Beachside hotels, great facilities

Crowne Plaza
The Crowne Plaza on the Yalong Bay side of Sanya is only 12 months old and is a big
departure from other Crowne Plaza hotels across the region. The main difference is that
it is a low-rise property designed around a long, lagoon-style pool, and also has its own
dining and shopping village attached. It also feature a 500 sqm open resort-style foyer.

However the Crowne Plaza is true to its brand roots as the Place to Meet, with the
largest ballroom in Yalong Bay at 1,300 sqm, and a further 12 meeting rooms all in a selfcontained meeting facility away from the rest of the property. The central point is the
Dragon Fountain Courtyard, which can hold 120 people for outdoor functions.

The latest meetings technology is also on display, including pop-up television screens
for each position in the 18-person boardroom.
The largest group to use the property so far was a VW car launch for 600 people.
www.crowneplaza.com/sanya

Kempinksi Sanya
The Kempinski is built on the beach at Sanya Bay and is the only five-star property in this
area, which is 15 minutes from downtown and ten minutes from the airport. The hotel is
spread across 50 hectares and offers 408 rooms and suites (all with their own balconies),
including an executive wing and two presidential suites.

The Kempinski has a dedicated meetings area away from the main areas of the hotel.
It offers 1,400 sqm of space, with its largest area able to hold 800 people theatre style.
There are a further eight breakout rooms and a picturesque grass area in the middle of
the meeting rooms, but groups would be better advised to hold functions by the huge pool or on Kempinski’s private beach.

The beach is also a good option for teambuilding activities.
Since opening, Cartier have used the hotel for a 120-person event, Unilever (450),
Mercedes-Benz (70) and Volkswagen (600).

The hotel also hosted the 400-person Global Hotel Forum in June (see Case Study,
July/August CEI Asia Pacific, p30).
“The hotel provided a very flexible service and increased the gala dinner set-up at the
last minute,” says Xu Jing from World Tourism Asia Pacific.
www.kempinski.com/sanya

Marriott Sanya
The 456-room Marriott Sanya is the brand’s first resort in China. Set on Yalong Bay, its easy access to meeting facilities, golf and the beach make it appealing as both a conference
and incentive destination. The hotel’s 11 meeting rooms offer 1,250 sqm of space with
the biggest area able to hold 800 theatre style.

There is also a large courtyard area separate from the hotel that can hold private outdoor
functions for up to 300 people. The hotel’s main lawn can hold 600 people and staging
and fireworks can be arranged.

Siemens recently held a conference for 300 people here, as did ING from Korea (900). The hotel is also the host for the annual TCL Classic Golf Tournament held across the road at Yalong Bay Golf Club.
www.marriott.com


Hilton
Opened at the end of 2005, the 501-room Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa on Yalong Bay features 501 guestrooms, suites and villas.
The highlight for meetings groups is the Hilton’s separate MICE Pavilion, with more than 3,000 sqm of event space across two levels as well as two lawn areas. Its largest indoor meeting space can hold 840 people while the largest outdoor space can fit 1,800.

The hotel’s main recreation facility, apart from its beachfront location, is its 6,780 sqm
Spa Retreat, which includes eight treatment pavilions and numerous therapy options.
Recent corporate groups to use the Hilton include a party of 700 from Intel, 200 from
IBM and 500 from Hewlett-Packard.
www.hilton.com

Sheraton Sanya
Everything at the high-quality Sheraton Sanya is done on a big scale. It offers 511 guestrooms, all with their own private balcony. Its largest meeting space is the Ocean Ballroom, which can hold 1,400 for cocktail functions, while there are a further 11 meeting spaces.

The Sheraton also features an in-house convention team that has at least two people on-call 24 hours a day. The hotel is also able to allocate large blocks of rooms for groups, to keep them away from leisure travellers.
Its outdoor areas are well set-up for teambuilding events while the hotel’s other claim to fame is that it has hosted the Miss World contest three times.
Microsoft recently brought a group of 400 to the Sheraton, as did BMW (500), while L’Oreal held an incentive for 200 people in April (see Case Study, June CEI Asia Pacific, p32).

“The whole event was unforgettable,” says Zhu Ning, organiser of the L’Oreal event. “Clients enjoyed the teambuilding activities, sports facilities and Sanya’s clean air and sea.”
www.sheraton.com/sanya

Gloria Hotel
The Gloria Hotel sits on the largest block of land out of all of the Yalong Bay hotels. This
space is well utilised with a huge obstacle course awaiting teambuilding groups.
The hotel is two thirds of the way through a renovation project that will be finished early next year. More than 60 per cent of its 403 guestrooms have ocean views while the largest meeting space holds 500 theatre style. There are a further six function rooms.

Motorola recently held a conference here for 300 people while Rolls-Royce held its annual meeting for a group of 200.
www.gloriahotels.com