A hotel in Vietnam is offering a unique tour to future visitors – a behind-the-scenes look at the premise’s operations.
Vietnam is currently facing another wave of infections, so several restrictions have been imposed across the country to curb the spread of Covid-19. This includes temporarily closing non-essential businesses like hotels and resorts.
But the staff at Alma resort in Cam Ranh, located in Vietnam’s south central coastal region, are keeping themselves busy by coming up with new ideas to attract guests once restrictions are lifted.
The “Back of House” tour, to be launched upon the resort’s reopening, comprises a walk through the resort’s inner workings. Tour “stops” will include the pastry room, staff canteen, engineering rooms, loading dock, laundry and uniform rooms, electric buggy station, generator station, air conditioner centralised plant, water treatment plant and security offices.
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Tour guides and other resort employees will be ready to answer questions from guests during the tour, which will only be available twice a week.
A tour like this is just one way to keep guests entertained as some hotel amenities and services – like the spa, gym and pool – may not be able to immediately resume even after the place reopens.
Of course, many may not think such a tour is all that much interesting, but consider these facts: The resort has eight pastry chefs and five bakers, and together they prepare 1,220 Danish pastries, 1,000 croissants, 850 bread rolls and 800 muffins each week, as well as produce 50l of house-made ice cream, 10kg of tiramisu and more!
And who knows, you may just get to enjoy some of these delicious treats while on the tour.
Meanwhile, at the resort’s buggy station, try your hand at driving one of the 36 buggies on hand. Each one of these electric buggies takes an average of six hours to charge.
As part of the resort’s sustainable efforts, its water treatment plant uses a reverse osmosis system that provides drinking water and ice to the kitchen, while the garbage room processes over 250kg of trash a day, mostly turning them into compostable waste and recyclables.
Back to nature
Elsewhere, a popular resort in Krabi, Thailand is offering guests a luxurious “forest bathing” experience.
Thanks to its close proximity to the Khao Ngon Nak National Park, Banyan Tree Krabi is able to include some fun back-to-nature activities like hiking, birdwatching and even picnicking.
When in Krabi, try hiking up the Dragon Crest Hill for a spectacular view of the island. — Banyan Tree KrabiThe resort, which opened in October last year, has not had the chance to welcome many guests yet, so it is banking on its nature-wellness packages to lure pandemic-weary tourists to its property.
“What better way to demonstrate Banyan Tree’s commitment to well-being and the environment by offering this activity (forest bathing) to our guests,” said Banyan Tree Krabi sustainability manager Thepsuda Loyjiw in a release.
“The hiking trail begins directly behind our resort, and winds up towards some spectacular viewpoints and waterfalls,” she said.
The resort is located on Tubkaek Beach, which is a 45-minute drive from the Krabi International Airport.
Both Krabi and Phang Nga province are scheduled to reopen several of their islands and beaches to international tourists under a “7+7” model some time this month. This model will complement the ongoing Phuket Sandbox programme, which kicked off on July 1.
This means that tourists who visit Phuket would be able to cut short their mandatory 14-day stay on the island to seven days, and spend the remaining seven on either Krabi (Koh Phi Phi, Ko Ngai and Railay Beach) or Phang Nga (Khao Lak and Ko Yao).
