Hoiana Resort & Golf’s NOX Beach Club is open. That’s not only because the 5,000sqm beach club has opened its doors. Food-fixated NOX Beach Blub has four restaurants each with inviting open kitchens. But the centerpiece Beach Club Bar (one of two bars at NOX along with the Courtyard Bar) is a 360-degree sanctuary set, with tropical plants lazing in the terrarium in the middle, amidst NOX Beach Club’s freeform pool. 

Đọc bài viết bằng Tiếng Việt

So, altogether at NOX Beach Club, there’s a steakhouse. And there’s a seafood restaurant with South American influences. There’s an Italian restaurant, and, for some local flavor, a banh mi and noodle outlet – and those two bars, Courtyard and Beach Club Bar. 

An Immersive Experience 

You can immerse yourself in the foodie-fixated venue as easily as diving beneath the waves along the 4-kilometers of sandy beach right in front of the beach club. The club is coyly cordoned off. There’s lush greenery which ups the intimacy, but paths lead out to the sea should you choose to explore.

Inside Argentinian Chef Hugo Bertolini’s Modern Steakhouse: GRILL 

At GRILL, NOX Beach Club’s modern steakhouse, a huge tomahawk steak rests invitingly on the counter. Beside it there are three hunks of dry-aged beef neatly displayed in glass cases. Behind, Argentinian Chef Hugo Bertolini, formerly of Gordon Ramsay’s Grill in Hong Kong, loads the charcoal into the grill. Then he begins stoking the fire in preparation for the night’s service. 

Besides the showpiece beef – Standbroke MB9 Bife De Lomo tenderloin and the Stockyard Black Angus skirt – he’ll be serving sharing plates of pollo a la parrilla, dover sole and lobster.

Pizzas And Pastas: Linguines And Lasagnas At Osteria

Across at Osteria, NOX’s Italian and Mediterranean restaurant, two chic, steely pizza ovens sit behind the counter. And there’s a rustic wooden floor and furnishings. Italian chef Omar Ugoletti, who graduated from MICHELIN-starred restaurants in Italy, like Uliassi and La Madonnina del Pescatore, serves linguines and lasagnas, lamb racks, and braised beef cheek, and, or course pizzas — the tomato and buffalo mozzarella loaded Bufalini, or a classic calzone. 

Each space has its own exclusive drinks menu, including cocktails. So, at Osteria there’s an Oak-aged Popcorn Negroni, with Tanqueray, Campari, corn root sweet vermouth, and popcorn, and lots of no-alcohol options: a Summer Calling Smoothie or a Lychee Jasmine Iced Tea. 

Freshness Shines Amid Nikkei-Influences And Sauces From Further South At The Seafood Shack

At the Seafood Shack, the largest of the restaurants with 90-seats, and the one nearest to the beachfront, they’ve taken fresh local catch on a trip through Peru, and further south, with Nikkei-style ceviches, a hamachi tataki in a ponzu sauce, and a Brazilian moqueca. 

Even the seafood platter comes with a sake mignonette, as well as the obligatory tabasco and lime. They’ve swathed the lobster in a Brazilian coco bisque served with some plump coconut bread on the side to sponge up the more-ish moqueca sauce. 

Throughout, the freshness of the seafood shines amid the sometimes rich, sometimes tangy sauces.

Bringing The Ancient Town’s Sandwiches (And More) To The Beach

In case nearby Hoi An feels too far away, with its banh mi queen, Madam Khanh, and embattled but Bourdain-approved Banh Mi Phuong, NOX’s Chef Quang‘s Banh Mi & Noodle restaurant brings the Ancient Town to NOX Beach Club with five kinds of sandwiches, and an expansive offering of noodle dishes – from the funky Mekong-born gumbo Bun Mam to local chicken Mi Quang. 

And, even here, there’s a unique cocktail menu – this time inspired by drinks served on streetside in Vietnam. Nuoc Mia, or sugar cane juice, is given a kick with 3YO Havana Club, and herbal Nuoc Sam Bong Cuc turned cocktail virtue of some chamomile vodka.

At NOX Beach Club Intimacy Is A Key Ingredient 

Intimacy is an ever-present element. Every area feels exclusively your own. Sitting at the 47-seat Beach Club Bar, for example, the greenhouse in the center subtly divides guests. Plus, there’s an array of spirits and elixirs, lots of them local – like Sampan Rhum from nearby Distillerie D’Indochine – to take in. 

Tuan Anh, NOX Beach Club’s beverage manager, buzzes around, delighting in the modern tiki menu he’s put together that includes lots of infusions, cordials, and sodas. 

There’s a jackfruit cognac, and a lavender gin, a fleur and basil espuma, and a pomelo-essence soda. All of which go into their signature cocktails: drinks like their sweet and citrusy Banana In Pajamas. It’s served in an imposing Easter Island-headed tiki cup, with 3YO Havana Club, pineapple jam, some calamansi, ginger beer and chocolate bitters. 

There’s even a tipsy twist on Vietnamese coffee, their Ca Phe Phin, with cold brewed Vietnamese coffee, Jasmine Johnny Walker Black Label, that Tuan Anh and the team amp up with some sweet-salty caramelized fish sauce. 

Exit (And Enter) Through The Giftshop

And then you exit (or enter) past the giftshop. Outside an oversized surfboard is propped beside the door, emblazoned with the NOX logo.

Inside, there are soulful Smateria upcycled bags. Nearby hang Katy Nguyen’s stylish Xita beach attire. And next to that Flamingo jewelry – maybe more suited to the evening. Then, the formerly sun-kissed NOX Beach Club lights up. The lush greenery disappears into the darkness, and GRILL, Osteria, Seafood Shack, Banh Mi & Noodles, and the Courtyard Bar and Beach Club Bar, take center stage. Then the live band strikes up, or the pool party begins.

Drifting Down From The New World’s Hoiana Resort & Golf Complex

Looking down on it all is the New World’s Hoiana Resort & Golf complex. It’s part of Rosewood Hotel Group (a Rosewood Hotel will join the resort soon, too). But right now there are two hotels. There’s the New World Hoiana Hotel and the New World Hoiana Beach Resort. And there’s a residences too. 

The former, the New World Hoiana Hotel, is big. The ceilings are high. The corridors are long. The halls are wide and minimally decorated. Even the check-in desks are invisible from the entrance, set-back into the two sides of the space as you enter. The rooms are soothingly colored with breezy balconies that stare down the long stretch of beach below. 

The New World Hoiana Beach Resort fills everything in, dialing up the designer elements. There are casual check-in tables (instead of distancing desks). There are arty tomes on every table about Atlantic homes and designer furnishings. And there are abstract artworks on the walls. And the guests rooms have curved cabinets, a dining table with plush chairs, and a freestanding bath. 

Guests from both hotels, and the residences, besides trips to the golf course or casino, or to Hoi An, 15-minutes away, or the nearby Distillerie D’Indochine for a sample of Sampan Rhum at the source, can drift down to NOX Beach Club from 2PM till late Monday to Thursday, and from 11AM till late Friday to Sunday. 

And so can outside guests. There are bookable surfboard-sided VIP cabanas, on the VIP pool deck, and sun loungers in exchange for a minimum spend at the bars and restaurants at this immersive, intimate, and food-fixated, beach club.