My Family and i arrived at the hotel around 15.30, 21/12 - 2010 (Tuesday) and departed 28/12 - 2010. The hotel is in general god looking and is close to the beach.

BATHROOM PROBLEMS: One of the first things i remember is having some problems with the bathroom in my room. I called the reception for assistance, but because of the poor language skills of the staff my efforts was in vain. The first day of my vacation actually went by trying to get my bath room fixed.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: In general the staff at the hotel is not very good at English. After some days’ time it actually became kind of annoying. If you had any questions or just wanted to order some food in the restaurant, the person you asked just (nervously) laughed/smiled. Usually it resulted in nothing.

I got the feeling that this hotel don’t get that many western tourists. First of all because of the language skills, secondly the way the other people looked at you. You couldn’t go anywhere without people stopping and starring. This was especially annoying when you were sunbathing. The Chinese didn’t sunbath, but would still walk around the pool fully dressed.

SUNGLASSES STOLEN: On the 4th day i noticed that my 400 $ sunglasses was gone from my room. I didn’t really get mad, but at this point i was just tired. I went on this vacation to relax, but all i got was extra work. I chose not to report the theft simply because the reception probably wouldn’t understand me and i didn't want to waste any more time. After that episode all the stuff got locked in the suitcases when we left our rooms.

FEW ACTIVITIES: There where nothing to do nearby the hotel. You could however take a shuttle bus (30 min) to the nearby "big" city, where you were dropped off at a shopping mall. Apart from the Mall there wasn’t really anything else.
We went on a guided sightseeing tour the 3rd day, but like anything it was also in Chinese.

CHEATED FOR AN EXTRA 500 $: When we departed on 28/12 - 2010, early morning, we got the bill, which we had to sign. When later got home we discovered that the hotel staff had billed us for 3 nights extra, adding up to 500 $. We contacted them about this, but got no answer. We withheld the payment in the beginning but all we got out that where threats.

This vacation was anything but relaxing. Mainly because of all that extra work you had to do yourself and all the difficulties we encountered. On top of that, we had extra expenses that shouldn't even be there! That’s why i rate this hotel so low.

This hotel may be decent if you're able to speak Chinese, but if you’re a normal western tourist, i urge you to choose another hotel.

Some of the reviews for this hotal are a little unkind.
Its true the hotel is far out of town and there is little around, but taxis are extremely good and cheap.
The pool complex is great and very well kept, food is very good and teh rooms are of a good standard.

The spa itself is excellent and un believably cheap. The foot reflexology is great but hurts like hell!
If you want a reasonably priced hotel, this is a nice place to stay but be warned there is ittle around, however in 10 years time im surethey will be a huge amount more as hotels are going up alongside the beautiful beach as we speak.

ps: this is not a western run hotel, but the staff were very helpful and spoke some english

The Crown Spa Hotel is a huge, impressive looking building but was totally dead with hardly any guests when we visited. There is nothing else around the hotel and it’s about a 20 min drive into Haikou.

To get in and out of the hotel you have to drive through an enormous, ugly building site. The hotel owners seem to be building thousands of holiday apartments on the land around the hotel so expect an unattractive entrance to the hotel and construction noise throughout the day.

Unfortunately the weather was unusually cold when we visited so we didn’t get to enjoy the pool or beach area although they may feel more welcoming in sunny and warm weather.

The service from staff was generally rude and unhelpful. Most staff had decent English but there was no service level in the hotel from any staff. A number of the restaurants and bars in the hotel were closed so food choices were limited.

The rooms were extremely small and dingy with dated decoration. Of great amusement to us was the price list placed in the room of everything the hotel thinks you might steal, including the mattresses, tv, floorboards and mirrors fixed to the wall.

The only real positive about this hotel was the attached spa which was quite an experience. Although not luxurious the giant pool full of doctor fish and hot pools around are a pleasant way to kill a cold afternoon and the massages were quite good too. Note that the spa won’t let you charge any services to your hotel room even though it’s supposedly part of the hotel.

We stayed at the Crown Spa resort in late May for a week. I have to say that I totally disagree with the previous post, you obviously did not give this hotel a go. The staff especially was the highlight, all were very professional and went out of their way to assist us in whatever we wanted to do. Although English was limited they tried very hard until we had communication. This is a 4-5 star Chinese Hotel, not a 5 star international hotel (however this property is about to undergo a complete refurbishment). You will not get the real Chinese experience if you chose say, a Sheraton or a Westin. The pool area is fantastic, but do not come here for the beach. The shopping in downtown Haikou is wonderful. The music provided each night by Jeramie and Cesar is top rate and the bar staff very obliging. Concierge service was also very obliging. The restaurant choices are all good and authentic and you had the added benefit of choosing off all the menu's regardless of which restaurant you chose to dine in. The roadwork leading into the hotel may lead to poor first impressions but once past that, its all good. Try the fish therapy at the spa, it works!