Hainan, here I come ...

The best, and worst, of China's Hawaii - By Caroline, Feb 15, 07

In the run up to Chinese New Year, we share some of our holiday suggestions:

Hainan, the Hawaii of the East, favoured escape of expats across the mainland, and fantasy of realtors big and small. There's no doubting that the island is beautiful. Yalong bay is a dream from sunny morning to sunny evening; unfeasibly long white-sand beach, gently lapping blue sea and a sky of a colour that Shanghai-ren can only dream of. The upsides? Great seafood and beautifully fresh fruit, domestic airflight prices and check-in lines, little or no traffic, taxis which still start on 10rmb. The downside? None that I can see.

So after frolicking in the waves, working up an appetite on the jet ski, para-surfing or scuba diving, and enjoying a snooze under a palm tree, when it comes to the well-earned night's rest, where do you go?

Along Yalong Bay, possibly China's most glorious stretch of beach, there are but five choices of resort which lie along the silky white sand. All profess to be five-star establishments, and some, such as the Marriott, Hilton and Sheraton, undoubtedly are. Staff are not just bi-lingual to the level of English and Mandarin that we get spoilt with in Shanghai, but they have more than a passing knowledge of Cantonese and can also converse perfectly fluent in Russian. Even the Philipino band skip happily between Spanish, English, Chinese and Russian songs at the beach barbeque. They pick you up at the airport, check-in is a breeze, the stuff is up in your room (Jeff, the concierge at the Marriott, even gives you a little intro to the excellent facilities of the hotel as you go upstairs in the lift) and before you know it you're on the beach with a fresh coconut and in your hand and a straw in your mouth. Rooms at the brand new Marriott (or at least it certainly appears to be brand new) are spacious, superbly equipped, and well, everything one might expect from a five-star holiday resort. At around about 1,000rmb a night for the standard rooms even in high season, it's not bad at all. The bar is great, the multitude of pools (there's a sort of multi-level water extravaganza with hot and cold Jacuzzis, bridges, waterfalls, and, of course, the pool bar going on) are refreshing, if a little cold, and the restaurants equip themselves well even if they are ever-so-slightly overpriced, and local staff seem to have a memory blank when it comes to asking them for recommendations of local places. The Vietnamese restaurant is downright tasty, in fact. All in all, a very much recommended experience.

The Sheraton, although slightly more pricey on average, is an absolute glory to behold. A similar uber-pool, great restaurant and bars, AND you get to sleep in the same bed as Miss World! What could be better than that? I was vaguely shocked though, then I decided to treat myself to a glass of champagne, then another (house Veuve Cliquot Yellow label - I don't like to splurge... ) and was presented with a bill for no less than 414rmb. Come back, Volar, all is forgiven!

Moving along the beach, we come to the Gloria Resort, glorious in many ways; the glorious incompetence of the staff, the gloriously inexplicable five star rating, and the glorious multiple of five that they appear to add to their room rates. At not far off the room rates of the Marriott, the rooms are ten years old, tiny, with peeling wallpaper, furniture which looks flimsy enough to be in a doll's house, and stains all over the furniture. Lighting is, understandably kept to a minimum so that you can't see all the faults, and, alas, also can't see any work or reading you might like to do (yes, I do write on holiday... ). Fancy switching on your laptop for some extra light? Sorry, no spare plug-holes. Feel like pouring yourself a G&T to get some respite from those mosquito bites? Whoops! Looks like they forgot to fill the mini bar or switch the fridge on. Ok, sit down and watch some HBO and forget about it? Well, you could, if the TV received anything but static...

The staff apparently consists of one, June, who can actually speak English, and 400 or so ineffective people who are pretty happy to, oh, book you in for the wrong dates, spell your name wrong and then attempt to convince you that you must have gone nuts and booked under a different name, and generally disappear for half hour stints to sit down and think about how to not solve your problems. Points to June though, for her efforts to show me a new room in the "new wing" (which would cost me an extra 500rmb, the manager was at pains to tell me, at more than the Marriott and about half the size) and no-one can really blame her for almost bolting out of the "new" room when a huge gecko ran across the ceiling. They don't have live-in geckos at the Marriott, you know, but then the last time I did have a live-in lizard friend was in a $US5-a-night straw hut in Bali with an outdoor mandi to wash in.

Exponentially more encouraging was the brand brand new Hilton (was there anything actually on Hainan more than six months ago?) which could accurately (and oddly, for a Hilton) be described as a boutique resort, bursting with East meets West character and even more sports and activities facilities than the other resorts, that's if anyone really needs anything more than a beach, a book, and a bikini...

The moral of the story? Get yourselves down to Hainan or you will be missing out on one of China's greatest locations, but whatever you do, book your hotel room early, and leave your C-trip flights to late...

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Brad

Feb 23, 07

Totally agree with what you said about the local 5 star hotels. Waste of money, especially when you can have the Sheraton or the Hilton for almost the same price. I wouldn't recommend the Marriott as it doesn't have direct access to the beach. I've stayed at the Sheraton and at the Hilton, nothing beats the Hilton. At least not yet, they are just building a Ritz-Carlton just next to the Hilton ....