THE LUXURY TRAVEL
MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT
TRAVELLERS

There are more than two hundred pagodas in the small city of Hue, including some of the oldest in Vietnam, a fact that attracts many pilgrims to the city. But what is a pilgrimage without a place to rest body and mind, and restore the spirits? Hue Pilgrimage Village is just that – the ideal place to stay to bring balance back to your life.

It’s a village centered around relaxation and restoration, an emphasis you’ll pick up the moment you step into the traditionally wooden reception area, where you’ll be warmly greeted and served hot ginger tea. Hue has two seasons – summer and winter – and we visited in the less popular of the two (winter). It is a testament to the Pilgrimage Village that even though the weather was miserable and drizzly outside, we still enjoyed every moment of our stay.

It’s difficult not to, when it seems as if every facet of the resort is catered towards relaxation. The bungalows are large and spacious, with warm wooden floors, four poster beds hung with diaphanous mosquito nets, and subtle works of art placed here and there (the resort has the largest collection of Hoang Dang Nhuan, a famous Vietnamese artist’s work in the whole country). The bathrooms (especially in the Honeymoon Bungalows) are something special, too – vast marble rooms with large baths placed next to picture windows looking out onto the lotus-filled canal, powerful showers jetting onto a bed of smooth white stones, and luxuriously silky kimonos to step into.. The property itself is large and filled with indigenous trees and plants, but wandering around the stone paths, you’ll soon feel right at home. Perhaps this is because it’s a family-run resort: Mr Le Van Truong designed the whole place as a sketch, and now he and three of his four children are intricately involved in the workings of the hotel. They’ve trained their staff to make you feel right at home, too. Nothing is too much trouble, and they seem genuinely pleased to see you whenever your paths may cross.

It’s not just a comfortable place to hang out (although if hanging out is your goal, be sure to visit in summer when the stunning pool with in-water loungers and bar stools can be fully appreciated). No, at Hue Pilgrimage Village you can feast the senses, in a very literal sense. The half-day cooking classes are a great way to get in touch with Vietnamese cuisine, as the chef takes you into town to the market to choose all the produce you will be using in the class, and then whispers the secrets of Hue specialities such as prawn and pork spring rolls, savoury fried pancakes and Hue rice noodle soup in your ear. The private cooking classes lead you through the making of each of these dishes, along with an explanation of which ingredients are used and why. Head Chef Thao is accompanied by Senior Cook Chau and Cook Ho Hiep, so there are more than enough people on hand, and the class is a fantastic way to answer all the questions you might have gleaned while tasting your way around Vietnam (we had been trying to figure out what the bright red oil circling most soups we’d had was – turns out it’s cashew nut oil.) The class was also a really fun way to sample traditional Hue dishes, as we could eat everything we made. Our pancakes were perhaps not quite as expertly put together as they could have been, our spring rolls a little wobbly, but the pleasure of eating something you’ve made personally outweighed any aesthetic misdemeanours. Above all, it was a great way to get in touch with a slice of Vietnamese culture that will last (one hopes) a lifetime – we were sent home with all the recipes of the dishes we’d conquered, so here’s hoping there will be many Vietnamese dishes coming out of our kitchen in years to come.

If the class simply whets your appetite (as it did ours!) head to the superb Junrei Restaurant for a feast of dishes unique to Hue, or a wide range of other local dishes. The restaurant took five years to build – each of the tall wooden pillars had to be carved from a perfectly straight jackfruit tree, and each of the carvings you’ll see on the ceiling and walls is imbued with meaning, and had to be carved on an auspicious day. The result is a lofty beauty, a dining room as you’ve never seen it before. This is one dinner you won’t forget in a hurry. Unwind after dinner with a couple of cocktails in the ultra-modern, beautifully styled Slope Bar, or in the softly candlelit Candle Bar. The choice of how you want to relax is up to you… the option to stay stressed, however, is not.

If you’re in the mood for something a little more hedonistic, be sure to visit the award-winning Vedana Spa. A traditional wooden reception area eases you into the treatment, as you’re served mint tea and fresh fruit, and then led along a series of stepping stones to the stand-alone treatment rooms. The Vietnamese massage is a must-do, an intriguing blend of Swedish massage, cupping and chopping that will leave your body feeling as soft as butter. Sink into a flower-filled bath to ease any last shred of tension, and you may want to drift off to sleep… Each of the therapies is a blend of natural ingredients, designed to balance the physical and emotional body, and with no less than five massage methods to choose from (Vietnamese, Thai, Detox, Swedish and Aromatherapy), you may find yourself needing to come back for more.

Every day you also have the option to join a complimentary Tai Chi class (at 7am) or a Hatha Vinyasa Yoga Class (at 8am), in the beautiful meditation house, looking out over the lotus flowers of the canal, or listening to the birdcall and soothing music of the spa area. There’s a fitness centre, too, fully equipped, and a heavenly private Jacuzzi, steambath and sauna area.

The choice is yours – whether to spend your days lounging by the pool or on your veranda looking out over the lush landscape, indulging in culinary treats in a cooking class or the restaurant, or relaxing your body and spirit at the spa. Or you can do as we did, and spend enough time at the Pilgrimage Village so that you can fit it all in, and still have time to spare. Whatever you choose to do, you can rest assured that you will be warmly welcomed in this most hospitable of Vietnamese villages.