A Great Stay at the Grand Hyatt Sanya

Upon arrival at the resort, we were greeted by name and immediately checked in and taken to our room. We stayed in the building opposite the Grand Club which was a mild hassle but not significantly so.

We stayed in a grand deluxe suite and were very impressed.

The master bathroom is large enough for an entire football team and contains one of two bathtubs present in the suite.

The view from the room. The villas below were still under construction but the construction seemed to be paused and there was never a noise problem.

The dining area. Behind the photo there are also two large couches and another TV.

The master bedroom. To the side is the second balcony with another giant bathtub and a table and chairs setup.

The service was also exceptional, especially given that we were statusless and staying on a cheap OTA booking. The Grand Club staff were very agressive in ensuring that we had everything we could possibly want.

Because of the location we never dined outside of the resort. The food in the Grand Club was great as was the food at the onsite resturants although the more meat heavy dishes were somewhat bland. The vegetarian dishes, however, were very inventive and flavorful.

The hotel is about an hour by taxi from the Sanya Airport. The only "tourist attraction" in the area is the mega duty free store next to the Intercontinental which the hotel offers a free shuttle to.

Both the beach and the pools were very peaceful seemingly due to the majority Chinese clientele's lack of interest. The hotel has a long stretch of private beachfront but you can continue to walk along the shore for miles, most of which is empty. The lifeguards at the beach, both at the Hyatt and at other hotels along the beach will not allow swimming due to the rough water but you can walk in the water without issues.

There are three pools, one aimed at children with various waterslides and activities and two aimed more at adults. Suprisingly, the so-called Zen Pool was the most chaotic pool while the oceanfront infinity pool was almost always empty.

The staff at each pool was great about handing out towels and water bottles as soon as you approached.

The typical portrayal of Sanya on Flyertalk seems to be that it is a distant second choice to Hawaii or Thailand and not worthy of a visit, and when coming from the US, I agree. On the other hand, coming from mainland China for a short last minute vacation, Sanya is a fantastic choice.

Overall, we had a great time at the Grand Hyatt Sanya and highly recommend it.