Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay

Eden on the shores of the South China Sea, where your very own villa has a private pool and personal butlers are on-hand to help

You arrive by boat to find a 2km crescent beach with forested mountains rising behind; you step ashore to discover your very own butler waiting to whisk you off to a private villa. Six Senses (formerly Evason) Hideaway is an A-Z of luxury with every conceivable indulgence packed onto this remote peninsular (you’ll think you’re on an island). As for the villas, they simply take your breath away. Each one has its own pool, some under palms in the garden, several on the hill with views across treetops, others built into the rocks with steps down to the sea. Wherever you end up, you find heaven.

Follow your nose and you’ll come to a bar, a restaurant and a library, all high on wooded stilts to give views of sea and ridge. But the villas are hard to beat and guests often stay by their pool, with room service bringing whatever they need. You get big bathrooms with showers in the garden, sitting rooms with enormous daybeds, bedrooms with exquisite views. Excursions can also be planned: snorkelling, diving or dinner on a private beach.

Highs

• The sense of seclusion is magical
• Luxury at every turn: this is the real thing
• The villas are out of this world (as you’d expect given the price) and they're huge, 150 sq.m+
• You will need to look far and wide to find a better bathroom
• There are no cars at the resort. Bikes and buggies, but no cars - bliss

Lows

• Most guests tend to chill out at their villas, so it’s not a particularly social place
• Lighting is low - perhaps too low
• The food doesn’t quite match the splendour of the resort
• With 58 villas, it's larger than most i-escape properties
• Some villas are close together so you sometimes lock eyes with your neighbours