The Ritz-Carlton and Banyan Tree both opened resorts in Sanya on the island of Hainan in May this year.
Hainan is China’s second largest island, and lies in the South China Sea. Sharing the same latitude as Hawaii, Hainan boasts sandy beaches, palm trees and a pleasant climate. Despite its attributes, it was only discovered as a holiday venue 20 years ago, only to suffer economic decline for the last decade.
Until recently. Within easy reach of Mainland China and a mere 1.5 hours from Hong Kong, Sanya, Hainan’s southernmost city, is becoming a destination of choice for tourists around Asia.
The Ritz-Carlton, Sanya is situated at Yalong Bay – the last on a long stretch of golden beach. This massive hotel features 450 rooms including 33 pool villas, as well as 21 luxury suites. Each guest room is a vast 60 square meters, possessing its own private balcony and standalone tub.
Aside from spacious rooms, the hotel has also set up the largest Ritz-Carlton spa in the region in Sanya. The ESPA at The Ritz-Carlton has a total of 24 private treatment rooms and six private spa suites offering a mix of Eastern and Western treatments.
The Ritz-Carlton, Sanya says that, since the hotel opened one month ago, visitors have predominantly been from Hong Kong and Mainland China. Already the resort has had requests to rent villas for one to two months and some guests have stayed two to three weeks.
Similarly, Banyan Tree Sanya says guests so far have mostly been from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and some from Hong Kong. A small percentage of visitors have come from Russia, Japan, Korea and Europe.
Banyan Tree Sanya is located 5km from Sanya town, close to Luhuitou Park and Hyton Hotel Sanya.
Banyan Tree Sanya is an all-pool villa hotel, with 21 standard villas and a selection of others, including the Spa Pool Villa. Each comes with an open-air bathtub and landscaped garden. The hotel features the resort group’s signature spa facilities, including eight treatment pavilions.
The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group also plans to open a hotel here. Following some delays, the hotel is due to open in late 2008. These three are just a taster of the resorts set to come to Sanya as tourists from around Asia rediscover Hainan Island.
Tamsin Bradshaw