The premium pocket is the beachfront, the stretch behind An Bang and Cua Dai, a few kilometres north and east of the old town. Houses here carry the highest rates for the obvious reason, sand and sea on the doorstep, with the ancient town a 10 to 15 minute drive or a flat cycle away. The trade is erosion: parts of Cua Dai beach have narrowed badly over the past decade, so the view from a given house is worth checking against a recent photo, not a brochure.
The riverside and rice-paddy pockets inland hold the most characterful houses at the middle of each band, low villas set among working paddies with the river and the old town close. This is the Hoi An that photographs best and floods worst, so the dry-season booking is the one to make here. The villas closer to the old town itself give you walkable lantern-lit evenings, with the smallest gardens and the highest flood exposure of all. The further you sit toward the beach or the higher paddy ground, the drier your feet in November and the longer the cycle into town.
VAT: 8 percent through 2026
Vietnam charges VAT on accommodation. A temporary reduced rate of 8 percent is in force through the end of 2026, part of a stimulus measure the government has repeatedly extended, after which the rate is scheduled to return to the standard 10 percent. On a villa week the difference between 8 and 10 percent is real money, so a stay booked for early 2027 should be costed at the higher figure. There is no separate per-night tourist or bed tax in Hoi An, so VAT is the only government line on the invoice.
Staff, the included line
This is the pocket of value that defines Hoi An. The standard high-end let comes with a cook who shops the local markets and a housekeeper, and most beachfront houses add a driver. Where a dedicated private chef is an upgrade rather than the house cook, it runs a modest $80 to $150 per day plus food, a fraction of the Mediterranean rate. Provisioning is cheap and the cook handles it, which is part of why a fully staffed Hoi An week can undercut a self-catered villa in Europe.
Security deposit
Expect a refundable deposit of $500 to $3,000 depending on the value of the house, taken by card hold or held in cash on arrival and returned at checkout.