Sanya, Hainan (China) 2022-Pt.1: Yalong Wan (Yalong Bay)

The trip is an anniversary and summer vacation trip. My wife and I have been together for awhile, and my son has not yet had that REAL family vacation...well, actually-okay-so he has been on a few, I mean, I don't know what I am trying to say-I guess I feel that maybe the beaches in Sanya might be something special that he won't get for a long time, and although it will be a faded memory, maybe it will still mean something to him. I figure after this year-who knows what kind of subtropical/tropical travel we might not get to do as a family. Whatever, bucketlist kinda stuff aside-we are going to Sanya （三亚） Region of Hainan (海南）for 5 nights. We will be spending this trip in luxury hotels. The first two nights will be　in Yalong Bay, and the last three nights will be in Sanya Bay (closer to the hotel so the 40 minute ride of Yalong Bay is not a rat race to make the flight against traffic conditions we are unfamiliar with in the peak season of travel). From there, we will be flying to Dandong. 

Part 1:

This segment is a look at the luxury hotel selections and overall decision making process in choosing Yalong Bay.

First going to Sanya is namely because to leave China and return is a bit of a feat due to COVID-19. This is the process from a family vacation planning perspective. Family of 3, little one 3 years old.

At first what is recommended is, 

a. Club Med (Fosun Group), not easy to book with through their own website, their packages are extensive and expensive no matter how you try to book it. 

b. St. Regis, Edition and Ritz Carlton (Marriott), still a little unsure in regards to the beach condition on a few locations, but the Marriott in Guangzhou is really known for its great facilities for children (regardless of how expensive it is); these hotels are quite expensive, but look nice. The Edition seems to have the most criticism in regards to how poorly it has aged, new in 2021 or prior to renovations at the very least, there were many claims of damaged facility or unsanitary practices. To be honest, it seems like people wanted something to complain about because maybe they did not get their foreseen money's worth from the experience. One review in 2021, mentions personalized packages-in Sanya Beach resorts, this is becoming more of a thing, its far from cheap, but some hotels are competing with what Club Med usually tries to offer, thus people might expect a fun and engaging experience but find their money just buys them access to a nice looking and unused facility space (in a manner of speaking).  

c. Holiday Inn (Cheaper option...); if it were not a special time for our family or had we been to Hainan before-I'd consider the cheaper option-however-its a first time, make it good-right?

d. Pullman Yalong (An option), I need to look into this more, the official site seems to be lacking or just presenting some very silly things-it doesn't mention wifi included and doesn't have a breakfast option. They seemed to however be a bit further away from the beach than desired. They seem to have three "reasonable prices" for each time you inquire, the first is through the loyalty program-the second is through the wechat mini-app (recently a lot of these brand hotel names have separated themselves from traditional website booking-raises a lot of questions in my opinion-thinking back to the Luckin Coffee stock fiasco...) Anyways, after all that-if you call them (because the rooms are commission-able), they can give you a "very special price". Basically, note-one can haggle prices of hotels (more so when you are there, but over the phone as well as they compete with the third-party APP's).

e. Yalong Mangrove Tree Resort (independently owned), with a sister hotel in Sanya city center. Need to contact them to confirm prices, otherwise booking through third-parties like booking.com, guestreservations.com or trip.com-one runs the risk of having a rather disappointing experience for the price; note affiliated with the "Sanya Mangrove Resort"

f. I got a bit excited when I saw the MGM Grand in Yalong, however nice it looked, to be honest the price was amounting onto the budget and they DID NOT allow for loyalty points to be collected-I put in an inquiry with their loyalty programme, but who knows what will turn up.

I guess some key things I'm looking for at this point, 

1. Airport Pick up and drop off

2. Breakfast

3. Children's Area

4. Pool

5. Beach Access OR higher floors

6. Access to things to do around

7. Safety and Security

8. Little crowds

9. Loyalty Program that I might use elsewhere

-->Note: We went with Sanya Pullman Resort, I told my wife-it's a vacation, and a special one at that, if we drop a little extra cash, so be it. We ended up getting 999 a night for a deluxe garden view room, not the worst/not the best, but palatable. Wish I was getting points, then again though, in China-who knows when you might use them :/

Check out Part 2!

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