Chez Carole Beach Resort & Spa

To summarize "Chez Carole" failed to impress me. I stayed 6 days early November. As mentioned by other reviewers there is a lot of potential but... The beach and the tranquility are definitely a plus. The beach is nothing extraordinary but it is ideal if you just want to relax and enjoy "farniente". However there long chairs are far from comfortable. Plain hard and heavy wood (or good imitation) with nothing on top to soften the contact ;-) There are a couple of "kayaks" and 2 "surf" boards to use for free. What I missed most in the hotel was facing caring and welcoming employees. There was no hello, no good morning (except at the restaurant for breakfast and even there not always) or good day. Mostly no eye contact. With very very few exceptions the staff was distant, not welcoming and, well, not helping really. John the manager does his job professionally but I missed a deeper contact. Chinh in charge of the egg station (very good omelets) and pho was great and fun and helpful. So was Thienh (?) in the kitchen cooking wonderful plates with fish for me every night. A bright smile. A desire to please guests. Genuinely. I loved that ... and of course the food he prepared. Tâm in the restaurant was also very professional and helpful. These guys helped me feel better at the resort. Hospitality throughout Vietnam is absolutely great so my experience "chez Carole" surprised me quite a bit. Overall the resort feels old and just maintained to survive. Dull in my opinion but, agreed, this is very personal. Also it is obviously in a remote place. It is some 2 or 3 Km walk/drive to the closest village therefore renting a motorbike or using Grab (or just asking the hotel for taxi) can be something to consider. Btw the closest Vinbus (free electric buses throughout the island, running every 15 minutes or so) stop is roughly 4 Km from the resort. I booked one of the cheapest rooms. Spacious with a desk, a good sized fridge, a locker and an efficient air conditioning system. Weird enough the fridge would only work with the key in the key holder. So taking the key with you would shut down power (electricity) for all devices, including the fridge. Not ideal to keep anything cool in the fridge when leaving for the day... The breakfast was nothing exceptional I found, especially for guests suffering from food "incompatibilities" (in my case "sugary" items because of diabetes due to surgery). For "normal" people the spread was quite good with a large sweet section (breads, cakes, fruits). Unless you really want it quiet, secluded, next to a beach and with an affinity for more "traditional" housing architecture resp. feeling with an interesting pricing, you may want to also consider other options.