There are many words I can use to describe the JW Marriott Emerald Bay. Out of this world, incredible, insane, beautiful, wondrous; I could go on and on.
This is a hotel with a story which. Let’s just say that this is a hotel set up like a university, the manager is called the Dean and everything centres on this theme.
The accommodation is on one side of the site and the amenities on the other, all looking over the most perfect bay.
It really is Paradise. A paradise I’m going to walk you through in pictures.
About the Hotel
Edging the sand and surf of Khem Beach, JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa is a luxury haven amid a stunning travel destination. What was once a 19th-century French university has been reimagined as an eclectically themed, lavish beachfront playground by renowned resort architect Bill Bensley. Set along a ribbon of beautiful shoreline in Phu Quoc, our resort hotel welcomes you with luxury rooms and suites with private balconies, along with beautifully appointed villas, complete with sparkling plunge pools. Ignite your senses with a global range of gourmet cuisine at any of our five sophisticated restaurants and bars. Lounge by the mosaic-tiled, seashell-shaped pool or on the immaculate white sands of our beach, reserved exclusively for hotel guests. Rejuvenate your well-being with locally inspired massage, beauty and luxury wellness therapies at Spa by JW. Let the beauty of Vietnam’s largest island inspire every sense at JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa.
Guests stay in departments and each department is decorated according to the department/school it represents.
These are:
- The Department of Architecture
- The Department of Anthropology
- The Department of Fine Arts
- The Department of Ocean Study
- The Department of Mammal study
- The Department of Fish Study
- The Department of Reptiles Study
- The Department of Insect Study
- The Department of Astronomy
- The Department of Bird Study
- the Department of Agriculture
- The Department of Biology
- The Department of Zoology
Each one of these departments is a different colour, decorated different and every and I mean every detail matches to the school. The pictures, the drawings in the lifts, the coving/decoration within, even the gardens surrounded. The detail and thought that has gone into each are incredible. The best accommodation on site is called Lamark House and is where the Dean of the university is said to entertain.
There is also the Chemistry Bar, the PE Department and the School Lobby.
There are three pools on-site; the sun pool, the shell pool, and the sand pool. They are all surrounded by places to lounge and sit with towels and drinks on hand and waiter service if you want something else. This waiter service extends to the loungers and areas on the beach.
There is also has a school running track designed to perpetuate the story of the university and the famous Ridgeback Team.
The main restaurants all have a theme and a purpose too.
Tempus Fugit in the Architectural Department
This is the restaurant that serves breakfast which is honestly like nothing else I have ever seen. In the evening it serves, Vietnamese, Japanese and western fare. And the spring rolls here are the best thing I have ever tasted. My mum says they also do an amazing prawn curry which she had twice, I was addicted to the mushroom ravioli and mango cheesecake.
French and Co on the Rue de Lamarck
Bakery, pastries, pies and coffee etc: are served here. This is more of a fast-food snack option and delicious, plus they have the best iced teas.
Red Rum
This is the typical paradise island restaurant right on the beachfront. We ate here the most, known for its barbeque and fish my mum loved their fish and rice and peach pizza. The atmosphere here was just so chill we spent many the joyful house here.
Pink Pearl, which is fine dining like no other.
This restaurant is something else. A restaurant with awards this is french diving cuisine at it’s best, We ate here once and it was an experience I will never forget, there were many courses, some came with domes that smoke came out of, some on little spoons. It was a trip and the whole places look like it make-believe. I could gush on and on about this restaurant forever. Let’s just say it ranks as one of my top 10 experiences.
Rue de Lamarck
Once a week the main street running down the resort turns into a night market, Stalls grace either side, music plays and the whole place transform into a bustling street. It really is quite incredible.
And my favourite, The Department of Chemistry Bar.
When it comes to theming this place has it and then some. With cocktails, snack menus, the best lounges I have ever seen, a view like no other I was ready to take up camp here.
The site also has a gym, an auditorium, and local shops, all themed beautifully.
My favourite place has to be the School Lobby and the Lamarck Lounge, a place where you are welcomed, given your curriculum, and also taken on a buggy tour around the site on arrival and to your room. You can call reception for these buggies to pick you up at any time.
The pictures of this place do not do it justice. They don’t show you all the small details that make this place so amazing, the staff, who are outstanding, and the incredible peace and freedom you feel here.
The Chanterelle Spa was also a place I could have got lost in. Based around an Alice in Wonderland theme, it was a mix of relaxing, quirky, and colourful with some private rooms that would blow your socks off.
I didn’t visit the department of physical education or take part in any watersports but if you are that way inclined this place has it all including beer yoga. This picture below shows the classes you can take part in. I did later making which was lots of fun and I still have my later to prove it, we also participated in hand massages at the spa and a tour. I often feel bad we didn’t do more but the heat, jetlag, and pandemic worries had us a little preoccupied.
What I love most about this hotel though is how it thinks about the environment without greenwashing. All water is served in glass bottles for example. They also run learning sessions on the ecosystem around marine life and reef etiquette. This hotel is cared for, the staff cared about it and ‘Dean’ cares about it and you end up caring about it. If you allow it this hotel touches and takes a bit of your soul, you say goodbye to it knowing that it has in some way changed you and your expectations of hotels forever and your first thought when waking up in your own bed is how much you long to go back.
W Marriott, Emerald Bay you are not forgotten and I hope to see you again very soon.
