La Veranda – Phu Quoc – What a delightful hotel.

This is a boutique resort, set in a garden environment and fronting a lovely beach from where beautiful sunsets can be viewed and thoroughly appreciated. It comprises garden rooms, villas and beachfront suites – very, very, well equipped, tastefully furnished and decorated. We opted for a garden room on the top floor – hopefully for fewer mosquitoes, as Janet is allergic to their bites.

Whilst set on a small plot, the gardens are crammed with flowers, plants, trees and shrubs providing both shade and a very pleasant environment.

The décor of the rooms is a special feature and the quality of soaps, lotions and creams, supplied in the room, is second to none. The rooms are immaculately clean and well kept, but still manage to maintain a friendly and comfortable environment.

Breakfast is taken buffet style in the main restaurant, The Peppertree. The selection of English, Continental and Eastern food will satisfy every palate. Service is attentive, swift and friendly.

Dinner is served in the Peppertree and in the Garden from a fairly extensive a la carte menu, which varies from Vietnamese food, through pasta to Chateaubriand. We ate meals in all these categories and were never disappointed! The menu card is supplemented by set meals and ‘speciality’ evenings with buffets and barbeques and never disappointed, although wines are rather pricey.

The executive chef is South African and makes a point of talking to all guests on a frequent, though not obtrusive, basis – as indeed do all of the management team (and team seems to describe them perfectly). You are truly made to feel like a valued, individual guest.

Whilst some of the staff lacked a good command of English, they were always bright, cheerful and very ready to please.

There is a smallish pool with (good quality and comfortable) sun beds and, whilst the hotel was full during our visit, there were always beds available, with drinks service from the bar, where I believe snacks are also available, in the nearby main building. The beach is very nicely cleaned with sufficient sun bed availability – if beds are short hotel staff will fetch one for you.

There is a spa area, although we never tried the facilities, opting for a massage on the beach daily. Beach massage facilities and quality are not as good as Thailand or Bali, but it did the job!

There are a few restaurants in the immediate vicinity, but they suffered from lack of custom at the time of our visit. We had one very ordinary meal locally, but the lack of custom (and therefore turnover of fresh food) did rather put us off. Restaurants (special mention of the Ocean Grill) are available near to the night market in the main town.

The hotel provides free internet access from 4 PC, a tour desk and helpful staff at reception / concierge. There is little to do in the evening – other than enjoy the environment.

If you are looking for a very relaxing, upmarket break then the management, staff and facilities offered by La Veranda will surely satisfy. We fully intend to return.

This is a personal opinion based upon a 7 day stay in February / March 2009.