Namia River Retreat

Hoi An / Vietnam

The Place

The quiet side of Hoi An

Namia occupies a slender islet on the edge of Hoi An, wrapped by the Thu Bon River, native planting and the quiet movement of local water life. It is close enough to reach the Ancient Town easily, yet removed enough for the body to understand it has arrived somewhere slower. The road disappears. The river takes over. Villas sit between palms and water, fishermen move past at dawn, and the retreat becomes a kind of threshold between cultural immersion and deep rest. Its real intelligence is that it does not separate wellness from place. The herbs, food, boats, gardens, treatments and daily rituals all come from the world around it.

Location

A private islet beside Hoi An, held by the Thu Bon River.

Former Life

A once barren islet replanted with palms, gardens and native flora.

Present Form

A private pool villa retreat with daily wellness at its centre.

Best For

Travellers seeking quiet, river life and wellness with cultural depth.

Atmosphere

Slow water, morning fishermen, herbal steam and lantern light.

CULTURAL THREAD

Southern Vietnamese herbology carried through treatments, gardens and rituals.

Namia is set on a quiet islet between the Thu Bon River and nipa palm forest, close enough to reach Hoi An easily, but removed enough to feel completely calm.

A resort with a swimming pool and a building with a thatched roof.

Daily wellness is included with every stay, combining herbal hammam rituals, traditional Vietnamese therapies and fresh local herbs selected through the retreat’s apothecary experience.

A living room with a couch, chair, and table.

Every villa has its own private pool, with open living space, outdoor bathing, bicycles for exploring and thoughtful evening turndown details after a day by the river.

Stay

Rooms & Suites

Namia has sixty private pool villas set between the Thu Bon River and nipa palm waterways. Each villa is designed as a private retreat rather than a room, with its own pool, indoor and outdoor bathing, bicycles for Hoi An and evening turndown shaped around rest.

The one we would book

River Pool Villa. It gives you the clearest sense of Namia’s setting, with river life moving past the terrace and enough privacy to feel completely held by the islet. The Nipa Pool Villa is quieter and more enclosed, but the River Pool Villa feels like the first stay.

View all rooms and rates

Stay

Rooms & Suites

The one we would book

View all rooms and rates

Total Rooms

60 villas

Room Types

4 Room Types

Sleeps

2 - 4 guests

Children

Family villas available

Pets

On request

Minimum Stay

No Minimum Stay

A bedroom with a bed and a wooden headboard.

Nipa Pool Villa

A private pool villa facing the nipa palms.

The quietest entry into Namia’s villa world, with garden, palm and waterway views giving the stay a softer, more enclosed rhythm.

River Pool Villa

A private pool villa facing the river.

The clearest expression of Namia’s setting, with river life beyond the terrace, glass opening to the pool and outdoor bathing built into the day.

A bedroom with two beds and a fish on the wall.

Family Pool Villa

A larger pool villa made for family stays.

A more spacious villa for families who want privacy, pool time and easy access to Namia’s gardens, wellness and river setting.

At The Table

Food & Land

Food at Namia is rooted in central Vietnam, with local producers, Vietnamese coffee, riverside breakfasts and seafood from the waters around Hoi An. The Merchant gives the stay its everyday rhythm, while The Fisherman moves closer to the coast, the river and the Cham Islands.

The Merchant

Vietnamese cooking shaped by farms, gardens and Hoi An.

The Merchant is Namia’s all day Vietnamese restaurant, built around organic ingredients and producers close to the retreat. It is the more grounded of the two restaurants, with breakfast, local herbs, market flavours and familiar Vietnamese dishes forming the centre of the experience.

Cuisine

Vietnamese and regional comfort

Sourcing

Organic produce from nearby farms

Seasonality

Led by local markets and garden produce

Signature

Breakfast with named local producers

Open for

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

A woman wearing a black shirt and skirt is sitting on a couch.

The Fisherman

Seafood from the river, coast and Cham Islands.

The Fisherman brings Namia’s food story closer to the water, with fish, shellfish and coastal cooking connected to the Cham Islands and the fishing culture around Hoi An. It gives the retreat a lighter evening rhythm, shaped by the river setting and the sea beyond it.

Cuisine

Seafood, Vietnamese and coastal

Sourcing

Local fish, shellfish and Cham Islands catch

Seasonality

Led by the catch and coastal supply

Signature

Cham Islands seafood

Open for

Lunch & dinner

At The Table

Food & Land

The Merchant

Vietnamese cooking shaped by farms, gardens and Hoi An.

Cuisine

Vietnamese and regional comfort

Sourcing

Organic produce from nearby farms

Seasonality

Led by local markets and garden produce

Signature

Breakfast with named local producers

Open for

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

The Fisherman

Seafood from the river, coast and Cham Islands.

Cuisine

Seafood, Vietnamese and coastal

Sourcing

Local fish, shellfish and Cham Islands catch

Seasonality

Led by the catch and coastal supply

Signature

Cham Islands seafood

Open for

Lunch & dinner

The Merchant

Vietnamese cooking shaped by farms, gardens and Hoi An.

Cuisine

Vietnamese and regional comfort

Sourcing

Organic produce from nearby farms

Seasonality

Led by local markets and garden produce

Signature

Breakfast with named local producers

Open for

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

The Practise

How the stay unfolds

Namia is not built around a fixed itinerary. Some guests move between the spa, villa and river. Others spend more time in Hoi An, on the water or with local guides. The point is not to do everything, but to let each day find its own slower rhythm.

Daily Wellness

What is it

A 90 minute wellness journey included with every night booked.

The ritual

Choose herbs at the apothecary, enter the hammam, then continue with traditional Vietnamese therapy.

Location

Lumina Spa, on property

What is it

A 90 minute wellness journey included with every night booked.

The ritual

Choose herbs at the apothecary, enter the hammam, then continue with traditional Vietnamese therapy.

Location

Lumina Spa, on property

Basket Boat Ride

What is it

A guided basket boat ride through the waterways around Namia.

The ritual

Step into a traditional round boat and move slowly through the palms, water channels and local river life.

Location

Waterways around the islet

A man sits in a boat on a body of water.

What is it

A guided basket boat ride through the waterways around Namia.

The ritual

Step into a traditional round boat and move slowly through the palms, water channels and local river life.

Location

Waterways around the islet

Hoi An Access

What is it

Easy access to Hoi An’s markets, lanterns, restaurants and Ancient Town.

The ritual

Go by boat, bicycle or car, then return to the quiet of the islet.

Location

Hoi An Ancient Town

What is it

Easy access to Hoi An’s markets, lanterns, restaurants and Ancient Town.

The ritual

Go by boat, bicycle or car, then return to the quiet of the islet.

Location

Hoi An Ancient Town

People & Craft

The people behind the rituals

Namia is shaped by people who know this part of Vietnam from the inside. The retreat brings together local herbalists, wellness practitioners, farmers, fishermen, gardeners and producers, with a hotel vision built around keeping Southern Vietnamese knowledge alive. The craft here is not decorative. It appears in the herbs, the food, the gardens, the therapies and the quiet way the river culture is carried into the stay.

Materials

HERBS

Fresh plants used in daily hammam rituals and traditional therapies

BAMBOO

Bicycles, basket boats and local craft connected to river life

NATIVE PLANTING

Mangroves, nipa palms and medicinal gardens across the islet

A boat on the water with a cloudy sky above.

Tran Thanh Nam

Namia is Mr Nam’s first hotel, built from a desire to create something rooted in Hoi An rather than imported into it. The retreat carries his belief in Vietnamese culture, river life and hospitality that feels personal, generous and deeply local.

A man riding a horse in a field with mountains in the background.

Michelle Ford

Michelle shaped Namia’s wellness through Lumina, bringing daily herbal rituals, hammam journeys and traditional Vietnamese therapies into the guest experience. Her work helps turn Thuốc Nam from disappearing knowledge into something practised every day.

The Local Team

The local team gives Namia its daily rhythm, from herbalists and therapists to farmers, gardeners, fishermen and service staff. Their knowledge carries the retreat into real life, so the stay feels grounded, personal and connected to place.

Story

A retreat built to keep medicine alive

Namia began as more than a riverside hotel. Tran Thanh Nam wanted to create a retreat that could hold the culture of Hoi An, the quiet of the river and the disappearing knowledge of Southern Vietnamese herbal medicine in one place. Working with Michelle Ford and Lumina Wellbeing, the hotel turns Thuốc Nam into a living part of the stay through herbs, hammam rituals, traditional therapies and local practitioners. This is the deeper reason Namia feels different. The wellness is not added to the property. It is the property’s purpose.

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Setting & Visit

Between river & old town

Namia sits on Con Ba Xã islet, just outside Hoi An, between the Thu Bon River and the nipa palm waterways. It feels quiet and removed, but the Ancient Town is close enough for markets, lanterns, restaurants and evening walks. The setting is the point: private enough to rest properly, connected enough to still feel the life of central Vietnam around you.

Nearby

HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN

Around 10 minutes away by bicycle or car, for markets, lanterns, cafés, tailors and riverside streets.

THU BON RIVER

The river shapes the stay, with basket boats, fishermen, sunset cruises and daily life moving around the islet.

NIPA PALM WATERWAYS

Quiet channels around the retreat, best seen by basket boat or slow morning walk.

Stay or explore

Namia works best when guests allow time for both retreat and town. Stay still for the villa, spa, gardens and river, then move into Hoi An by boat, bicycle or car when you want markets, food, lanterns and old streets. Two nights gives a first sense of the place. Three or four lets the rhythm settle properly.

Plan the stay

Best time to visit

February to August

Suggested stay

3 to 4 nights

You'll need

Light clothing, swimwear and time for daily wellness

Transfers

Da Nang International Airport, around 45 minutes by car

Parking

Cars stay off the main islet

LOCAL ACCESS

Hoi An by bicycle, boat shuttle or short car ride

NEAREST AIRPORT

Da Nang International Airport, around 45 minutes by car

The quiet side of Hoi An

Food & Land

The Merchant

Vietnamese cooking shaped by farms, gardens and Hoi An.

Cuisine

Vietnamese and regional comfort

Sourcing

Organic produce from nearby farms

Seasonality

Led by local markets and garden produce

Signature

Breakfast with named local producers

Open for

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

The Fisherman

Seafood from the river, coast and Cham Islands.

Cuisine

Seafood, Vietnamese and coastal

Sourcing

Local fish, shellfish and Cham Islands catch

Seasonality

Led by the catch and coastal supply

Signature

Cham Islands seafood

Open for

Lunch & dinner

Food & Land

The Merchant

Vietnamese cooking shaped by farms, gardens and Hoi An.

Cuisine

Vietnamese and regional comfort

Sourcing

Organic produce from nearby farms

Seasonality

Led by local markets and garden produce

Signature

Breakfast with named local producers

Open for

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

The Fisherman

Seafood from the river, coast and Cham Islands.

Cuisine

Seafood, Vietnamese and coastal

Sourcing

Local fish, shellfish and Cham Islands catch

Seasonality

Led by the catch and coastal supply

Signature

Cham Islands seafood

Open for

Lunch & dinner

The Merchant

Vietnamese cooking shaped by farms, gardens and Hoi An.

Cuisine

Vietnamese and regional comfort

Sourcing

Organic produce from nearby farms

Seasonality

Led by local markets and garden produce

Signature

Breakfast with named local producers

Open for

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

The people behind the rituals

A retreat built to keep medicine alive

Namia River Retreat

Hoi An / Vietnam

The quiet side of Hoi An

Location

Former Life

Present Form

Best For

Atmosphere

CULTURAL THREAD

Rooms & Suites

The one we would book

Rooms & Suites

The one we would book

Total Rooms

Room Types

Sleeps

Children

Pets

Minimum Stay

Nipa Pool Villa

River Pool Villa

Family Pool Villa

Food & Land

The Merchant

The Fisherman

The Merchant

Vietnamese cooking shaped by farms, gardens and Hoi An.

Cuisine

Sourcing

Seasonality

Signature

Open for

The Fisherman

Seafood from the river, coast and Cham Islands.

Cuisine

Sourcing

Seasonality

Signature

Open for

Food & Land

The Merchant

The Fisherman

The Merchant

Vietnamese cooking shaped by farms, gardens and Hoi An.

Cuisine

Sourcing

Seasonality

Signature

Open for

How the stay unfolds

01

Daily Wellness

01

Daily Wellness

02

Basket Boat Ride

02

Basket Boat Ride

03

Hoi An Access

03

Hoi An Access

The people behind the rituals

A retreat built to keep medicine alive

Between river & old town

Namia River Retreat

Hoi An / Vietnam

The quiet side of Hoi An

Location

Former Life

Present Form

Best For

Atmosphere

CULTURAL THREAD

Rooms & Suites

The one we would book

Rooms & Suites

The one we would book

Total Rooms

Room Types