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Ritz-Carlton Hotel Sanya, Sanya, Hainan, China
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Sunset from the city of Sanya
View of hote grounds from our balcony
Another view from our hotel balcony
Donghai Lu beach in the city of Sanya
Our 2 Beach Bum Feet looking at the South China Sea
Villa Pool
Villa Sitting Room
Villa Bedroom
A place to relax at the hotel
Sunset at South China Sea from the hotel
view looking their poolside
Cabana
Shops at RC
Villa Terrace
Private Beach
Main Hotel Building
Poolside Bar - Wet Bar
Pool
Private Beach
a view from their rainforest villa
Address: Yalong Bay National Resort Area
Sunset from the city of Sanya
View of hote grounds from our balcony
Another view from our hotel balcony
Donghai Lu beach in the city of Sanya
Our 2 Beach Bum Feet looking at the South China Sea
Villa Pool
Villa Sitting Room
Villa Bedroom
A place to relax at the hotel
Sunset at South China Sea from the hotel
view looking their poolside
Cabana
Shops at RC
Villa Terrace
Private Beach
Main Hotel Building
Poolside Bar - Wet Bar
Pool
Private Beach
a view from their rainforest villa
Address: Yalong Bay National Resort Area (17 votes)
Ranked #5 out of 56 in Sanya
Average price: $344
Reviews
The Ritz Sanya, which started operation in April 2008, is a clumsy operation that is not really luxury. The prices, however, suggest it should be world class. Over $1000 for a day at the spa, $100 for High Tea, and all this provided by untrained staff. What a joke!
We stayed over New Year’s. The resort was mostly empty, which was a bit strange. Anyways, the best parts were:
-Large rooms, nicely appointed with huge bathtubs, balconies, showerheads and comfy beds.
-Serene ocean views and a relatively uncrowded resort.
-Service, while weak, is probably still better than the other resorts in Sanya.
Major problems include:
-No heated pool or hot tub available in this resort. It gets cold in the winter in Sanya – when the beach is closed due to ocean currents, the alternatives are very chilly (as in “easy to get sick” chilly). So all you can do is sit around on a lounger or in your room’s bathtub. Poor planning, if you ask me.
-Construction site smells. The backside of the resort faces a large water treatment plant construction site. We arrived and were shown to a wing that smelled of sewage – that’s right, the corridors stank! When we confronted the staff, they breathed deeply and said they couldn’t smell anything (must have been my imagination, then)! Anyways, after a half-hour wait in the room, we were shown to an ocean view room that seemed much fresher... as long as the balcony door was open! If we closed it, the room started to stink of “new building smell”, or glue-like stench from the new construction. We put up with it, but believe me it was not pleasant.
-Untrained, unskilled staff. Example #1: Several days into our stay, the staff refused to let us enter the breakfast restaurant without signing a bill first – it “wasn’t included,” they said. But we had it confirmed on our reservation, and been coming for several days. They wouldn’t budge! We had to then go by ourselves to the front desk, and get the Duty Manager to straighten things out, in order to have our breakfast, which was in fact included. Ridicuous! Example #2: Called Room Service to have our trolley picked up aftetr we’d finished. *One hour later*, someone arrived, but couldn’t figure out how to fold the table flaps, and got it *stuck* in the door upon exit. They then left to find someone else who could help dislodge the trolley. Hello, Ritz?? Example #3: Staff arguing amongst themselves in the hallways!!??
-Food: if you are arriving from any cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris or New York, you will find the food average at best. It caters to local Chinese tastes, and mostly lacks imagination, flavor and presentation. The Chinese restaurant is best and some of the seafood is fresh, but overall there was *nothing* the write home about in terms of gastronomy.
Bottom line: this is NOT a Ritz-Carlton experience, even if the rooms are large and the location is good. The service is a mess, and it really detracts from the experience. The stratosphereic prices, then, seem even crazier. I would not go back, but would go to Thailand or Hawaii instead.
First, some context to inform the review: my girlfriend (Sydney native) and I (New York native) live in Hong Kong and travel extensively in Asia for business for our respective investment firms. We also have had the pleasure of traveling several times per year in Asia for leisure. I speak Mandarin (proficiently, but not natively), while my girlfriend does not speak any Mandarin at all.
The Ritz Carlton clearly sets the standard for luxury accommodations among the various resorts in the popular Yalong Bay area. The service standards are what one would expect from a Ritz Carlton property in an emerging vacation destination: (i) spacious, clean rooms and facilities, (ii) excellent recreational offerings, including a well equipped, modern fitness center, and (iii) functional and efficient business center services.
Notably, and in contrast to the similarly priced Banyan Tree Sanya (see review there), the Ritz Carlton has a lively, active resort feel. The restaurants and bars are "just busy enough" during all three mealtimes (and are excellent) and you will see and hear other vacationers on the beach and in the pool. This may be good or bad depending on what you want on your vacation, but my girlfriend and I appreciated the fact that the ambience was not too placid.
In terms of service quality, I believe that the Ritz simply has the best trained staff, most of whom speak English quite well, that we have seen in Sanya. Importantly, my girlfriend was easily able to use the business center, spa, and restaurants while communicating only in English. At least some of the staff seem to be drawn to the Ritz Carlton from hotel management programs in China, and I expect that the service will only continue to improve from its already high level.
In my opinion, the restaurant / bar offerings at the Ritz Carlton obviate the need to spend much time, if any time at all, in town. The casual restaurant, called Fresh8, has a well stocked buffet and a diverse international and Chinese a la carte menu. I did not have a chance to try the Cantonese restaurant, but the Italian place (Sophia) and the poolside seafood restaurant (Sand) are excellent, both in terms of relative value and absolute quality.
Some other general points / warnings to note: on each of the four trips that I have made to Sanya, I have made it a point to go into the nearby towns and try the local restaurants. The towns have an odd 1980s Russian feel to them and do not offer much of interest for the weekend visitor to Sanya. As in other cities in Hainan Province (and elsewhere in China for that matter), the streets leading into and out of these towns are lined with karaoke (KTV) bars, nightclubs and other neon-lit institutions of questionable repute. The local seafood restaurants are passable, but you will find better "local" Chinese food elsewhere in China; additionally, the local restaurants that I have visited have a tendency to overcharge to the point where you are probably better off financially eating in the resorts.
After doing business in China for several years I have now found a paradise to relax for a few days before heading home. You would never believe this is China. Clean white sandy beaches, clean ocean water and a staff that is there for your every need. The food was fabulous and there was an excellent variety.
I recommend the Ritz Carlton in Sanya for a vacation, but really, if you need to take a few days to unwind after a hectic business trip. To get to Sanya is about a hour flight from Guangzhou China or Hong Kong. Communication was not a problem, English was not only spoken, but English is taught to the staff as a continuing education program. It was also interesting that many managers were from around the world. The grounds were clean, well maintained.
The hotel was also clean and very well maintained... and again, the staff was the best. The spa was a slice of heaven on earth. A note of special thanks to Gina for taking such good care of us, to William for finding our bag left in the taxi, and to Linda for the roses.
A little side note... take the trip into town and have dinner at Fat Daddy's...you will be very pleased!
Just back from a week at the Ritz Carlton in Sanya with my wife and three year old daugther.
Overall we had a great time .
The hotel is very spacious and rooms are large and luxurious . We had a pool / ocean view ( we were upgraded upon arrival ) with large balcony . The room was very comfortable , the bed is the highest bed we have ever slept in , but very comfortable ! The bathroom was superb , with huge family sized tub and even has TV- DVD screen in bathroom which my daughter loved whilst having her bath .
The staff we encountered during our stay were all very attentive and pleasant, nothing was a hassle for them and they all have a high comprehension of English . The pool area and beach area are well presented and maintained , you are quite far down the bay so the beach area tends to be quieter and not as busy . There are two kids pools , one with sand area and one tucked away on the mangrove side of the hotel with a slide . This pool tended to be cooler in the afternoon as it falls into shade from mid afternoon onwards. We were there bed and breakfast and the breakfast choice was superb. The restaurants are good with wide selections of food dishes but a touch on the expensive side . We ate evening meals in Sands , excellent sea bass , on the beach front and in Fresh 8 (also where breakfast served ) excellent sushi , and found the food good but the downside was there were hardly any other diners present , not good for ambience ! That said their mojitos are fab ! We ate out a few times at Havana Plaza beside the CrownPlaza and would recommend the Brasilian BBQ and the Thai restaurant there . We stayed at the Hilton next door last year but would definitely that say that Ritz is a class above .
My 2nd trip to Sanya, i have chosen the legendary Ritz Carlton. The trip there was a truly a journey where i had encountered one of the largest rain ever. My taxi we boarded from the airportwas soaked and stucked and i had to alight to help the driver, of course soaked wet. I called the Concierge for help, but he was honest that nothing could be done and he had advised me to take a bus instead which we did. We reached the hotel at almost 1930hr, from taxi to pubic bus to walking in about 300m. The room was fantastic, large 60 m2 size with abundance of amenties. I luv the bathrm TV, really cool. Thumbs up for the ABF selection. The ala carte menu was limited but with my favoite Haninese Chicken Rice, it was sufficient. The service is Sophia was commendable. The staff had nicely redone my drink to my expectation. Food, however, was just all right. The Calzone pizza i ordered was too empty inside, i feel. The food in the Chinese menu was so so, rooms for improvement. We are the last second guest, but the ac was off just before we departed, but there was another couple inside. The pools were great, needless to say. I enjoyed the tan. We attended the flower setup class out of curiousity and the the staff was quite patience to explain, knowing that this is not the common activity requested. MIssed the makeup class, however. We didnt try the Spa this time as opposed to my many other visits. I was not to amazed with the location of the spa where it was built, i supposed. But, the hardware is great. The Fitness Centre staff was nice enough wo explain the Kinesis Workup when i stepped in (it was raining outside and there was nothing much i could do, common challenges for a resort hotel). The Front Desk and the Concierge has superd design working areas and the lobby is large and very resort like. I will visit again someday, perhaps to try the beach restuarant that i missed out this time. Overall, the service is great, denoting the well trained team.
We stayed at the Ritz Carlton Sanya with a group of friends in August and found it to be the most luxurious resort you can imagine.
We had a variety of rooms, from a standard ocean view, a lagoon room and a 1 bedroom villa. The villas are wonderful, with a fantastic lap/plunge pool and outdoor patio/eating area with plenty of lounges, however the lagoon room was definitely great value. The lagoon rooms are located on the ground floor, around the edge of the pools. They each have individual spas on the patio, lounges, outdoor table and chairs, and the best part - steps from your patio directly into the massive lagoon pools. For a group trip where you want to gather at the pool bar, or one of the many cabanas on the edge of the pool, these rooms can't be beaten. They are enormous in size, with the most luxurious beds and modern bathroom - you really won't want to leave.
I've stayed at the Hilton before (next door) and the Ritz Carlton beats it hands down. Admittedly, the cost is higher than the Hilton, but the standard and quality of rooms and facilities is definitely worth it. We didn't leave the resort for the 4 days we were there - there is absolutely no need. The attentive service you receive from the staff is beyond belief - they even bring you iced towels and spray bottles of water to refresh you while you sit in the heat on the beach!
We live in Guangzhou and could not believe that Sanya is actually part of China! The blue skies and fresh air was wonderful, all in the brand new, modern and luxurious Ritz Carlton. We've travelled to many island resorts for extended periods of time before, and Sanya is equal to, if not better than, the beach at Honolulu. And of course, the standard of the Ritz Carlton is the highest of high, so there is no chance of being disappointed.
Top Notch Hotel!
I believe RC is the newest hotel in the Sanya "Beach strip" I absolutely recommend it! I have stayed at the nearby Hilton before, and I would recommend RC over HIlton. It is more luxurious and rooms are larger.
Pros
- Large rooms (60 sq m).. I have never stayed in a hotel room that large
- I stayed in the Ocean View Club room, and the Club Lounge was bascially like a restaurant! There was hot food for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Even thought we spent a little more at the Club Room, it was much worth it, as you don't have to eat at the expensive restaurants at the hotel
- Large pool
- Great beach
- Great staff and very friendly
- Lots of high end shopping
- Most rooms have ocean views
- Comfortable and large beds
- The spa was the best! It was so good.
Cons
- The only con is the price, but this is afterall the RC. Prices is hotel restaurants are quite expensive - even comparable to the FS in HK. Also note the 15% service charge
We just returned from this fabulous new resort. I celebrated a birthday there. We have stayed at many Ritz Carltons through the years and this one was near the top. We were upgraded to the club level by Jamal who remembered us from Bali years ago which shows how they try to remember repeat guests. We were then for the last night upgraded to the one bedroom oceanfront villa. We could live in it. On this same trip we stayed at the St Regis in Shanghai, Raffles in Beijing and Shangri-La and none of the others tried to upgrade us even though rooms were available. The service of eveyone at the resort was spectacular from the girls in the club level particularly Eleven and Donna. You ask anyone for directions and they don't give them to you they escort you to the place. For my birthday the Italian restaurant went out of their way and delivered flowers and a special dessert. The chef offered to open up the restaurant just for us for lunch if we wanted. We heard prices were very high which was not the case. The most expensive meals were still well below what you would pay in the U.S. On our way home we stopped in the Ritz Carlton Tokyo which was also great but the prices there were very expensive. We never left the grounds at Sanya. The massages and spa were beautiful as was the beach which was private. Breakfast is included and it is a huge buffet which some days we ate at the Club Level and others in the restaurant. It is as pretty as Hawaii but less expensive and the people there are so much nicer. We go out of our way to stay at Ritz Carltons because they remember repeat customers and try to upgrade or do other things for you. If it was not 24 hours travel time we would go back every year.
We spent six nights here and happen to be here during a corporate golf event sponsored by Mercedes. We wish the hotel had informed us during the booking so we would not have stayed here as it was nearly overrun by the event for three full days. Two nights my family had to listen to pulsating music from an outside concert put on by the event. They only stopped the music after my second call asking to speak directly to the night manager. Food was okay, and I would recommend the grill which was excellent. The staff at the restaurants were also good and had graciously volunteered to help look after our daughter for some of our meals. Rooms were spacious, some quality problems with fixtures. We asked to upgrade to a higher floor and pay the upgrade fee but the reception claimed that the rooms were fully booked. We then asked for a ground floor swim up room, but the reception also said they had no extra rooms. The five days we were there, this was clearly not the case as we walked by and swam by empty rooms. Not sure what the reception was thinking. They seem well trained to always say no, so finally when I asked for a late checkout, they said no again, there cannot be a late checkout (Sunday) as they were 'Full'. Then I grew upset (you need to really agitate me to make me upset) and said that they have said no to everything, and then the receptionist backtracks and says we are allowed to stay in our rooms until 4pm! The Sunday, seems like all the other guests had the same deal as we were all on the same flight back to Hong Kong!!! Overall, I would not stay here again, and probably try the Hilton, but this being my second time to Sanya, I find it quite boring in terms of low quality second rate attractions. Go to Phuket or Bali instead. The Bali Ritz is far better.
Just spent six nights in a villa at the Ritz and would say its the best hotel in Sanya, maybe in China. Great service from the top, the villas are awesome, the food in universally good (not great) and we had six perfect weather days.
Just be aware you will never spend so much on a China hotel - they have Hawaii prices - but service to match. RMB1800 for a Wagyu beef for 2, we had a BBQ in our villa at RMB1300 each - buy hey, best possible food, awesome service.
The villas are likewise expensive, but worth it - you get a lot more space and a private pool. The 2 and 3 bedroom villas have huge pools. While most visitors to Sanya try to escape the room, in the villa you do the opposite. Beach is super clean, but watersponrts a little lame. Kids Club is OK.
Save up and try it
I must say... I wanted to be the first one to write a review about this hotel but... it's never too late. (My review is a bit overdue…)
This resort was one of the best resorts that I have visited! I visited the hotel only a week after they opened but it seemed as though all the staff were accustomed to the property and the expected level of service.
As this was a special trip for me celebrating my birthday with my mom and also, it was a mother's day gift for her.
And I have to say, it was the perfect birthday celebration and a perfect mother's day gift!
The Ritz-Carlton hotels are renowned for their fine customer service and so I had my expectations but this hotel clearly exceeded every bit of my dreams! From their friendly service to the quality of food to the hotel product itself, I was blown away! The food variety and quality is exceptional at all the outlets at the hotel; my favorite was the sea bass at the Sand – the best sea bass ever! Compliments to the Chef! And the breakfast buffet? Wow – the variety of the food available was exceptional! I felt like I was traveling around the world experiencing all kinds of cuisine just sitting at my breakfast table.
And the surprise I got from Navin, the Beverage Dept. Management Trainee was by far the highlight of my trip – As my mom and I was sitting at the bar at the stroke of midnight toasting to a birthday cheer for me, Navin had arranged a special birthday cake grouped up his staff to sing “happy birthday” for the cake presentation! I was completely speechless by his creative gesture. And we ended up sharing the cake with the other guests at the bar. Thank you, Navin!
Thanks to all the people at the hotel, I left Sanya with a yearning to return to the Ritz-Carlton Sanya again very soon! Thanks for a great vacation that will last in memory forever!
We spent 6 days at Ritz Carlton with our 2 kids last months. The room is really nice and big and very well decorated,especially the bathroom with extra TV. The pools are very clean and large,all the staffs are very polite and well trained. Beach of course always nice. we been stayed in most of the hotels on yalong bay,i think all other parts of hotel are good but i think the big problem is the food.
All the menus of all the restaurants are very small,and very expensive. I understand its super 5 stars hotel,i am expecting to pay much more but the food is just not worth it.
we have to go to Hilton next door,and other hotels for dinner after 2 days,since we can't stand the food from the hotel!!!
So everything else are good but i dont think i will go back there next time,i think Hilton is still better choice.
My wife and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary at the Ritz Carlton, Sanya. We had an fantastic time there primarily because of the way we were treated by all of the staff.
We have stayed in many 5 star resorts in other countries, but we have never been treated the way we were treated for the four days we were at the Ritz.
First, we arrived much later on our first day than planned as our flight leaving Shanghai was delayed by very heavy rain. Therefore, we did not arrive at the hotel until 1:00 in the morning. A driver met us at the airport and drove us to the hotel. Once at the hotel, the check in was ultra smooth, as we were checked in right in our room, which was so convenient.
I had booked a "lagoon" room, which is a room right on the swimming pool. From your patio, you have direct access to the pool, you simply walk right into the swimming pool off of your patio. GREAT!
On our first morning, when we went for breakfast, we were immediately recognized and called by name. The staff all knew that we were there to celebrate our anniversary. We were provided with free champagne with our breakfast.
After breakfast we booked 3 hour spa treatments and had a VIP room where we were able to receive our treatments together.
The treatment package included lunch, which we decided to take in our room. When the lunch arrived, in 5 star style, we found that the staff from the spa had also sent an anniversary cake and a great selection of chocolate along with it. What a nice touch!
As we sat enjoying our lunch, the young staff at the pool bar, which was right across from our patio, were waving at us. One of the young men serving at the bar waded across the swimming pool with two freshly cracked coconuts, walked onto our patio and presented them to us on behalf of the pool bar staff. On the sides of the two coconuts was written: "Happy Anniversary."
That evening, we had dinner in the Italian restaurant. As we sat at the table a pleasant young woman named Amy, from the Guest Recognition dept. came by, introduced herself to us and offered to take a picture of us. When done, she mentioned that she would make sure we were provided with a copy of the photo. Great! We didn't think another thing of it.
After dinner, we returned to our room and found the best surprise of all. We opened the door to find the hallway leading into the room scattered with rose petals leading up to the bed. On the bed was a large heart constructed of bath towels and the bed was covered in rose petals. There, in front of the heart in a silver frame, was the photo that Amy had taken of us in the restaurant. What a nice touch! The settee in front of the bed had "FOREVER" written out using rose petals. The bath was poured and also had rose petals in the water. To top it all off, there was a chocolate fondue set up on the coffee table along with a bottle of wine.
The rest of our stay was fantastic. The Ritz Carlton definitely has fostered an atmosphere and culture of service and friendliness. As I have already mentioned, all of the staff, from the gardeners to the management, treated us like family. It was fantastic.
If you are planning any vacation, whether a romantic getaway or a family trip, we both would highly recommend the Ritz Carlton in Sanya.
The facilities, which I haven't even mentioned for the most part, are great, too. Great pools, beach, grounds, everything. This is a first-class resort all the way.
Just came back with my family on a sun and sea holiday. The hotel is absolutely beautiful and since it is very new, everything looks great. Service is excellent and even better than Bangkok which is not a normal expectation for a China resort. Currently they are doing a promotion with Dragon Air and the hotel room rate is very reasonable and is very spacious. The only problem is the hotel food. It is very expensive. I have stayed in many 5 or 6 star hotels on my biz trip and never came across a HK$220 beef burger and HK$50 for a coke with lot of ice. The food is only average and you really do feel ripped off since you are pretty stuck for lunch. I am a cigar friend and they charged me HK$400 for a No.3 Punch. But overall speaking, if you are on a honeymoon and money is not your concern, definitely a A plus choice.
this hotel totally exceeded my expectations!
I stayed here for 3 days 2 nights and everyday its been really sunny, apparently they dont have a winter here, and is considered one of the best weather cities in China.
I am always hesitant about hotels in china, but Ritz have done a great job training all staff to be friendly, sincere and very helpful
with everything new and clean, that already says it all about the great quality, plus Hainan is known to have one of the best air qualities in the world, you're guaranteed some great tans!
I wouldnt say their food is spectacularly delicious, but with their great service and presentation, it's really worth a visit.
(their tiramisu in the Italian restaurant Sophia tastes REAL good though). HUGE varieties of food for breakfast!
one thing which is out of their control, they DO have quite a number of flies whizzing about...!