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Escape to Sapa with Victoria
All photography by Christian Berg
No one in Vietnam does hospitality quite like Victoria. Take a brand built around caring for its guests, place it in a striking highland destination, and what do you get? A mountain resort with all the comforts of home (or more!) as well as spectacular sights in easy reach. Treat yourself on a fantastic getaway to Sapa, together with Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa.
All aboard the Victoria Express
Your adventure begins with a night train ride away from the city lights of Hanoi and into Vietnam’s rugged northern highlands. The Victoria Express lounge at the train station offers your first taste of the care you can expect to receive from the Victoria team throughout your stay. Settle into your cabin — decorated with ethnic textiles and pictures of your destination — and wind down with a nightcap as the train rumbles out of the station, over the Red River and Long Bien Bridge, and into the night.
TIP: The Victoria Express is the most comfortable way to reach Sapa from Hanoi. The service onboard includes a menu of snacks and drinks, and each cabin is thoughtfully prepared with soft bedding, face towels, and earplugs.
Hello Sapa
By the time the sun peeks over the mountains, you’ll have roused from your sleep, enjoyed a small bite, and disembarked at the station in Lao Cai. This may not feel like the most glamorous arrival, but hold on just a little longer: Victoria’s private van will transfer you swiftly from the station to the resort in Sapa town, where you’ll be welcomed with cold towels, hot tea and warm smiles.
Your home in the hills
Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa gives its guests a choice of four room types, all encircling a garden of blooming flowers and rustling trees, with views of Sapa town and the outline of lofty Mt. Fansipan in the distance. Solo travellers will enjoy situating themselves in the Deluxe Room, which has a private balcony and writing desk. Families can book the 50-square-metre Family Studio which features a large outdoor balcony perfect for shared moments. Couples and those celebrating a special occasion will love the Victoria Suite, which comes with a bathtub and complimentary mini-bar.
All the rooms at the resort are a joy to check into, with dark wood floors and furniture, deeply comfortable beds, and beautiful touches such as ethnic textiles and instruments adding a sense of place.
Memorable meals
Hungry after your journey? Head straight for Ta Van Restaurant, where a hearty breakfast buffet awaits. At Ta Van Restaurant, floor-to-ceiling windows allow you to admire Sapa’s blue skies and thick pine trees while you dine. An amazing breakfast is included in the room rate, featuring authentic Vietnamese noodles such as banh cuon and bun bo, as well as freshly baked pastries, an array of tropical fruits, eggs cooked your way, and many other tempting options.
For lunch and dinner, Ta Van’s chefs offer a selection of delicious Western and Asian dishes, each one made with the best locally sourced or imported ingredients and presented in the restaurant’s beautiful dining room, which boasts all the rustic charm of a mountain lodge, complete with a central fireplace, vintage lighting, and gleaming wooden beams.
Explore the resort
It’s never too soon to get really relaxed when you’re on holiday. Let go of any stress or tension with a treatment at Victoria’s amazing spa. Don’t miss the chance to soak in a Red Dao herbal bath — a simmering mix of fragrant, healing herbs and tree bark which the ethnic Dao minority use to soothe tired muscles, improve circulation, and nourish the skin. Afterwards, let your tired limbs be restored with the Signature Victoria Sapa Massage, a 90-minute treatment that blends reflexology and Thai techniques to leave you in a state of total bliss.
Another highlight of the resort is its indoor heated lap pool. Enclosed in glass walls, the pool lets you drink in scenes of fluffy clouds, waving pines, and faraway mountaintops as you float in the water. Grab a lounger and a bathrobe and make a morning of it. If you feel like wandering around the resort, you’ll find garden nooks, a fitness centre, billiards table, textile shop and kids’ club.
Step out into Sapa
As comfortable as your new base may be, you can’t leave Sapa without seeing its marvelous landscapes for yourself. Victoria’s tour desk can help you arrange a day trek into the rice terraces near Sapa town. There are countless small hamlets to explore in this part of Vietnam, where farming communities and ethnic minorities still practice a traditional way of life. Take a workshop to learn about H’mong embroidery and batik dyeing, plan a picnic on a gorgeous hillside, or strike out for one of the many waterfalls in the area. You’re sure to come back with a story to tell.
TIP: Sink into a scarlet armchair at Ta Vin bar during happy hour and share your adventures with other guests as you sip perfectly poured cocktails. In winter the resort will build a log fire -- the perfect focal point for friendly chats over mulled wine.
Choose your next adventure
Haven’t had enough of Sapa? Why not stay longer? Victoria Resort & Spa can arrange for you to sleep overnight in a homestay in one of the nearby ethnic villages. Or hop back on the night train and return to Hanoi in style, rested and renewed. If you enjoy Victoria’s brand of hospitality, you may like to check out Victoria Voyage packages for smooth, sensational holidays throughout Vietnam.
