Sheraton Sanya

I was here for a business trip and had a good stay overall. Breakfast was decent, though there was no Indian food; I got by with the fruit and other choices. The staff were helpful about arranging taxis whenever I wanted to go out. Remember to bring cash for the fare, since cards aren’t accepted.

The beach was small but clean and looked after, with good loungers, foot-washing stations and a lifeguard. Strong currents meant swimming was heavily restricted, though. There was also an evening buffet at the beachside bistro, with tables to reserve, but it didn’t make up for the food and service elsewhere. The restaurant faces the sea and has a lovely open-air setup, but the food was poor. Bread was stale or underbaked, there wasn’t much cold meat, and both the Western and Chinese dishes were unimpressive. Nothing stood out, which is hard to believe at a five-star resort. Service was disappointing too: forks stayed on the floor for ages, dishes weren’t cleaned properly, and bent cutlery ended up on tables. Only a few members of the dining staff had uniforms that looked properly maintained. Housekeeping was a bright spot. The staff worked hard, the linens were spotless and the beds were comfortable. The room itself, though, was badly maintained, with dirty carpets, broken furniture, visible stains, rusty fixtures and old outlets without USB ports. I also found the air conditioning confusing to use. The service problems started at arrival. Nobody helped with luggage, even though the hotel layout meant a long walk to the elevators. At checkout, porters were more interested in their phones than helping guests load suitcases into cars. The entrance had been turned into a car park, which made for a chaotic, poorly maintained first impression. I expected more from a Sheraton, especially given its history. Sheraton Sanya Yalong Bay Resort has hosted Miss World in 2004 and welcomed several world leaders. The grand lobby, with its white grand piano and red sport car, initially raised my expectations, but the stay fell far short. This place has the Sheraton name without the quality. It needs serious improvements to service, maintenance and cleanliness before I could recommend it.

We spent New Year here and enjoyed the stay overall. The hotel staff put on a party with food, drinks and live entertainment for $120 per person. Management attended too, and apparently had good Champagne while the rest of us were served cheap sparkling wine and plainly told it wasn’t Champagne. That looked pretty pathetic. Breakfast was good and had something for everyone. The hotel has a cozy park and several pools, including a 25 meters, three-lane lap pool. Rooms are spacious and clean, though there’s obvious mold under the shower tiles. Staff are friendly and hardworking, but seem quite reluctant to offer compensation when there are room problems. There are plenty of international guests, with English, Russian, French, Chinese and other languages around, and everyone seemed relaxed and happy. It’s a solid but aging four-star resort that needs major renovation. The location in Yalong Bay is perfect, with calm water, a clean sandy beach and a guarded swimming area. Nearby Hai Tang Bay has newer resorts, but the sea there is rougher, with waves that can reach up to 3 meters high. I’d likely come back.

We found the room spacious and clean, the pools were clean too, and breakfast was good enough. The hotel was generally clean apart from a dead bird, already badly decomposed, in the main lobby fountain. I put out the "do not disturb" sign so my toddlers could nap, but the cleaning lady still knocked and shouted at full volume to offer fresh towels. The wifi also made me sign in again at least 10 times a day, which got annoying. At the beach, people selling overpriced toys kept pestering us and wouldn’t take no for an answer when we had the children with us.