New State Guesthouse Hainan

This must be one of the most lifeless resorts I have stayed on. Very difficult to find anyone who could understand English - we are seasoned travellers and are used to dealing with non English speakers. It took me about two days of sign language and charades to find out the location of the golf courses, the cost and how to get there. The golf course was extremely efficiently run. We had intended to stay for two weeks. We were so disillusioned after 4 days that we went to another hotel on the coast.

The location is excellent. It is far enough away from the busy city to be quiet, but the bus service into town is very good. We enjoyed getting up early to have the beach to ourselves and walked in the lovely garden path and sand. On Saturday mornings we had a free taichi lesson. In the evenings we swam in the large pool and soaked in the hot spa. The pool was great, but if you want to swim in the sea there is a public beach with lifeguards a kilometer or so towards town. We had buffet breakfast every day. Excellent Chinese selection plus western food as well. Helpful staff including some good English speakers. The room is large and comfortable. Bedding is a little hard for western tastes, but we were very comfortable. Air conditioning was quiet. We will come back again.

Arrived here to be told there was no reservation took 3 days to sort however the staff were superb especially Sam . We're not sure why but the hotel is practically empty .Lovely pool and beach however sea not safe to swim in and overlooks an oil refinery. 30 minutes from town but there is a shuttle bus