Located along southern Vietnam’s picturesque Cam Ranh peninsula, Alma Resort has unveiled its latest family-focused attraction — the Alma Discovery Camp, an interactive and educational facility connecting children with nature, farm animals, and sustainable agriculture. Situated near the resort’s lush Nursery Garden, the new camp is designed for children aged 4 to 14, offering an engaging mix of recreation and learning. Through hands-on activities, kids are introduced to the principles of eco-friendly farming while discovering the importance of sustainability in a fun, memorable setting. A Hands-On Educational Experience At Alma Discovery Camp, children can explore a real working farm, where they pet and feed cows, goats, chickens, ducks, and rabbits. Every animal is fully vaccinated and certified, ensuring a safe environment. The farm is also home to a colorful variety of birds, adding to the vibrant atmosphere. The camp’s highlight, the “Little Farmers’ Discovery Hall”, features interactive exhibits that showcase agricultural products such as rice, pepper, coffee, tea, mango, coconut, fish, and salt. Each section explains how these products are cultivated and used in everyday life, complete with authentic tools, artifacts, and educational panels. Each young participant receives a Certificate of Completion, while the most engaged learner earns a Super Farm Explorer Certificate. Encouraging Environmental Awareness “We are excited to introduce Alma Discovery Camp, where children can interact with nature and learn about sustainable living in a fun and meaningful way,” said Herbert Laubichler-Pichler, Managing Director of Alma Resort. “This new initiative aligns with our vision of promoting curiosity, creativity, and environmental awareness among young travelers.” The program runs seven days a week with guided sessions from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.. Priced at VND 500,000 per person, the experience includes aprons, hats, and animal feed for interactive sessions. Throughout the tour, participants enjoy food sampling from across Vietnam — from mango candy and coconut cookies to Vietnamese coffee, dried fish, and traditional rice cakes. As a keepsake, each child receives a personalized certificate and a traditional conical hat. Expanding Alma’s Family Offerings The Discovery Camp complements Alma Resort’s extensive line-up of family-friendly facilities, including a 6,000 sqm water park with slides and wave pools, a kids club and youth club, a technology experience center, and a 75-seat cinema. Guests can also enjoy activities such as cupcake and pizza-making workshops, kite-flying, tree planting, and virtual reality golf. The resort’s Hotelier Pastry Tour further engages children by introducing them to baking, from dough preparation to tasting freshly made pastries. Earlier this year, Alma introduced Kids’ Themed Rooms, featuring vibrant décor, personalized greetings, and themed amenities. Award-Winning Family Destination Alma Resort continues to earn recognition on the global stage. It was recently named Vietnam’s Best Family Resort by Holidays with Kids 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards and was ranked No. 1 in Southeast Asia, No. 2 in Asia, and No. 9 worldwide in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2024. For more information or to make a booking, visit alma-resort.com, call +84 258 399 1666 or email info@alma-resort.com.

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Alma Resort Cam Ranh is ushering acclaimed Vietnamese artist Bui Van Quang on to its grounds weekly to craft portraits of guests. Affording the ultimate holiday memento priced at VND 300,000 per pencil portrait, the family resort is offering portrait sessions with the artist every Thursday at Alma Garden from 8am-10am and Alma Food Court from 12-1.45pm. Renowned for his authentic paintings depicting customs, traditions and the daily lives of Vietnamese people through use of the country’s rich and vivid colours, Mr Quang is a local artist who, over more than 35 years, has produced many works highly regarded by the national and international art communities. He has won a plethora of awards nationally and internationally, with his works showcased in exhibitions nationally and internationally including in China, England, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland. “As the saying goes, ‘art is too important not to share’,” said Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler. “We want to offer our guests the opportunity to enrich their holiday by experiencing the magic of our thriving local art scene; right before their very eyes in a way that’s meaningful to them.” The overwhelmingly positive feedback from guests, young and the young at heart, who have sat for their portraits has, according to Mr Quang, brought him “joy and happiness”. “I hope this experience piques the guests’ interest in art and creativity and that they wish to learn more about Vietnam’s rich and diverse artistic landscape,” said Mr Quang, a member of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association. Alma has hosted numerous artists-in-residence programs, encouraging guests to witness artists craft their works, and is looking to offer guests more experiences with local artists in the new year. To contact Alma or to make a booking, please visit alma-resort.com, call +84 258 399 1666 or email info@alma-resort.com See YouTube video of Mr Quang creating portraits for Alma guests here: https://youtu.be/POL8UqWbY7g

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The world’s largest swimming competition on the open water, Oceanman, will make a splash next month at Alma Resort overlooking Long Beach on Vietnam’s Cam Ranh peninsula. The gruelling 10km ‘Oceanman’ swim, 5km ‘Half Oceanman’ swim, 2km ‘Sprint’ swim, 3.5 km ‘Ocean Teams’ relay and 500m ‘Ocean Kids’ swim will start and finish on Alma’s beachfront during the event from September 6-8. Stretching 13 kilometres, Long Beach, or Bai Dai in Vietnamese, is renowned as one of Asia’s most stunning beaches due to its aquamarine waters with islands strewn just offshore. Oceanman’s official hotel partner Alma will host an anticipated 900 participants from almost 30 countries, as well as spectators and event organisers. Open to male and female participants from seven to more than 70 years of age, Oceanman began in 2015. The competition has been held at 19 scenic locations worldwide including Bali, Thailand, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Ukraine, Mexico and Columbia. Next month’s swim series will mark Oceanman’s second year in Vietnam after it was also held in Cam Ranh in 2023. Two of Alma’s lifeguards will compete in the ‘Half Oceanman’ event. Lifeguard Van Hien and lifeguard supervisor Le Van Thao have worked at Alma since 2019 and 2022 respectively. Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler said the 30-hectare resort’s partnership with Oceanman afforded “an unparalleled setting that is bold, spacious and emblematic of Vietnam’s maturation as a destination”. “We are so excited to welcome such a prestigious event to our remarkable oceanfront location and array of world-class facilities ranging from 12 swimming pools that cascade down to the beach to a water park replete with a lazy river, slides and wave pool,” said Laubichler-Pichler. “Oceanman’s ecological awareness is a good fit with Alma’s efforts to protect the environment, including the implementation of Vietnam’s most ambitious solar power project, and of course we will be cheering on the participants, particularly our lifeguards Hien and Thao, with gusto.” Alma 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. The US-based publication announced the winners of its World’s Best Awards last month, with Alma scoring 99.2 on the awards’ 100-point survey. To contact Alma or to make a booking, please visit alma-resort.com, call +84 258 399 1666 or email info@alma-resort.com To find out more about the event, visit https://oceanmanswim.com/camranh-vietnam/

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Vietnam’s Alma Resort, named the top resort in Southeast Asia in this year’s Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards, has introduced a romantic package replete with a private candle-lit dinner for two on the beach, floating breakfast, and a couple’s massage. With rates starting at USD 170 net per night, the “Alma Amore” package includes a VIP welcome with sparkling wine and local artisanal chocolate-dipped fruits, daily international breakfast for two, daily sunset cocktails at Beach Bar affording panoramic views of Long Beach, and a nightly turndown service with romantic surprises. One picture-perfect floating breakfast is also included for couples staying at a pavilion with its own private pool. Cumulative benefits include a 60-minute “Couple’s Indulgence” signature spa massage at Le Spa, a romantic candle-lit dinner for two on the beach and a Vietnamese cooking class for minimum stays of two nights, three nights and four nights respectively. Other Alma Amore perks include round-trip airport transfers, unlimited access to daily wellness activities, the fitness center and sports facilities as well as resort-wide high-speed Wi-Fi, and late check-out until 6pm. The “Paradise of Love” romantic dinner for two comprises a set-up of a candle-lit table on the sands of Long Beach with a private chef and waiter. Featuring highlights from the nearby ocean, such as oysters, prawns and lobster, the intimate five-course meal comprises salad, soup, fresh oysters, rose sorbet to clean the palate, a main of either ‘surf and turf’ grilled beef steak and prawns or baked half lobster thermidor, and dessert. The dinner includes a bottle of red or white. As part of the Vietnamese cooking class at Atlantis, held at Alma’s beachfront restaurant Atlantis, the couple learn recipes that have been handed down the generations. Together they cook quintessential Vietnamese dishes including bò lá lốt (ground beef wrapped in betel leaves), chả giò tươi (fresh spring rolls) and phở (Vietnamese soup with bone broth, rice noodles and meat). Alma 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. 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. Alma Amore is valid for stays until March 2025. To contact Alma or to make a booking, please visit alma-resort.com, call +84 258 399 1666 or email info@alma-resort.com

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Alma Resort, in Cam Ranh, Vietnam, lauded as the top resort in Southeast Asia in this year’s Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards, has launched a remarkable package jam-packed with excitement for the whole family. Dubbed “Family Bonding Blast: Discover Southeast Asia’s #1 Resort”, the package includes a family movie night with popcorn and drinks at Alma’s 75-seat cinema, a 60-minute “Tee Off Together” session on the resort’s cutting-edge Bravo Pro Golf Simulator and kite-flying on Long Beach’s buttermilk sands. Designed for aspiring young hoteliers, a behind-the-scenes “Little Hotelier” tour takes the family through the inner workings of the resort, with various stops including the engineers’ workshop, laundry, uniform area, buggy station, generator, air conditioner centre, water treatment centre and the pastry kitchen. Starting from USD 160 net per night, the package also includes planting a family tree in the resort’s gardens, a treasure hunt, a VIP tour of Alma’s onsite organic sustainable Chicken Farm and Herb Garden, complimentary access to the property’s Splash Water Park replete with a wave pool, lazy river, water slides and kids pool, and unlimited access to Alma’s Kids Club, Youth Club and Science Museum. Welcome fruits, minibar on arrival with daily refills for families staying in a pavilion, daily international breakfast feast for the whole family, daily poolside “ice cream social hour”, sunset cocktails or mocktails with canapes, and unlimited use of the fitness center and outdoor sports courts are also among the package’s inclusions. For minimum stays of three nights or more, the package also includes one “Taste of Vietnam” family cooking class with boutique agency Zazen Travel, a VND 300,000 F&B credit per adult per stay, and a complimentary 60-minute “Parents’ Retreat” spa treatment with Le Spa. The package also affords priority check-in and late check-out, fast-track restaurant and spa reservations and resort-wide high-speed Wi-Fi. Alma 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. 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. The Family Bonding Blast: Discover Southeast Asia’s #1 Resort package is valid for stays until March 2025. For more information or to make a booking, visit alma-resort.com, call +84 258 399 1666 or email info@alma-resort.com

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Family resort Alma in Cam Ranh, Vietnam, will usher in the Lunar New Year with a seven-day program brimming with all sorts of merriment, ranging from a Tet Village hosting traditional games and competitions to floating champagne breakfasts and buffets. From Lunar New Year’s Eve, Friday Feb. 9, until Thursday Feb. 15, 2024, Alma will stage festivities including dragon dances, calligraphy, picking lucky envelopes, kite flying, and chung cake, egg cake and ginger jam making classes. Overlooking Long Beach, one of Vietnam’s top beaches, the resort starts its Tet program on Feb. 9 with a traditional Tet breakfast buffet at Alma Garden and activities at the lobby, where the Tet Village takes center stage. At Alma Lounge, guests are encouraged to try their hand at crafting the quintessential Tet staple “Banh Chung” (Chung cake), wrapping sticky rice and mung bean inside dong leaves from 8.30-10.30am and 2:30-4:30pm, as well as egg cake and ginger jam making from 3-5pm. On the first day of Tet, Saturday Feb. 10, the 30-hectare resort’s Tet celebrations will begin with dragon dancing in the lobby and Alma Garden from 8am. The lantern-adorned Tet Market at the lobby, which will come to life from 11am-9pm from Feb 13 until Feb 15 with activities and huts offering handicrafts, local products and more. A highlight will be the Tet Culinary Night Market happening from 4-9pm offering traditional Vietnamese street food. The village’s line-up of traditional activities includes picking lucky envelopes, calligraphy, and the folk dance ‘bamboo dance’, with participants tapping and sliding bamboo poles on the ground while dancers step over and in between them. Competitions to be held at the walkway between Alma Food Court and Alma Lounge include ‘beating the watermelon’ and ‘throwing cotton balls’. Other activities at the resort throughout the program include stilt walking, ‘Throw the hoop’ and more. “Whether you’re indulging in our vibrant mix of restaurants or joining the hive of activity at the Tet Village with your family, there’s so much to do at Alma during such a special time of the year to celebrate with loved ones,” said Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler. “At Alma, we’re looking particularly forward to welcoming the Year of the Dragon – one of the most powerful and auspicious animal symbols, signalling strength, luck and success – as our resort looks to further our community involvement, protect the environment and focus on guests’ wellbeing in the new year.” Beachfront restaurant Atlantis, Italian trattoria La Casa and Asiana, which serves Thai, Korean, Japanese and vegan fare, will offer a la carte dining. Pizza, cookie, cotton candy and fruit shake making classes will keep the kids entertained. Featuring 13 separate treatment villas sprinkled onto the landscape overlooking Long Beach on Vietnam’s Cam Ranh peninsula, Alma’s Le Spa is offering a variety of indulgent treatments including its Signature Treatment, Nourishing Package and Alma Spa Journey. The Signature Treatment combines Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi, Shiatsu pressure points, and Thai stretching for a balanced body and mind. The Nourishing Package is designed to eliminate toxins and reduce fatigue and stress. The Alma Spa Journey is made up of a herbal foot bath, aromatherapy massage, ‘Fundamental Facial’, and stress-relieving foot therapy. To contact Alma or to make a booking, please visit alma-resort.com, call +84 258 399 1666 or email info@alma-resort.com

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With the season to be merry quickly approaching Alma Cam Ranh is gearing up to host a plethora of jolly experiences for the whole family, unveiling a giant gingerbread house and sparkling winter wonderland display to boot. From Dec. 9 2023 until Jan. 1 2024, Alma will stage festivities including Christmas and New Year’s Eve cocktail parties, dinners and buffets, as well as champagne breakfast, and wine and cheese tasting. An array of activities for youngsters includes Christmas card-making at the Kids Club with children from Thien Tam Orphanage, decorating gingerbread houses at the resort’s Pastry Kitchen, and treasure hunts with Santa Claus around the 74-acre beachfront resort. “During this wonderful time of the year, Alma will be staking a claim to building Vietnam’s biggest gingerbread house constructed from 232 kilograms of gingerbread – 800 wall tiles that each weigh 155 grams and 1200 roof tiles each 90 grams – festooned in 40 kilograms of merengue,” said Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler. “We’ve already started baking the gingerbread for the house, as it takes about two months to prepare the dough, and shape, bake and dry all of the bricks before the house is assembled in two days.” On Dec. 10 the gingerbread house and winter wonderland setting will be unveiled at Alma Food Court, offering prime photo opportunities for guests throughout the festive season. Christmas desserts including cookies, stollen, cakes, and gingerbread will be on offer. A Christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held at Alma Lounge. Guests at American Bar will be guided through a sublime selection of wines paired with artisanal cheeses on Dec. 23 and 30 between 3-5pm. In addition to special breakfast buffets to mark Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at Alma Garden, a picture-perfect champagne breakfast on a floating tray will be available in the guests’ private pavilion pools and at swimming pools that cascade down to Long Beach. Santa will meet guests in the lobby for photos, and, along with his minions, hand out gifts and balloons around the resort on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. At extra cost, Santa will also bring Christmas gifts to children purchased by their parents in their suite or pavilion. Atlantis restaurant will serve a la carte dinner, underscored by fresh, local seafood, with festive flair on Christmas Eve. La Casa will host exquisite five-course dinners on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve featuring the likes of ‘Seared Japanese scallops, cream of broccoli, sea urchin and Iranian saffron sauce’ and ‘Seared Japanese Wagyu beef with roasted tomatoes, grilled asparagus and mashed potato, sauteed enoki mushroom, and purple potato chips’. Both dinners will be accompanied by the resident pianist. Seafood thermidor, braised Australian beef in green peppercorn sauce, whole roasted turkey, salmon wellington, roasted duck with hoisin sauce, and deep fried crab cakes are among the many highlights of Alma Garden’s Christmas Eve buffet dinner. The restaurant’s New Year’s Eve buffet dinner will brim with options such as baked tiger prawns in garlic butter, braised Australian leg of lamb with red wine sauce, seared Norwegian salmon in lemon butter sauce and Oysters Kilpatrick. Alma will ring in 2024 at Alma Lounge, with a countdown party to feature live entertainment, games and special prizes. Guests are encouraged to wear “a touch of white, black and gold”. The lobby will be home to an arts and craft market on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. A variety of children’s activities throughout the program include making Christmas gift boxes, trees, bells, and snowflakes, as well as face painting and watching Christmas movies. In addition to offering numerous promotions such as a 140-minute ‘Nourishing Package’ featuring a back massage with herbal compress, a herbal foot bath and foot massage, and a shampoo and facial, Le Spa will hold massage classes in the morning and afternoon Monday to Friday from Dec. 11 until Mar. 1. Starting from VND 4,689,000 nett per room per night for minimum two-night stays from Oct. 10 – Jan. 15, Alma’s ‘Festive Family Retreat’ package includes accommodation for two adults and two kids under 13 years of age, daily buffet breakfast, daily afternoon tea for two, one dinner with drinks for two adults and two kids, a kids activity for two such as pizza making or cupcake decorating, a movie at Alma Cinema with popcorn and drinks, roundtrip airport transfers, unlimited access to Splash Waterpark, Kids Club, Youth Club, the Science Museum and outdoor sports courts, and more. For large groups of guests and organisations celebrating the year’s end, the resort also offers dinner parties and “Teamventure” packages that include team building activities. For further information, visit www.alma-resort.com or contact Alma on +84 258 399 1666 or info@alma-resort.com Some activities such as, for example, the champagne breakfast on a floating tray, cheese and wine tasting, La Casa’s Christmas and New Year’s Eve set menus and Alma Garden’s dinner buffets incur additional charges. Other activities such as, for example, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, face painting, and making Christmas gift boxes, trees, bells, and snowflakes are complimentary.

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With Vietnamese food popular the world over, a resort on Vietnam’s southern coastline has cooked up a culinary journey that delves into centuries-long traditions, bringing new meaning to the humble bowl of phở. Alma Resort on Vietnam’s Cam Ranh peninsula has joined forces with boutique travel agency Zazen Travel to launch ‘A Journey Through Culture and Cuisine’, a cultural immersion experience anchored by an interactive cooking class. The adventure begins with participants rummaging through colourful and lively Cam Duc Market to experience the local way of life, and learn about fresh, local ingredients to be used in the cooking class. The small, intimate group then visits a unique cobblestone temple in Cam Lam, the only one of its kind in Vietnam and possibly the world. Through perseverance and faith, the temple has taken monk Thich Tam Phuoc 24 years to build and counting. The journey also entails a stop at a mango garden to learn about the importance of mango cultivation and harvesting to the area, accompanied by a cup of mango tea. The budding chefs then return to Alma to learn recipes that have been handed down the generations. Together they cook quintessential Vietnamese dishes including bò lá lốt (ground beef wrapped in betel leaves), chả giò tươi (fresh spring rolls) and phở (Vietnamese soup with bone broth, rice noodles and meat). Guests then indulge their creations together for lunch and take home a recipe book and an apron, along with new memories. “As they say: ‘You have to taste a culture to understand it’. You can’t get a much more authentic experience in Vietnam than sharing a meal, cooked from scratch,” said Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler. “We hope our guests will return home with not only a remarkable repertoire of authentic dishes with which to impress their dinner guests but also new friends for life.” For more information, visit alma-resort.com. To make a booking, email info@alma-resort.com About Alma  Situated on Vietnam’s emerging Cam Ranh peninsula fronting Long Beach, Alma resort commands some 30 hectares of inspiring ground. Emblematic of Vietnam’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, a waterpark, 13-treatment room spa, 75-seat cinema, convention centre, amphitheater, science museum, gymnasium and yoga room, 18-hole mini golf course, a youth centre with virtual reality games, a kid’s club, water sports centre, a sustainable organic farm and even an ‘Alma Mart’ mini supermarket. For families with kids, read about Leonardo stay at Alma HERE.  

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Twenty days into the Vietnam trip with my boy passed before I was nostalgic for Italian cuisine. Apart from the sporadic pizza shared with Leonardo, I had stirred away from pasta and European foods. The fuse was lit by La Casa Restaurant during our stay at the incredible Alma Resort in Cam Ranh, Vietnam. I went in the fabulously furnished restaurant and immediately asked if the chef was really Italian, even though I had no doubts: resorts of this caliber always have an excellent chef in their restaurants, and if they had chosen to Italian cuisine, well, the Italian chef had to be there. And indeed there was: Francesco Leone, a kind and affable guy in his late 30s. I didn’t hesitate to book a table for a fish dinner that day, since we were at a seaside resort. Upon our arrival at 7pm, we were shown to our assigned table by very professional staff, who handed us the menu, as well as a kids’ menu, perfect for an active and hungry Leonardo after a day experiencing all the various kids’ activities at Alma Resort. After having peeked at the choices in the list, I went for fried calamari and a salmon salad to begin with. I needed to satisfy my hunger after the afternoon with Leonardo at the Splash Park, Alma Resort’s signature water park. I picked a suitable white wine for dinner and relaxed, waiting for the courses to reach our table. I have no complaints about the calamari, a jump-scare portion fried to perfection. The salad was how I wanted it: with lots of fish and character. Leonardo enjoyed his homey portion of spaghetti with tomato sauce. Despite the more than generous size of the courses, I was still feeling hungry so I ordered a plate of home-made fettuccine with prawns, stracciatella cheese and lemon, which turned out to be delicious. Leonardo opted for a nice strawberry ice cream. At that point I was full and dinner was over, but not my relationship with La Casa Restaurant. Before leaving I had a chat with Chef Francesco, who had come to the table to make sure dinner had gone well, and also to have a chat in his native language. Francesco revealed that he is from Bari, in southern Italy. He has a long career in hospitality and has cooked in various 5 star hotel restaurants in Europe and Asia. He told us that La Casa Restaurant also serves Italian breakfasts, so the following morning, instead of going to Alma’s breakfast restaurant, I headed to La Casa Restaurant, and I must say I was more than satisfied. Both Leonardo and I were blown away by the amazing courses. We were immediately brought a pyramid of dishes containing various cheeses, yoghurts and cod cuts, sided by a basket of breads, croissants and pan-au-chocolate. I then ordered toast with jam, and I must say that the quality of both the toast and the homemade jam was superior. The cherry-on-the-cake was an artfully made cappuccino with Lavazza coffee. The day had started well. That evening went even better. You won’t believe it but, since I had seen several dishes on the menu that intrigued me, that evening we went for dinner… at La Casa Restaurant! This time I opted for a different menu: a legumes soup (don’t laugh please: it’s something I really miss when I travel, together with minestrone) followed by the special of the day: home made pappardelle pasta with stracciatella cheese, Parma ham and white truffle, a combination that I really enjoyed. All dishes I sampled at La Casa Restaurant in the quest to satisfy my Italian food craving were great taste-wise. I will never stop complimenting the entire entourage of Francesco for the way La Casa Restaurant is managed, for the excellent service and professionalism of those who work there, and for the fantastic cuisine that Francesco studies and creates for the happiness of the customers of Alma Resort in Cam Ranh, Vietnam. But that’s not all, because Francesco’s cuisine is known above all by those Nha Trang people who want a 5-star environment with excellent Italian cuisine and wines, and now know where to find it.

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A giant gingerbread house and glittering winter wonderland display, a Christmas choir performance involving youngsters from a local orphanage, and an artists-in-residence program will be among an array of festivities to usher in Alma’s upcoming season to be jolly. The 30-hectare beachfront resort will host events including Christmas and New Year’s Eve cocktail parties and dinners, as well as champagne breakfast, wine and cheese tasting and buffets from Dec. 15, 2022 until Jan. 1, 2023. The festive season program’s activities for children will range from baking, singing, dancing and piano classes to face painting, Christmas craft-making and a kite-flying competition, topped off with Christmas movies at Alma Cinema and visits by a gift-toting Santa Claus, colorful clowns and Alma’s teddy bear mascot. “We won’t be welcoming Jack Frost here on balmy Cam Ranh peninsula, where it’s sunny more than 300 days annually, but we are pulling out all the stops to make this festive season extra special,” said the resort’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler. “Our team can’t help but cherish Christmas and New Year’s Eve all the more following Vietnam’s COVID-19 flare-up last year that forced Alma to temporarily close during this wonderful time of the year.” The program begins on Dec. 15 with the unveiling of the gingerbread house and winter wonderland decorations at Alma Food Court, affording photo opportunities for guests throughout the festive season. Christmas desserts such as stollen, cakes, cookies and, of course, gingerbread will be on offer. The house will be built from 232 kilograms of gingerbread – 800 wall tiles that each weigh 155 grams and 1200 roof tiles each 90 grams – and decorated in 40 kilograms of merengue. Director of culinary and F&B operations Ingo Stöneberg’s team started baking the gingerbread for the house from the first week of October. It will take roughly two months to prepare the dough, and shape, bake and dry all of the bricks before the house is assembled in about 48 hours. Young singers from nearby Nha Trang’s Thien Tam orphanage will join forces with Alma’s resident pianist Ben and singers Rain and Engie to perform Christmas songs as part of a Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 18 and a Christmas Eve cocktail party on Dec. 24 at Alma Lounge. In addition to breakfast buffets to mark Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, an Instagram-worthy champagne breakfast on a floating tray will be on offer in the guests’ private pavilion pools or at one of the 12 resort pools that cascade down to Long Beach. Santa will hand out gifts to children at Alma Lounge during a performance by Alma’s resident musicians on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. In the evening with colourful clowns in tow he will make the rounds of Alma’s various dining establishments, including beachfront Atlantis restaurant that specializes in fresh, local seafood and will serve a special festive set menu. Upon request, Santa will also bring Christmas gifts to kids purchased by their parents in their suite or pavilion. Alma’s Italian fine dining trattoria La Casa will host exquisite five-course dinners on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve to an accompaniment of the resident musicians’ live piano and singing. During cheese and wine tasting at The American Lounge and Bar on Christmas Day and Dec. 30, guests will learn interesting tidbits about a variety of wines and cheeses from around the globe as they sample them. Talented artists from across Vietnam will descend on Alma to create artwork before the guests’ eyes from Dec. 29-31 at Alma Lounge as part of the resort’s artists-in-residence program. The artwork will be hung throughout the lounge and make for a gallery backdrop to a New Year’s Eve cocktail party underscored by a performance by the resident musicians. The merriment will continue with a New Year’s Eve buffet complemented by a live Vietnamese band at Alma Garden before the American Lounge and Bar rings in the new year with a countdown party and DJ spinning the decks. A host of children’s activities throughout the festive program include blowing rainbow bubbles, making Christmas cards, snowflakes, gift boxes, bells and trees, painting by numbers and playing Vietnamese Parcheesi. The young and young at heart will don aprons and decorate a gingerbread house and cupcakes as part of ‘Become a Pastry Chef’ workshops at the resort’s Pastry Kitchen, and rummage through Alma’s new 1000sqm fruit and vegetable garden, 260sqm chicken farm and 180sqm herb garden as part of a ‘Garden Discovery’ afternoon and learn more about chickens. Alma’s Le Spa’s promotions during the festive season include a 90-minute ‘Sensory Spa Journey‘ with a signature massage featuring hot stone therapy on the back and a pressure point massage on the face, and a two-hour ‘Festive Glow’ package with a body wrap and a sublime deep tissue massage. Both offers are rounded out with a healthy drink after the treatment. For further information or to book a suite or pavilion, visit www.alma-resort.com or contact Alma on +84 258 399 1666, or email info@alma-resort.com Some activities such as, for example, the champagne breakfast on a floating tray, cheese and wine tasting and ‘Become a Pastry Chef’ incur additional charges and other activities such as, for example, face painting, the kite flying competition, and ‘Garden Discovery’ are complimentary. The American Lounge and Bar will offer promotions on beverages through the festive program.  

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Alma Resort’s beachfront Le Spa has introduced a new menu with treatments ranging from collagen facials and sun soother wraps to four hands massages and “fancy footwork therapy”. Crafted by new spa manager Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang, the menu offers packages, massages, facials, body scrubs and wraps, hair mask treatments and more based on all-natural products such as essential oils, antioxidant vitamins, fruits, herbs, flowers, and Vietnamese mineral mud. Le Spa packages Le Spa’s packages include the 100-minute “Reset” that begins with an aroma steam bath, followed by an aromatherapy floral footbath, Balinese massage and facial. The 120-minute “Rejuvenate” also starts out with an aroma steam bath and floral footbath before a traditional coconut, orange or herbal body scrub and Vietnamese mineral mud body wrap, and the choice of either “fancy footwork therapy” or an “energizer retreat” massage. Described as “reflexology without the ouch”, fancy footwork therapy is based on the same therapeutic principles as its ancient ancestor, helping to release toxins and restore the body’s energy flow. The energizer retreat massage is tailored to concentrate on the back, neck and shoulders. The 135-minute “Recover” package encompasses a floral footbath, body scrub, a choice of either a Balinese massage or “pure nature” facial, as well as a foot massage and scalp massage. Rich in enzymes that peel away dead skin, antioxidant vitamins to treat and protect cells from pollutants, and natural oils for nourishment, the pure nature facial comes in three options for different skin types. The menu’s host of massages includes Le Spa’s signature treatment “Le Four-Hand Signature”, a sublime blend of five different massage styles – Shiatsu (Japanese), Thai, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, Swedish and Balinese – performed by two therapists in synchronization. Traditional Vietnamese, warm stone therapy, deep tissue, Ancient Thai, and Thai herbal compress are among other massages on offer. Facials and more… An array of facials includes “collagen radiance” that uses collagen to smooth fine lines and has a plumping effect. The “rejuvenating” facial is underscored by a purifying mask, energizing digit pressure massage and serum concentrate to awaken the skin. The “purity ritual” facial is designed for oily skin, redefining pores and controlling shine, while the “rosa cream ritual” aims to boost dry and delicate skin’s tolerance threshold by reducing redness and smoothing the skin with a nutrient-packed natural clay mask. Sunburn or no sunburn, the sun soother wrap delivers hydrating, balancing, anti-inflammatory and healing properties to the skin. Beginning with a chilled lavender-infused compress, the treatment includes a hydrating banana leaf wrap with cucumber and lavender essential oil, foot massage, and the application of anti-inflammatory towels compressed with green tea and lavender essential oil followed by aloe vera. Le Spa’s manager Hang said the new menu “draws on ancient health and beauty traditions and is inspired by rejuvenating treatments stemming from different techniques and cultures throughout the world” In addition to Le Spa’s 13 beachfront treatment villas, separated by botanic gardens named after a different Vietnamese flower, the spa has ‘his and hers’ saunas and steam rooms, two lounges, and a beauty salon. To contact Alma or to make a booking, visit alma-resort.com, email info@alma-resort.com

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In Vietnam the sidewalk is used for much more than walking. The curb comes to life with coffee and street food vendors, barbers, exercise groups, mobile masseuses, shoe shiners, street performers and then some. To pay homage to the quintessential Vietnamese pastime of spending hours sipping brews on the pavement with friends, 30-hectare beachfront resort Alma, a Preferred Hotels & Resorts member, has launched Cam Ranh’s most hip and happening venue, Chill’s Snack & Bar. Open from 5pm-10pm daily, the street-style venue is anchored by two American-style food trucks to a backdrop of the resort’s vast Alma Amphitheater. Plenty of plastic tables and chairs are assembled on and alongside the tarmac of one of the resort’s onsite service roads. Twilight lights strung between palm trees create a warm ambiance as the afternoon morphs into the evening. Chill’s menu features a selection of popular street beverages such as Vietnamese coffees, fresh fruit juices, milk teas including bubble milk teas, iced teas and soft drinks. The venue’s signature coffees are coconut coffee and coffee with fresh milk and tapioca pearls. In addition to Saigon, Tiger and Heineken beers, Chill’s also serves cocktails such as ‘Amphitheater Sunset’ with tequila, orange, grenadine, crème de cassis and lime. The likes of seafood pizza, fruit, fried fish balls, shrimp salad, meat sandwiches, cheese sticks, lemongrass chicken feet, and popcorn are written up on Chill’s menu board daily. Entertainment ranges from nightly movies screened under the stars at the amphitheater to live music by performers such as the resort’s resident singer Engie to fire twirlers and flair tenders. Competitions such as high walking competitions are staged for national and global holidays as well as other special occasions. Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler said the resort’s temporary eight-month closure, due to a flare-up of COVID-19 in Vietnam before Alma’s reopening on January 15, “was a prime opportunity for our team to get creative, spawning the concept for Chill’s as a street-style venue that welcomes locals and tourists alike”. “Everyone who has been to Vietnam knows that everyone is welcome to join the community on the pavement; it is part and parcel of experiencing Vietnam’s culture and its culinary delights famous the world over,” said Laubichler-Pichler. “We are the only resort in our location that doesn’t have a wall around us. I genuinely believe Chill’s is an open house; like on Vietnam’s ubiquitous sidewalks, everyone is welcome to chill out here and relish life’s simple pleasures.” For more information, or to make a booking, visit alma-resort.com, call +84 258 399 1666 or email reservation@alma-resort.com

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From indulgent spa therapies to special stay packages that the whole family can enjoy (and we mean multiple generations), we’ve rounded up a range of Mother’s Day offers from around Asia that might just make the perfect gift this May. A Dining Treat for Mother in Phnom Penh The culinary team at Raffles Hotel Le Royal have taken some of the tastiest recipes handed down from their mothers to compile a special menu that will run all week. From May 2 – 6, reserve a table for two for either lunch or dinner, and your mother will receive a free Lillet cocktail to complement her dining experience. Or, from May 2- 8, at the new Le Phnom 1929 restaurant in the hotel’s west wing, an Afternoon Tea set will be available, which will include a complimentary bottle of Prosecco for all mothers. And on May 8, there’s a Swim n’ Brunch event at Le Royal’s iconic poolside,where from 11am- 3pm families can choose from that same menu of mother-inspired recipes, as well as BBQ, cocktails and Champagne. In the evenings during Mother’s Day week, the hotel’s Elephant Bar will be in a festive mood with live music. Dance the night away at the Mojo Afterworks party, which will include a selection of tapas and oysters, as well as special Ladies Night drinks. For reservations, call +855 23 981 888, or email: dining.leroyal@raffles.com Slowing Down at Fusion Resort Phu Quoc This Mother’s Day Fusion Resort Phu Quoc is taking things slow – really slow. To mark the special day on the tropical island mothers and their children are invited to take part in a Slow Bike Race, where the winner is whoever takes the longest to cross the finish line. Riders can enjoy ocean views as the pace of the race comes almost to a standstill. The winners will receive a free adult and kids beverage. Later in the evening, the all-villa resort property is offering a Seafood Date Night by the pool with a multi-course meal and wine being served up for VND 2,800,000 ++ (USD 122++) for two. The highlight of the feast is a seafood platter with grilled red snapper in banana leaf, king prawns, calamari, scallops, and oysters. Visit https://phuquoc.fusionresorts.com for more details. Afternoon Tea Beside a Moat at Palace Hotel Tokyo For an impressive treat this Mother’s Day book a table for the hotel’s ever-popular afternoon tea at The Palace Lounge. Though many hotels invoke the majesty of the word palace, few can claim such palatial trappings as a moat. The Palace can.The property’s regal waterside setting can be enjoyed on Grand Kitchen’s outdoor terrace, or through the floor to ceiling windows of The Palace Lounge while enjoying high tea. The springtime selection features dishes like blanc manger made with steamed turnip, bitter field mustard flowers sauced with grainy mustard, and the subtle texture of bamboo shoots steamed with rice, along with an array of sweet treats – all artfully presented in an elegant, three-tiered jyubako lacquered box. The Spring Afternoon Tea set is JPY6,200 or JPY8,800 if you’d like to add a glass of champagne. For further indulgence the hotel’s evian SPA, is currently offering Mother’s Day Gift certificates (JPY27,000) for a 75-minute facial and eye care treatment using warew, a premium Japanese beauty brand, that uses natural botanical ingredients, grown in Japan since ancient times. Mothers will be gifted a warew gift set of trial size bottles on the day of their appointment. Visit https://en.palacehoteltokyo.com for more information. Alma Resort Cam Ranh Thirty-hectare beachfront resort Alma on Vietnam’s scenic Cam Ranh peninsula is offering a two-night getaway suited to multigenerational travel in celebration of Mother’s Day this year. Priced at 30,432,000 VND (USD 1330), the Mother’s Day offer is anchored by a stay from May 6-8 for up to seven adults and two children in a contemporary three-bedroom ocean view pavilion with a private pool and terrace affording vistas of Long Beach. With a spacious living room and four bathrooms, the pavilion totals 224sqm and is designed to accommodate family members across the entire age spectrum, spanning two, three and even four generations. A welcome cake on arrival, daily breakfast, a buffet lunch, dinner at one of Alma’s restaurants, such as beachfront restaurant Atlantis that specializes in fresh seafood and Italian fine-dining restaurant La Casa, and a 20 per cent discount on additional F&B and treatments at Le Spa are among the getaway’s inclusions. Activities such as making Vietnamese fresh spring rolls at Atlantis, taking family photos at street-style venue Chill’s Snack & Bar featuring American-style food trucks, watching movies under the stars at Alma’s Amphitheater and more are also on offer to pay tribute to mothers. For further information, visit https://www.alma-resort.com, email info@alma-resort.com or call +84 258 399 1666.

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Vu Ngoc Linh, a hospitality professional with more than a decade’s experience in food and beverage departments, has stepped off the career ladder of the typical F&B professional to pursue an entirely new kind of fulfilment. This month, the 580-room Alma Resort on Vietnam’s south central coast named Linh as its first sustainability officer. It’ll be Linh’s job to track the property’s energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education efforts and building design. The role also involves creating sustainability programs, budgets and schedules, evaluating the success of sustainability initiatives, and managing three staff committees focused on ‘green products’, ‘innovation and solutions’ and ‘people and partnerships’. The stakes are high. The thirty-hectare resort requires 46,720 kWH of power and 900 m3 of water per day. “We’d like to think we can continue to make meaningful reductions in that consumption,” said Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler. “Dedicating one person to this task is key to making that happen.” One of Linh’s new projects, under the umbrella of the Innovation and Solutions Committee, is implementation of what Alma believes is Vietnam’s most ambitious hotel solar power project yet. Alma will this year install 5,634 solar panels totalling 12,500 square metres. With a capacity of 2,480 kilowatts peak, the solar power system will fuel between a quarter to almost half of Alma’s energy needs depending on occupancy. In addition to the resort’s 325sqm water treatment plant deploying a reverse osmosis system to provide 70,000L weekly of drinkable water and ice for all of the resort’s kitchens, Linh will also help determine other ways to offset the resort’s water usage. Linh started his hospitality career in 2011 as a waiter at Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, before he became a restaurant supervisor at Dessole Beach Resort Nha Trang, a team leader at Vinpearl Land Amusement Park and an assistant outlet manager at Golden Peak Resort & Spa and Duyen Ha Resort. Linh then became a food and beverage manager at Xavia Hotel and Florida Nha Trang Hotel, and the assistant restaurant manager at Eastin Grand Hotel Nha Trang. Laubichler-Pichler said Linh’s background in F&B – a field notorious for waste generation – had motivated him to move into a sustainability role. “Linh has a genuine drive to make a difference and he is well suited to a role at our resort dedicated purely to sustainability, encompassing the likes of garbage segregation, tree planting, paperless check-in, solar power, community initiatives to generate support for green projects, research and more,” said Laubichler-Pichler. To contact Alma or to make a booking, please visit alma-resort.com or email info@alma-resort.com About Alma Situated on Vietnam’s emerging Cam Ranh peninsula fronting Long Beach, Alma resort commands some 30 hectares of inspiring ground. Emblematic of Vietnam‘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, a waterpark, 13-treatment room spa, 70-seat cinema, convention centre, amphitheater, art gallery, science museum, gymnasium and yoga room, 18-hole mini golf course, a youth centre with virtual reality games, a kid’s club, water sports centre and even an ‘Alma Mart’ mini supermarket.

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