Alma doesn’t expect to be the same setting for any couple’s proposal, wedding and honeymoon. However its new romantic packages encourage such a prospect, with optional additions such as plane skywriting and a private cinema screening to boot.
The new experiences take full advantage of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts member’s 30-hectare beachfront setting overlooking the buttermilk sands of Long Beach on Cam Ranh peninsula, where sampans and coracles still ply these waters and picturesque islands loom just offshore.
“As the world learns to live with Covid-19 things are definitely looking up; we are hosting more and more proposals and honeymoons at our resort, and there’s an increasing number of weddings on the books for this year,” said Alma’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler.
“It’s safe to say we no longer take celebrating any important milestone with our loved ones for granted, particularly a destination wedding or honeymoon and thus let’s make such an occasion one to truly remember for a lifetime,” he added.
Designed specifically for a proposal or honeymoon, the resort’s ‘Romantic Affair’ package is anchored by a night’s stay in a one-bedroom Ocean View Suite or Ocean View Pool Pavilion, with surprise set-up decorations in the accommodation, daily breakfast, a 60-minute body massage for two at Le Spa or the guests’ pavilion, and a private candle-lit dinner on the beach.
According to Laubichler-Pichler, the sky’s the limit when it comes to the Alma team’s ability to customize the Romantic Affair package. Additions range from a floating breakfast in a heart-shaped tray or a private gourmet barbecue by a private pavilion pool, to a buyout of Alma’s 70-seat cinema for a private romantic movie with a proposal message aired on the big screen during intermission. Taking a private boat to a secluded Nha Trang island for snorkeling followed by a picnic lunch accompanied with bubbles, or skywriting a proposal bid with a plane are also indulgent options on offer.
Priced from VND49,900,000 (US$2148), the resort’s new Wedding Ceremony package is underscored by a stunning ceremony on Alma’s beach lawn and includes a one-night stay in a one-bedroom Ocean View Suite or Ocean View Pool Pavilion, a spa treatment for two, and a private candle-lit dinner on Long Beach.
Whether it’s an intimate ceremony for two to a larger event that requires the set-up of 50 white Tiffany chairs, the package also includes the set-up of an arch and aisle festooned in seasonal flowers, twilights, a wedding cake, fresh bridal bouquet and boutonniere for the bride and groom, two Champagne bottles, a guitarist and violinist, a sound system, and, if required, an MC for a reception dinner. For additional amounts per guest, dinner menu options include canapes, Asian, Western or BBQ buffet. Various free-flow packages and entertainment options such as a live band are also on offer.
“One of our favorite aspects of events planning amid the new normal is utilizing various spaces to create a one-of-a-kind event experience,” said resort manager Vu Huong Giang.
“For example, we’ve set up events whereby something in the ballroom is projected to other venues at our resort including our lawn setting and garden areas, that have great vistas of Long Beach,” Vu Huong added.
Suited to any excuse for a romantic occasion, the ‘Paradise of Love’ dinner comprises a set-up of a candle-lit table on the sands of Long Beach with a private chef and waiter. Featuring highlights from the nearby ocean, such as oysters, prawns and lobster, the intimate five-course meal comprises salad, soup, fresh oysters, rose sorbet to clean the palate, a main of either ‘surf and turf’ grilled beef steak and prawns or baked half lobster thermidor, and dessert.
The dinner includes a bottle of red or white and is priced at VND1,820,000 (US$78.50) per person with the surf and turf main course or VND2,015,000 (US$87) with the baked half lobster thermidor.