Sanya Marriott Yalong Bay Resort & Spa — Hotel in Sanya City

Marriott Resort Sanya Yalong Bay |Stay date: July 2025 |Purpose of visit: Vacation ||#### General Impressions |- The hotel’s appearance is clean, stylish, and full of atmosphere. |- The reception staff speaks English and is polite and patient. |- Check-in took 40 minutes (a bit slow). |- A deposit of $100 or 1,500 CNY per room is required in cash (I didn’t ask about card payments). |- If you plan to pay by card during your stay, it’s better to link the deposit to your room key—otherwise, you’ll need to carry cash. |- The hotel grounds are well-maintained and pleasing to the eye. |- A complimentary photo session voucher is provided per room during the stay. |- Facilities include a pool, spa, and gym. ||#### Room |- Deluxe room (46 sqm) with a scenic view (facing away from the sea but offering stunning sunsets). |- Daily housekeeping is thorough and efficient. |- The bed is very comfortable. |- Amenities include: | - Air conditioning, Wi-Fi, TV, safe, minibar | - Robes, slippers, toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, shower gel) | - Three towels per guest, a beach bag, beach slippers | - Hairdryer, iron, ironing board, 14 hangers | - Bath salts, shower, and a bathtub with a TV (can be closed with sliding doors—loved this feature!). |- Soundproofing was perfect—no noise issues. ||#### Dining |- Breakfast buffet (6:30–11:00 AM): Varied but somewhat repetitive. |- Highlight: The soups! | - Usually 4 types: beef, chicken, spicy chicken, and vegetable stew (or even borscht!). | - I don’t usually eat soup for breakfast, but after trying them, I couldn’t resist having them daily. | - Rich broths and bold flavors—absolutely delicious! ||#### Staff |- Polite and helpful. |- Announcements are in Chinese only, but staff are happy to assist with any questions or issues. ||#### Location |- Situated in Yalong Bay. |- Nearby: A supermarket, evening market, and neighboring Sheraton & Ritz-Carlton hotels. ||#### Beach |- Well-equipped with sunbeds (thick mattresses included). |- Two large towels provided per room. |- Always enough space—no fighting for spots. ||#### Value for Money |- The price reflects the quality of service and amenities. |- No hidden charges. ||#### Cons |- The minibar door is extremely stiff—you could break a nail trying to open it! ||#### Final Verdict & Recommendations |- Great for families, couples, and business travelers. |- I’d happily return! |-...

As a Marriott Rewards member since 1999 and MVCI multi week owner I must admist, sadly, that this experience has not been satisfactory. Although this will not influence my decision to stay at another Marriott in the future, certainly I will not go back to Sanya. I planned this as a family vacation, with my wife and kids aged 3 and 1 but it has not been of our satisfaction. The hotel is a Category 7 but does not deserve this level. I have been in numerous Marriott hotels of lower category which had the same or higher level of customer experience. It is immediatley evident that this is Chinise hotel managed by Marriott but other than the Marriott Logo someware, it has nothing to share with the well known Marriott qualiy.

I would like to point out in particular: the rooms are small and the furniture is really poor. One of the good things in going to a Marriot is finding always the same type of furniture/equipment that makes you fell at home away from home; the furniture in the rooms looked old already and with poor quality in design and manufacture. the water in not potable and this itself is unacceptable for a Level 7 hotel. It might ingenerate reasonable doubts (and it did) that even brushing teeth is not hygienic. The hotel provides complimentary bottle water (2 x room), which at 350ml each is ridiculous when you are a family of 4. In our last stay at Phuket we had at least 4 1.5L bottle water each day. the TV channel list is poor for non chinese channels, and there is no DVD player in the room. if you have young kids and no Disney Channel and no DVD player this is a real problem! the staff is friendly but their english skills are really poor. Except for the duty manager which provide us with a great check in service, during our stay we had severla problem with communication with other staff. the service at Marriott Cafe is unacceptable. At breakfast we waited 15 minutes to have a Cappuccino and an orange Juice. At Dinner 25 minutes for a pasta dish, whcih would have been quicker wit the in-room dining. The in-room dining experience on the other end has been great. Overall the prices are ridiculously expensive, never been to a such expensive hotel where an espresso costs nearly 6EUR. We live in HK which is expensive in itself, but Sanya is...

My second time at the Marriott. Very happy with it, room is nice and big, clean. The gardens are amazing, the beach the best in Yalong bay. But, the food is disappointing and service very very slow. The bar/cafe situation during the day is confusing, not easy to understand which venue is open and for how long. This infos are not available in the room. The beach cafe is very untidy, the “open kitchen” and the bar counter look dirty, chairs are uncomfortable and food is overall blah. Also, there is no real shade, only umbrellas, not able to keep the heat out. Some ventilation would be nice. This place is definitely in need of some renovations, it has so much potential. It would be amazing if it had a big veranda, some ceiling fans, and open all day for meals, small bites and coffee. In general, there is not one nice place to stay cool and relax in the hottest hours of the day, one needs to go to the room. The personnel is very nice, but most of them in the restaurants lack basic experience and understanding of the job. So the service is so so, and would be unacceptable in any 4 star hotel out of China. Only few waiters speak English. Again, out of China this would be unacceptable. Waiting time for the food is always long. Or very long. Breakfast buffet is good, dinner buffet is good too, but always the same. The gardens are amazing, really enjoyable, and some seating areas in the tree shade would be lovely, there are none. The pools are fantastic! They are big, but laid out in a way so to give you a secluded feeling anyway. I also like that they are very close to the beach, so I can enjoy the sea while the kids are at the pool. A perfect setting for my family. The upstairs pool is fantastic and more quiet. But, in summer the water gets very hot, probably there is not real circulation of it. The beach is nice, wide...