At the Centre: JW Marriott Phu Quoc
Creative director Kinami Hasegawa steps inside a hotel imagined as a fictional French university—where every detail invites you to suspend reality and play along.
by Kinami Hasegawa
There are so many reasons we travel. For some, it’s about escaping reality and diving into a world that feels distant from everyday life.
Whenever I wrap up a big project and need to reset, I start looking for hotels with a story—whether in Japan or somewhere across the globe. I especially love places that are still under the radar.
Once, during a trip to Dubai, a hotel staff member even told me, “You’re the first Asian guest we’ve had!”
This spring, I visited Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam and had one of the most surreal hotel experiences of my life. It felt less like being in Vietnam and more like I’d fallen into a storybook.
The hotel is called JW Marriott Phu Quoc, designed by renowned architect Bill Bensley. The entire property is built around the fictional setting of an old French university called Lamarck University.
According to its backstory, Lamarck University thrived from 1880 to 1940, welcoming students from wealthy families. After it was supposedly closed in the 1940s, it was “brought back to life” and turned into a hotel by Bensley. Guests aren’t just visitors—they’re students stepping into campus life at this once-prestigious institution.
The hotel, spread across a vast plot of land, is filled with buildings and spaces designed as if they were part of a real university.
Our journey started at the reception, modeled after the dean’s personal study—complete with over 1,500 books, portraits, busts of professors, and trophies from fictional school competitions. It was the kind of space that pulls you into its made-up universe the moment you step inside.
Then a staff member, wearing the cutest university-style uniform, handed us a “Student Book” instead of a traditional hotel guide. It explained everything from campus facilities to the “classes” we could take—like candy-making or yoga. “You’re officially a student now,” she said with a smile. “And there’s no homework today, so have fun!” That simple line made my heart flutter.
We then headed to our room. There are 15 academic departments across campus—including zoology, fine arts, and agriculture—and we hopped in a buggy to get to ours. On the way, we passed a grand athletic field surrounded by stands, designed as the training ground for the university’s sports teams. It felt like we might hear cheering fans at any moment.
Our room was in the Anthropology building. Each department-themed wing is packed with details that make you feel like real students might be walking just around the corner. The rooms themselves feel like stylish, cozy dorms.
Brushing my teeth side by side with a friend at the double sink, I felt like I’d time-traveled back to my student days.
Eager to make the most of our “university life,” we also visited the spa—set in the fictional Department of Mycology. This was supposedly where agriculture students once honed their mushroom-growing skills. The spa was filled with mushroom art on the walls and ceilings, plus quirky mushroom sculptures everywhere. After our massage, a staff member dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland brought us tea—a playful nod to the magical mushrooms from that story.
The experience didn’t stop there. Near the beach, there was a bar called the Chemistry Bar, styled after the university’s old pharmacology lab. Bartenders in lab coats mixed up dreamy resort cocktails with a scientific flair. Right next door was a stunning all-pink restaurant, imagined as the former residence of the university dean’s wife.
The next day, after checking out, we grabbed a bowl of pho in town. Feeling the blazing sun and thick, humid air on my skin, I was finally pulled back into the real world. “Oh right… I’m in Vietnam,” I remembered.
That’s how completely the hotel had transported me to a land of wonder.
In an age where hotel concepts often remain skin-deep, JW Marriott Phu Quoc dares to go all in. And in doing so, it raises a question worth asking: can travel also mean stepping into a perfectly built fantasy?
Sometimes, we travel to experience the people and culture of a place. But there’s also value in traveling into someone else’s imagination: a world made from myth, whimsy, and obsessive detail. At JW Marriott Phu Quoc, the line between guest and character blurs. And that, in itself, is a kind of cultural experience.
“To travel into the extraordinary.”
That’s exactly what this hotel lets you do.
Beds to Bookmark
Kinami’s picks for more stays that turn a trip into a tale.
・Shonai Hotel Suiden Terrasse
A hotel above the rice fields. Designed by world-famous architect Shigeru Ban, this hotel in Yamagata floats above serene rice paddies. When the fields are flooded, the reflections are almost surreal—like the Uyuni Salt Flats. The rice-field-view sauna even earned a spot on “Saunachelin,” Japan’s sauna awards.
・Mr.Forest
A retreat to enjoy the slow pleasures of Nordic-style holidays. Inspired by Scandinavian weekends in nature, this retreat invites you to sauna, BBQ, and slow down—all in a peaceful forest setting. It’s the perfect detox from city life.
・Nook the Peak
Where the sea and sunset become one with you. A one-group-per-night hideaway with jaw-dropping views of the Seto Inland Sea. The giant windows frame sunsets like art. It’s just you, the sea, and the silence.
