Inter Continental SANYA RESORT by IHG Hotel

We booked three rooms for five days and four nights. Having travelled often, I don’t think this hotel meets a five-star standard, so bear that in mind before booking. The room doors have no soundproofing at all. People outside can hear your conversations, worse than in my own apartment back in Singapore. The hotel is also very, very dated. It’s massive, but the interior and features look at least 15-20 years behind the latest five-star hotels. Since the rates are comparable, they’re due for major A&A work. The operation felt disorganized, with crews working in silos. We requested a Buggie for our family of 7 to get back to our rooms. The front crew knew about it but let two other customers cut in and take it. No one intervened, so I had to tell them my family was ahead in the queue. That’s not the service level you expect at a five-star hotel. We ate at the Mediterranean and Chinese restaurants and the food was stale. The teddy bear bread they served my child was rock hard, as if it had been left out for 2-3 days. The chicken also definitely wasn’t fresh; from the color of the blood, it seemed to have been cooked at least twice. Very poor in-house food overall. Think carefully before booking. I’m sure there are better-value hotels, and paying 10-15% more for a truly five-star place would get you more value.

The facilities were great and every area was absolutely spotless. The breakfast space is split between Asian and Western sections, making it easy to find something you like. There was a generous choice of drinks and cocktails at the bars, and the food and buffet areas didn’t disappoint.

We checked in on December 30, 2025, as three families, with two rooms per family. They assigned us rooms 2230 and 2256. The next family to check in got 2257 and 2251. It felt like nobody at reception cared about us. They didn’t even take our suitcases, so we had to drag them ourselves, along with our wives. At breakfast, six people stood at the restaurant entrance. Half were on their phones and the others were chatting. They beeped our card but didn’t swipe it, ask how many people were there, or seat us. My main complaint is with senior management: why keep middle managers who don’t manage the staff? There are plenty of employees, everyone gets paid, and nobody seems to care about the guests. The sea and beach were good, for China.

Tony at the front desk deserves a big thank you. Around midnight, he patiently helped me sort out booking bullet train tickets, even though it took some extra effort. I stayed in July 2025, and the hotel was comfortable with excellent service. The grand entrance made a beautiful first impression too.