The Melia has a unique location amid the natural beauty of Ba Vi Mountain Range, blending a perfect fusion of French colonial architecture and the traditional architecture of Vietnam’s northern region which was built on the foundations of an old French resort.
Ba Vi mountain was signed to make survey by the Governor of Indochina Paul Doumer in 1897. By the beginning of the 20th century, there was still no movement even at the foot of the mountain French plantations were being grown. A big change happened in 1916, when Son Tay provincial government transferred 16 hectares of land at cote 400m in Ba Vi mountain to build resorts to Marius Borel, a French capitalist. On a 16-hectare land plot, Borel built a villa, the first villa in Ba Vi mountain.
In 1929, to increase its military strength, the French government built a large military complex around Son Tay town including: garrison, colonies, cavalry, artillery. soldiers, airfields, military shooting schools, aircraft repair workshops ... with thousands of troops. When their officers stationed in Sapa, Mau Son, Tam Dao, they complained about the distance. The French army commander in Indochina decided to build a station at cote 600m on Ba Vi Mountain. In 1936, aircrafts were used to survey and discovered an abundant source of water, a large waterfall on the top of the mountain. The Major General Buhrer, the senior commander of the French army in Indochina decided to formulate a project on station on the mountain.
Most of the villas were built from 1942-1943 with different areas to accommodate individuals or families. These villas all had a fireplace to against the cold in winter. The French army built a power station to supply the station. Most of the villas were built in 1942-1943, with 1 to 2 floors and all had fireplaces. Along with the villas were service works including: food cellar, wine cellar, bakery, girl camp ...

In Melia Ba Vi, there are still traces of military works such as: canon, General Govemnor Villa, administrative areas, Helipad, villas & bungalows, orphanage and church…
In 2010, the project started on the wilderness with the name Le Mont Ba Vi. Although built on old foundations, talented architects have mixed modern architecture with folk to create luxury villas. They cleverly combined wooden materials and masonry walls to make the building light, not as heavy as the old buildings. Along with classy services, this place has become a year-round resort attracting domestic and foreigners.