We just got home after staying here for the first two weeks in August not a great deal i can add to the majority of previous comments except to say that for two weeks we have been treated like royalty, this hotel is a fantastic place to go on holiday, a totally different experience to any other package deal we have done. the hotel is clean tidy and is kept to a very high standard the rooms are beautiful the gardens and pool area are the best i've seen and to top it off a beautiful beach. But to beat all that what will live long in our memories will be the people and the culture, for two weeks we've seen something different something new and different to anywhere else we've travelled to in the world and for us that was priceless.
The flight is long but comfortable, buy your duty free stuff on the return in Bahrain very cheap booze and other goods.
Once there as others said David the rep only spoke to him twice in the fortnight, once at the airport on arrival and once to find out what time the coach picked us up to come home. his trips are expensive especially if your a family of four like us. So if your keen to get out on the island like we were as we didn't do Bejing or Hong Kong, then as others said Micheal is your man nothing to do with airtours he's the matre de in the airtours restaurant and he will discreetly sort you out (top guy) trust me we had two days out with his help and went to all the places airtours offered trips to for less than one of there trips.
Minority village nice place but we felt pressured at every turn to part with more money even after we had paid to go in glad i saw it but if i went again wouldn't bother.
Monkey Island brilliant to see the monkeys up so close doing there own thing pinching sweets playing around, but the shows they put on not to our liking monkeys on chains made to perform in fear of a man with a big stick the koreans and japanese in the ordiance loved it but the eight of us there were all alittle shocked to be honest.
Nantan hot springs a must do if you do nothing else go here go in the fish pool and get eaten by the little fish ,we said no way but tried it loved it.
Nanshan buddist cultural centre what can you say about this place you will see something great here, a modern wonder of the world,
Sanya City brilliant bargins galore save a fortune on electricals and watchs clothes etc and you walk round here as if your the odd one out people look at you as if you've beamed in of a different planet your a westerner they haven't seen many but as more go that novelty will wear off unfortunatly.
then the views around the island paddy fields with chinese in straw hats its amazing we will never forget it and to finish this review the people especialy those in the hotel who make your holiday so special Micheal as i said and his counterpart in the lobby bar who is leah(leaf) what a diamond a never to be forgotten character and finally those lovely waitresses working in the restaurant Monika Jilly Vivian Doris Cici and Selena if at the end of your stay you don't wish you could bring them home with you then you have very great expectations.
Finally to airtours and the horizon in some way by limiting the flights and somewhat segregating the British in this hotel they created a bond amongst you and your fellow travellers that we have never had anywhere else we've ever been to before a party atmosphere in the bar at night when the hotel sleeps the brits were having fun and the Chinese like that about us eat little and drink lots is how leah sumed us up the party of 115 the first big party they had in the hotel so to all those from our fortnight who read this thanks we had a ball, great to have met such entertaining and interesting people same place same time next year certainly but not the same price i bet.
Rob Yvonne Josh &Todd
Burntwood, Staffs
robthegaffer@hotmail.com

...so this is it, we're finally here.

We endured a 3 hour delay at Manchester (after driving up from the south coast)...then it took us to get from the U.K. to Bahrain 6.5 hours, a one-hour re-fuelling stop and then a further 9 hours to Sanya. Piece of cake :)

About an hour later after passing through customs (we had the trainee customs officer - take your time why don't you!) and then collecting baggage we were on the coach to the 'Resort Horizon'. You could feel everyone's apprehension at visting China for the first time - it was great!

The heat and humidity were pressing after such a long journey but keep your pecker up because it's all part of the fun, right? Course it is!

The 40 minutes to the coast was an easy ride (although leg room in the coach was less than I had on the plane!) My personals were beyond crushed! The 'My Travel' rep on the coach (I think it was Lisa) gave a fairly good commentary during the drive. She gave you quite a nice feel for what you could expect although she should really have asked us if we had any questions.

Check in was a bit frenetic but pretty efficient. We'd collected our own bags from the coach but then a bell boy took us and them up to our room.

The room (on the 4th floor of building 1) was very nice; we had a lovely balcony with a great sea/gardens/pool view (which we later found out meant that our room size was a little smaller) but this is preferable since sitting outside is so nice. There was plenty of room for the 3 of us. Building 2 seems to be for the Chinese - I think - and it's newer than building 1.

The room: Hardwood flooring, stone clad/marble bathroom, free in-room safe, lovely (although quite hard) beds, excellent bed linen, towels, in-room broadband (about 1meg on some searches - dial up on others!) tea making facility (bring your own tea and coffee/coffeemate/sugar perhaps) a decent shower, and the overall feel of the room was very nice. We are travelling with our 14-year-old Son who has his own 'put-up' bed but he say's it's quite comfortable. A word of warning though - my wife and I have 2 separate beds which were laid out as 2 singles.

We removed the bedside table and placed that on the balcony so we could push the beds together - BUT - they are still 2 beds and not one double. Room service have not put them back as they were and it's no trouble at all. There's plenty of space for 3.

We have been here for three day's now and as very seasoned travellers - formerly backpackers - we are very happy. Overall, I rate this a 85 from 100 holiday so far.

So, a quick checklist:
Swimming pools - rate a 10 for variety as there are 4 or 5 to choose from. One of them is in the shade and under - yes, underneath the infinty pool if the sun is too intense for you. There are jacuzzi's dotted everywhere although they are cold water so feel a little odd (?) There is one 4-metre deep pool but only to jump in via rope - not to actually swim.

There are about 3 slides - bring a blow-up rubber ring thing to enhance your fun. There is loads of room in the other pools if you want to fool around with splash balls or frisbee, etc. They have a couple of basketball rings if you are into hoops. There is a net for water volleyball.

The gardens are exceptional and exactly what you'd expect for a resort on the same latitude as Hawaii - you can walk around here and almost expect a small raptor to jump out as the feel is a bit 'Jurassic Park' in places. In the evening the frogs all chat away at you and you know you're in the tropics.

At dinner time in the 'All Seasons' restaurant, Michael is THE MAN! He speaks great English (learnt in Malaysia where he was born) and he knows everything. If you really want the inside info, gain his confidence and speak quietly and diplomatically for accurate answers to your questions.

The food rating is GREAT! Very tasty, not a huge variation but what you get is very nice, very fresh-tasting and it's not a cattle market walking around when loading up your (quite small) plate. You'll go back for more. The deserts are a bit iffy - but hey, you're in China, so please don't expect Ben and Jerry's.

Weather on the first full day was 80-85% overcast, 10% sun and 5% in between. I was already quite tanned when I got here and I still burnt. Even in cloudy conditions, USE YOUR SUNSCREEN - factor 8 at least. Day 2 was rainy on and off so a bit of a break from the ray's - but I'll be very disappointed if we don't see anymore sun.

Yesterday we took a cab to Sanya -ask for McDonalds as from there you can walk around and see the (sort of) up-market shops selling Nike/Adidas etc, but also the lower end markets and of course, plenty of street vendors. We bought a phone memory card for 60% less than in England. I know you know this but make sure you barter, barter and barter! Be polite and smile and fake a heart attack to get the price down - have some fun and use the calculator to show what you want to pay.

Do yourself a favour - walk for 2 minutes around the back of the McDonalds and find the food market. It was incredible. We saw quintessential sights and sounds that will make you shudder, squint, squeal, squirm and chuckle to your hearts content.

The Health and Safety guy's would have a field day. We saw a 'live' chicken cull - I won't go into any detail as our friends at Trip Advisor will tell me off. Whatever you do, go see this (free) spectacle but please check your tolerances and ego's at the door.

We found a FANTASTIC massage place that was a really great experience. The three of us had a 2-hour total pampering - all over body massage for U.S $50. You could shower and get ready ahead of time at your own pace, take your massage - I'm sure it was more like 2.5 hours - and it was bliss. We had iced Tea and ginger drinks and plenty of cold water melon. The language barrier made it somewhat awkward at times but again, it was all part of the fun. The girls at this particular place were obviously used to working on oriental men so my hirsute body gave them a great thrill ;)

...Ok, it's 06:30 Thursday. My GMT +8 hours lag is lingering so later it'll be 'nap-time'...assuming Trip Advisor are happy, I'll do chapter 2 soon.

Best regards
Dave_C

We stayed at the Horizon during the last two weeks of July. The flight on the way out was okay with the seven hour trip to Bahrain being straight forward. At Bahrain we were off the plane for just 50 min before we were called back in readiness for the onward flight to Sanya. Their was a sigh around the cabin when the pilot identified that the expected flight time was to be 9h10min but fortunately their were more than 50 unoccupied seats on the plane so were able to stretch out. Note – with the plane being one of the 2 My Travel 767’s, entertainment is tv’s in the roof with a system that’s prone to failure and it had to be reset a few times. Their were 60 of us destined for the Horizon, although as we left on the 30th July, 115 My Travel guests were replacing us.

Upon arrival at Sanya, having completed 3 forms per person, 2 of which are given out on the plane, the 3rd (yellow) you have to complete at the airport, the transfer to the Horizon lasted about 40 min and gave us our first sight of China. We arrived at 13:30 to find our cases were already in our rooms and then went down to the meeting with the rep David in the Coffee Bar. Although everyone is tired, it’s good to get this out the way so you can then start enjoying your break.

The hotel is fantastic, rooms are clean, air conditioning works fine, broadband computers were a big hit with our kids, tv’s provided BBC World and CNN if you want to keep track of news at home. We also had dressing gowns, slippers & beach shoes in the room. The safe’s are also free and the mini bar can be opened via reception for a deposit of 500rmb (33 quid), that you get back at the end of your stay providing you pay your bill, although the drinks and food within are expensive – so we opened the fridge just to store our drinks brought up from the bars or from the local supermarket!

The swimming pools are excellent & huge; the main pool has basketball nets and volleyball nets in, with the water park having 3 slides, a swing rope and many Jacuzzis as well as the lazy river. The beach was very clean and life guards are always on hand. There are limited water sports on the beach, with the jet skis – the rules dictate you have to take one of the staff on the back with you??. For paragliding you have to go towards the Hilton or the Holiday Inn up the beach. During our stay we only saw 20 min worth of rain and that was during the evening. There are full size snooker tables & pool tables underneath the Coffee bar if you need to get out of that sun for an hour.

You eat your lunch & evening meals in the All seasons restaurant, we were the first group (due to the increased numbers) to use this as all previous My Travel parties had used the Jazz bar that’s now closed, that’s smaller. The food is good, plenty of variety and fresh. Michael is the main man and anyone visiting the Horizon will meet with him within the first 48hrs. His English is excellent and he’s extremely helpful, a real asset to the hotel and all the English guests.

As part of the All Inc, of which My travel are the only one’s in the hotel, all others, Russians, Koreans, Japanese and the Chinese pay as they go, you get to use four locations for drinks / snacks. The pool bar open 10:00 – 18:00 & Beach Bar again 10:00 – 18:00 both offer drinks and the My Travel snack menu – burgers, chicken, fries, spring rolls, etc, the Lobby Bar 10:00 – 23:30 is the main place of a night where the house band play and finally you have the Coffee Bar where breakfast is served. Little known secret about the Coffee Bar is that this is the location where you can get 24hr service – ie late night drinks as the Lobby bar closes. A group of us questioned this on our second night and after a few phone calls were made by the Coffee Bar staff to reception, the locks came off the doors and the drinks flowed. We repeated this on several occasions during our stay.

We tried a few of the trips, Sanya by night with the rep was good and offered value for money. We also went to the Nanshan Temple and Monkey Island during our stay but did these via one of the mini buses outside reception for half the price of going with the rep. 450 rmb (30 quid) to have the driver all day and then approx 10 quid each into the various parks.

There are couple of clubs over the road in the plaza, a Cuban place with a band on each night and also a club called the Red Pepper club that during our stay, became the late night place for some of the English guests. On at least 2 occasions about 20 of us ended up in there until the early hours. The club was very quiet and we were the only ones in but had a great time as this allowed us to choose the music and have a dance / party.

Sanya is a nice place, takes about 25 min in a taxi that can cost between 40rmb – 60rmb. People tell you to haggle to get a good price but at the end of the day you haggling over a pound – for a half hour journey for 4! The market behind MacDonald’s is ideal for all those gifts you have to take home, you have to barter and this can be great fun passing the calculator around.

The star of the hotel for us was Leah who runs the Lobby Bar from afternoon til close! She’s a real diamond, English is excellent (and self taught) a lovely lady who was incredible helpful and sweet, not to mention very good at her job.

In summary, this was the best holiday my kids, wife and myself have had, beating Barbados last year hands down. The place, location, hotel, facilities, accommodation and most of all the English & Chinese people & staff that we met during our stay, have given us many happy memories that will stay with us along time.

If your going to the Horizon soon – lucky you!

We stayed at the Horizon Resort Hotel in july 2007. The hotel is very well kept , the Gardens are stunning , The pool is amazing and host s a lazy river not to mention the 7 Jacuzzis some of which are in door if you aren t great with the sun.
The hotel is right on the beach front. The beaches are really beautiful with fluffy golden sand and loads of sun bed s (as has the pool area ) plenty of space so you can find your own spot and be left alone.
The food isn t all that, we couldn t wait to get back and have a chinese as we know it, They use all kinds of cuts of meat so don t expect a la carte as we know it. Im a bit fussy so i struggled, although you wouldn t stare there is enough to keep you going. If all else fails the bar menu has burgers etc .
If you go on the all inclusive package be warned it isn t all inclusive as we know it :( The a la carte resturant menu for all inclusive customers is smaller than normal menu for customer paying per meal . Once the staff saw our wrist band the bigger menu was taken away from us ! which i wasn t impressed with.
The soft drink options are diet coke and water if you want Sprite you will be charged for this. Their are certain bars where drinks can only be obtained for the all inclusive customer s make sure you know which ones they are or else you will be charged for your drink. We did question the rep about both of these issues but we were told welcome to China, I personally felt they were issues that could and should be easily resolved.
The staff were freindly most of the time, although the bars try to close at 11.00 and on several occassions we were asked to leave as the workers had to go home. We had booked a holiday that stated 24 hour bar and so we went to bed when we were ready and not before.
All in all the hotel was amazing, remeber they really aren t used to the English and our ways so it s a learning Curve for them. Their English isn t great and prepare to get the wrong food on occassion - I think it all added to the fun.
Entertainment was limited we had a group from the Phillipines signing Oasis etc, it became rather tiresome. Theres a club across the way from the hotel as well as a Japenese & a brazillian Resturant which i would highly recommend we went there twice - it was spot on
We did the trip to Bejing which was amazing and i would say a must. The great wall was amazing but we only had 4 hours there so it was a bit rushed, bring lots of water and sun cream you ll need it. No matter how much you expect the Great wall to be a challenge it will beat all your expectations - it s tough going.
We saw the silk factory and Silk Market which was ace and all i can say is Barter , Barter Barter and you ll get some right bargains.
Forbidden City , Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven all amazing but after a while they all end up looking the same :)
Bejing was very rushed if you get offered to go out in the evening with the rep do it , otherwise you could end up inMacdonald like we did. They have hadly any english menus in the resturants which we found a little frustrating.