A Paradise Holiday At Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Resort and Spa, China

Pristine private beaches and home to many five star resorts, Yalong Bay is located in South China’s Hainan Province, Sanya.  Many people have described Sanya as Asia’s Hawaii which I can’t really relate to since I’ve not been to Hawaii. Perhaps it’s because of the sea, sandy beaches and resort feel or the colourful beach wear that the local tourists wear.  Being my first trip to this part of China, I was looking forward to a trip of exploration.

(Note: Do click on the photos to enlarge them)

Last year, the Miss World beauty pageant was held in Sanya on 30 October 2010.  This has helped to increase tourism and exposure for Sanya and its Mayor Lu described this as the “Miss World effect”.

Three year old upscale international resort under Accor Group’s Pullman Yalong Bay Sanya Resort and Spa offers travelers 193 rooms, 115 exclusive private villas with private swimming pool and garden, 6 spacious suites and 72 well appointed rooms.

So how does one get to the resort.  It takes 40 minutes by car from Sanya Phoenix International Airport, 20 minutes by car from downtown Sanya and approximately 30 minutes by train or 3 hours by car along the east highway from Haikou Meilan International Airport.

I was given a warm welcome by a friendly French gentleman, Thierry Douet, the General Manager of the resort upon arrival where we adjourned to a great steak dinner at American Steak House.  Thierry tells us that we can get the best steak in Sanya here.

After dinner, I was driven on a buggy to one of the Myanmar villas that was assigned to me for the next 2 nights.   The resort has three Asian architectural styles: Thai, Myanmar and Nanyang.

I was rather impressed by the villas.   The villas are perfect for romance or quiet time away from one’s usual day to day life.  Once you enter your own private villa domain, you have the choice to just chill within a separate living room which sits around 3 to 4 comfortably where you can enjoy your wine, have a cigar or cigarette and watch television.  You could also go straight into the bedroom next to it and soak in the 6 jet jacuzzi tub.

Or if you cannot resist the very inviting private pool, you can very well hop in without having to worry about other people invading your privacy.  After all, not all of us have hot bods that we are proud of to parade for others to appreciate.  Well, at least I skinny dipped just before I checked out,  just for the fun of it.  Wouldn’t it be a waste to not even utilize the private pool when you have access to one!!  And no, I won’t be sharing a photo of me skinny dipping.

 

The resort offers a wide variety of well being and discovery.  With 2 resort swimming pools with sun decks, a fully equipped fitness centre, spa with 7 treatment suites, a kids club that also offers baby sitting services, a game zone that offers table tennis, snooker, private mahjong and card game rooms and two international golf courses which are a short drive from the hotel, you’ll be kept busy during your stay in Yalong Bay.  There’s even a private beach which took me a ten minute slow walk the next morning to appreciate the fresh air and peaceful surroundings from the resort.  I was busy snapping as many photos as I could.   The Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Resort and Spa does not face the beach directly.  In fact, there are other big name hotel resorts between the Pullman and the beaches.  With such a beautiful peaceful resort, who needs it to be beach facing.  There is a shuttle service from the resort to the beach as well.

 

Get a relaxing massage at Le Spa after a round of golf at the Yalong Bay Golf Club which is a short 2 minutes walk from the resort. I was told November to May are the best time to golf. In 2010, Leanne Perce from South Africa won the Ladies European Tour at the Yalong Bay Golf Club. Pullman offers golf and stay packages.  More about the golf course in another post.

 

 

You’ll also get to enjoy various cuisines at the food and beverage outlets within the resort.  Besides the American Steak House you can enjoy a fusion of East and West at Rive Gauche, Cantonese, Shanghainese and Sichuan influenced Chinese cuisine at Le Chinois and the two bars Soda Lobby Bar and Azur which serves fresh juices, refreshments and light healthy snacks at the pool.  Of course, if you prefer to stay in your villa, there’s always in-room dining which is available 24 hours any day.

Cooking Classes

The resort offers cooking classes as well.  I got the chance to learn how to prepare three dishes from the Executive Chef Alexandre Balier.   Now I understand why I enjoy eating and not preparing.  The amount of work put into preparing the food made more so hungry.

I learnt to make Marinated seafood salad with herbs dressing and tropical fresh mango, Crunchy king prawn, scented mint and lemon grass with pressed preserved turnip and tomato, passion fruits and mango sauce and finally Green tea Chantilly with strawberries ice cream and berries.

I had to chop up vegetables, de-shell prawns, mix batter in the process.

 

I was fortunate to be able to catch the sunset at the resort while I explored and captured some of these photos with the Sony Alpha A33.  Be sure to explore and enjoy the fresh air, sights, fauna and flora, nature during your stay.

 

 

The overall experience at the Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Resort and Spa was memorable one for me.  I wish I could have stayed for a full 3 day 2 night to fully absorb its beauty.

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