Luxury resort in Ha Long Bay opens

The luxury tourism complex Vinpearl Ha Long in Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province, opens on October 31. (Source: baoquangninh.com.vn)

The luxury tourism complex Vinpearl Ha Long, developed by Vingroup, one of Vietnam’s leading property developers, opened on October 31 in the northeastern coastal province of Quang Ninh.

The complex was built on Reu island in Ha Long Bay, one of the world’s natural heritages recognised by UNESCO.

The 1.2 trillion VND (53 million USD) complex has a five-star nine-storey hotel with 384 rooms and clusters of restaurants and a convention centre, entertainment facilities, bars, swimming pools and artificial beaches.

The Vinpearl Ha Long is the first and biggest five-star sea resort in the north of Vietnam. It will begin welcoming customers since November 1.

Covering an area of 43,400 ha and includes over 1,969 islands and islets, most of which are uninhabited and unaffected by humans, Ha Long Bay was in the list of the world’s top ten best and romantic destinations for 2011 by the UK’s Lonely Planet magazine and ranked 6th among top ten sailing cruises by National Geographic book “Journeys of a Lifetime”

​​In 2013, the bay was included in the list of “100 trips you must take in your lifetime” released by the US magazine Business Insider. 

The magazine recommended spending a night on a junk boat in the bay, amid a multitude of limestone islands and islets rising from the sea, in a variety of sizes and shapes and presenting picturesque, unspoiled nature. 

​Last year, it was listed in the world’s top ten Valentine’s Day Retreats recommended by the US National Geographic’s book “Four Seasons of Travel”. 

The website of the US magazine described the twice-recognised UNESCO World Heritage Site as “a vision of astonishing beauty” with more than 1,600 islands and a sweet and romantic destination for international tourists./.