Sanya Marriott Yalong Bay Resort & Spa

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bobader

3/5Tripadvisor· a month ago

My family and I stayed at Sanya Marriott Yalong Bay Resort & Spa with high expectations, particularly because of the Marriott name and its location in beautiful Yalong Bay. Unfortunately, the resort itself did not meet our expectations, and we ultimately checked out the following day and booked another resort for the remainder of our holiday. Before mentioning the negatives, I would especially like to recognize the staff, who were by far the highlight of our short stay. Everyone we encountered was genuinely friendly, polite, welcoming, professional, and willing to help. Their warm hospitality was the strongest positive aspect of our experience and deserves to be acknowledged. In fact, our disappointment has nothing to do with the staff. They did their best and treated us very well. Our concerns are entirely related to the condition of the property, facilities, and overall resort experience. A big thank you to the team for their kindness and hospitality. Unfortunately, the physical property did not reflect the same standard as its people. One of the first things we noticed was an unpleasant smell in the corridors, and overall the resort felt dated and in need of significant renovation and refreshing. Our room also felt small for a luxury beach resort, particularly compared with other five-star resorts we have experienced in Sanya. The design, condition, and overall atmosphere of the room felt outdated and did not provide the level of comfort or refinement we expected. The spa was below average for a resort positioned at this level. We normally consider the spa an important part of a luxury resort experience, and unfortunately this one did not meet our expectations. We were also disappointed by the limited food choices on the menus. An international resort of this level would benefit greatly from a much wider selection of international cuisine, particularly Western, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and other options catering to overseas guests. The resort certainly benefits from its beautiful location in Yalong Bay, and again, its wonderful staff are a major asset. Unfortunately, those positives could not compensate for the condition of the property and the overall experience. We travel frequently and have stayed at many luxury hotels and resorts. Based purely on our personal experience, we did not feel this property currently delivers a true five-star resort experience. We were disappointed enough that after our first night, we decided to check out and move to another resort for the rest of our stay in Sanya. This is not something we normally do, and it reflects how different the experience was from what we had expected. I sincerely hope the property receives the renovation and investment it needs, because it already has something extremely valuable: a genuinely wonderful team of people. With upgraded rooms and facilities, improved maintenance, a more refined spa, and greater international dining variety, the resort could offer an experience that better matches the excellent hospitality provided by its staff. Our biggest compliment goes to the staff — they were exceptional. Unfortunately, the property itself did not match their five-star level of service.

A

AmirZh05

1/5Tripadvisor· 2 months ago

Is this really a Marriott hotel???|We’ve been staying at Marriott hotels for 15 years in a row, and this is the first time we’ve encountered this level of service. We checked in on August 9 (as of today, we’re still here and counting down the days until we leave). When we entered the room, we were terribly disappointed to find that it wasn’t ready yet, even though it was already 5:00 p.m. There were puddles of urine on the bathroom floor and on the toilet itself, and the entire room was filled with a terrible, unpleasant smell of mold. The rim of the toilet had turned yellow, which is really very unpleasant. Unfortunately, the central air conditioning system is unreliable. It emits an odor that sometimes smells like cigarette smoke and other times like mold. The hotel’s main restaurant resembles a large cafeteria. The service, the quality of the food, the preparation, and the overall dining experience leave much to be desired. The food is always COLD, whether it’s breakfast or dinner, and it’s tasteless. There’s some kind of unpleasant odor coming from the food. The table setting is like in a cafeteria—not what you’d expect from a five-star hotel: plastic cups, bent cutlery, and everything isn’t very clean. It’s quite cramped in there. The dishes are mostly Asian. We liked the desserts. Also, the only fish dish is grilled mackerel, which clearly doesn’t meet the standards of a five-star hotel. All the main pools on the hotel grounds are dirty, and the water in them is very murky. The lounge chairs are in poor condition, and there often aren’t enough of them. We liked the lap pool because it wasn’t popular among guests, even though it was quite hot. The beach near the hotel is quite dirty, and there are pushy street vendors. Yalong Bay itself isn’t very clean; the water is cool and murky. There are no waves. However, we more enjoyed the Clearwater bay: the beach is clean, the sea is crystal-clear, even if there are slightly more waves. On the other hand, we really enjoyed the events at the Zen Club organized by Beyoncé. She offered us tea, and everything was organized to the highest standard. There wasn’t enough equipment for all the guests during one of the sessions. The gym is fairly compact, but it has all the necessary equipment. There are also two saunas and shower rooms. Overall, that was enough for me. This is our first time vacationing on Hainan Island, and we were lucky that our first hotel was the Raffles rather than the Marriott. It truly lives up to the standard of a five-star hotel.

TM

Trip.com Member

3.7/5Trip.com· 4 months ago

Pros: Great location and a really good breakfast.Cons: The hotel is incredibly crowded. Because of this, there are constant lines at breakfast, and it's almost impossible to find an available sun lounger. To make matters worse, the loungers themselves are old, worn out, and badly need an upgrade.Verdict: A decent hotel, but it simply can’t handle the volume of guests, and the beach/pool amenities are outdated.

TP

Tea Plus

2/5Google· a month ago

While the renovated public areas and the new kids' club look good, the service at this Marriott is a disaster. First, Marriott Sanya's notoriously awful check-in process. Even with barely anyone in line, it took over 30 minutes of waiting and paperwork, only to be told the room wasn't ready. The front desk staff seemed extremely busy doing absolutely nothing useful and offered zero helpful information. Hours later, having received no updates, we went back—only to waste another 30 minutes finally getting the key. The next day, we were scheduled for a standard room switch. We were told it was fully noted, but when we checked in the morning and at noon: "No rooms available." Finally, out of sheer frustration, we demanded to speak to a manager. Surprise, surprise—a room magically appeared. But of course, it took another 30 minutes to process. Is holding onto rooms until guests get furious a standard Marriott policy? Do staff get a bonus for keeping rooms empty? Do not waste money upgrading to the Kids' Room. It’s the smallest room with no balcony, stuffed with useless plastic clutter like a swing frame without a seat. The kids' activities are restricted, poorly managed, and outsourced. No one tells you that you need to RSVP. When we turned up, staff treated us like beggars. To top it off, during a DIY craft activity, they refused to let my son exchange two pink plastic beads for green ones, even though they had a giant bag of green beads right under the table. A 5-star hotel being this petty over a cheap plastic bead is mind-blowing. Terrible management. Not recommended.

B

bungee_cairns

5/5Tripadvisor· 4 months ago

I’m surprised the average score of this property isn’t higher. It’s a solid 5 stars. The property is huge and well-maintained and the rooms are excellent with good air-conditioning. The TV offers English channels as well. It has a nice pool with many tubes and basketball/volleyball provided without cost. Those jet packs will be 98 Yuan / 15 mins. The beach is also nice and the hotel provided a lot of deck chairs sufficient for the many guests. Breakfast is average and quite crowded. The room and the bed is really very comfortable.

AV

Alexander Vladimirov

5/5Google· 10 months ago

It was our first holiday at a Chinese resort and chose the Marriott Yalong Bay. The hotel is located on the beachfront; its neighbors are also large chain hotels, all five‑star properties. The rooms are excellent - on check‑in, they thoughtfully arrange a decorative design on the towel (see photo). Bottled water is provided daily, and there is plenty of it. Housekeeping is flawless: rooms are cleaned quickly and thoroughly. Breakfast and dinner offer a wide variety of dishes. You can enjoy European, Chinese, and other Southeast Asian cuisine. For dinner, there is even a dedicated sushi and roll station - simple but tasty (and all the fish is always fresh). The grounds are spacious and lush with greenery. There is an outdoor tennis court - not the cleanest, admittedly, but perfectly playable. The court is fee‑based, though they do bring towels and extra water directly to the court. It is a small touch, but a nice one! -) Restaurant staff speak fluent English. At the reception, some staff speak only Mandarin, but they all use Google Translate - they dictate messages and show you the translation. We were always able to resolve any issues. The sea is clean, and the beach is well‑maintained with regular cleaning. Chinese guests tend not to swim in the sea, preferring the pool instead. They often just stand or sit in the water. The pool itself is an interesting shape and very warm. Sun loungers are not always easy to find - you will definitely find one in the sun without an umbrella, but if you want shade, you'll need to get there early. For lunch, we either ventured out (to Dadonghai or Yanoda) or ate nearby - just exit the hotel, turn right, and after about five minutes you will reach a shopping centre. There you'll find a large grocery store (great for picking up food souvenirs or snacks like chips and chocolate) and numerous cafés and restaurants. The restaurants we visited speak only Mandarin. The translated menus aren't very helpful — some items are quite creatively rendered… but they do try, and that is commendable). It is better to look at the Chinese menu (displayed on a tablet) and ask what the dishes are. I would recommend preparing a list of key Chinese characters beforehand — like "meat", "fish", and "vegetables". Otherwise, you might end up with boiled beef stomach (like I did during my first visit to China), which is definitely not for everyone! Overall, it is an excellent hotel - a solid five stars - and a very pleasant introduction to Hainan and Chinese beach tourism in general.

TM

Trip.com Member

4.7/5Trip.com· 5 months ago

If you want to enjoy nice beach , hotel , swimming pool this is the best location in Sanya . There’s some bbq and quick food 2 mins walking distance from the hotel. Outdoor swimming was was pretty hot all the time not sure whether it was heated or not cooled . When outside temperatures is 30 then it’s not fun to go in the hot pool . Overall it’s great hotel

TM

Trip.com Member

5/5Trip.com· 5 months ago

We had a short stay here over the May holiday. The care from the staff was very good, and our personal caretaker, called Butterfly, was very attentive, responsive and gave excellent assistance and service to us during our stay. The cleaning staff and waiters also did a very good job to service the rooms and tables despite it being very busy.