After finishing school in Vietnam, Pham Van Hien took an unconventional route to the shores of Cam Ranh and the founding of Vietnam’s home-grown Anam hotel group.
He travelled via the Czech Republic, where a scholarship award allowed him to study and complete a PhD in physics.
Away from his studies and the complex laws of physics, Hien spotted an opportunity to establish a travel company connecting central Europe with Vietnam. Subsequently, he founded the East Sea Group, a privately-owned travel solutions company offering sales, marketing, technology and distribution services.
The group now has 15 offices spread around nine countries in Europe and Asia.
“Work for the East Sea Group required me to move around and explore new places, during which I stayed in a broad spectrum of hotels and resorts. As a result, I became fascinated by the hospitality industry,” Hien says.
Axi Plaza Cam Ranh, inspired by Vietnam's iconic basket boat, is a multipurpose convention centre catering to business and leisure travellers, enhancing Vietnam’s coastal offerings.
“So much so, when I first set foot on a 12-hectare beachfront parcel in Cam Ranh in 2012, I was struck by its breathtaking beauty and serenity, beginning my ambitious dream that came to fruition in The Anam brand and The Anam Cam Ranh, and later The Anam Mui Ne and Axi Plaza Convention Centre.
Rather than investing in a well-established international hotel brand, Hein says he was driven by an ambition to build unique properties in a style that paid homage to Vietnam’s acclaimed hospitality, culture and history.
Hien says that establishing his own resort from scratch took, “a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but it’s all been worth it - and then some.”
The five-star Anam Cam
Ranh, whose design was inspired by Vietnam’s Indochine era, overlooks 300
metres of beachfront on the Cam Ranh peninsula. Its 77 villas and 136 rooms and
suites having access to a fine dining restaurant, all-day dining restaurant, a
Vietnamese restaurant and bar, beach club, 10 treatment-room spa, indoor
and outdoor movie theatres and three swimming pools.
The Anam Mui Ne, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World portfolio, offers 127 rooms and suites, two restaurants and a bar, a five-treatment-room spa, two swimming pools – one freshwater and the other saltwater – a ballroom, conference rooms, water sports centre, fitness centre and yoga room.
The Anam Mui Ne, part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, features 127 rooms, French villa-inspired design, pools, spa, and Vietnamese cultural charm.
Its design is inspired by the grand old French villas in Hanoi, and the garden homes of Central Vietnam.
Not content with two luxury resorts, in April last year the Anam Group cut the ribbon on Axi Plaza Cam Ranh , a multipurpose convention centre with a design inspired by Vietnam’s iconic basket boat.
“It is a game changer as there is nothing else like it in the region, nor on Vietnam’s coastline for business and leisure travellers,” Hien says.
“Building Axi Plaza in the shape of a large thung chai boat, resting beside waters still plied by traditional boats, makes for another way the Anam Group has paid homage to Vietnam’s rich culture.”
Hien is currently working on the design plans for his next big project, the construction of two resorts on a parcel of oceanfront land in Phu Yen, a relatively undiscovered destination, two-hours drive north of Cam Ranh.
“When I first inspected this parcel of land, I felt déjà vu; that same feeling of excitement and exhilaration that I felt when I set foot on the land that later became The Anam Cam Ranh.”
Both Phu Yen resorts will have private access to a beach, yet will be distinctly different, each with their own services and price point.
“It is wonderful to expand the Anam brand, but it will never become an industrialised product. I was driven in the first place to offer something homegrown and authentic.
“It’s crucial The Anam retains its unique style and independence,” Hien concludes.