The Vibe: Big & bold, yet serene with Ian Schrager’s signature use of light oak and white drapes.

The Area: The Sanya EDITION is located directly on the beach at Haitang Bay, in between a range of other large, international hotels. Swimming is forbidden, due to strong off-shore currents. Instead, there is a lagoon-sized swimming pool.

The DNA: The design plays on Sanya’s ancient moniker as the ‘end of land and sea’, with spaces that blur the lines between indoors and out. The grounds are mindboggling in their size, especially the port corchere whose cathedral-like splendour is lined with soaring wood-lined ceilings, a pair of teak pavilions, a 10,000 sq ft reflection pool carved out of solid black granite and huge bamboo grove. Equally gratifying is the hotel’s artistic diversions, not the least of which is a double storey bookshop stocked with heavy duty art and cultural volumes, an en plein air gallery showcasing contemporary Chinese artists, and a boutique showcasing limited editions co-curated by UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art) Beijing and Steven Giles of Base Project.

Suite-Me-Up: Hard choice: the very spacious 2-bedroom penthouse suite with gigantic terrace or one of the 17 glass-boxed 1 or 2-bedroom villas with private gardens and pools.

Seen: archilovers, Wallpaper* Magazine

✅ free Wi-Fi • size matters: 512 rooms & suites (63-233m2) (678-2,508 sq ft) • hotel opened: December 2016 • architecture: SCDA • interior design: Ian Schrager • bathroom amenities: Le Labo ✅ free parking on-site • no pets allowed • 24-hour front desk • wheelchair accessible