Booking The Hotel
My father and I decided to take a trip to Haikou to play some golf, so we started looking for hotels. Seeing that there was a brand new Ritz-Carlton in Haikou’s Mission Hills golfing complex, we found a nice package that included buffet breakfast for two people as well as a one-way car transfer on their website and decided to bit the bullet. Overall, the stay cost CNY2342, which I’d say is actually a half decent deal.
Our Stay
We arrived at the Ritz Carlton through a hotel arranged transfer from Haikou Airport, which took around 20 minutes. The driver was courteous and made polite small talk throughout the journey.
From the outside, the Ritz Carlton is modern and stylish, which I expect for a hotel that was only around 6 months old at the time we stayed there.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Exterior
At the center of the hotel’s driveway, there’s a water fountain display, along with some palm trees.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Driveway Fountain
You’ll also find two deer statues perched next to the entrance to the hotel, which I found to be a really classy touch.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deer Statues
The lobby is beautifully decorated, with a modern European theme. I especially loved the high ceilings, the wood finishes and the massive wall paintings.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Lobby
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Lobby
Given that the hotel is in Haikou’s massive Mission Hills complex, there are subtle golf-inspired touches around the hotel, an example of which the golf tournament cup style flower vases in the center of the lobby.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Lobby Flowers
We were welcomed by Tiffany, an associate at the front desk. She had already taken the liberty of printing out all of me and my father’s details in order to speed up the check-in process. After the check-in process was completed, we were escorted up to our room, which I’ve seen happen multiple times to other guests during my stay.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Lift Lobby
The modern European theme continued in the hallways and lift lobbies, which were seriously gorgeous.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Hallway
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou
Check-in: Friday, June 16, 2017
Room Type: Deluxe Golf View Room
Room Number: 906
Stay duration: 2 nights
Check-out: Sunday, June 18, 2017
We were given a brief introduction of the room by Tiffany, who also offered to send up some water and ice given the hot temperatures in Haikou at the time that we were visiting.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deluxe Golf View Room
The room spans 50 square meters and is very tastefully decorated. As you enter, you’ll find a small luggage rack, which is just big enough to fit a small sized carry on.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Luggage Rack
You’ll also find two very comfortable armchairs, along with a large round desk. Next to that were some conveniently placed power ports, a lamp, as well as one of those fancy diffusers.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Desk Setup
The room also features a big balcony with two armchairs and a smaller round table. While I like the concept of a balcony, the heat in Haikou is often times unbearable during the summer, making it hard to relax when outside.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Balcony
The room featured views of the nearby Mission Hills golf course, as well as the hotel’s garden which is also inspired by…you guessed it…a golf course.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deluxe Golf View Room View
Across from the beds is a large flat screen television. The hotel offered a wide selection of television channels.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Television
The hotel also provides complimentary bottled water and a Nespresso machine to make coffee.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Water and Coffee
As an interesting local touch, the hotel offers a complete Chinese tea set.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Tea Set
There’s also a minibar stocked with a variety of wine, liquors, junk food, soft drinks, and beer.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Minibar
Between the two beds is a small “control center” with more buttons than an aircraft cockpit. There are two USB chargers, along with a universal power port and a series of buttons to control lighting and the curtains. It’s worth noting that the room is really well designed. Chargers are in super convenient locations, and lighting/curtain controls are all at a centralised location, making it easy to adjust the mood of the room.
Immediately next to the entrance is a big marble-clad bathroom, featuring double sinks, a separate bathtub and shower, and a toilet.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deluxe Golf View Room Bathroom
The bathtub comes with a bath pillow, which is something that I wish more hotels would offer.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deluxe Golf View Room Bathtub
You’ll also find a loofah, bath salts, as well as Ritz-Carlton brand standard Asprey Purple Water amenities, which are amongst my favorite in the hotel industry.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deluxe Golf View Room Bathtub Setup
The shower comes with a bench, as well as a handheld and rainforest nozzle.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deluxe Golf View Room Shower and Toilet
I found the wrapping for spare toilet paper to be particularly classy.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deluxe Golf View Room Toilet Paper Wrapping
After settling in, we left the hotel to explore the nearby Mission Hills Centerville shopping mall, which is still pretty empty given that it was opened only recently. When we returned, we found that our room had been turned down, with our clothes neatly folded on the bed and the drapes closed.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Deluxe Golf View Room
Interestingly, the hotel offers a cocktail shaker along with a book full of recipes, which is pretty cute, but I wonder if guests actually use this feature.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Cocktail Setup
That night, I decided to take a bubble bath (yes, I know, shame on me for wasting water). After running a bath, I discovered that there were these disgusting sand-like bits in the water. The next morning, we contacted the front desk just as we were leaving to play golf.
When we returned, the front desk staff notified us that the hotel was looking into the problem and that the issued would be resolved by the evening. After returning to our room, we found a handwritten note from the General Manager apologizing for the inconvenience. While I’m slightly disappointed in the quality of the water — especially since this hotel had only been open for six months when I stayed there, I was really impressed with how the hotel dealt with the issue.
Another really impressive thing about our stay was how proactive the housekeeping staff are. The night before, I washed a pair of my shorts and hung it up in the bathroom. The next day, a member of the housekeeping staff moved the shorts from bathroom to the balcony to help the shorts dry quicker. While something ultimately insignificant, it’s a testament to how committed every member of staff was to provide guests with the best experience possible.
We decided to have lunch at the hotel’s lobby bar one day, which is decorated like a classy private club.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Lobby Bar
At the other end of the lobby bar, there’s a patisserie with a variety of baked goods and chocolate.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Lobby Bar
There’s a variety of different seating options scattered throughout the bar.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Lobby Bar Seating
The service at the lobby bar was friendly and attentive. Unfortunately, the food at the lobby bar was really slow. It took almost 30 minutes for us to be served our (rather simple) meal. On the plus side, the food was quite tasty, but nothing to write home about.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Lobby Bar Lunch
The main purpose of our trip to Haikou was to be able to play golf. The hotel is situated in the Mission Hills Haikou Centerville complex, which is around 5-10 minutes away from the actual golf courses depending on which one of the 12837918 9 courses on-site that you choose to play at. The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service which you can reserve.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou Golf Shuttle Bus
Each morning, the hotel also sets up a display with bottles of water and face cloths, presumably for golfers to grab before heading on to the course.
The Ritz-Carlton Haikou
Bottom Line: The Ritz-Carlton Haikou
Overall, I was really impressed with the hotel. The decor of the hotel is simply gorgeous and incredibly well designed. While I was expecting the service at the hotel to be spotty given how recently it had opened, everything was flawless. There was no sense that everyone was still learning how to execute their roles. I would definitely go out of my way to stay here if I were to head to Haikou again.
