit.
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Visiting Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc is Vietnam’s largest Island and a short 45 minute flight from Tan Son Nhat International Airport. This makes it an easy add on to a stay in Ho Chi Minh City.
Traditionally the island’s main industry was fishing. Tourists keen to get off the beaten track were drawn here by adventures in the jungle interior and the chilled out East Coast.
In recent years its popularity has grown meaning there’s just as many rooms at international hotels as at backpacker retreats. New World Phu Quoc Resort is one of the hotels that popped up to meet this demand.
The weather
It’s worth mentioning that we visited in the coolest month of the year, August.
It rained hard for one morning of our stay and then was dry for the next 48 hours with temperatures in the early 30°Cs.
When you are used to rain in the UK it was a nice change for it to be 27°C and pouring. It didn’t dampen our stay.
But if you do want less chance of rain, visit in the dry season between October and April. Just expect lots of other people to be thinking the same.
About New World Phu Quoc Resort
New World is a luxury villa resort on Phu Quoc’s beautiful Khem Beach on the southern tip of the island.
Each of the 375 three to four bedroom villas has its own walled compound and private pool. The beach front villas have sea views while the cheaper options, like the one we stayed in, have an oasis feel with established fruit trees and plants in a central courtyard.
New World is a very family-friendly resort. The villas are perfect for multi-generational groups which we saw a lot of during our three night stay.
Couples can book villas and get access to one bedroom for a reduced rate but everyone we saw had kids with them.
There are lots of other accommodation options close by aimed at couples as well as families, such as the neighbouring JW Marriott Resort*.
New World Phu Quoc is part of a larger holiday resort set up by the Sun Group – one of the largest developers in Vietnam. A free shuttle bus can run you between the other five star hotels and Sunset Town which is a shopping, dining and entertainment complex with a nightly firework display.
We booked our stay on booking.com*.
Our stay at New World resort in Phu Quoc
We arrived on day 11 of our fortnight travelling north to south through Vietnam. I’d been in touch with the resort a few weeks before to book our free transfer from Phu Quoc International Airport. Our driver was ready and waiting outside arrivals.
By now the drive south felt familiar through typically Vietnamese streets lined with small local shops, mopeds and pylons strung with dozens of power cables.
And then we reached the arched entrance to the resort.
The buildings around us took on more of a French theme park feel and looked empty, which was slightly weird. Moments later we pulled up outside New World Phu Quoc Resort and were transported somewhere much more tropical.
The large modern reception building looks out over a palm plantation towards the sea. On closer inspection you can see buildings in among the trees. This is where the resort’s villas are nestled.
Our Garden Pool Villa
We stayed in a three bedroom Garden Pool Villa towards the back the resort. It was still only a five minute walk to the restaurants and pools, and another couple of minutes from the beach.
If that quick spurt of exercise is too taxing in the heat than you could also call for a free golf buggy ride to wherever you wanted to go.
Our villa was a world away from the tiny family room we’d stayed in at the beginning of our trip in Hanoi.
As well as a master bedroom with free standing bath, a double room and twin room, we had a separate living area with lounge seating, a dining table and kitchenette.
The master bedroom and living area are separate buildings to the other two bedrooms with a open courtyard in-between.
It was all beautifully decorated with natural coloured woven wall hangings, rattan lamps and marble floors.
In the courtyard between the three bedrooms and living area was our private pool. It was very peaceful to spend afternoons reading a book here while the girls had a splash or chilled in their rooms.
Something that bugged me about our villa was that the kitchenette was totally redundant. There was a hob, fridge and sink but no cutlery, crockery, utensils or cooking pans.
The resort has a ‘no outside food and drink’ policy and no onsite supermarket. So, if you abide by the house rules, the kitchen would never be used.
The only thing you can make for your self is a cuppa. A kettle, tea cups, some teas and instant coffees are provided.
But for £215 per night including breakfast we thought it was pretty good value for the private pool and space.
Activities
We had two full days to enjoy the resort and spent both mornings beside the infinity pool overlooking the beach.
Pools at New World Resort in Phu Quoc
The main pool is 1.4m deep so good for children who can swim with supervision. You can bring your own inflatables or hire them for £6 per hour. We thought it was worth the investment.
Next to the main pool there’s a 60cm deep pool with a splash park.
There was a bit of renovation work happening next to this while we were there. This created a bit of noise before lunch but it didn’t go on all day.
Water park on Khem Beach
A short walk along the beach there’s a bigger water park. This has a couple of tube slides for adults and older kids, a big splash park and four slides for younger kids (my nine and 11-year-old were too tall).
While the park is on the beach it is only available to resort guests. You have a headshot taken when you arrive at the resort and give your room number when you visit the waterpark. Our girls went to this a few times and it was fun for half an hour or so.
Khem Beach
New World Phu Quoc Resort is right on the beach. It is beautiful. There are resort sun loungers here and if you wander along the beach there are some other cafes and restaurants.
The fine white sand is clean and the water is clear.
You can also hire paddle boards and jet skis or try paragliding or a banana boat ride. These activities all cost extra.
More things to do at the resort
There are bicycles to borrow in the centre of the resort and a kids club, although we didn’t try either of these. If we’d have been staying longer we might have enquired more about them – no information was offered about them when we check in.
There was no evening entertainment mentioned when we check in or obvious when we went out at night. This may have been because we were visiting during the off peak season.
Things to do near New World Resort
We had just three nights on Phu Quoc so opted to keep things simple and enjoy the resort.
Outside the resort you can hop on an hourly shuttle bus to Sunset Town where there are shops and entertainment into the evening. This is probably where most people went.
The big attraction at Sunset Town is the Kiss of the Sea Show. This is about aliens who visit Earth, specifically Phu Quoc, and spark a battle between good and evil. It’s an impressive multi-media show with a firework finale. The only day you can’t see the show is Tuesdays but the fireworks happen nightly.
The shuttle bus will also take you to the Hon Thom Cable Car which is the longest three wire cable car in the world. Buy a ticket for the cable car and this includes access to the Aquatopia Water Park on Hon Thom Island.
You can upgrade your ticket to include lunch and other entertainment. Tickets are priced by height. I did take a brief look at doing this and worked out that both our girls would have been classed as adults.
Food and drink
New World Phu Quoc Resort has four places to grab a bite to eat plus a beach bar. However the bar was closed during our stay.
Inclusive breakfast
The Bay Kitchen is where you can get your inclusive breakfast.
The restaurant is split across two levels both offering the same amazing spread of local and international hot and cold dishes. You can choose to sit at tables in the restaurant or in a less formal lounge area.
This was by far the best breakfast buffet we’d experienced during our two weeks with everything from Ban Mi and Pho to sausages, bacon and a waffle station complete with melted chocolate, marshmallows and sprinkles.
You could also order eggs and take your pick of plenty of healthy options.
The Bay Kitchen also opens for lunch and dinner.
Lunch and dinner at New World Resort in Phu Quoc
We spent our lunchtimes at the resort’s pools and ordered food from the pool bar. There was a good selection of burgers, salads and pizzas.
On our first two evenings we embraced the slower pace of the resort and ordered in room dining. There’s a wide selection of Vietnamese and international items on the room service menu.
You simply scan a QR code in your villa, place your order online and it arrives 45 minutes later.
On our final night in Vietnam we decided to eat at Lua Grill which is a pool side seafood restaurant open for lunch and dinner. We had a delicious meal of cobia fish, flame grilled chicken and, because kids are kids, pizza.
We reserved a table for 7pm but needn’t have. The whole resort was incredibly quiet. I don’t know whether people went off the resort to eat or dine in their rooms but there were very few other people about.
The other option for light bites is the cafe in main reception. We didn’t try this but it would be good for informal drinks and snacks.
If you want to shop around here’s another recommendation: Phu Quoc’s Green Bay Resort.
The kicker
I mentioned earlier that we’d wished we’d made this resort the first stop of our 14 days in Vietnam and the reason was the food and drink. It wasn’t bad. We really enjoyed it.
The thing that made us wince was the price compared to everywhere we had stayed on the mainland.
As an example, cans of local beer cost 110,000 VND in the resort compared to 30 VND at the hotel we stayed at in Hoi An. In general we were paying two thirds more for all our food and drink than we did at any other hotel during our trip.
So, if you book New World Phu Quoc Resort, and I suspect any of the other international hotels on the island, it’s best to park any prior knowledge you have about Vietnam being a cheap place to eat and drink.
Location
Here’s where to find New World Phu Quoc Resort:
Summary
We had a great time at New World Resort. For two full days we whizzed down slides at the waterpark, dipped our toes in the turquoise sea and pranced around on unicorns.
The accommodation and facilities are excellent and, I think, pretty good value for a gorgeous three bed villa with a private pool and an impressive breakfast buffet thrown in.
This is a super family-friendly five star resort with a chilled vibe. You feel a million miles away from the bustle of Vietnam’s cities.
There was no hard sell for tours at reception or spa treatments beside the pool. We were just left to enjoy ourselves but it was never too much trouble to find someone to take a food order, even in our room where the app did the hard work.
However, the mark up on food and drink compared to everywhere else we’d stayed in Vietnam was mind boggling. I had to keep reminding myself the prices were similar to the UK and substantially cheaper than Oman where we live.
If you’re looking for a family-friendly beach resort in Phu Quoc then definitely consider this one. The cost per person, per night for the standard of accommodation was really good especially if you are staying with grandparents or friends.
Check prices and availability* for New World Resort.
More reading about Vietnam travel
Phu Quoc was the fifth and final stop during our 2 week Vietnam itinerary which started in Hanoi where we visited the famous Train Street, and then moved on to Ha Long Bay for a two night cruise.
Our next stop was three night in Hoi An from where we flew to Ho Chi Minh City and took a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mykong Delta.
You can catch up with the rest of our trip by checking out my Instagram account where there are three Stories about our two weeks in Vietnam.
Usually I’d also recommend the Lonely Planet’s destination guide to help you plan your trip, but I bought the Vietnam 2023 edition and was a bit disappointed. A lot of the information was generic and I spotted several mistakes.
I’d suggest trying the Rough Guide* or Eyewitness travel guide* instead.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links marked with *. If you click on one of these and make a purchase I may earn some commission. This does not affect the price you pay.