HE St Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort has provided a luxury benchmark since opening in 2011 on Hainan’s best known sun-and-sand strip. Now it is raising the bar. A sprawling escape stretching across a vast expanse of the beach, the resort’s villas, suites and rooms are arrayed around spacious lagoons and several swimming pools with some dramatic sea frontage for chill-out sundowners and post-prandial strolls.

One of the best Sanya luxury resorts, St Regis is not a brand to scrimp on detail. In-room amenities include twin vanities for him and her, Remede bath amenities, and toiletries to make the skin tingle with renewed vigour. For workaholics on the move, there is WiFi. And St Regis butlers, a first for the island, are on hand to help unpack and deal with holiday whims. Call, and a Jeeves will materialise.

Hainan was once an island that hosted banished mandarins from the far north. It has evolved since to become one of China’s premier holiday destinations for recuperating pin-stripers with an infectious tropical frisson and a great many attractions and activities from diving to spas. It is an island that boasts longevity.Arrive by car, or by yacht, The Yalong Bay Yacht Club is next door.

Guests can pick from the inviting IRIDIUM Spa with its exotic Crystal Ice Grotto and Mineral Salt Chamber, a well-equipped Children's Club, several sun-dappled outdoor pools, tennis courts, water sports, and the beach. And within a stone’s throw, are golf courses with beckoning greens. Work up a sweat in the Exercise room or explore Yalong Bay by bicycle. After all, pedal power was the quintessential Chinese way before Volvo was acquired by Geely.