CAM RANH – Việt Nam’s Alma Resort has been named as the top resort in Southeast Asia, the No. 2 resort in Asia and the No. 9 resort worldwide in this year’s Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards.

Việt Nam’s Alma Resort has been called out as the top resort in Southeast Asia, the No. 2 resort in Asia and No. 9 resort worldwide in this year’s Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards. -- Photo courtesy of Alma Resort

The US-based publication announced the winners of its World’s Best Awards on July 9, with Alma scoring 99.2 on the awards’ 100-point survey. The World’s Best Awards are widely considered to be one of the two most important awards in the worldwide hospitality industry.

Readers voted for their favourite hotels, destinations, cruise lines, airlines, railway journeys and more. According to Travel + Leisure, hundreds of thousands of readers respond every year, "making T+L World’s Best Awards the industry leader. Ratings help define excellence in travel and guide fellow travellers to the best of the best.”

“A 30-hectare stunner on Cam Ranh Peninsula in southern Việt Nam, Alma Resort not only holds the title of best hotel in Southeast Asia, but also one of the best in Asia and the world. Alma is exceptional," wrote one T+L reader, calling out its laundry list of ‘incredible facilities.’

"This comprises 12 (yes, 12) swimming pools, a water park with a lazy river and other kid-friendly to-dos like a science museum and cinema. But grown-ups will be spoiled for choice, too, thanks to a spacious spa and 14 restaurants and bars that include a fine-dining Italian venue and the beachfront Atlantis with fresh, local seafood.

"Add to that beautiful accommodation, some with private pools, and service that one T+L reader called ‘phenomenal,’ and you have a recipe for a perfect beach vacation,” Travel + Leisure’s associate editorial director Alisha Prakash wrote about Alma.

“Oceanfront Alma, on the Cam Ranh Peninsula just south of Nha Trang, Việt Nam, is a full-featured beach resort with 12 pools, 14 restaurants and bars, plenty of kid-friendly activities, a spacious spa — and even an on-property farm from which many ingredients are sourced,” wrote Travel + Leisure’s news director Paul Brady and special projects editor Jess Feldman.

Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler said the resort’s “tireless and dedicated” team and “hugely supportive” owner were “utterly thrilled” with the recognition.

“We’ve come so far and have achieved so much since Alma’s debut in December 2019 and it is such a privilege for an independent Vietnamese resort to be named among the world’s best,” he said.

The US-based publication announced the winners of its World’s Best Awards on July 9, with Alma scoring 99.2 in the awards’ 100-point survey. -- Photo courtesy of Alma Resort

“In this year’s World’s Best Awards, readers’ favourite hotels span far and wide, with 38 countries making an appearance on the 2024 list. Properties in destinations like India and Southeast Asia are among the highest scorers this year, along with 16 stellar U.S. properties. At each hotel, voters were wowed by the style and the service of the top 100: Every winner scored higher than 97 on our 100-point survey,” Travel + Leisure said.

Global recognition for Alma from Travel + Leisure this month follows Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau last month naming Laubichler-Pichler 'Việt Nam’s Best General Manager' in the 'Travel + Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2024'.

Readers of Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau also voted Alma in the top five of the 'Best Hotel Pools in Việt Nam' category.

Situated on Việt Nam’s emerging Cam Ranh peninsula fronting Long Beach, Alma resort commands some 30 hectares of inspiring ground.

Emblematic of Việt Nam's maturation as a destination, the bold and spacious integrated resort offers 580 oversized suites and pavilions that all afford sweeping vistas of the ocean, including contemporary three-bedroom oceanfront pavilions each totalling 224sqm with a living room, four bathrooms and a private pool.

Alma features a broad spectrum of restaurants helmed by top chefs, a food court with an array of local and international cuisine, as well as a sports bar, pool bar and beach bar. Other highlights include 12 swimming pools cascading down to the beach and a waterpark with a lazy river, slides, wave pool and kids pool.

The resort also has a 13-treatment room spa, 75-seat cinema, convention centre, amphitheatre, science museum, gymnasium and yoga room, 18-hole mini golf course, a youth centre with virtual reality games, a kid’s club, golf simulator, onsite sustainable farm and even an 'Alma Mart' mini supermarket. -- VNS