Sanya Shangri-La Hotel — Hotel in Sanya City

This hotel is bad. Probably the worst Shangri-la I have stayed in the world. As a golden circle member this place does not live up to the branding as per expectation. It’s my first time traveling alone to Sanya with a 1.5 year old toddler, and as a form of familiarity I chose to stay in Shangri-la given their usual high standards in service, quality and experience. Within China, I’ve stayed in Shangri-La Shanghai, and the service was immaculate. When I checked in at 3pm, the room was not ready I had to wait for another half an hour. How is it not ready when check in time is at 3pm? I had a long flight and a toddler in hand with two huge luggage and a hand carrier yet no one offered any help, as “they were busy”. The counter was in total mess and the staff look very lost. After waiting for 30 minutes I finally gotten my special theme room, I was excited and couldnt wait to see my toddler’s expression when she sees the monkey toys. She was indeed very happy, but not long after, the toilet in the room emitted a foul smell! Ive booked their theme room as it was a special celebration for my toddler. I was told there is only one such room. They suggested to change us to another room or we risk hanging out with even more pungent smell with my toddler for at least an hour while the plumber fix it. They explained that the hotel is old and this foul smell is inevitable. Travelling with a toddler it was extremely inconvenient to be changing rooms and moving up and down. It was a bummer because the whole idea of going to Shangri la Sanya was to let my kid enjoy the theme room with her favourite character. Imagine having to pay for a specific theme room and ending up with a poorer version. And I was so helpless with a toddler. Anyway I had to switch rooms, repacked my luggage, lugged them and my kid again. This new room had a poorer view it was slightly blocked, one floor lower, and not the same theme that I booked for so my kid didnt really enjoy. And Guess what, the toilet also emitted a foul smell after an hour. This time I had given up.So we went for the hotel train ride for kids, the staff told me it was not available “as they said there is an excursion and guests are not allowed to use the train until very much later in the day”. If you travel with kids you’ll know they have sleep schedule and how to be using your services later in the day? So I pretty much wasted my day here in shangri la waiting to check in, changing rooms, walking to the train and never get to take it and going back to my room. The staff could at least informed us when we check in that the train was not available but they didnt.The next day, had breakfast, I left my table to get a drink for my toddler, the waiter cleared all my food without even asking if I was done. Mine you, those food I took, I had to carry my kid all around the restaurant to bring them to the table, only to get them cleared out!! They should totally give me a discount on my room rates.Then I arranged for airport transfer, they charge exorbitantly compared to other hotels, informed them to prepare a child seat a day before, they said ok, and yet they blatantly left that out. It was 4.30am in the morning there was no child seat and I had to carry my toddler the whole 3 hours journey in this ~USD400 airport transfer. The hotel wasnt even apologetic about it and the driver just rush me into the car and drove off. Not even caring for the safety of me and my baby!! I was tired and scared at the same time. I used to have very good things to say about Shang, but this one, I highly will never recommend this place to anyone going to Sanya. I hope if the right management sees this, to improve on your...

I wouldn’t stay here again. It’s not worth it. In my 5+ years of living in China and using Trip.com, this is the first time I’ve ever written a poor review.I should start by saying that the staff are incredibly courteous, just mostly incompetent. Out of the staff, there was only Vito, who was kind and prompt with check-in and follow up. Everyone else who works there of course has a very difficult job, and while they had a few mistakes here and there, I understand that 端午节 can be a very busy time of year. In those cases, the manager Brian was very kind to try and help resolve them. However, overall the hotel has policies in place that are just unacceptable.Firstly, after checking in I was told that there would be a music festival happening right next to the hotel. So for 2 days, I had to listen to nonstop EDM through the afternoon and night. It was so bad that my room would literally vibrate with the music until midnight. If I had been warned of this ahead of time, I would have chosen another place. But instead they chose the sneaky route and did not say anything until I had already paid the deposit and was in the room. So shady.Secondly, Trip.com lists this place as having an “exclusive beach area” but there was nothing of the sort. There IS a path to the beach, but on the way there you will come across a sign that says it is in no way linked to Shangri-La. There are a small amount of beach chairs out there, but again, they say this isn’t their property so I was worried the whole time that I was intruding. In addition, it’s still quite a bit of a walk, so remember to bring all your own things (water, towel, snacks, etc) because getting back to the property will take some time. Also, the area does not permit swimming. That is of course something they cannot control, but if you are hoping to swim in the ocean, this will disappoint you.Thirdly, breakfast was a mess. I am fully aware that things are different over a holiday, but they couldn’t fit everyone in the restaurant so they had to set up an additional “breakfast area” that had about half the choices—and then shove you away in this little crowded ballroom. I learned the second day that there was a patio option with no wait, and I actually had wanted to sit outside anyway, but no one told me this was available. Even then, I had to ask for my own cutlery (they gave me a children’s set), they did not wipe down the tables, and no one paid any attention to me until I finally showed some frustration. Fourth, the place is very much geared towards families. This place has the most “children-friendly” resources out of every Sanya hotel I’ve stayed in, and if you are a parent this is of course great. However, if you are looking for a quiet retreat, I recommend you look somewhere far far away. For my entire stay, I had to deal with screaming kids and their louder-screaming parents (two families got in a screaming match at the pool, and no one did anything except stare). It is definitely something to be aware of when planning your stay.Honestly, I wanted to spend as little time at the property as possible. It was just too frustrating, too loud, too disorganized, and a waste of my money. This place is taking advantage of the name “Shangri-La” to...

My first "post-pandemic" visit to Shangri-La Sanya and as expected, it did not disappoint. From the moment I arrived for check-in, I knew I was in for another great visit to Shangri-La Sanya. ||||The staff: Exceptional service. Special thanks to Skye in the main Reception for her warm welcome and "above and beyond" service; Ada in Horizon Club reception for helping with restaurant bookings and Elaine and Olaf in the Horizon Club lounge for being so friendly, helpful and genuinely warm hosts. It's clear that staff have been well-trained and know exactly how to make guests feel special.||||The room: Horizon Club Seaview Room (6th floor). So well-equipped and spotlessly clean, with all the usual amenities and few extras (flip-flops, beach bag...). The rooms are also very well soundproofed which allowed for a super-relaxing in-room experience and an even better sleep.||||The facilities: As a solo traveller, I didn't use any of the family facilities but the Health Centre (gym) was awesome. Clean, bright, well-maintained equipment and nice little touches (e.g. refrigerated scented towels, bottled water...). The pool is a highlight. The water is a a little on the warm side (due to its full sun exposure) but with no crowds and plenty of space, it was a nice place to hang out. ||||The location: About 45 min drive from Phoenix International Airport, but totally worth the journey. The beach is not crowded and stretches for miles. Also great location next to Atlantis Sanya Waterpark (10 min walk along the roadside) for those who enjoy a bit of waterpark action. ||||Conclusion: Definitely the best resort in Sanya in my opinion and a great ambassador for the Shangri-La brand in China. Look forward to going...