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(No.5, Vol.8,Oct-Nov Vietnam Heritage Magazine)
On 26 September, 1997, Ms. Ngo Thanh Loan opened the door of Bamboo Village Resort to guests, with 14 Hawaiian style bungalows and a round dome restaurant designed by architects who loved bamboo and pure Vietnamese beauty.
In 1999, Bamboo Village added six more garden bungalows, a swimming pool with Jacuzzi and rows of tall coconut trees looking out to the sea. Ms. Ngo Thanh Nga joined as Managing Director of the company for the next 17 years.
In 2001, Water Lily Spa opened, which is now ranked #1 Spa in Phan Thiet and awarded Best Spa Destination in Vietnam.
In 2006, when Mui Ne beaches suffered severed erosion, Bamboo Village pioneered in finding a solution for environment protection, by building a soft jetty with geotechnical fabric. This dear memento is now lying deep beneath this peaceful beach.
In 2017. Bamboo Village occupancy reached 82.28%, a great result given the current economic time. The number of guests staying in 20 years exceeds more than one million people.
To date, there are total 147 rooms, serviced by 203 professional employees who can speak some of English, French, Russian, German, Chinese and Korean.
2018 marks 20th anniversary of Bamboo Village and new leadership, with Ms. Pham Phuong Dung as Managing Director and Sofia Pham as Deputy Director.
“The year was 1995. My mother and I visited Phan Thiet for the first time. We came here to see the full eclipse, and somehow my mother fell in love with this unknown coastal town. Everyone thought she was crazy when she wanted to build a traditional Vietnamese-style resort here. Mind you, there were very few hotels in Mui Ne 20 something years ago. This land was completely raw, untouched and undeveloped, and my mother, while a very successful advertising executive, had no experience in tourism or construction.
That didn’t stop her from purchasing the land and for the next couple of years, she commuted from HCMC every weekend to build this resort from nothing. She drained her life savings and put her time into what a lot of people saw as a passion project with little chance of profitability.
Despite the naysayers, my mother persevered and continued on her path. Good thing she didn’t quit, because not only has she built one of the greenest, most visited destinations in Vietnam, she also built a community of passionate, hardworking and blissful bamboo villagers who love their jobs and treat their guests as if they’re part of the family.
I grew up in two cultures, Vietnamese and American. I received a business degree from UC Berkeley and with a typical American mindset, I wanted to build my own career in California. I worked at the top three advertising agencies in San Francisco for the next eight years after graduation. My career was very intense and demanding but it also taught me a lot. However, I woke up one day realizing what was missing from my job was passion and purpose. I created work for brands that I didn’t love or believe in.
I grew up with Bamboo Village Beach Resort & Spa as my second family; I believed in it and knew we could take it to new heights. I decided to join my mother’s journey to help Bamboo Village Beach Resort & Spa achieve international recognition, making it more accessible to the world and bringing more people from different cultures to our green village.
My mother has created something very special here — a legacy made possible by bamboo villagers. It’s a legacy that gives us joy and purpose, and one that we would be proud and honored to continue for the next 20 years.
Here is our promise to you, mom. We will embrace your legacy with pride and innovation. We will make Bamboo Village Beach Resort & Spa the top destination for spa, weddings and honeymoons. We will share our resort’s unique beauty and culture with the world and make it a destination to remember for all of our guests. We will give back to the local community and support eco-tourism. And when we hit a rough patch, we will overcome it with the same strength and dignity as you would have.â€
Extract from the speech of Ms. Sofia Pham – Daughter of Mrs Ngo Thanh Loan, the founder of Bamboo Village Resort on the 20th Anniversary Party. Sophia Pham is now Head of Marketing and Deputy Director of Bamboo Village
Awards : Beside the “Top 10 Four Star Vietnamese Resort†recognition in the last 8 years by the Vietnam Administration of Tourism, the Bamboo Village Beach Resort & Spa has also won The Guide Awards for 12 consecutive years; Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice 2017-2018 prize of TripAdvisor; Holiday Check 2017-2018; Asian Lifestyle Tourism Awards 2017-2018, Honeymoon category: The Best Honeymoon Destination in Vietnam; Asian Lifestyle Tourism Awards 2017-2018, Spa category: The Best Spa in Vietnam.
Bamboo Village Beach Resort & Spa
38 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province
Tel: (0252) 3847-007 – Email: info@bamboovillageresortvn.com– www.bamboovillageresortvn.com