Seaside Vacations in Sanya

Sanya airport is small but busy. Arriving from Hong Kong on a flight worth only a can of cola and some peanuts, it’s best to find the hotel shuttle bus as soon as possible. If you take a taxi, the driver will be sending his kid to a good school, on your fare. The ride to the hotel is on a modest highway, passing modest tropical flora, through some less than modest neighborhoods and areas.

5 Star Hotel

The entrance and manicured gardens along the driveway of the resort, set the scene for what’s up ahead. More than enough uniformed and capped doormen await the arrival of guests. They absolutely assist with luggage and just can’t seem to open enough doors, escorting vacationers through entrances. Step into the lobby, step onto a stage. Magnificently huge pillars support a ceiling in the ozone. There’s enough space for a circus to practice every act. Hike over to the reception desk and check-in. Several lounges open directly to pathways leading to lagoon swimming pools and onto deep beaches. The view panning out from the lobby is classic postcard. A sea breeze haunts the lobby and commands one to stand still and pay homage.

A member of a posse rolls away the luggage, while another member steals the keys and leads the way to the elevators. The peregrination allows one to sample a view of shops, restaurants, piano bar, cocktail lounge, art décor and flora. Grand hallways lead to activity centers for children, baby-sitting services, International restaurants, conference rooms, and world-class spas.

Finally reaching the room, the bell-hop unlocks the door and allows the guests to enter first. Immediately noticed, is an over-size lavishly tiled bathroom. Shower, whirl-tub, opulent wash basin. Enough mirrors to make one vanish. Spacious closets, state of the art entertainment center, mammoth bed, sofa, small dinning table and chairs and of course a balcony. Slip the hop a fin and ask him if he understands the phrase, “room service”.

It’s an International affair

The view from the balcony is better than the travel brochure. Within 10 minutes, one is undressed and heading to the pools or beach. Meandering pathways lined with jungle vegetation eventually lead one to a pool, then another and another. Throw a towel on a chaise lounge and stretch out. Immediately, a pool-side waiter is asking if that was a tangerine or strawberry spritzer. No one is speaking Chinese. English is rarely heard. The couple floating in the center of the pool hails the waiter for a refill in French. A little girl scolds her brother in Russian. Three Germans are eating noodles at the bar, while the Japanese gentleman sitting next to them is munching on a Coney Island hotdog. Look yonder at the open sea, wave-runners, sailboats, speedboats, surfers, palm trees and blue water are the last impressions as sleep closes one’s eyes.

Hotel Reservations

Back in the room, showered and leisurely attired the smell of exotic dinner’s floats up to the balcony. The piano lounge down on the terrace is setting up for an evening show. Garden lights carve mazes around lagoons and gardens. Guests eat, stroll, dance, drink and swim after dusk. Only four hours have elapsed since checking-in. One is already planning ahead. Next year, after the Olympics up north, a room with a view is waiting down south.

Yalong Bay, a great vacation spot in China.

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