You’re dreaming at…
AVANA RETREAT
Vietnam
A highland sanctuary where clouds kiss the earth, waterfalls whisper in ancestral tongues, and luxury wears a handmade thread.
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WILDLY PLACED: Nestled in the Pu Luong mountains above Mai Chau, where rice terraces ripple into the clouds.
EDITORIAL VIBE: Ethereal mountain dwelling meets poetic slow travel, think Lou Doillon in hiking boots, carrying incense and a Leica.
CORE PILLARS: Indigenous craft, landscape-first architecture, spiritual immersion.
MUSE MOOD: She soaks in a bamboo tub at golden hour, writes letters in the mist, and walks barefoot between forest and sky.
BEST TIME TO GO: September to November, or March to May - rice harvests, orchid bloom, cool sunrise hikes.
THE LOOK: Stilted thatch villas, handmade Hmong textiles, stone baths carved like altars, and windows that frame clouds like canvas.
WHO'S IT FOR: Writers, dreamers, cultural seekers, and anyone craving peace that seeps into the bones.
INDULGENCE SPECTRUM: From USD$420 per night - barefoot elegance with a highland soul.
Avana is the kind of place you inherit. Not by blood, but by quiet initiation. You’ll arrive through winding roads brushed with mist, past thatched roofs and bamboo groves, until the valley opens like a breath. The air shifts, the pace thins, and your shoulders lower before you even realise they were tense.
The retreat blends into the hills like it was always here. Built by hand, guided by local wisdom, and sustained by the people of nearby Hmong, Thai, and Muong villages, Avana is less resort, more living altar. Paths follow old foot trails. Trees are wrapped with cloth, not removed. Here, the architecture dissolves into nature, placing it as protagonist.
Every villa is a lesson in restraint and reverence. Walls made from hand-pressed earth, roofs thatched from palm leaf, interiors woven with craft and silence. You don’t flick on lights, you follow the sun. You don’t scroll, you sit. You listen. Maybe journal. Maybe nothing. And somehow, that feels like more.
Days unfold like poetry, or prayer. Meditate in a lotus pond that mirrors the sky. Trek to a waterfall with a Muong elder who names every plant like family. Nap beneath a mosquito net as cicadas play a slow ambient track, then wake to a breeze scented with lemongrass and pine. Indulge in spa rituals that fuse highland botanicals with Vietnamese healing, where herbal poultices are wrapped in banana leaf and pressure points hold centuries of wisdom. Even the silence here has texture.
Food is sourced from the valley and cooked with reverence. Expect river fish steamed in banana leaf, wild ginger shaved tableside, sticky rice from the neighbours, and mountain honey drizzled like punctuation. Every meal is an offering, not a performance.
Avana doesn’t market itself. It remembers itself. And so will you. Not as a guest, but as someone briefly entrusted with the valley’s rhythm. You’ll carry it home in your breath, your dreams, and the space between thoughts that now feel less crowded.
AVANA’S BEATING HEART
A 100-year-old stilt house relocated from a Thai minority village now serves as the retreat’s museum and cultural hearth. It anchors Avana in story and spirit.
The SLOJOURN spark
FIRST. You arrive to a handwoven welcome scarf. No plastic, no performance, just presence.
SECOND. The Orchid Spa; a jungle path leads to open-air treatment salas framed by stone, steam, and orchids.
THIRD. The Waterfall Pool which is fed by the mountains, not chlorinated, and kissed by dragonflies.
Where you dwell
LA FAMILIA
Senna Hilltop Pool Villa 2BR
Every villa is perched like a watchtower of quiet over a valley that moves in slow waves of mist. Furnishings are handcrafted, the bath is a statement in stone, and the soundscape is birdsong, not playlists.
Choose the Hilltop Pool Villa for morning clouds at eye level. Or the Grand Mountain Suite if you want your bathtub framed in sky.
This is not where you sleep. This is where you surrender.
DON’T SLEEP ON THESE ROOMS (BUT DO SLEEP IN THEM)
GROUPS OF FRIENDS
Grand Mountain Suite
LOVED UP COUPLES or LONE RANGERS
Senna Hilltop Pool Villa 1BR
The art of living
Wake with the birds. Wrap yourself in a homespun robe. Follow the incense trail to the spa. Or just walk. That’s enough here.
Let the waterfall be your playlist. Let stillness be your adventure. At Avana, the rush dissolves and your breath returns to its original pace.
The forever lens
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WATER: The natural waterfall that runs through Avana feeds the property’s pool and gardens. Rainwater is collected and filtered, and refillable bottles replace all plastics.
WASTE: Composting kitchen waste, bamboo amenities, and partnerships with local waste cooperatives make waste a resource, not a problem.
ARCHITECTURE: Built from earth, stone, bamboo, and thatch — no steel frames, no concrete slabs. Villas are positioned to protect the forest and blend into the slope.
ENERGY: Solar power lights much of the resort, and villas are designed for cross-ventilation and passive cooling. No air-con needed when the clouds do the work.
The together lens
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Avana employs over 90% of its team from local ethnic communities. They’re not just staff — they’re stewards of culture.
From guiding hikes to sharing family recipes to creating handwoven details for each villa, their stories shape the soul of the retreat.
A portion of each stay supports local schools and craft preservation. Wellness isn’t just for guests — it’s shared through impact.
Here, culture isn’t packaged. It’s lived.
The take it with you
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• Jewellery and Bee-wax painting from the demonstrations by the local ethnic villages.
• Hmong embroidery napkins from the dining table
• Bamboo foot soak powder from the spa
• A journal filled with things you didn’t know you needed to write
WE SLOJOURNED HERE
“She reminded us that silence is a language. That moss and mist can feel maternal. We listened and finally heard our own breath syncing with the trees, our thoughts slowing to the rhythm of rain on leaves. She reminded us that the deepest restoration doesn’t arrive with fanfare, but with fog, footpaths, and unspoken knowing.”
The ways you can move
SLOJOURN is a members-only platform for the new vanguard of conscious travellers. That’s you.
In that vein, we support a multitude of ways to book your travel.
Book directly with SLOJOURN’S travel team (we just don’t book flights, friend).
Book via our preferred travel partners that we can connect you with.
Use this as your guide and DIY your way through the world (love that for you, just take note of the destinations that prohibit this such as Bhutan, Socotra… etc.)