As a collection of attentive porters in preppy 1920s style attire collect our luggage, I am immediately taken aback by the concentration of stylish design detail that surrounds me. Ever since passing the two giant ridgeback dog statues that mark the fantastical entrance to Lamarck University, every cornice and alcove has beckoned closer inspection – and we haven’t even left the lobby yet.

Standing proudly above the lily pads in the center of an emerald fishpond is a towering golden trophy, perhaps three meters high. According to the plaque, it was a gift from the President of France, bestowed in recognition of the university’s academic excellence … except, of course, it wasn’t. This was simply my first taste of the extraordinary fantasy world conjured by the brilliant imagination of renowned architect Bill Bensley.

On arrival, it is deliberately difficult to determine what is real and what is not, but that doesn’t matter. As a golf buggy transports us through the architecture of the ‘campus’ to our room in the Department of Conchology, we are also transported through time, into a dreamlike vision of 19th century French colonial luxury.

A well-crafted narrative

According to local history, the once-thriving university was named after the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and dedicated to the study of the natural world from 1880 until 1940, when it fell into ruin. After the Vietnam War, Sun Group lovingly restored it and, under the JW Marriott banner, transformed it into one of South-East Asia’s most distinctive luxury resorts.

Guests can choose how deeply they wish to immerse themselves in this fictitious history, which is meticulously mapped throughout the property. The gym is the Department of Physical Education, its captains’ honors proudly displayed on magnificent red banners. Happy Hour cocktails are served in the Department of Chemistry, where dazzling experiments once supposedly wowed students and staff alike. I chose to surrender to the narrative and simply enjoy the fantasy world I had entered.

To describe the resort as merely ‘themed’ would be a disservice. Beyond the playful storytelling lies a breathtakingly sophisticated destination, unlike anywhere I have visited before. The design language extends not only to each individually styled room, but even to the corridors and passageways that connect them. From our sizable balcony, we had a picture-perfect view of the resort’s signature scalloped pool, with the warm tropical waters of the Gulf of Thailand lapping gently against the soft white sand beyond.

Steeped in nostalgia

For our first taste of the resort’s dining, there was nowhere more fitting than the lavishly styled mansion that houses the Pink Pearl restaurant. Under the guidance of Michelin-starred chef Olivier Elzer, even this fine-dining experience comes with a whimsical backstory: the extravagant soirees of Madame Pearl Collins in the roaring 20s.

JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay gallery

This playful narrative only enhances the experience as we enjoy the signature five-course set menu of French-Mediterranean masterpieces, accompanied by a sultry live jazz duo in the opulent setting. Each course is a work of art in itself, with a standout being the blue lobster with caviar and cream cheese, presented in three perfect bite-size stripes.

Beyond the table, the resort offers a host of daily activities for adults and children alike, all laid out in the immersive Student Book issued to each guest on arrival. For those keen to extend the educational theme, guests can take classes in candle-making, lantern crafting or even cooking their own Vietnamese spring rolls. I chose to forgo the intriguingly titled ‘beer yoga’ session.

The creative concept behind the resort is rooted in nostalgia: for many guests, memories of university life are some of the most cherished of their lives.

While I certainly never attended an establishment like this, a sense of nostalgia stirred as I cycled across the sports field, past the Zoology Department, to meet my family for lunch at the Architecture Studio. I noted there that the door handles were fashioned from steel drafting rulers, and technical scale models were suspended high in the eaves.

We were here to try out Pho-losophy, which is an innovative lunch where all of the three courses and a cocktail are inspired by pho. This even included a dessert of taro ice cream with almond curd, basil and coconut and lemongrass syrup that plays on the aromatic elements of the broth.

Focusing on the small details

Later, I enjoy a coffee in the French patisserie with the resort’s General Manager John Woolley or ‘the Dean’, as he is known here.

He explains that for today’s leading luxury resorts, food and beverage is no longer a supporting act but a central pillar of the experience. Many guests, he notes, make restaurant reservations well before arriving, drawn in by the promise of what awaits them.

I tell him that my family had remarked how unusually distracted we felt – too absorbed by the resort to read books or listen to podcasts. Woolley smiles. Bensley, the resort’s designer, would love that, he says.

“It’s like you just want to inhale every moment and everything around you – even walking from place to place is a delight.”

Curious, I ask what proportion of guests realize the resort’s colorful backstory is entirely fictional. Woolley estimates it’s about 50–50. If guests want to take it all as gospel and are clearly enjoying themselves, he’s happy to play along. There’s no need to correct them, he says, unless they ask directly.

Attention to detail is everything here. The resort houses more than 1,500 books, none of them mere props. Woolley tells me that every single volume is an antiquity, painstakingly sourced from dusty bookshops in London and Paris.

A dedicated landscape team is constantly at work across the grounds, maintaining immaculate gardens – even the ocean itself, which I watch them carefully sieve for unwanted litter as the tide rolls in.

When I ask what attracted him to relocate to Phu Quoc from his previous role in Bali, Woolley points out that not only is Vietnamese tourism on a sharp upward trajectory, but so too is its largest island.

“This hotel is in itself a reason to visit Phu Quoc,” he says. “Maybe more than vice versa, because it’s such a special hotel.”

Passing with flying colors

Long admired for its beaches and slow-paced island charm, Phu Quoc is quietly stepping onto the global stage. With Vietnam set to host the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2027, major investment is already reshaping its future, from a new airport terminal and convention center to improved transport links, including a planned monorail.

Combined with a growing roster of world-class resorts, these upgrades signal Phu Quoc’s evolution from tropical escape to sophisticated international destination – still rich in natural beauty, but now firmly on the radar of luxury travelers and global events alike.

I barely wanted to break the spell and re-enter the real world beyond my new favorite college, but I was keen to see what else the island had to offer.

A free double-decker bus carried us west along the southern tip of Phu Quoc to the promisingly named Sunset Town – a Mediterranean-inspired resort town built by Sun Group with cobbled streets, plazas and seaside cafes that feels like a purpose-built entertainment village.

It has the feel of an open-air movie set and at dusk the town frames the nightly Kiss of the Sea performance, the harbor and skyline ready-made for the spectacle.

The next day, in search of something a little more authentic, I headed inland to Agarwood Village, where trầm hương is harvested and crafted into incense, oils and artifacts. A separate part of the tour focuses on swifts’ nests tucked high in the trees – collected for delicacies like bird’s nest soup and sold in the village shop – a quiet glimpse into another age-old craft.

Returning to the resort, I found my family happily dozing by the scalloped pool and finally understood Dean Woolley’s words: “I find it a great place to dial out of life. You may not know exactly where you are – or even what century you’re in.”

When it was time to check out, the role-play continued: we were handed our Lamarck University graduation certificates. Excellent grades all around, of course, and a perfect final flourish from a resort that had passed every test with distinction.