Fairmont Sanya Haitang Bay

My wife, our two daughters, and I spent seven days here and had a great vacation. The hotel was comfortable, and Austin Hu, a manager who speaks very good English, helped us whenever we needed anything. We don’t speak Mandarin, so we asked for help quite often, but he always assisted us with a positive attitude and good energy. I recommend this hotel 10/10.

The room service boys were lovely, and when my first bolognese was tiny and left me hungry, they apologized and sent a much bigger portion. The menu itself was good. I also got a late checkout, which was a big plus, though reception often had just one person and a queue. The rooms are lovely, especially the outdoor bath, but there was that awful smell people mention. Leaving the doors open for a few hours helped, though the room got boiling. The resort is beautiful and has a huge pool, but the pool loungers are marked up and need replacing, and the place could use clearer signs. There’s nowhere to get food or a drink outside, and no facilities by the beach, so it’s a five-minute walk back to the hotel for the toilets. There are a few things that let the hotel down. English was limited, which I understand in China, but I’d expect the basics at an international hotel. Work was going on all the time, even on a Friday or when around 1,000 people were there for a conference.

Breakfast and the Gold Lounge both had long queues, which really affected the experience, and waits at the Chinese restaurant were excessive too. Dining services need much better preparation. On the good side, the hotel was clean, the activity staff worked hard, service attitude around the hotel was good, and the service center responded quickly. I booked through AccorHotels’ official channels, but the staff seemed unfamiliar with the Accor loyalty program. Several days after checkout, I still hadn’t received my ALL points despite reminding them more than once, and the issue was handled very passively. Front desk staff lacked awareness and proficiency, below what I expect from Fairmont.

The design is what stood out to me: there’s a canal winding through the hotel grounds, alongside historic touches like the Wood Arts museum, which was moved from Shanghai in its entirety. It feels like a thoughtful mix of modern and historical styles, and you can tell the original owner put a lot of thought into the decor. For my first trip to Sanya, I’m pretty pleased we chose this hotel. Thumbs up!