Mandarin Oriental Sanya

From a Western perspective the Mandarin Oriental hotels are largely an urban phenomenon — in most of the world’s major cities, among the top three or four luxury hotels is invariably a towering modern Mandarin. For their first hotel in the People’s Republic of China, however, the Mandarin group has gone off-script. Sanya, you may have gathered, is a town on the coast of Hainan island, and this particular Mandarin Oriental makes the most of its setting, with a low-slung villa-resort profile — albeit one that’s both finished and serviced in typically impeccable Mandarin style.

The location really is rather stunning, occupying some thirty acres of lush beachfront land. Hainan’s extreme southerliness offers some clues as to the nature of the landscape, as you’re much closer to Vietnam than somewhere like Macau. The accommodations are woven into the landscape amid the palms — the rooms and suites in low buildings with balconies, the villas and pavilions in freestanding stone buildings along the beach or perched on the hillside.

Interiors are somewhat rustic in aspect, a fitting departure from the Mandarin group’s typically urban style, but they’re as crisp and clean as any, and outfitted with everything you’d expect from a brand-new luxury hotel. The leisure offerings, as well, are expanded, to suit Sanya’s purpose as a tropical island getaway; the Spa Village is a large and secluded complex, where it’s easy (and pleasant) to get lost amid wooden pavilions and endless pools. It’s not your typical MO, but it’s none the worse for that fact — at this very moment any number of Pacific Rim executives are no doubt arranging a bit of business on Hainan.

Travel advisory: Passport and visa requirements differ from country to country. Please check with your local authority before booking.

How to get there: Mandarin Oriental Sanya is approxinately 25 minutes from Sanya International Phoenix Airport by taxi or car.