THE REGENT Phu Quoc, Vietnam 🇻🇳【4K Resort Tour & Review】Absolutely SUBLIME!

THE REGENT Phu Quoc, Vietnam 🇻🇳【4K Resort Tour & Review】Absolutely SUBLIME!

There is a significant part of me that wonders  if what I saw and experienced was actually real,   because it was simply that good. Join me  for this incredible tour of Vietnam’s new   best hotel, the Regent. Welcome to Phu Quoc. For those of you that are new to the channel,  

Thanks for stopping by, my name is  Kevin and I am the Flip Flop Traveller.  I think the internet is in need of a whole  lot more honesty when it comes to airline   and hotel content and that’s why I’m here- I’m  just here to be real. I make trip reports and  

High end hotel reviews and I always self fund my  trips. In fact, you’ll always be able to find the   exact price I paid in the description below.  I don’t alert any companies I’ll be filming   because I want as normal of an experience as  possible. So, in this video today, I’m going  

To give you nothing more than my real, honest and  unbiased opinion based on my personal experience.  Phu Quoc is a weird island, I’m just gonna be  honest. Ten years ago, it really didn’t exist   on the world stage, then the doors of investment  were swung open and what happens all to often in  

Developing markets like this one, happened here.  Resort development outpaced infrastructure.   Tackiness became the new normal and of course  Covid didn’t help any of this. But, let me tell   you one thing that is helping this island, it  is this resort. I honestly can’t remember the  

Last time I’ve been so sure of something. After driving through the well maintained   development you’ll be led up a driveway taking  you to the discreet primary entrance. This is   a hotel which in my book has one very  specific claim to fame, since it opened  

In 2022. It’s the only resort of this caliber  that I’ve never heard a bad word spoken about.   For that reason- the glowing reception and  reviews from top to bottom left to right,  

I had my skeptical cap on as I arrived. Oh God was  I wrong and was everyone else oh so right. This is   southeast Asia’s best new large resort, period . I’ve never experienced a property that was so  

Absolutely over the top, but at the same time felt  so incredibly down to earth. There are no corners   cut, but there’s also no pretension. The service  and the facilities are absolutely flawless,   but it’s actually a good value. This hotel brings  a level of fresh sophistication and modern charm  

To Vietnam that I genuinely do not think has  existed before. This place is my new personal   favorite resort on earth. I was actually planning  my return with family, while I was still there.  This brings me to my first big point. If  this is the direction that Regent is going,  

I am here for it. You may know that Regent  Hotels have a history that goes back to 1971   in Honolulu and over the years has perhaps  been most famous for it’s Hong Kong hotel,   which was well regarded as the world’s best hotel  in the early 80s. In 2018, IHG Hotel group bought  

51% of Regent. That stake will increase to 100%  by 2026 and in the mean time they’re not wasting   a second while reinventing this iconic brand. Some of you may have seen my absolutely   underwhelming Regent Taipei video a few months  ago- well it’s clear that that is yesterday’s  

Regent and Phu Quoc is tomorrows. There are  currently around 10 Regents in operation with   more than forty in the pipeline. IHG well  aware that they have been missing from the   luxury hotel scene for far too long. Now  that I’ve stayed here, I cannot wait for  

The new Bali property to open soon. But that’s enough about the brand,   let’s get into this place itself. Everything during my stay related   to service was seamless. It’s one of those places  where within moments of arrival, everyone in the  

Hotel will already be learning your name, but you  won’t know it until in close contact. The service   here has a level of intimacy with lots of curated  details that will make the room count difficult  

To believe. In total, the hotel has 179 suites  housed in the two towers, one of which we are in   now plus an additional 123 villas blanketing  the property between the towers and beach.  The hotel was designed by BLINK Design Group  and seamlessly combines a few different design  

Languages. Modern East Asian minimalism,  traditional Vietnamese Gian Nha design cues,   lush tropical surrounds in every direction  and pops of saturated and vibrant colors   and textures. Case in point, this beautiful  crystal glass artwork by Czech group LASVIT.  Flanking either side of the corridor we  just passed through are the reception area  

And the lobby lounge. Check in took place  entirely in the lobby lounge whereas check   out took place here in the reception area. If you noticed as we drove up the driveway,   we went up quite a steep incline- I think  this was a brilliant design idea which  

Brings the lobby off the ground and gives  the outdoor views a sense of seclusion.  Just across in the gorgeous sunken  living room you’ll be welcomed with a   refreshing Iced tea as well as a dipped madeleine. In the reception area and here in the Lobby Lounge  

We can see the very modern interpretation of  the Vietnamese Gian Nha style which is known for   creating spaces around or adjacent to beautifully  landscaped courtyards- connecting different parts   of the house, or in this case, the hotel. Here’s your friendly reminder to click that  

Thumbs up button, subscribe to the channel  and share this video with friends and family.   Those are truly the easiest ways- all free for  you- to help the channel grow. If you’d like to   support me further my Patreon is linked in the  description below. Thanks very much in advance. 

Let’s head outside, into what feels  like a bit of a different world.  As we’re walking down here, I think this  is actually a good point to interrupt and   show you the layout of the hotel  to help you understand what we’re  

Walking through, so let’s look at the location. Phu Quoc is an island in the Gulf of Thailand,   Vietnam’s largest island, though it is actually a  lot closer to Cambodia than to mainland Vietnam.   While you can take a ferry here from the mainland,  the most popular way to arrive is via the airport  

In the middle of the island. From there, the  hotel is an easy 15 minute drive to the south.  Zooming in, we can see how nice and neatly the  resort is laid out. Up top here we have the two  

Tower areas, this is where all of the suites are.  In the center area here is the true core of the   resort. Here, we have all of the dining venues  as well as the two largest pools on property.  

Then all of these smaller houses are the villas.  Each house has multiple villas of different types,   but they are all neatly combined so that you’d  never even know you had a neighbor- perhaps the   only exception to that are the villas that  face inwards towards the two giant ponds. 

So for reference sake, right now  we are walking down one of these   paths that snake in between the villas. I think one of the best things about this   being a new resort is the landscaping design  and how grown in it is. Far too often resorts,  

Especially in Vietnam, will open with what feels  like a lawn and 300 naked palm trees, simply   expecting everything to naturally grow in- over  like the next 20 years. Here is very different and   it is a feature here that truly distinguishes this  property from every other resort on this island. 

One thing I probably should mention is that, this  channel started in Phu Quoc. My very first video   was of a resort from this island. Since then I’ve  visited and filmed 11 properties on the island   and visited a few other long before the channel as  well. So, I’m not just showering these praises as  

Someone who just landed, I’ve seen the majority  this island has to offer over the past decade.  Here we are now arriving at the  largest of the pools. One of the,   you ready for this? One of the 262 pools on  the property, which brings me to my second  

Big point. This resort is lounger heaven.  Truly. Look at this pool, the surrounds,   the canopies, the hidden nooks, look at  it all and how well done it is. All of the   pools here are of equal caliber and since  around ¾ of the rooms have their own pools,  

Plus the giant private beach, these pools  will likely never be all of that crowded.  There are honestly certain angles around this  pool area that look too good to be real. Rarely   if ever do I mention room rates in videos  because of course they can vary wildly and  

Are always subject to change, but I think it’s  worth a mention here. I’m writing this script   in late November. I’ve just checked rates on a  random date every month through next October,   avoiding official holidays and the average rate  for their King Suite, breakfast included is $484.  

I think you’ll agree by the end of this video  that that represents a very good value in a   world where sometimes hotels feel like they’re  going to start charging for hot water soon.  Just in front of this pool area is the beach pool.  Quite amazingly, this is my least favorite of  

The four primary pools here. Considering  how beautiful this is, that says a lot.  This pool is directly in front of the  lunch and dinner venue Ocean Club,   which we will get a better look of later. If you head down to the description you’ll  

Find my next five videos to come out as well  as other bits and pieces like the soundtrack   titles featured in this video. On your way down  there, don’t forget to subscribe- I release full   length videos every Thursday and Saturday. For now though, let’s change elevation a bit. 

Each of the two towers has its own rooftop  infinity pool and I don’t even think I need   to mention that they are quite well outfitted and  just about as gorgeous as a rooftop pool could be.  Ok, back down to earth, let’s  continue on with my Lounger’s  

Paradise theme and go check out the beach. Located on Long Beach, the best part of the   beach here is in fact that it’s long and well  taken care of. The Regent is directly next to   the Intercontinental- a review of which is coming  soon- and while their beaches are connected, the  

Regent’s is just so much nicer. It’s much deeper  and has a wide variety of seating options, all   well spread out so no matter if you’re chilling  in a hammock or sitting in a chaise, you’re never  

Going to feel like you’re on top of your neighbor. I’ll let the beach speak for itself. I’ll just   encourage you to look out for how much space  there is and how well maintained the sand is.  Ok, now it’s time to actually go  and check out my room for this stay. 

I had a King Ocean Suite booked with  points and was upgraded to a Garden   Pool Villa due to IHG Platinum status. The room numbering system takes a little   bit of getting used to. My villa was 5112. 5  refers to this style of villa structure. 511  

Refers to this full single story building  and then once inside the front double doors,   it splits off into two separate attached villas. And, welcome home. I’m going to talk about my   favorite and least favorite details  in a bit, but before I let you go,  

I need to mention my third big point for  this video: Comfort, comfort, comfort.  There is nothing in this room or in this resort  as a whole that puts anything above comfort. Here,   they have found a perfect balance between  modern design and spaces that are inviting  

You to just have a seat. I also think  that comfort extends beyond just how   plush a surface is. Take note of how full this  villa is. It is decorated as if it’s a home,   not as if it’s an empty hotel room. Part of this  also extends to Regent’s With Compliments concept  

Which means a whole lot of things. In the room,  it means there are a bevy of welcome amenities,   everything in that mini bar is free, there  is daily complimentary laundry service,   a long list of what is literally called  “comfort essentials” available for  

Free or to borrow. It’s literally, the  comforts of a really really nice home.  Ok, have a bit of an explore and I’ll  come back with the details in a bit.  Ok, the details. Let me start with my least  favorite details because there is only one of  

Them and it’s related to the layout of these  double villa structures. As we walked in,   you could see, the amount of space that is  wasted just for that sprawling entrance is   enormous. I’m sure it makes for a great  option if you want to combine the rooms,  

But otherwise, it’s just awkward dead space. Ok, now onto the good things. It’s hard to   know where to begin. I’ll start with an all  encompassing “everything that’s free” in the room.   In this case, it’s really not that the mini bar,  or as it’s called here, the refreshment gallery,  

Is free- but it’s the quality of items it’s  stocked with. Imported packaged foods in Vietnam   are not cheap, and seeing them along with four  types of nespresso pods, four loose leaf teas, an   assortment of drinks, welcome chocolates and fruit  and wine. I mean, they really know how to say,  

Welcome to Regent. My free stuff comment extends  to other things such as the bath amenities. Acqua   di Parma is nice to begin with, but there are no  itsy bitsy little bottles. Even the stationary is   gorgeous and there is an entire story about that  beautiful pattern that I’ll talk about in a bit. 

My second favorite detail is the outdoor  space. A lawn, a pool, a table and chairs,   two chaise loungers, plenty of sun and  shade, an outdoor shower- this area bring   “well thought out” to a whole new level. My final favorite detail is quite amazingly  

The attention to detail in the closets.  From the hangers to the shoe polish kit,   the complimentary laundry service binder, the  slippers, the robes, the hat box. I mean come on,   this is a closet that you’d expect at a hotel  at twice the price. While we are here, let me  

Dwell on those robes a bit and that pattern as we  head over to some of the dining venues. The first   venue we will look at is Oku. Oku is a French  Japanese Omakase restaurant and known to now be   likely the best restaurant on the island. As for the pattern, I think it’s best  

I just quote Regent. “It is inspired by a king’s legend on   his idyllic Vietnamese Island. The historical site  of The Kin’s Well in An Thoi Town is said to have   spring into life in the 18th century when Emperor  Gia Long, the first King of the Nguyen Dynasty,  

Plunged his sword into a stone. Starved of  fresh water and food, Lord Nguyen called   out to the heavens whilst being pursued by local  rebels. Upon removing his sword from the stone,   a stream of freshwater magically erupted and many  fish surfaced upon the sea saving the King and his  

Army…The illustration was created by Saddo, a  renowned Romanian artist. Primary symbols used   in its development include the freshwater  stream and sea, Lord Nguyen and his sword,   lucky rice fish, supported by black  pearls and Phu Quoc peppercorn plants…” 

Accessed through a sacred door in Oku or via the  Rice Market restaurant, the next venue to check   out is Bar Jade which was designed as a speakeasy  and fashioned after the interior of a pullman car. 

Next up we have Rice Market which is an all day  dining venue. I’ll give you a full tour of the   breakfast buffet here in the morning, for now,  just a few overview shots of the sprawling eatery. 

As dusk falls, I’ll remind you that there is  still one pool that we haven’t yet seen, that   one is on the top of the Sky Wing and  has some spectacular views of the sunset.  Also up here are the Fu Bar and the Regent Club. The Regent Club, which I did not have formal  

Access to, but the staff allowed me to  take a few clips since no one was inside,   is more than just a standard club. Unless your  room includes access, it is generally $150 per   person per day and includes everything from Range  Rover transfers to all day Champagne to a personal  

Concierge. Besides all of that though, the space  is just beautiful, especially just after sunset.  The other venue up here is Fu  Bar which is open for the evening   with a strong focus on gin based cocktails. Ok, time to head back down to the Ocean Club  

For dinner. This meal is literally my only bone  to pick, future pun intended, with my entire stay.  The service was fantastic, the space is beautiful  and laid back, the menu itself looked really   promising, my issue was with the execution of  the food. After years in the restaurant industry,  

I can tell you precisely what was going on here.  A fully qualified executive or head chef came in   and design the menu and trained the team on  the menu, but over time, the team were given   or perhaps took, a bit of creative license  in the exact recipes and techniques- mostly  

In the name of time or cost savings. My appetizer, as beautiful as it was,   was really- and I mean really- difficult  to get down. Pate and terrines are a way of   life in Vietnam, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say  I’ve eaten it weekly for a decade, but this was  

Entirely form over taste. Described as foie gras  terrine, tomato glazed, phu quoc pepper blinis,   lemon jam. The tomato glaze tasted like red,  the pepper blinis tasted nothing of the sort   and the lemon jam was absurdly sweet. As for  the terrine, zero seasoning. Was literally  

Like taking a bite of fridge cold boiled liver. My main dish was fish, listed as phu quoc pearl   grouper fillet, burnt brussel sprouts, heirloom  tomato salsa, spicy tom yum sriracha. To say this   was a fail is an understatement. First, the  fillet was rolled- I didn’t know, but okay,  

Could still be good. But the center was the  texture of canned tuna. What was supposed to   be burnt brussel sprouts were in fact raw shaved  sprouts. The heirloom tomato salsa, might have   been tomato water in caviar form, but honestly,  it didn’t taste like much of anything. Lastly,  

Spicy tom yum sriracha there was not. Among many  other issues my guess is that it was not the   exact type of fish that was intended for this  dish. Not to mention, I also had 6 pin bones. 

I ate around half the the main and was offered  a dessert on the house. I chose the yuzu tart.   Listed as orange sable, yuzu cream, mango sorbet,  lemon meringue. The mango sorbet was delicious.   The lemon meringue was missing, the yuzu cream  had the mouthfeel of warm margarine and the orange  

Sable had the scent of bad refrigeration.  The red gel on the plate I have no idea.  Considering how incredible this resort  is, I really cannot explain quite how   disappointing this meal was. Likely one of the  worst executed meals I’ve ever had in Vietnam. 

When I got back to my room it had been beautifully  turned down with some very nice details,   from the perfectly long cosmetics liner, to the  wrapping of all of my cords to a very thoughtful   microfiber cloth left next to my laptop. The next morning I went for a walk around  

The property before breakfast opened up and  got a sense of the on site spa’s serenity.  But now, time for breakfast.  If I’m honest, I was absolutely   starving by the time this rolled around. This is likely the most theatrical buffet  

I’ve ever seen in Vietnam. Maybe the most  segmented is a better word. The restaurant,   Rice Terrace is sprawling and so is the buffet,  with portions of it setup in different areas.  My only complaint about the buffet was that even  10 minutes after opening, there were still quite  

A few hot dishes not available yet. That  said, I thought the balance of western,   Korean and Vietnamese dishes was spot on.  There was also a small supplemental egg menu.  The chilled items and fruits had their own  designated room with staff on hand the entire  

Time beautifully cutting the fruit to serve. Serving perfectly skinned pink pomelo and   pre-opened rambutan is just about as  good as a fruit game can get for me.  Last up there was also a separate  room just for the bakery.  My eggs benedict were cooked nicely, but  it was a shortcut blender hollandaise  

Made with lime juice instead of lemon. Ok, so as we take a look at the gym,   let me wrap up this very anticipated review. It is incredible. Dinner was really the only   fault I found, had it not been for that this  would have easily been a perfectly scoring  

Hotel. Let’s forget the meal though and focus  on the full experience. This resort is meant   to give you everything you’ve ever wanted or  needed in a resort, but just enough of it.  The market in Phu Quoc is not at a place where an  Aman or One&Only or Rosewood is appropriate. The  

Island is still trying to find its identity. For  years, the JW Marriott lead the way with this-   in fact you can see JW design elements literally  all over the island- tacky as can be. The Regent  

Is not only a hell of a lot better than the  JW, it is also the perfect next step for the   island and frankly, for Vietnam. The Regent Phu  Quoc will define Vietnamese tourism in the same   way that the Intercontinental Sun Peninsula  and the Four Seasons Nam Hai have before. The  

Regent Phu Quoc is literally a gift to Vietnam-  to all of us really, one that I hope desperately,   is appreciated and used well. This one, I assure  you, I will be returning to, multiple times.  So, I really do hope you enjoyed this  full resort tour today. If you did,  

Please click that thumbs up button and subscribe  with notifications on so you don’t miss out on any   of my twice weekly content. I release full length  videos every Thursday and Saturday. I will see you   next time on board Etihad Airways, in business  class. Oh and thanks for watching until the end.

Watch this video if you want to see what Southeast Asia’s most beautiful new resort looks like! If you’re considering the brand new luxurious 5-Star The Regent Phu Quoc in southern Vietnam for your next vacation, be sure to watch this full hotel tour and stick around for my comprehensive review- taking in all of the sights.

🎥 In This Video:
-Hotel & Brand Overview
-Location Graphic
-Four (Incredible) Pool Tours
-Pristine Long Beach
-Rice Market Restaurant
-Ocean Club Restaurant
-Oku Restaurant
-The Regent Club
-Fu Bar
-The Lobby Lounge
-Spa & Fitness Center Preview
-Dinner at Ocean Club
-Full Breakfast Buffet at Rice Market
-Comprehensive Garden Pool Villa Tour

💎 Support me on PATREON!: https://www.bit.ly/tfft_patreon
❤️ VENMO Tip Jar: @kevin_tfft
🧳 Shop ALL of my Gear on AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/shop/theflipfloptraveller

✋🏼 Videos & Playlists Mentioned in Video
➟ Videos by Score, 96+: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83ZLLu2Le8NM-jU2x_yFTmdIok4xS8Hs
➟ Videos by Score, 90-95: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83ZLLu2Le8MjuT5VXUn6Gmff4s4UFIrW
➟ Vietnam Beach Resorts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83ZLLu2Le8O_51tKnOWI24-FwAlN-H7B
➟ My Favorite Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83ZLLu2Le8Ols1LZ2GbrVjIGvwMtkCa6
➟ Regent Taipei: https://youtu.be/arD87M8VvS4

💸 Rate Paid
Rate Paid: 43,000 IHG Points
Category: Garden Pool Villa (up from Ocean View Suite)
Inclusions: Breakfast

🎙️ My Ad Policy
-Every scored review I produce (of a flight, hotel or anything else) will be based on an entirely self-funded experience which I paid for via published rates/fares.
-I will never endorse a product, company or site that I do not actively use. If and when I endorse a product, it will be clearly disclosed and will be relevant to the channel from a brand I likely couldn’t live without.
-For sponsorship inquiries, please refer to the email address published on the About tab of my channel.

📽 Next 5 Videos (🩴 = Must Watch)
⇢ 28 Dec: Etihad Airways 787-10 Business Class BKK-AUH 🩴
⇢ 28 Dec: Pullman Resort Phu Quoc, Vietnam
⇢ 30 Dec: Etihad Airways A380 First Class AUH-LHR 🩴🩴🩴
⇢ 04 Jan: Celebrity Reflection Cruise Review 🩴
⇢ 06 Jan: Aegean Airlines Economy Class LHR-ATH

⏰ Typical Posting Times:
8/9:00 (US-EST), 14:00 (UK), 18:30 (India), 20:00 (VN), 23/00:00 (AEST)

📺 My Other Channel
🛫 ROAM ABOVE (Extended Inflight Videos): https://www.bit.ly/tfft_RA

🎶 Background Music in This Video
⇢ “Lafa” by David Charrier
⇢ “Voyage” by Christopher Galovan
⇢ “The More I Know” by Steven Beddall
⇢ “Tropical World” by Wonderlust
⇢ “Movie Date” by Steven Beddall

↪ Video Chapters ↩
0:00 Intro & Hotel Info
00:57 Welcome to Phu Quoc
01:46 Resort Arrival
03:47 Welcome Pavilion
04:30 Reception Hall & Lounge
07:10 Resort Location & Layout
08:14 Resort Grounds
09:15 Pool #1 (Primary Pool)
11:25 Pool #2 (Beach Pool)
13:12 Pool #3 (Quiet Rooftop Infinity)
14:34 Walking to & Around Long Beach
16:26 Heading to my Villa
17:06 Full Garden Pool Villa Tour
26:53 Oku Japanese Restaurant
27:51 Bar Jade
28:23 Rice Market Restaurant
29:46 Pool #4 (Lively Rooftop Infinity)
30:32 The Regent Club
31:13 Fu Bar
31:40 Dinner at Ocean Club Restaurant
33:44 Resort by Night
34:43 Spa Preview
35:13 Full Breakfast Buffet at Rice Market
39:17 Fitness Center & Final Thoughts
40:41 The Flip Flop Score

This is NOT a promotional video. I pay for all of my flights and hotels (and I always tell you how much!) so I can be as honest and impartial as possible. I do not receive any special treatment that wouldn’t otherwise be publicly accessible, in fact, the hotels and airlines have no idea about my visit and that’s the way I like it!

#regent #phuquoc #hotelreview