After spending a night at the Conrad Sanya Haitang Bay, my parents headed to the Hilton Curio Collection hotel at Yazhou Bay. Yazhou Bay is a bay in southwestern Sanya, far from the city center, so this hotel is relatively remote and not very convenient to get to. It is better suited for guests driving there themselves. That said, it is very close to attractions such as Tianya Haijiao, Daxiaodongtian, and Nanshan Temple, so it has its own geographical advantages.

But I have to say, as the first Curio in Asia Pacific, this hotel is really excellent value for money. Room rates are just over RMB 400 (and you can also use Aspire to book and trigger the $250 Resort Credit), 2,000 points back, plus a promotion that included RMB 188 in dining credit—what more could you ask for! Diamond members can basically all get upgraded to a suite for free. Although the so-called sea-view room could only barely, far, far away, glimpse the sea (basically you can’t see it), the room was truly huge!

Exterior and Lobby

The lobby is still quite grand, but there were very few guests—practically empty. Overall it seems to use a pool-like sunken design, and the ceiling has a seagull-shaped light fixture, giving it a very seaside-resort feel.

The pool is probably one of the hotel’s signature features: winding and meandering, like a maze, and it takes quite a while to swim a full lap. There are also many separate areas (kids' pool, massage pool, maze lanes, waterfall pool, and so on), so it's very fun. The overall design also fits Curio's young, edgy, nonconformist vibe and lifestyle. Likewise, this hotel also places a lot of emphasis on other youthful amenities, such as the gym and game room.

Guest Room

This enormous 96-square-meter suite was big enough to make me forgive any of its shortcomings. The suite was at the end of the floor, so the entry foyer around the corner took up quite a bit of space. The room as a whole used a light wood tone, very Japanese, with some Tiffany blue accents, which made it feel lively and gave you an unconsciously light step and relaxed mood. The room wasn't as stunning as I had imagined, but it was unexpectedly simple and cozy. The master bedroom and living room were spacious and bright. The master bathroom had a dry/wet separation, with the shower and toilet on opposite sides of the bathtub, plus double vanities, which was very convenient. The toiletries were Crabtree & Evelyn and essential elements. There was also a small extra bathroom to avoid congestion. A special shout-out goes to the oversized balcony connecting the bedroom and living room—it is basically what a dream home should look like.

Because it was an ad hoc suite upgrade, the welcome fruit platter got delivered to the wrong room, so we never received it. But there was a snack basket in the room, probably a replacement for the fruit platter, which was nice enough.

Dining

Overall, the afternoon tea and breakfast at this Yazhou Bay property still need improvement; they weren't as abundant as described in previous reviews, possibly because of the pandemic, which is understandable. What I couldn't understand was that the desserts at afternoon tea were so sweet they were almost cloying, to the point that I basically didn't eat the second day's afternoon tea at all—I simply couldn't bring myself to.

On the two nights, the RMB 188 voucher was used to order salted fish fried rice, braised beef, durian puffs, and stir-fried rice noodles, Wenchang chicken, and a little pastry whose name I unfortunately forgot, which about used up the voucher. It wasn't great value for money, but after just having afternoon tea we couldn't eat much anyway, so ordering a few things was just right. However, there was one pitfall with this voucher promotion: when my parents checked out, they were told that because spending did not reach RMB 376, a 21% tax would be charged (if spending met the minimum, the tax would not apply; even worse, at check-in the front desk said the tax rate was 16%, while the restaurant said there was no tax, and then at check-out it had become 21%—truly all over the place). Later, thanks to my mother's silver tongue, we didn't pay that tax, but I still had to complain about it.

As for service, this hotel has a similar problem to Conrad Haitang Bay, in that the staff are relatively indifferent, not warm enough, and the service level is uneven. But overall it was still a very good stay, and the Hilton Curio Collection hotel at Yazhou Bay is worth a visit.