Hotele Boutique w: Hainan, China

This is my third stay at Banyan Tree this year, and I opted for the courtyard room this time. The courtyard accommodation is truly excellent, offering great privacy. Since we had a large group with many requests, I must once again commend the butler for their tireless assistance. They helped us confirm meal delivery times, departure times, and how to handle external deliveries. Honestly, there's nothing more to say – if I'm in Sanya, I'll definitely be coming back here!

Hainan's second stop was Qixianling, and Junlan Hotel seemed to be the most well-known in the area. It certainly didn't disappoint. The rooms are spread across small villas, with four separate units (up, down, left, right) in each, offering great privacy. Outside the window is a dense rainforest, providing a peaceful and serene atmosphere. Each unit has its own private hot spring pool and a small balcony. The rooms are spacious, perfect for kids to run around. Unlike Atlantis, which is all about excitement, this place offers a different kind of relaxed retreat. The rooms are definitely a bit dated, but they have everything you need, and the cleaning staff is very meticulous. The restaurant food is delicious, with some specialty dishes that are a must-try! The hotel has various hot spring pools and swimming pools. If you have enough time, try them all out; they're open quite late. I want to especially commend the hotel's entire service system. From the greeters to the lobby, the restaurant, the shuttle drivers, and the pool security – everyone was incredibly warm and polite. Since the hotel is quite large, and the accommodations are spread out and deep within the rainforest, shuttle services are available throughout the hotel. You can book ahead or simply flag one down. This was a lifesaver for me, traveling with a child. I could explore freely on foot or easily catch a ride without my child complaining about walking too much. Finally, a few tips for future guests considering Junlan: don't bother bringing big and small bottles of mosquito repellent; the hotel provides it for free (though even drenched in repellent, mosquitoes won't spare any new guest! It's a special 'gift' from the tropical rainforest!). If you plan to hike in the National Forest Park from the hotel, getting a taxi might be difficult. The hotel front desk can arrange for a scenic shuttle to pick you up for 20 yuan per person, which I think is well worth it. While there are public buses outside, I couldn't figure them out and didn't want to walk to the bus stop. When traveling with a child, it's best to minimize hassle. If something can be taken care of for 20 yuan, don't try to save that little bit!

Let me just say upfront, I'm not a shill, but out of all the hotels I've stayed at, Mission Hills Haikou's service definitely ranks among the top. Every single staff member has an exceptionally great attitude; almost everyone proactively greets you. The lobby staff were particularly excellent – they arranged breakfast and kids' club access for my child and even upgraded our room. Both the hotel's soft and hard amenities are top-notch, and the breakfast is incredibly rich and definitely deserves praise. I'll definitely stay at Mission Hills Haikou again next time I'm in Haikou.

This was my first stay at the Yalong Bay Metropark Villa Resort. The day before my arrival, our butler, Xiao Zhao, proactively contacted me via WeChat to confirm my itinerary and inquire about any special requests. The hotel is located next to Yalong Bay Golf Course, boasting a beautiful environment with rivers winding through lush greenery. Our room had one bedroom, one living room, and one bathroom with a bathtub and kitchen. The courtyard also featured a small separate room with a sofa, air conditioning, and a double bed, comfortably accommodating two people, along with a small tea room. The private pool in the courtyard was a hit with both adults and children. The room attendant, Wang Xiaoyan, brought us water and fresh towels several times a day – excellent service! We dined at the hotel restaurant, enjoying a set meal of coconut chicken and the buffet. Restaurant manager Xu Xiaoling personally greeted us, showing genuine care and even giving a gift to our child – truly thoughtful. Breakfast was served until 11 AM and the food was quite good. The hotel offers a shuttle service to the main road, from where it's about a ten-minute walk to the Yalong Bay public beach. The beach is beautiful, but the jet ski vendors there were quite aggressive, often using megaphones to tell tourists to leave, claiming that area was exclusively for their business and telling people to go play elsewhere.

This hotel truly embodies 'you get what you pay for.' The St. Regis exceeded all our family's expectations for a hotel stay. Firstly, both hotel pools are quite large and deep enough, providing plenty of fun when you can't go into the sea. In the ocean, they've cordoned off a deep and shallow area, and the deep area even had a 'flying carpet,' which was super enjoyable. Secondly, the hotel's service is genuinely excellent, making you feel like your money was well spent. This isn't just about service attitude, which personally I'm not picky about. It's mainly about the concrete services the hotel provides. For example, free swim rings that you can use in both the pool and the sea, and free beach toys (last year I spent over 200 yuan just buying these). They also provide bottled water and towels by the pool, freely available without needing to sign anything. Furthermore, the room was well-stocked with water and towels, and we even received a huge fruit platter during our stay. You might say I'm easily impressed and these things aren't worth much, and indeed they aren't, but the feeling of having whatever you need immediately handed to you is truly wonderful. Finally, a big thank you to our butler Chris, who upgraded our room upon check-in.

Beyond the fantastic ambiance, the service here was also excellent. My flight was a bit late, and I needed an extra half hour for check-out. The front desk happily extended it by a full hour. The taxi service was also quite prompt. The Chinese restaurant on the first floor offers reasonable prices; their dim sum is comparable to what you'd find in a mall. The 3-person dinner set was only 238, and the portions were generous – two adults and one child couldn't even finish it all. Compared to other hotels, the prices here are much more affordable, so you don't even need to go out looking for food.

Pros: The room was spacious, the view was beautiful, and it even came with a small private pool. The biggest advantage was the shuttle bus service; it was incredibly convenient and a real time-saver, especially in the hot weather, making transfers a breeze. Cons: The hairdryer seriously needs replacing; it couldn't dry my hair at all. The hotel's internal facilities are a bit outdated, and there wasn't much available to buy in the mornings, not even a small convenience store. Unexpected surprise: I stumbled upon a 'Go! Go! Go!' (现在就出发4) shoot. Even though it was on the same island, I couldn't tell where exactly. Some areas were cordoned off for filming.

The villa is beautiful and the pool water is very clean. The hotel is right next to the beach, so you can walk over and dip your toes in the water. The rooms are large and plentiful, and I got a bit disoriented when I first checked in. Unlike other standalone villa hotels I've stayed at, this one doesn't have a butler service; you need to call the front desk for any requests. It also felt like the hotel was understaffed. We checked in during peak hours, and the front desk staff looked very tired and overwhelmed. They didn't even guide guests queuing up in an orderly fashion. The experience in this regard was quite poor compared to the Hilton we stayed at two days ago. If you're staying in a villa, you'll need to bring your own mosquito repellent. Because the rooms are so large and there's a lot of greenery, even electric mosquito coils were largely ineffective. I didn't see any mosquito traps or similar facilities outside either. We were almost carried away by Sanya's mosquitoes!

The hotel is nestled at the foot of Qixianling Mountain, boasting a superb environment. The main building is ideal for wheelchair users, and the receptionist was very helpful, upgrading my room. The room even had its own hot spring, which was very convenient and comfortable. The restaurant manager was very welcoming and greeted us proactively; the food was also of good quality. A truly wonderful trip, I would definitely stay here again.

Facilities: The facilities are a bit dated, but overall I'm quite satisfied. The room is spacious, and each room comes with its own private pool. You can ask the hotel to turn on the circulation system. Hygiene: The hygiene is generally good. There are mosquito coils and repellent in the room, as there tend to be more mosquitoes. Environment: The overall environment is very private and has a resort-like feel. There are many trees, and it's quite tranquil. The overall decor is very exquisite. Service: The overall service level is decent. The first day's service was the best, but in the subsequent two days, the wait time for the buggy was quite long.