DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hainan Qixianling Hot Spring

The Doubletree is a stunning resort in the middle of the jungle near the Seven Fairy mountains - highly recommended if you want some peace and tranquility after seeing some of China's busier cities. I was upgraded to a huge suite with its own hot springs tub on its large balcony looking out into the rainforest - all I could see from balcony at night were the twinking lights of the fireflies. The resort was relatively empty at this time of year, so I had almost the entire suite wing to myself, which added to serenity. The room was modern with all the luxuries you'd expect from a 5 star resort, good wifi, great rainshower, 2 flatscreen TVs with a few English channels, oversized soft bed and a coffee machine. There was a rather large Executive Lounge in the suite wing but it was closed (assume there aren't enough guests to justify opening it at this time of year), so instead there's a private lounge in the lobby which serves a nice platter of sandwiches and cakes for afternoon tea, and a nice savoury platter for Happy Hour along with beer and wine (all complimentary) - you could easily do without a separate dinner. The buffet breakfast was fantastic - there was a huge selection of mainly Chinese dishes, which for me is a plus because I'd rather try local dishes. There was a separate and quieter area for executive club/suite guests. The resort-style pool was massive and split into a hot spring level at 38C, and two larger cool sections,one for adults - all looking out into the jungle with the Seven Fairies in the distance. I spent 2 days lounging in and around it and could easily have spent 2 more. There's also a few different kids' club facilities, pool tables and even a few "chess rooms" to help pass the time. Finally the service was outstanding. There were alot of Nepalese staff who spoke excellent English and were genuinely kind and helpful. Most of the local staff had limited English, but still made a huge effort to look after me - special mention in particular to Jovi and Hanson at reception who were always available to help me out. All in all I went from staying just 1 night, to extending to 2 nights and now planning a week here next year to relax and unwind. The upgrade was a wonderful surprise too and made a great stay absolutely perfect. Can't wait to come back! Getting there if you're not driving or with a tour: if coming from Haikou, you can catch the highspeed rail to Lingshui station. Outside the station there are silver long-distance buses (not the local buses with digital numbers on the front), one of which goes to Baoting (ask the driver) for RMB15. It's around an hour and will drop you at the Boating bus station. From there you can get a taxi or motorbike up to the hotel. I used Didi (the China-equivalent of Uber) to get up to the hotel and back down again - much cheaper than using a hotel car and no risks being taken to the wrong hotel. The Baoting bus station is also where the pink buses to/from Sanya depart - RMB22 and seemed pretty frequent.