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AND THERE in the hotel lobby, while a merciless sun beat down outside and the heavy, damp air turned wetter than a dog's tongue till we felt we were enveloped in suffocating warm jelly, there was this one solitary schmuck. Amidst the bikinis and white shorts and tanning bodies, he stood out, bedraggled and sweating, in a suit and tie. Now what kind of chucklehead wears a tie at a beach resort? I shook my head. Then as I passed a mirror, I stopped to adjust my tie, wiped off the sweat coursing down my face, and stepped out into the midday sun, clutching my briefcase and cameras. Behind the scenes, this is how the "romantic" endeavour of putting together a Sanya spa resorts review is accomplished. Despite my garb, everywhere people smiled welcomingly and spoke to me like an old friend, in Russian. At night I watched thundering fireworks. These were for people called MICE and they were all clearly having a good time. MICE is an acronym for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. With so many corporate MICE groups in town the hotels competed with each other to set off the biggest, brightest, noisiest fireworks with the result that by around 8pm guests would be forgiven for thinking they were in Baghdad, or Beirut.
Welcome to Sanya, the “Hawaii of the East”. No longer content to bask in reflected glory, this sleepy backwater has awoken and reinvented itself as “Forever Tropical Paradise – Sanya”. This island – or, more accurately, one corner of an island, Sanya and Yalong Bay – is determined to go head-to-head with the “Pearl of the Orient” and the “City of Life” but not as yet with the “City where Brazen Hussies do Unspeakable Things to Men Over Fifty”. If you thought this was the “Vladivostok of the East”, you’d be forgiven. Parts of the island are overrun by cheerful Russians, with all restaurant and shop signs in Cyrillic. Also in evidence are Koreans and Japanese. You'll find some finger-licking-good Muslim halal food too. But where the heck is Sanya? Before perusing this Hainan guide, first check out a Sanya Map.
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| Mandarin Oriental Sanya/ photo: hotel |
Sanya is part of Hainan – that includes the capital Haikou in the north and Boao in the northeast – one of the southernmost islands in China, its pleasures well chronicled by a procession of mandarins banished from Beijing and hurled into exile quite literally at the “end of the earth”. So the Qing dynasty inscriptions proclaim, carved into two large boulders on the beach. This is one of the attractions of the island. So it’s a rock. Okay, two rocks. So what? Australia has Ayers and Sanya has Tianya Haijiao, smaller, smoother, more accessible, and with nary a whiff of koala poo. Oz had its convicts and Sanya its “treacherous” exiled officials whose descendents no doubt have evolved into the scoundrels we know today as taxi drivers. Had these early unfortunates had the sense to open a spa they could have minted millions. But, back then, a “spa treatment” simply involved pouring scalding oil on armed foreigners without the courtesy of a professional consult. It was not something they could advertise in a travel glossy.
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Cabbies apart, people are extraordinarily friendly. This is a huge asset, and one that makes it easier for visitors to deal with the limited English and other idiosyncrasies. One gent at a tourist site whom I asked for directions to the toilet, walked me the entire way there, ushered me in and stood by beaming, gesturing at me to get on with it.
Sanya guide to sane arrival and airport duty-free shopping
Arriving at night on the Dragonair flight from Hong Kong, the Sanya Phoenix International Airport makes a bold statement. Illuminated gloriously atop the building are two large, glowing pineapples. Have you ever actually walked into a pineapple? As you will have guessed there are not just rocks on Sanya. There are pineapples too. It took our flight a while to come in. On the first pass just as we were about to touch down the pilot suddenly opened the throttle and we whined up into the night sky again to do a long loop before coming down a second time. The pilot announced he had done this to avoid an aircraft on the runway.
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| Gold deities at Nanshan Temple |
Step off your plane and stroll into the terminal, a delightfully breezy alpine-lodge-meets-Hawaii-resort affair with vaulted wooden ceilings and friendly immigration. Sanya Phoenix Airport and the Haikou Melian International Airport (in the north) have flights in various combinations from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Wuhan, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul and Russia. Several European and Japanese charters come in as well. A cheaper though more time consuming alternative is to arrive by train/ferry. Still, the flight connections are limited and not always at times of your choosing. Immigration and customs are usually quite quick.
While departing, bear in mind that the airport only opens an hour or two before the first flight leaves. We arrived at 11am for our 1.30pm flight and found the airport padlocked and quiet until immigration and airport staff arrived on buses at noon. As the video monitor flashed an urgent "check-in now" sign for Dragonair, travellers wrung their hands outside the locked glass doors. Once through with the quick and cheery formalities, things are painless and pleasant. If you are inclined towards duty-free shopping, the price of a Johnnie Walker Black Label one litre bottle aged 12 years is around Rmb256 (US$32). The Chivas is similarly priced. Or opt for a necklace – A glass-encased scorpion for Rmb80 – or a pair of hugging pandas that squeak "I love you" for Rmb40. Hmm... Passengers can pay Rmb100 for access to a First Class Lounge (Rmb50 for children) after perusing a sign that reads: "Offer only for CRUSH Room". Right. On with this look at Hainan conference hotels and spa resorts. It all started with those long-limbed lovelies.
Why this place means the World to us
Sanya sprang onto the world stage with the Miss World pageant. A bevy of bikini-clad beauties descended on the island to strut their stuff on white-sand beaches, languorously draped around the pools of the Sheraton Sanya, determined to save pandas, hug trees, cheer whales, and bring up orphans – if there were any left over after Brangelina adopted half of Africa. Ask Bishop Desmond Tutu who his mother is and he’ll probably say, “Angelina Jolie.” I’m liable to offer the same response. Other aspiring Miss Worlds said the greatest living woman was Mother Theresa (then dead for several years).
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| Evening glow over Sanya River |
A more recent spin-off is the New Silk Road Model Contest in which young ladies drape themselves over sailboats – and rich persons – demonstrating that Communist China is not just some Rigid Monolithic Single Party State, but actually a Rigid Monolithic Single Party State Where Ladies Have Nice Legs. Nowhere is this more evident than in the purpose-built Yalong Bay playground in the south of Hainan Island, with its megaresorts and arcing sandy bays, surprisingly reminiscent of Bali’s Nusa Dua. Here you’ll find the likes of Marriott, Hilton, Ritz-Carlton and Sheraton, all stunning confections. A St Regis is in the pipeline. Closer to Sanya town near Dadonghai are the two Sanya luxury resorts that have chosen to opt out of the Yalong Bay circuit, the Mandarin Oriental Sanya and the Banyan Tree Sanya. Don’t expect cut-rate prices anywhere. Remember, Sanya is not just some one-horse town. It has pineapples and rocks. And Hainan chicken, though this may be better sampled in Hong Kong or Malaysia.
The thing about Yalong Bay resorts and the entire development despite all that's twee, is that the beach is actually quite splendid. And resoundingly empty. The weather is bone-roasting tropical most of the time with a mild nip during winter. This carefully planned development appears to genuinely have the area’s well-being at heart. The hotels are grand, the roads tree-lined with plenty of greenery, the waters shockingly blue, the air breathe-it-all-in clean, and the service friendly and elaborate. Very elaborate. At one restaurant I asked for salt. The waitress scratched her head, smiled and brought me in rapid succession, soya sauce, sugar, chopsticks, a glass of water, and the menu. That’s what I call service. I later picked up a salt shaker from the adjoining table. I thought about getting my meat “well done” but my flight was leaving the next day. The best Hainan resorts are actually rather good, the hardware that is, apart from the occasional shoddy construction that takes months if not years to patch up and maintain. The software is what needs work.
English is picking up, but slowly. Don’t be in a rush. If you’re stuck, settle down and find a wife – preferably one that speaks Chinese, owns a taxi, and knows the way to the airport. See our Sanya Map.
Sightseeing, hot springs, temples, golf clubs
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| Sanya Pearl River Nantian/ photo: hotel |
If the New Silk Road Model Contest is not for you – or your wife is planning the trip – as any Sanya guide will be quick to point out, the International Wedding Festival runs every year in November. Couples renew their vows, get married, and celebrate their anniversaries before the aforementioned ROCKS. Divers will head to Wuzhizhou Island for underwater adventures, and to sample the fabled hot springs and spas of Nantian stop by the Sanya Pearl River Nantian Spa Resort that boasts over 60 steaming pools – all at different temperatures – along with modern rooms and villas. The springs in this area are attributed with medicinal and curative powers. At any rate you’ll feel refreshed and it won’t break the bank. The hot springs are open 8am till 11pm. The place is about a 30-minute drive north from Yalong Bay on the East Expressway.
Alternatively drive up into the hills to gawp at vanishing tribal communities like the Miao, Li and Hui. Later, stroll through Longevity Valley near the historic Nanshan Temple where the folk just live on and on and on, watched over by the more recent and towering addition of the 108m Guanyin Statue (also Kuan Yin). There is even a Longevity Festival in September. The temple with its beautiful golden deities and swirling incense high above a series of stepped pavilions and gates was once a place of serene mystic contemplation. Somewhere along the way it turned into Disneyland. The temple is at the heart of the vast Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone, a bustling cultural theme park within tropical forest and parkland, where tourists on trolleybuses trundle around sights like the “Dharma Door of Nonduality”, “Auspicious Garden”, and the “Brahma Bells Collection Garden”.
If all this leaves you flummoxed, try the “Tree Houses” or the vegetarian restaurant. It costs Rmb150 to enter the complex and you’ll need another ticket to board the trolley car. The authorities are pushing for conventions to fill hotel rooms and villas. Still, it is a pleasant enough excursion. When you see the t-shirt and trinket stalls you immediately know you are somewhere special and spiritual. After all, isn’t that how they do it over in Thailand and Bali? Nanshan Temple is a 50-minute to one-hour drive from Yalong Bay along the Western Expressway on the southwest of Hainan Island. From Yalong it’ll cost about Rmb150 one way. Book a roundtrip. Just up the coast is scenic Sanya Nanshan Dongtian Park (www.sanyapark.com/en).
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| Sanya Marriott beach and smiles |
Golfing in Sanya is a favoured pursuit of many. The 18-hole international Yalong Bay Golf Club (www.yalongbaygolfclub.com) is a popular choice right next door to the Sheraton, Marriott, Hilton and Ritz-Carlton. The Sun Valley Golf Club offers 18 holes priced at RMB1,000 per person with caddy, cart and transfer to any Yalong Bay resort. The Sanya International Golf Club is close to the airport and the Luhuitou Golf Club is in Dadonghai. In the pipeline is the members-only Forest Valley Golf Club. While there no real dedicated Sanya golf resorts, all resorts have easy access to greens and can help arrange your big swinging morning or afternoon.
To get around Sanya, write it down, in Chinese
Get addresses written down in Chinese. Thus armed you are invincible, until you encounter a taxi driver. This can be a hair-pulling experience as the meters, proudly displayed, are seldom used. A taxi ride from the airport to Yalong Bay could cost anywhere from Rmb120-Rmb200 depending on your negotiating skills. The actual meter fare will be closer to Rmb100. Yalong Bay is well removed from the nightlife and beach strip of Dadonghai (20 minutes), Sanya City and Bay (30 minutes), and the airport (30-40 minutes), so any excursion will involve animated haggling though a good hotel doorman will probably handle this for you. Within Yalong Bay the norm is a Rmb10 flat fee, even if the hotel is next door. Here it is simplest to just walk down the beach.
Best of Sanya nightlife, discos, bars
Any Sanya guide worth its salt will rave about after hours but, in truth, Sanya nightlife and eating out is a bit overrated. Most people tend to eat at their hotels, preferring to haggle later with taxi drivers once fortified by a few beers. The most interesting food perhaps is in the small street cafes of Sanya City. Have a trawl and dive into something if you have someone along who can translate. At night, the Dadonghai area is alive with discos, KTV and open-air cafes where the signs are all in Russian. I didn’t speak Chinese or Russian and had to make do with sign language. The touts were good at this with nimble fingers suggesting that women in this area are keen on demonstrating their hospitality in the privacy of your hotel room, or theirs.
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| Saloon-style Allen Story, Dadonghai |
It is remarkably friendly seedy though with none of the harsh thug-in-the-face overtones of larger cities unless you wander down the wrong alley. Start out at the kosher expat-friendly Allen Story (said Allen seems to have an arm lock on the night scene here), where neo-classical Versailles meets tin mine and Wild West. The lights dim at 8pm and the disco crystal ball starts twirling sending pinpricks of light moving about the walls in a throwback to the ’70s. Ornate chandeliers glow above the bar tables, music throbs, and the video screens blaze with pop – or sport. A Coca-Cola will set you back just Rmb20. I listened to how Clapton plans to Change the World while watching a video of America’s Funniest Pets, an odd but strangely relaxing combination.
The Dadonghai nightlife strip is a sudden racket of neon about 20 minutes from Yalong Bay and just before the Sanya River Bridge. This is karaoke country. Walk past or into Allen Lounge and Bar, Allen New KTV, and a host of neon-flashing nightclubs and dance clubs like the two-level disco bar Tommorow’s Dream (tel: 8860-9898) that doubles as a hubble-bubble “sheesha” joint. Staff is courteous and friendly. Here too, when I dropped by, the music was ’70s remixes. Later things get louder and boisterous. Someone asked me if I was Russian and I knew it was time to leave.
Other options include Noah's Ark, Sky Bar, Qidian KTV, Versailles KTV, Rainbow Bar, and the Kquisha Russian Bar. The four-star Sanya Guoxi Hotel (www.guoxihotel.com) runs "ladyboy" drag shows in its Dynasty nightclub, which it describes as featuring "brilliant lights, balconies of Europe and Chinese ethical styles... a complex for business and vocation." Sanya nightlife is slow paced and idiosyncratic. Don't expect a Patong or Pattaya here on Hainan island.
Back in Yalong Bay my taxi driver drove me straight to a nightclub. “No, I go hotel,” I said. “This velly good, you try.” I walked back. It was a pleasant cool night.
Yalong Bay spa resorts, family resorts, conference hotels
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| Sheraton Presidential Villa/ photo: hotel |
Yalong Bay is as good a place to start our Sanya resorts review as this is where most of the the prime properties have been thus far located. Many of the hostelries in the area are good, all are clean, even the smaller establishments, and pretty much all are positioned either as Sanya spa resorts, conference resorts, or both. It goes without saying that with very few exceptions, this is a top family resort area and kids are generally welcome.
The Sheraton Sanya Resort, where the sashaying Miss World lovelies first made their mark, opened in 2003. It features a breezy and elegant teakwood lobby, again very Balinese, with more swimming pools than you can wiggle your toes in and some attractive water features. Indeed, delightful water features are the leitmotif of this brisk, yet relaxing, beach resort. Beyond the lobby, a water pool leads the eye to the horizon and the eye-popping blue. The place works well as a family-friendly Sanya resort as well as a wellness getaway for the more romantically inclined – just pop over to the spa that also does special treatments for men, thank heavens, including the “Gentlemen’s Own, for all skin types”. This 511-room resort includes 49 suites with the prized Grande Deluxe Laguna rooms opening onto a lagoon pool. Most rooms here offer balconies. Expect a flat-screen TV with DVD player, iron and ironing board, a laptop-size flat safe, and a rainforest shower in the bath with a separate soaking tub. Broadband Internet comes at Rmb80 per day though the black stretch Lincoln parked outside may cost a tad more.
The hotel has launched five new private villas, including one spacious 448sq m Presidential Villa (with a courtyard, garden and tranquil water features). Featuring light pastel décor and woody tones, all villas come with 42-inch flatscreen TVs and a private swimming pool looking past the gardens to the sea. Bathrooms at the 130sq m Deluxe Ocean Front One-Bedroom villas are in marble and an outdoor deck leads to the pool and private garden.
Hotel business features include free WiFi in public areas, free 45-minute spins on the iLink computers in the lobby and a 1,250sq m ballroom catering for up to 1,400. A further 11 meeting rooms from 22sq m to 150sq m offer versatile space for MICE groups and corporate meetings making this a prime address if you are hunting for good Sanya conference hotels. Toss in a white grand piano that plays along merrily on its own, jet skis, kayaks, decent baby-sitting services, a terrific beach and a raft of water sports and it’s clear to see why the Sheraton is a hotel with a difference.
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| Statue catches sunrise at Sanya Marriott |
Put it down to creeping midlife crises, but the red Ferrari on show in the lobby set my pulse racing. I guess if you have a Ferrari, why not park it in the lobby and make a statement. The Ferrari was actually bought for a hotel lucky draw when the place first opened but the project ran into regulatory problems and the car has become instead an occasional lobby showpiece with zero carbon emission. (Sheraton Sanya Resort is showcased in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
Immediate neighbour, the Sanya Marriott Resort & Spa boasts 456 rooms (including 24 suites) with balconies offering sweeping views of Yalong Bay and the sea. The hotel has been designed to respect and showcase local traditions. This is does admirably. Dotted among the extensive gardens you’ll spot striking stone statues of fishermen and villagers. Do not ask them for a beer; not even after your tenth drink. But, if you’re lonely, you might strike up a conversation with one of these mysterious figures. Rooms are bright and friendly. You’ll find a flat-screen TV, work desk with varied three-pin sockets (Broadband is at RMB80 per 24-hour cycle), a small safe that will hold a notebook, digital clock, iron and ironing board, a hair-drier (thankfully not nailed to the floor), and a bathroom with separate shower and tub. The balcony is of decent size and basic decorum is expected. A sign on the sliding glass door discourages the hanging of laundry outside, an instruction cheerfully disregarded by many. Of course you are welcome to lie back and dry out while catching some serious rays. The two hardback wooden chairs are sufficiently stern to keep you alert and focused on some dazzling sunrises.
Hotel staff is on the ball, exceedingly attentive, and responsive. You will be garlanded, thanked, and bowed to constantly. Smiles are ubiquitous. The Sanya Marriott has extensive gardens to get some grass underfoot when you are not leaving footprints in the sand. The beach is delightful (the same unblemished stretch extends from the Sheraton past the Marriott and Hilton to the Ritz-Carlton). Hop onto a water scooter, paddle out in a kayak, windsurf, play volleyball, or cool down in one of the large freeform swimming pools. Indulge in some face painting, learn calligraphy or origami, or try kick-boxing. There is a kids' club for juniors – with treasure hunts, kite-flying, air hockey and PlayStation – as well as three golf courses within a 30-minute radius for the swinging set. This is a child-friendly resort but also rares well among the popular Sanya conference hotels with 1,250sq m of function space.
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| Hilton Sanya's free-form pool |
The Quan Spa, in its own private garden setting, has spacious treatment rooms and an arsenal of cure-all remedies. It is a relaxing enclave easily accessed from the hotel yet set apart. Herbs and unguents are sourced in Australia and China and offer an “east meets west” menu. Pick from massages, scrubs and wraps or long all-in-one sessions. After hours, dine Japanese or Chinese and then chill out at the upper-level lobby bar with open views of the coast and live music. The Marriott is friendly and accessible yet with exclusive nooks and crannies. Pets, apart from blonde secretaries, are not permitted. (Sanya Marriott Resort & Spa is showcased in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.) The Marriott rates well among the top Sanya spa resorts.
Next along the bay is the Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa boasting a further 400m of white sand beach. The rooms encircle and embrace the central freeform pools including a mock lagoon with an artificially sanded “beach, manicured gardens and walkways. The views extend to the hills on one side and the sea on the other. The Spa Retreat serves up treatments galore and fitness equipment, sauna, gym and aerobics studio are close at hand. Those wishing to work up further sweat can do so at the two floodlit tennis courts or avail of the watersports options along the beach. In-room expect traditional decor with contemporary touches, a 42-inch flatscreen TV, Broadband access at Rmb80 per day (and paid WiFi in public areas), a DVD/CD player, iron, ironing board, and a curtain divider separating the bedroom from bathing area.
Some rooms offer glass partitions instead, catering for the MICE meetings market that every hotel in Hainan appears to be chasing down. These folk do not like getting their suits splashed. Other rooms offer the novelty of bathtubs positioned by the balcony offering outside views. The Hilton’s signature .IZE restaurant follows a water theme with other outlets focusing on “natural” design along earth, wood, and fire expressions. Families will be happy with the Kidz Paradise facility and babysitting service. As with other Sanya conference hotels, the Hilton is no slouch at serving up meetings and weighs in with 3,000sq m of space to play with plus 800sq m of lawn. The ballroom can hold 1,000 people cocktail style.
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| Ritz-Carlton panorama/ photo: hotel |
The brand new Ritz-Carlton Sanya that opened late April 2008 is a stately affair with clean, structured lines and dark wood redolent of the Beijing Summer Palace. The eye is led unerringly in a straight line past black-tile ponds and rows of trees to the inviting oceanfront pool and the shimmering expanse of white beach, aided in small measure by a generous sanding. At the very end of the Yalong Bay strip, the Ritz-Carlton affords a sense of exclusive luxury with 450 rooms, the smallest of these an echoing 60sq m.
Expect views of the sea, rolling hills or mangroves from a large balcony, a huge walk-in closet, iron and ironing board, flat laptop safe, flat-screen TV (with a monitor in the bathroom), Broadband (Rmb100 per day), DVD player and a Bose iPod dock. You’re all set to work or party. Be sensible and choose the latter. Electric push buttons operate curtains and lights and the comfy plumped up bed commands attention. A partition glides away revealing the bathtub. Roll out of bed and literally plunge in.
The villas are the highlight. The smallest one-bedroom villas start at 130sq m (three-bedroom villas go up to 350sq m) with decent sized living rooms, cool bedrooms, all featuring timber flooring and spacious baths. Step out into the patio to find your own private plunge pool and lazing sala (pavilion). Internet is complimentary. Expect three LCD TVs, a BOSE sound system with DVD player and iPod port, fussing butlers and, incredibly, a "romanceologist" to up the ante if all this and your imagination will not suffice. A bit twee unless you've forgotten how to kiss.
The three-bedroom villas offer a private pool and 367sq m of living space. The expansive 2,788sq m ESPA at the Ritz-Carlton Sanya will serve up exotic treatments no less and those in a hurry can waltz out to the wedding chapel on the beach for a romantic Sanya resort wedding. Later, exhausted by four swimming pools, two tennis courts, volleyball, beach soccer, yoga, Kinesis training, and eight fine restaurants, retire to your room and check out the pillow menu. You’ll need it.
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| Sheraton Sanya suite/ photo: hotel |
The Ritz-Carlton offers 1,700sq m of conference space and plans to position itself as a top MICE contender as well as one of the must-see Sanya luxury spa resorts aided in some measure by a ritzy high-end shopping arcade featuring the likes of Louis Vuitton, TOD’s, Salvatore Ferragamo, Paul & Shark and Ermenegildo Zegna. Sanya luxury shopping? Look no further. The array of designer brands here is a first for Sanya.
The Crowne Plaza Sanya hosted Miss World 2007 and even Mr World, though not at the same time or we might have had a Mrs World and Baby World on the way. This is not a beachfront hotel though it offers a shuttle to a stretch of sand. The 466-room Crowne Plaza’s main strength is as a Sanya conference hotel, a meetings and MICE specialist, with a regular train of buses disgorging excited conference-goers. The Dragon Ballroom handles 1,200 theatre style and a host of minor ballrooms and function spaces stretch accommodation substantially. Need to arrange a meeting on the beach? Crowne Plaza will set it up. In-room Broadband is complimentary and WiFi is free in meeting rooms, the lobby, and pool area. The hotel complex houses a shopping “village”, townhouses, hotel rooms and a few villas radiating out from a striking Chinese-style pagoda that functions as the design centrepiece and lobby. A large freeform pool offers relaxing diversion as does the Tea Tree Spa. Premier Rooms are pleasant with timber floors and large work table and TV. Internet is complimentary in-room. While not in the same league as the beachfront properties, the Crowne Plaza is among the better Sanya MICE hotels and is a decent choice for a Hainan conference.
The 787-room Horizon Resort & Spa (formerly Resort Horizon, indeed the two entrances feature two different names, confounding guests) has spacious landscaped gardens, inviting large free-form pools with sculpted rock formations, waterfalls, whirlpool and Jacuzzi, slides and jets, and extensive on-the-beach offerings from romantic dining to adrenaline-pumping water sports. The de rigueur massages are served up at the Lanikai Spa. Rooms are smart and airy, most with balconies overlooking the ocean, and wooden plank floors leading to the open bathing area and tub.
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| Horizon Resort offers vast pool areas |
In-room Internet is complimentary. Expect Broadband access, multimedia computers (in some rooms), a kids' club, and ample kitchenware and a washing machine in the suites. Horizon is one of the older residents of the beach, beaten only by neighbouring Gloria Resort Sanya that closed its doors in 2010 for redevelopment by the MGM group.
A relative newcomer is the large, spread out, Thai-style Yalong Bay Mangrove Tree Resort where the Mangrove Tree Spa kneads tired flesh with liberal applications of oil and aromatic unguents. Try a wrap, facial or scrub in one of the nine treatment rooms. This is not just a bland addition to the mushrooming ranks of Sanya spa resorts: the hotel offers 1,200sq m of meeting space, several restaurants including signature Thai, tennis courts, gym, the Kids Playhouse, a large swimming pool with water slides, 260m of beach and sea views from most of its 502 rooms.
While the building itself is unremarkable save for its scale – like any large hotel – it has style and colour inside with a nice entrance area and water features with a sea view to welcome you right away. This is a decent option if you’re hunting for Sanya family resorts and child-friendly establishments. Rooms are pleasant with Thai silk flourishes and colours. Opt for an Elegant Sea View Room just to be sure. Yes, that's what it's called. There's 150 acres to explore.
The 358-room Holiday Inn Resort is a well-kept place with meetings and banquet facilities and makes the most of its quiet location at one end of Yalong Bay. Rooms are are carpeted and modern with TV, the business centre has Internet access, the Little Stars kids’ club takes care of the three to 12-year-olds, and there is the Tea Tree Spa with hot stones, aromatherapy and shiatsu.
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| Aegean Conifer pool |
Set away from the beach, and favoured by tour groups, the Cactus Resort (from Gloria Hotels & resorts) is among Yalong Bay’s cheaper options. While not exactly a Sanya budget hotel, this establishment follows an Aztec and Mayan theme that keeps things surreal including cactus motifs. As elsewhere in Hainan, staff struggle with English, but do try hard. In-room expect Internet access, a safe, satellite TV and hairdryer. There are babysitting services and activities include mountain biking, tennis, mini golf, and pool volleyball. There is a large pool area around which the rsort is built.
The breezy Mediterranean-style Aegean Conifer Suites Resort Sanya has largish 64sq m suites each with a kitchenette, Jacuzzi perched on the balcony, LCD TV, washing machine, stove and cutlery. Larger suites come with iron and ironing board. Toilets are modern and chic. In-room Internet is free and higher categories of lodging toss in a computer for you to plink about on. Outside look for further Greek flourishes – startling white stucco walls, bright blue-and-white striped chairs, and an ocean-view pool. You could be on Mykonos, at less than half the price. Tiled walkways lead through the garden and pool area to a narrow beach that is unfortunately not among the best stretches of sand, and a boat jetty. Alternatively get pummelled and rubbed with aromatic oils at the ZENN Spa that offers a range of wellness menus from massages to more robust treatments. This is a member of the Preferred Boutique Hotels group.
Resort Golden Palm is a pleasant four-star set-up, sprawling across 43 acres along a lake with a view of the sea across the bay front road and park. The resort is long rather than tall with red-tile roof. Think swimming, mountain biking, kids’ club, karaoke, and acupuncture. The hotel website candidly declares it not only receives “salary visitors but also famous people”. Good to know.
For Sanya villa resorts in the Yalong Bay area, check out Yalong Bay Villas & Spa Resort self-described as a “Shangli-la lying beside the sea”. The villas are large, attractive, like self-contained houses with all kitchen and living facilities, arrayed around a central free-form pool with the beach to one side across the road. The inspiration is Balinese with facilities including refrigerator, safe, Internet and the ominous “Alarming Service”. Ah well, you can’t have everything.
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| Pullman's breezy pool/ photo: hotel |
The Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay offers 115 well appointed villas with pools and 78 rooms, along with Le Spa, a fitness centre and good conference and meeting facilities. It is a stylish option with rich Asian decor if Sanya villa resorts are what you are after. Managed by French chain Accor, facilities and activities include a kids’ pool, a kids' club (in several groupings for newborns to 12-year-olds), a game zone with table tennis, pool, cards and chess, outdoor swimming pool, babysitting services, yoga, fishing, cycling, horse riding, and free Wi-Fi Internet access in public areas (Rmb80 for 24 hours in-room Broadband). That's more activities than you can reasonably shake a stick at. Rooms are smart and contemporary with spacious balconies overlooking the pool and a large divan for sun-lounging or a doze.
There are three villa categories to pick from. The Thai style as an example, uses classic Thai furnishings and motifs to set the mood and runs from 50sq m to 60sq m. The electric buggy will take you down to the villas, rattling over wood-plank bridges, past fish ponds and manicured greens. Expect a wood shingle roof and a cobalt-blue private pool. A big Jacuzzi overlooks the pool next to twin vanities, a big rainshower area and an outdoor shower. You can step right out of bed and into the pool.
The terrazzo floor with tasteful inlay is cool underfoot and guests here will enjoy space for a small walk-in closet, living and dining areas, an iron and ironing board, a laptop-size safe, a flat-screen TV and DVD player, a smart work desk, iPod dock and bright splashes of colour provided by the silk cushions. There’s no immediately adjoining beach but the hotel has access to a private bit of sand. Just buggy down. An outdoor heated pool is complemented by a sky pool set a few steps higher with a frothing Jacuzzi and open views all set within a vast fantasy stone sculpture. Last but not least, for meetings and small conferences, the grand ballroom can hold 350 persons theatre-style with a number of function rooms offering varying capacity.
Opened in 2010, the Grand Metropark Resort Sanya offers 108 villas and 110 rooms. The resort is located just 20km from the airport, in the centre of the Yalong Bay International PGA Golf Course, offering tranquil views across the greens. Also find a British pub, spa and fitness centres, Kid’s Club and swimming pools. In-room Internet is complimentary and rooms are spacious. The resort is set some distance from the beach and transport and taxis can be problematic. The hotel shuttle drops visitors to the main road where they fend for themselves.
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| Banyan Tree Pool Villa |
Dadonghai hotels and Luhuitou Bay luxury hotels
Around 20 minutes from Yalong Bay, Dadonghai is a nightlife district with cafés, bars and, around a headland, watched over by Luhuitou Park (Deer Turning Back Park), further stretches of sand, though not as pristine as at Yalong Bay as much of the seafront is crumbling coral and rock. Expect a lot of artificial sanding and restrictions on swimming.
Banyan Tree Sanya Resort & Spa, at Luhuitou Bay, has 49 all-pool villas ranging from 45sq m to 85sq m. Floor to ceiling windows keep rooms bright, while bedroom décor retains a definite Chinese flourish. At this 30-acre tropical lagoon getaway expect a whizz mix of hydrotherapy and spa treatments, conference facilities, and villas offering private swimming pools, alfresco bathtubs, sun loungers, WiFi, flat screen plasma TV, DVD player, and pillow menu. The two-level Spa Pool Villa has a 55sq m pool, a private garden, open terrace and massage area. Yes, you’ll get an outdoor shower – or you can wait for the rains. The access road leads up a small rise to get you to the lobby overlooking the central "sunken" ornamental pool, and check-in is handled in a plush airconditioned area. None of that over-romanticised resort sea-breeze sweat and stagger here. Arrive in style and save the sweat for later for when you soak in the rays at your private pool villa. The beach is pleasant enough but requires a manual top-up of sand from time to time.
The good news for cyber-hounds is that Internet access is complimentary and WiFi is available free in all public areas. The villas look onto blue-tile pools (roll out of bed and wade in) and views of garden or sea. In-room find a handy and comfortingly old-fashioned Roman numeral clock, flatscreen TV, DVD player, a wooden work desk, and Chinese design touches. Pick a pillow to your liking. Expect a spacious bath area with twin vanities, walk-in closet, laptop-size safe, weighing scale, steam shower and an outdoor bathtub. Head upstairs for more open views and sun.
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| Mandarin lounge water feature |
Of course, the main event here is perhaps the wellness menu at the Banyan Tree Spa Sanya. Try a 210-minute Royal Banyan treatment (rain mist steam, grean tea scrub, herbal pouch and floral bath) for Rmb2,500 or the Restored Vitality package for 120 minutes at Rmb1,300. There's a lot to pick from in between including massages, scrubs and wraps. No question, this place aims to be among the top Sanya luxury spa resorts. Taxis are not easy to come by here but, no doubt, you will be too busy gazing into someone's eyes.
The Mandarin Oriental Sanya is another high-end retreat though it is more understated in its expression. Unlike other more compact offerings, the new 297-room low-rise Mandarin Oriental is stretched out in elegant grey stone over 12 slim hectares of quiet beachfront covering around 1.2km. That's a lot of walking. It offers perhaps the biggest Presidential Suite in Sanya at a staggering 3,328sq m, enough room for a parliament and a seat in the UN. Standard rooms are 60sq m with open sea views to capture lingering sunsets. Beachfront villas come with a private garden, terrace, and a pool. The slate-roof Sky Villas, up on the low hill offer woody interiors with ceiling fans, large terrazzo tub, twin vanities, outdoor rain shower and inviting plunge pool with captivating sea views. The work areas have sockets in three styles to accommodate all but the most devious electric plugs and Internet is available at Rmb100 per day. Set out over two floors there are separate living and dining and areas with flat-screen TVs and DVD player . The hotel rooms offer a similar resorty feel.
A 3,200sq m Spa Village with 18 treatment rooms is the highlight of the Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Sanya. All the rooms serve up private steam showers and outdoor bathtubs with VIP suites tossing in a personal sauna as well. Do a simple massage or go for an all-day polish. The resort offers ample recreation options including yoga, tai chi, floodlit tennis, a fitness centre, three excellent swimming pools (one with a sunken bar) and, of course, long rejuvenating walks as you traverse the resort. The Luhuitou Golf Club is close by for swings on the greens.
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| Modern InterCon/ photo: Virginia Cheng |
Try boating, fishing, or calorie-burning water sports. Despite its luxury positioning, the Mandarin is surprisingly child-friendly. Young married bankers with typhoon tykes in tow can breathe easy. The hotel has a MoMo Kids’ Club with complimentary ice-cream, a broad range of fun activities, water slides, and even a movie night for kids. Restaurants all feature children's menus.
With a picture postcard on this scale, any toing and froing will need a buggy. And close proximity to a protected coral reef and coral coastline means some compromise on the beach. A small area is cordoned off for swimming. In the balance though this is a resort more for sunning than swimming. It offers a sense of away-from-it-all style and is very different in construct to the traditional Yalong Bay mega-building model.
The grey slate stone used throughout is elegant and easy on the eye but obstinate plaster drips in the joins and finishing work lends some public areas the look of a lady hiding stretch marks. This does not detract from the resort's overall appeal though. Construction anywhere in China is fraught with delays and tedious fixes. The Mandarin is managing with aplomb and serving up something very different, from its exclusive inventory of single-malt whiskies and the cigar divan to the Coral Bay Ballroom that can host up to 450 for a corporate meeting or conference. While dealing with niggling teething issues this is clearly among the top Sanya luxury resorts and one that will set the benchmark.
It is all beach and sea views at the new 343-room InterContinental Sanya Resort (opened July 2010). Even from the bathrooms. The eco-friendly property is just 15 minutes away from the city in the Zhouji Lu area of Dadonghai. There is a day care service that provides a range of activities for children aged four to 12. There are plenty of options to dine in style. The Chinese overwater restaurant offers a view of the coral reef below, with private rooms connected to the main restaurant by jetties. Or choose to kick back at the laid back sunken Beach Bar or the Hai Lounge. Rooms offer a safe, minibar, 42-inch flat-screen TV, iPod docking station, and Internet access.
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| Spacious Baohong Hotel room/ photo: hotel |
The faux-Euro Baohong Hotel Sanya is a decent choice for slimmer wallets not wishing to compromise too much on ambience. It has 460 rooms that are very spacious and comfortable, done up in a European or Asian style depending on which of the two towers you opt for.
The finish is grand, marbled, and clean and will certainly appeal to Asian travellers. With the beach a short stroll away, in-hotel expect bathtubs, hairdryers, satellite TV, free high-speed Broadband, a laptop-size safe, a parking lot, gym, sauna and massage services. Another Dadonghai draw, this time for milling tour groups and sun-seeker Russians, is the large Resort Intime.
Sanya spa resorts, Sanya bay hotels, family options
Sanya Bay is not a high-end holiday. This is a spot for budget hotels, family resorts, and value long-term deals. The bay front is tree lined and pleasant of an evening with glorious sunsets and iridescent skies. Condominiums and hotels line the boulevard where couples stroll arm in arm and hawkers sell everything from gewgaws to savouries.
The pick of the bunch on Sanya Bay is easily the Narada Resort & Spa (formerly Kempinski Resort & Spa Sanya). Opened in January 2007, the resort sprawls across 166 acres of prime beachfront at one secluded end of Sanya Bay West with a smorgasbord of accommodation choices from standard to spacious suites and Spa Villa Rooms. This is a chic and well thought out property with numerous engaging flourishes. For one it is a tad more compact than most megaresorts where it is a sweaty hike from room to café. The beach is far closer to the main building and is easily accessed without enforced dogleg meanders through gardens and walkways like the IKEA one-way see-all trek.
Touchy-feely people will enjoy the stone textures that provide the setting for this family-friendly Sanya resort. Yellow is clearly the recurring theme as attested to by a yellow stretch limo, yellow cushions and yellow striped beach umbrellas. The resort walls are also ochre-mustard. The Narada is not a copycat resort though it maintains the classic layout style with pool in the middle fronting a wide expanse of sand, the rooms coming around in two “arms”.
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| Narada Resort & Spa: design flourishes |
The free Internet in the rooms will be handy for executives. The beds are on raised bamboo platforms, the bathroom separated by an adjustable blind, all looking out at a sunny balcony with a belvedere bathtub where you can strut your stuff as long as you don’t slip on the soap and crack your skull. Very uncool. It’s not entirely private so some skimpy day-glo Calvin Klein will be in order. Inside find twin wash basins, rain shower, flat-screen TV, and a handy pullout sofa bed.
The range of toiletries is good from emery boards to cotton buds and all manner of potions. Later unwind at the spa. Just 15 minutes from the main town (Sanya City) and airport the Narada Resort & Spa Sanya is in a quiet gentrified neighbourhood. It is a useful choice for MICE planners with over 1,000sq m of meeting space and a generous 800sq m Grand Ballroom. View this as a decent Sanya conference hotel or, most definitely, as a solid child-friendly Sanya family hotel. It is quiet though and about 40 minutes from Yalong Bay.
The Howard Johnson Resort Sanya Bay is a huge and grand twin-wing hotel overlooking a vast pool. Rooms are neat and modern without any surprises save for a mahjong table. Balconies offer sea views. In-room find Broadband access, an iron and ironing board, safe, satellite TV and phones with voice mail. The Grand Ballroom can comfortably manage 800 persons cocktail style and other distractions include the H-Spa, tennis, table tennis, children's club and fitness center.
Sanya Bay and Sanya City is full of cheap hotels, many packed with Russian holidaymakers. Some popular inns for group traffic along the boulevard include Palm Beach Resort and Spa, a clean and competitively priced option, Pearl River Garden Hotel, the Tianfuyuan Resort, and the Sanya Shanhaitian Hotel.
Shimei Bay hotels and resorts
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| Howard Johnson Sanya/ photo: hotel |
Shimei Bay is on the east coast of Hainan Island and is about 90km from Sanya heading north to Haikou. One of the first to open here is Le Meridien Shimei Bay Beach Resort & Spa. Set over 11 hectares, on an attractive stretch of beach, Le Meridien has 275 spacious rooms and suites, including 25 villas. Expect hi-tech features (DVD players, 37-inch flatscreen TVs, wired and Wireless Internet) and warm décor.
There are indoor and outdoor pools (children get their own pool as well as the Penguin Kids Club), a spa, several restaurants and bars, a sea sports centre, and a wide variety of meeting and banquet facilities. Bikes are available for rent, and four golf courses sit within easy reach.
Haikou business hotels and resorts
Haikou, the capital of Hainan, is a small and bustling business city in the north of the island about a two to three-hour drive from Sanya on the new expressway. Haikou literally means “Mouth of the Sea” and its boulevards and parks are lined with coconut trees. Haikou business hotels abound and Haikou conference hotels and leisure options are endless. However, this is not a place to tarry in unless you are there on work in which case you’ll find the facilities ample and comfortable. Of course you might try local delicacies like “Wengchang chicken” and “Hele crab” or venture out to Holiday Beach or Wugong Temple before racing south to Sanya.
Or you might do the 40-minute drive from Meilan International Airport and stay at the swish Sheraton Haikou Resort that occupies a prime stretch of beachfront not far west of Haikou City. The 341-room hotel offers the customary Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, balconies, in-room safe, oversize bathtubs, WiFi in public areas and high speed Internet in the rooms. Also find rainforest showers, iron and ironing board and a wide range of satellite channels. This is a good Haikou conference hotel with 1,300sq m of meeting space including a sans-pillar ballroom.
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| Sheraton Haikou/ photo: hotel |
Another Haikou five-star hotel is the Meritus Mandarin Haikou in the heart of the financial district. The hotel, which opened in 1998, has 318 rooms and conference facilities with seating capacity for up to 800.
Facilities are modern, from the audiovisual equipment to the simultaneous translation service. Rooms are large in light pastels. Among the better Hainan conference hotels, the Meritus also offers extensive fitness facilities ranging from tennis to yoga.
The amazing Crown Spa Resort Hainan is a 20-minute drive from downtown Haikou, on the beach. The place is a hallucinogenic Las-Vegas-Meets-Paris affair. Modelled along the design of a classical French chateau, the hotel consists of three buildings, one housing the extensive and well equipped Crown Lotus Spa that claims to have the largest hydrotherapy indoor hot spring. The 333 rooms are grand with all mod-cons. No stinting on the goodies here. Guests like the place, kids have a great time, and if you need a Hainan conference hotel with a difference, this could be it.
Baohua Harbour View Hotel is a huge high-rise complex directly across from the green expanse of Wanlu Park with good views of the Strait. The smallish rooms, 418 of them, are clean and comfortable. There is a shopping arcade below and a selection of restaurants. Generous rate discounts tend to be the norm here. The 196-room Haikou Hotel in the centre of town describes itself as the “White House of Green Ireland”. Whatever that might mean, it provides an excellent and cheap, if somewhat ageing, base for exploring Haikou on foot, with easy strolls to nearby East Lake and People’s Park.
Boao Scenic Zone and conference hotels
Boao Scenic Zone, on the east coast of Hainan, just below Haikou, is at the confluence of two rivers (on the estuary of the Wanqing River) and the resulting sandbanks lend the place its special charm. It is about 160km from Sanya and a two-hour drive. Haikou is just 30 minutes away.
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| Dadonghai: trawling for seafood |
This is where the Boao Forum for Asia took its name. Despite that, the forum is moving south to Yalong Bay’s beckoning beaches. The Sofitel Boao is one of the more pleasant options in this area, located on Dongyu Island and fronting the beach. You’ll find 437 rooms, ample restaurants, a spa, hot springs, tennis, a Graham Marsh designed golf course and the BFA Convention Center that can host up to 2,000 persons.
And that’s the A-to-Z of this Sanya guide to resorts, spas, hot spring getaways, luxury resorts, Hainan conference hotels and the best Sanya beaches. Now where’s that “City where Brazen Hussies do Unspeakable Things to Men Over Fifty”? If you find out, you know where to reach me.
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