This was our first visit to Sanya so we were a little uncertain regarding choice of hotel from such a large number to select from.
First impressions were good, we checked in late at night after our air flight. The check in was attended to speedily by efficient English speaking staff.
We were shown to our room which was on the top floor on the ocean side. The room was spacious, well equipped and very clean. The bathroom was very modern and was also very clean.
We woke in the morning to a spectacular view over the hotel gardens, pools and the ocean.The view was truly magnificent.
The breakfast was buffet with a very large selection of both Chinese and Western food.The food was well prepared and the staff were very helpful and friendly.

This is a gorgeous hotel with a nice location. Very Clean!

Sanya is not as nice as other tropical destinations like Thailand, Bali etc. but more expensive and has far less service. All Sanya hotels are grossly overpriced and you are definitely not going to get your money's worth one way or another. Sometimes you are evan not felt like wanted there. But if you really decide on Sanya, you should try to manage your 'damage control'. After weeks of research, we have finally come to the consensus with the Howard Johnson Resort Sanya Bay.

The hotel is nicely situated near the airport, and with the free hotel shuttle, it's about 10 minute ride to the hotel. The hotel lobby is very spacious and though not grand, it has a nice tropical touch. The staff are friendly but seem not very knowledgable while guiding us through the check-in. The check-out was terrible and took more than half an hour as local guest were prefered and served in between. In the restaurants staff speaks no english at all.

The room decor is alright and the beds are comfortable, no complaints there. There's a small balcony overlooking the outdoor swimming pools and/or sea. The pools fortunately for us, were not packed with people so we were able to enjoy it throughout our stay. There are 4 restaurants in the hotel, serving Chinese, Korean BBQ, international cuisine and BBQ buffet (seldom opened and the other restaurant are very expensive) We spent 500$ for 3 days just for food/beverage.

I can recommend the Spa where you can get wonderful treatments and baths for couples in own private very nice decorated rooms (350$/2p for foot ritual, oil and flower bath, srub or sauna/herbal steam and a massage). Actually this was the only thing from which I would say it was worth it`s money. By the way the hotel has a good wine selection.

All and all, our stay was not bad but far less comfortable as expected and much more expensive.

First and foremost, I must say that all Sanya hotels are grossly overpriced and you are definitely not going to get your money's worth one way or another. But if you really decide on Sanya, you should try to manage your 'damage control'. After weeks of research, we have finally come to the consensus with the Howard Johnson Resort Sanya Bay.

The hotel is nicely situated near the airport, and with the free hotel shuttle, it's about 10 minute ride to the hotel. The hotel lobby is very spacious and though not grand, it has a nice tropical touch. It reminded me of the Pam Pacific Golf Resort in KL which our company used to go for our training in Malaysia. The staff are friendly but seem not very knowledgable while guiding us through the check-in.

The room decor is alright and the beds are comfortable, no complaints there, although they could do a better job with the maintenance (the hotel was opened in 2008, so you would expect everything to be fairly new but parts of the bathroom were a bit worn out already). There's a small balcony overlooking the outdoor swimming pools. The pools fortunately for us, were not packed with people so we were able to enjoy it throughout our stay. There are 4 restaurants in the hotel, serving Chinese, Korean BBQ, international cuisine and BBQ buffet (RMB188 per head). A bit of variety there at least.

Transportation in Sanya can be nightmares in times. The taxi drivers would always tell you that their meters are not working and subsequently ask for a much higher fee (50%-100% more). Sorry but we are definitely not prepared to pay extra while they lied to their bosses. We went to this 5-star hotel for dinner and had trouble finding a taxi whose driver is willing to accept the 'meter rate'. We ended up waiting for almost an hour.

All and all, our stay was not bad. We'd try to stay away from going out at night and eat at the hotel restaurants. That will definitely save us some trouble with the taxi drivers.