Haikou Marriott Hotel — Hotel in Haikou City

EARNEST SERVICE - this was a stay’cation for us as we live in Haikou. Our neighbor is remodeling and the noise during the day was too much, so we decided to take a break at the local Marriott for the day. The hotel was very accommodating and provided us with early check-in. ||||I used the Bonvoy app to pre-request a cot for the baby, extra towels and toiletries, but housekeeping didn’t have this ready upon arrival. The housekeeping staff scrambled to get us the items when I arrived and re-requested. Some new staff, so understandable, all were nice and quick about getting us the extra items.||||We booked on a package that included breakfast and an ocean view. The ocean view was what got us here over the Sheraton down the road. I’m a die-hard Starwood member, but with the merger, we move around. What was interesting was that they put another family with a baby next to us. As the COVID-19 pandemic has still limited travel, I was very surprised that they put two families with crying babies right next to each other when the hotel is at very minimum occupancy. I didn’t mention this to staff, as we’d already settled into the room and moving with a baby in tow would have been more trouble than it’s worth. ||||If there is hotel staff reading this, put patrons first, not housekeeping convenience first. Gift me some Bonvoy points for putting up with the crying kid next door and not complaining to you about it.||||Check-in was fine, but using the mobile key and automatic check-in wasn’t available as I’m on a passport, which needs to be photocopied, and for locals, the check-in has an ID scanner that a person has to stand in front of to verify. There was no social distancing at check-in and I was a bit put-off by needing to move myself away when other’s wanted to check in, and as is the norm, nobody queues and just crowd around right up next to you. Some wore masks, others didn’t. I asked my wife to move herself and the baby to a distance away from the front desk. Although China has not emphasized social distancing, as an international hotel brand, I thought they could step-up a bit and be more cautious than not. There was no separate Bonvoy desk to go check-in at, or at least it wasn’t clear to me or other patrons. There was just one person at the front desk. He was working hard and fast, but hey, one guy can only do so much. We get that.||||The rooms are very large at this older Marriott, but some of the room facilities are dated. There aren’t USB ports next to the beds and I quickly maxed out the plugs next to the work desk. Some creativity and I got everything plugged in, but something to keep in mind. ||||This is a tropical island and although the local municipality now sprays mosquito disinfectant there were a few mosquitos in the bathroom and room upon entry, and the room was musty. I requested an extra mosquito vaporizer which I put in the toilet, in addition to the one provided in-room.||||The balcony was very pleasant and faces the ocean and there is no traffic noise. This is in contrast to the opposite door-entry side which faces the convention center with is under renovation. As we are on the west side of the complex, noise was non-existent, but if you’re in a room on the East side, might be noisy, as I saw another patron mention.||||The in-room coffee is terrible, and not really up to standards. The local Hilton provides an actual coffee machine and a few pods. There was no coffee creamer, and when I asked for some, the sincere staff brought up a bit of fresh milk and cream. Seems the hotel does not stock coffee creamer packs.||||The room did not have disposable slippers and only two already-used plastic slippers for the shower. The large size was pretty narly, so I asked for new slippers, which they kindly promptly delivered. Not sure how this differentiates a five-star hotel from the local 7-days Inn…….||||If you are noticing a pattern here, it’s that there is a feeling of being very cheap about things. This isn’t what I’m used to with Marriott. The staff quickly and happily complied and fulfilled all my little requests, but this is a bit draining on a patron. I don’t really want to chase after things while I’m here trying to relax, and I’d rather just be perpetually surprised and elated at seeing things I need already there. Starwood is much better at this.||||Some minor items: the balcony has some glass on the veranda, but when you’re in the chairs looking at the ocean, you look through the glass, which hadn’t been cleaned, probably ever. I couldn’t get myself to ask housekeeping to come clean the glass as I know management doesn’t ask them to do it. So I took some bathroom shampoo and a face towel and cleaned the glass myself so that I’d have a really pleasant view. I really should get Bonvoy points for helping them to keep standards up!||||I really should get Bonvoy points for helping them to keep standards up! Yah, I’m saying this twice.||||Good things: wifi was a breeze to use and is free for Bonvoy members, which is so pleasant. One of the lobby staff walked us all the way to the fitness room when she saw that we weren’t on the right path towards the facility. She walked us there and we key-carded into the 24-hour fitness room which is really nicely equipped, all new equipment, clean and pleasant. I’ve attached a photo of the adapted facilities for pools, etc., with the COVID restrictions in place. ||||As we walked around the grounds to get some air and enjoy the scenery, a few things to note. The Haikou Marriott is right next to the ocean, but there is no beach, unlike the Marriott in Santa. This is the same for all the resort hotels here, as Haikou really doesn’t have white-sand beaches or blue-ocean waters. The grounds are meticulously landscaped and still a wonderful escape from city cement blocks.||||One benefit of slightly older facilities is that they really did put in top-grade fixtures when built. The huge TOTO bathtub is not anything you’ll see in a recently built hotel. The wife to a soak and slept soundly like she hasn’t in quite a while.||||The baby cot is for a large toddler and there was nothing available for infants, so be prepared to bed co-sleep or bring other equipment.||||There is no evening turn-down service, so don’t expect to see warm cookies on your pillow. Looking online at how Marriott handles this these days, it appears they do it for really high-level status or if a patron asks. I asked. I got some extra coffee and tea packs. Nothing too warm and fuzzy there.||||The breakfast buffet was very good, as was the in-room Chinese food that was at a promotional rate. Scanning in the QR code, you can order and it’s delivered at a scheduled time. I hope this is the new post Covid world, much easier, and there was no 15-20% service charge tacked on. I guess this is competition at work, as it’s also now possible to just have outside food delivered, so many quests do just that instead of opting for sky-high room-service and in-dining prices.||||We took a shared ride-service from city center to the hotel. There’s nothing much to do around here as the hotel is against the ocean and in-front of the convention center. You’ll have to taxi into town 20 minutes away to do any sort of shopping or sightseeing. This is definitely enjoy the hotel grounds and services type of arrangement.||||About check-out, here, there’s a trust issue, so usually there is a room check before one is able to fully check out. Most of the large hotels don’t actually do the room check and let you check out right away. But you typically still have to go down to the lobby, there’s no checkout on the tv, or just leaving your card in the room and go. I phoned down to see if with the pandemic, maybe they’d worked out more remote/social-distancing approaches, and wonderfully, they said I could just call down to check out. Something good out of this crisis. They didn’t have a in-room check-in service/option, which I did ask about before arriving at the hotel. I didn’t see video checkout, although the app says it’s supposed to exist. Also the mobile-key, only gets activated after in-person check-in, which kinda takes the fun out of the whole thing. “Enjoy hosting successful events at our Haiku hotel with Mobile Check-in & Check-out”…not so much.||||About smells, in the morning the toilet was kinda gutter-gas’y. I thought it was all the diapers, but upon looking under the hood and under the sink, it’s because there are no vent lines to vent the sewer gases. As I recently built-out my local apartment, I can explain to anyone curious. Here in China, plumbing doesn’t use vent lines, it’s just one pipe for sewage, although better apartments separate the general water out, from the toilet out, which has its own dedicated sewage line. As the toilet sewage line is dedicated, there is no need for a vent line as it’s totally enclosed. However, for the sink, shower, etc, and neighbors who may have routed a toilet to the general sewage line, there is no additional venting. What people usually do is add an additional drain, but this just allows the noxious fumes to re-enter the bathroom. This is what was happening here at the hotel, despite a lame kinda U-pipe under the sink. In my own apartment, I put a p-trap for every single drain, and the bathroom is thus, odor free.||||Lastly, thank you to Jessica Gao from the front lobby for taking the time to show us to the fitness room and sending us off the next day. At the end of the day, guests are looking for very simple things; a friendly face, some help for silly questions and someone that cares. This is what we remember, not a room. Without a doubt, Marriott is lucky to have her around. Thank you.||||Thanks for reading my short novella. Cheers all, happy and...

EARNEST SERVICE - this was a stay’cation for us as we live in Haikou. Our neighbor is remodeling and the noise during the day was too much, so we decided to take a break at the local Marriott for the day. The hotel was very accommodating and provided us with early check-in. ||||I used the Bonvoy app to pre-request a cot for the baby, extra towels and toiletries, but housekeeping didn’t have this ready upon arrival. The housekeeping staff scrambled to get us the items when I arrived and re-requested. Some new staff, so understandable, all were nice and quick about getting us the extra items.||||We booked on a package that included breakfast and an ocean view. The ocean view was what got us here over the Sheraton down the road. I’m a die-hard Starwood member, but with the merger, we move around. What was interesting was that they put another family with a baby next to us. As the COVID-19 pandemic has still limited travel, I was very surprised that they put two families with crying babies right next to each other when the hotel is at very minimum occupancy. I didn’t mention this to staff, as we’d already settled into the room and moving with a baby in tow would have been more trouble than it’s worth. ||||If there is hotel staff reading this, put patrons first, not housekeeping convenience first. Gift me some Bonvoy points for putting up with the crying kid next door and not complaining to you about it.||||Check-in was fine, but using the mobile key and automatic check-in wasn’t available as I’m on a passport, which needs to be photocopied, and for locals, the check-in has an ID scanner that a person has to stand in front of to verify. There was no social distancing at check-in and I was a bit put-off by needing to move myself away when other’s wanted to check in, and as is the norm, nobody queues and just crowd around right up next to you. Some wore masks, others didn’t. I asked my wife to move herself and the baby to a distance away from the front desk. Although China has not emphasized social distancing, as an international hotel brand, I thought they could step-up a bit and be more cautious than not. There was no separate Bonvoy desk to go check-in at, or at least it wasn’t clear to me or other patrons. There was just one person at the front desk. He was working hard and fast, but hey, one guy can only do so much. We get that.||||The rooms are very large at this older Marriott, but some of the room facilities are dated. There aren’t USB ports next to the beds and I quickly maxed out the plugs next to the work desk. Some creativity and I got everything plugged in, but something to keep in mind. ||||This is a tropical island and although the local municipality now sprays mosquito disinfectant there were a few mosquitos in the bathroom and room upon entry, and the room was musty. I requested an extra mosquito vaporizer which I put in the toilet, in addition to the one provided in-room.||||The balcony was very pleasant and faces the ocean and there is no traffic noise. This is in contrast to the opposite door-entry side which faces the convention center with is under renovation. As we are on the west side of the complex, noise was non-existent, but if you’re in a room on the East side, might be noisy, as I saw another patron mention.||||The in-room coffee is terrible, and not really up to standards. The local Hilton provides an actual coffee machine and a few pods. There was no coffee creamer, and when I asked for some, the sincere staff brought up a bit of fresh milk and cream. Seems the hotel does not stock coffee creamer packs.||||The room did not have disposable slippers and only two already-used plastic slippers for the shower. The large size was pretty narly, so I asked for new slippers, which they kindly promptly delivered. Not sure how this differentiates a five-star hotel from the local 7-days Inn…….||||If you are noticing a pattern here, it’s that there is a feeling of being very cheap about things. This isn’t what I’m used to with Marriott. The staff quickly and happily complied and fulfilled all my little requests, but this is a bit draining on a patron. I don’t really want to chase after things while I’m here trying to relax, and I’d rather just be perpetually surprised and elated at seeing things I need already there. Starwood is much better at this.||||Some minor items: the balcony has some glass on the veranda, but when you’re in the chairs looking at the ocean, you look through the glass, which hadn’t been cleaned, probably ever. I couldn’t get myself to ask housekeeping to come clean the glass as I know management doesn’t ask them to do it. So I took some bathroom shampoo and a face towel and cleaned the glass myself so that I’d have a really pleasant view. I really should get Bonvoy points for helping them to keep standards up!||||I really should get Bonvoy points for helping them to keep standards up! Yah, I’m saying this twice.||||Good things: wifi was a breeze to use and is free for Bonvoy members, which is so pleasant. One of the lobby staff walked us all the way to the fitness room when she saw that we weren’t on the right path towards the facility. She walked us there and we key-carded into the 24-hour fitness room which is really nicely equipped, all new equipment, clean and pleasant. I’ve attached a photo of the adapted facilities for pools, etc., with the COVID restrictions in place. ||||As we walked around the grounds to get some air and enjoy the scenery, a few things to note. The Haikou Marriott is right next to the ocean, but there is no beach, unlike the Marriott in Santa. This is the same for all the resort hotels here, as Haikou really doesn’t have white-sand beaches or blue-ocean waters. The grounds are meticulously landscaped and still a wonderful escape from city cement blocks.||||One benefit of slightly older facilities is that they really did put in top-grade fixtures when built. The huge TOTO bathtub is not anything you’ll see in a recently built hotel. The wife to a soak and slept soundly like she hasn’t in quite a while.||||The baby cot is for a large toddler and there was nothing available for infants, so be prepared to bed co-sleep or bring other equipment.||||There is no evening turn-down service, so don’t expect to see warm cookies on your pillow. Looking online at how Marriott handles this these days, it appears they do it for really high-level status or if a patron asks. I asked. I got some extra coffee and tea packs. Nothing too warm and fuzzy there.||||The breakfast buffet was very good, as was the in-room Chinese food that was at a promotional rate. Scanning in the QR code, you can order and it’s delivered at a scheduled time. I hope this is the new post Covid world, much easier, and there was no 15-20% service charge tacked on. I guess this is competition at work, as it’s also now possible to just have outside food delivered, so many quests do just that instead of opting for sky-high room-service and in-dining prices.||||We took a shared ride-service from city center to the hotel. There’s nothing much to do around here as the hotel is against the ocean and in-front of the convention center. You’ll have to taxi into town 20 minutes away to do any sort of shopping or sightseeing. This is definitely enjoy the hotel grounds and services type of arrangement.||||About check-out, here, there’s a trust issue, so usually there is a room check before one is able to fully check out. Most of the large hotels don’t actually do the room check and let you check out right away. But you typically still have to go down to the lobby, there’s no checkout on the tv, or just leaving your card in the room and go. I phoned down to see if with the pandemic, maybe they’d worked out more remote/social-distancing approaches, and wonderfully, they said I could just call down to check out. Something good out of this crisis. They didn’t have a in-room check-in service/option, which I did ask about before arriving at the hotel. I didn’t see video checkout, although the app says it’s supposed to exist. Also the mobile-key, only gets activated after in-person check-in, which kinda takes the fun out of the whole thing. “Enjoy hosting successful events at our Haiku hotel with Mobile Check-in & Check-out”…not so much.||||About smells, in the morning the toilet was kinda gutter-gas’y. I thought it was all the diapers, but upon looking under the hood and under the sink, it’s because there are no vent lines to vent the sewer gases. As I recently built-out my local apartment, I can explain to anyone curious. Here in China, plumbing doesn’t use vent lines, it’s just one pipe for sewage, although better apartments separate the general water out, from the toilet out, which has its own dedicated sewage line. As the toilet sewage line is dedicated, there is no need for a vent line as it’s totally enclosed. However, for the sink, shower, etc, and neighbors who may have routed a toilet to the general sewage line, there is no additional venting. What people usually do is add an additional drain, but this just allows the noxious fumes to re-enter the bathroom. This is what was happening here at the hotel, despite a lame kinda U-pipe under the sink. In my own apartment, I put a p-trap for every single drain, and the bathroom is thus, odor free.||||Lastly, thank you to Jessica Gao from the front lobby for taking the time to show us to the fitness room and sending us off the next day. At the end of the day, guests are looking for very simple things; a friendly face, some help for silly questions and someone that cares. This is what we remember, not a room. Without a doubt, Marriott is lucky to have her around. Thank you.||||Thanks for reading my short novella. Cheers all, happy and...

My wife and I were in need of a hotel with english speaking employees as our original hotel was not at all what we expected. There was no one to communicate with us, the amenities we were promised were not available, and we were even denied the option of purchasing bottled water. We called the Marriott and right from the begining the level of service was amazing. We were connected with Mr. Rainer who went above and beyond from assisting us getting a taxi from our current hotel to the Marriott, meeting us at the entrance upon arrival to ensure that we were not overcharged for the taxi ride, and giving us a full tour of the hotel to ensure our epectations of the rooms, amenities, and the overall hotel was up to our satisfaction. The amenities on site are amazing, there is no need to leave the hotel from the multiple swimming pools to the beutiful views from the rooms, the five star dining, to the top notch gym and spa, and most importantly the amazing service from all the employees. This hotel screams relaxation and that is truely what my wife and I left the states for. We wanted a place to get away from the fast paced every day work environment and simply enjoy a week together. This hotel gave us that and so much more. I can not stop talking about how Mr. Rainer went above and beyond to ensure our stay was all we could ask for and more. He was very professional, took care of all our onsite requests from dining arrangements to spa treatments and even suggested where we should visit to get a true experience of the local culture. Along with Mr. Rainer, we were also fortunate enough to have fantastic service from Ms. Kata and Ms. Tatiniv who ensured our satisfaction on a daily basis in the Executive Lounge. They also suggested places for us to visit such as Volcano Park and the Temple of Five Lords. Our stay at this hotel would have been good as it is an amazing hotel, but what made this trip and experience fantastic was the level of service we received from all employees, but most importantly the ones mentioned above. My wife and I highly recommend this hotel and would be sure to travel back for this...