La Veranda Resort Phu Quoc

Beside tall palms at La Veranda's centre, the L-shaped pool provides a cooling dip and the many plush lounges are primed for afternoon tea. In a brasserie-style dining room, The Pepper Tree serves rich seafood while Le Jardin is a more casual setting for dinner (ingredients are from the organic garden). Breakfast is a medley of fresh fruits, pastries and eggs cooked to order. You'll find cocktails and ice creams at the bar and the pristine spa suites offer everything from hydrotherapy to volcanic stone massages.

La Veranda has a collection of rooms in the main house and villas down by the beach. The design is suitably 'French' with grand four-poster beds, dark wood furnishings and framed nautical prints. The uncluttered rooms are finished with cool tiled floors and ever-spinning ceiling fans - plus TV, mini bar and coffee/tea facilities. The bathrooms are simple but chic with a marble tub and rain shower. Shuttered doors open onto a patio or terrace with comfortable seats (or loungers!), and some villas have a dining area.

You can't get much closer to the sunny shore and there's plenty to do in the water. Set sail to colourful coral reefs to snorkel with the turtles or roam down the coast, stopping at any of the 20 unspoilt beaches. Half of Phu Quoc is a national park where waterfalls gush at the end of hiking trails and rivers beg to be explored by kayak. Make like a local and peddle your way through solitary villages to pick up a handmade souvenir at the market.