The Wall Street Journal as travel trend-setter? Well, perhaps not every day; but today theyʼre pointing experienced travelers toward Sanya, China as Asiaʼs answer to Hawaii. And theyʼve hit the mark for those who seek to be among the first in new places. As Bruce Stanley reports in todayʼs Journal, luxury hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton and Mandarin Oriental have recently opened along the beachfront and that, as we all know, puts foreign adventuring in the uber-comfort zone.

Now is a great time to consider visiting Sanya, as peak season for travel is October to March.

Above, courtesy Mandarin Oriental. Below, courtesy Ritz-Carlton

While there are several new resorts in the area, two vie for the rank of flagship.

The Mandarin Oriental, on the southern tip of Hainan Island, sits like a backlit rhinestone brooch between green hillsides and an aqua sea. It has an introductory offer of three nights for the price of two in select accommodations. The hotel’s website and staff operate in five languages.

An ocean-view room is 2,000 CNY (Chinese yuan) per night, or about $293 USD at this writing. An ocean-front pavilion with a private plunge pool is 2,600 CNY per night, or about $380 USD. The top category, ocean view suite, at over 1,000 square feet plus a large balcony, is 3,799 CNY per night, or about $556 USD. For those seeking an exotic honeymoon or anniversary, this is easily the equivalent of top suites costing twice or three times as much depending on the island destination; so itʼs a great buy, particularly if your air mile credits can help you get there.

The Ritz-Carlton, on Yalong Bay overlooking the South China Sea, offers the largest spa in the region. Standard rooms offer garden or lagoon views; ocean views start 1,900 CNY per night (about $278 USD), and a two-bedroom ocean-front villa is about 8,000 CNY per night (about $1,170 USD) at over 2,700 square feet with accommodations for four. Like its competitor, the Ritz-Carlton offers select packages with a third night free. (By ‟select” we mean not applicable across the board to all dates or room categories.)

How to Get There

To reach Sanya, fly into Sanya International Phoenix Airport, which is about an hour from Hong Kong by air, two-and-a-half hours from Shanghai, and three-and-a-half hours from Beijing. Once on the ground in Sanya, youʼre about 25 minutes from the resort area. Recommended: Use the hotelʼs own private car transfer service, presently at a cost of roughly $15 to $25 USD. Alternately you can bargain with local taxi drivers for a rate; expect results in proportion to your linguistic skills.

Prices or currency values mentioned here (August 17, 2009) are subject to change and fluctuation.

It should go without saying (and yet I’m saying it), no one pays to be covered in Passport Newsletter’s monthly printed newsletter or our blog. Our only criteria for offering information is its potential value to you as a traveler.

– Peg Prideaux, CTC
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