Anticipating that our holiday in the UK in August will be rather hectic we decided we needed a few days away at the end of term to relax and recharge, especially for me after teaching my first lessons in five years!
I did lots of research and we considered the Phillapines, Thailand and Vietnam but for the length of time we wanted to go for, the tropical island of Hainan seemed to fit what we wanted. Lots of people avoid it like the plague as it is still China, however as we have not left China for fourteen months and are still sane, that was not going to phase us!
We got a good deal including our flights to stay at the Intercontinental Resort, Sanya. We opted to stay in the Club rooms, as most of the food and drink appeared to be included! Both Sam and I were pretty excited as it was the first time staying in this type of 5* resort. We had to wait over 30 years for the experience whereas William and Oliver waited just under 5!
Our flights left Shanghai early on Friday morning so we were at the airport in plenty of time so that we could get coffees and tuck in to our bacon sandwiches, the key to getting a good start to a holiday!
William and Oliver were quite excited when they realised that we were getting a bus accross the runways to get to our plane and that we would actually have to walk up the stairs of the plane - just like royalty! Everyone was posing on the steps and having their photos taken by the plane reminding us that for a lot of people on the plane it was their first time flying. One of the things that we often have to remind ourselves of in Shanghai is that although the city is modern, the country is still developing and activities like tourism are very new still.
The flight was early and we got a taxi with no problems and were at our hotel by lunchtime. Anna had contacted them to tell them that we are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this year and we had a very nice reception. On arrival I was presented with a bouquet of roses and asked at what time we would like our cake!
As the resort is large, guests are ferried around in golf buggies. This, as you can imagine, went down well with Oliver and William.
When we got to our room more decorations were awaiting us. The room was fantastic, there were two double beds and a balcony with practically another bed on it! Our bed was decorated with rose petals and swans made from towels and flannels!
Swimming gear was donned and we headed to the pool, which was pretty much the pattern for the rest of the week. We had a club pool (with a sandy bottom!) for use by people in the club rooms only, but we had it to ourselves most days. And just when we were feeling rather hot a pool attendent would appear with iced towels!
We also made it out of the pools to the beach for a paddle and a swim but only so we could say we'd been in the sea as the pools were far more tempting!
However, on our third day we decided to explore a bit of the island. It is often called the Hawaii of China because of it's beaches and rainforests that exist in close proximity. We went on a visit to a nearby rainforest. It was amazing to see the tropical plants and wildlife, although in true Chinese style parts were rather landscaped, even the wildlife! There were potted orchids, concreted waterfalls and saddled ostriches (which we hadnt realised were native to tropical rainforests!)!
One of the highlights was an Indiana Jones style rope bridge. I was rather nervous about crossing it but the boys, having not seen the flim, were keen!
On William and Oliver's birthday they lept out of bed demanding to be measured as they were both convinced that they would have grown in the night! After reassuring them that they were big boys now we had a birthday breakfast followed by present opening.
The family pool opened for the first time during our stay on their birthday, having been closed for cleaning. The timing couldn't have been more perfect as we had been swimming in the three other pools and fancied a change! Oliver and William loved going down the slide and swimming round the 'rivers'!
For their birthday lunch we went to an Italian restaurant for pizza, it was the first time all week that we had paid for food!
The staff spoilt the boys and gave them a Hagen Daz each as a birthday treat and they were allowed to choose toppings.
In the evening the staff in the club lounge produced a birthday cake and sang happy birthday! They really were turning 5 in 5* style!
As we were staying in the club room our food was all included. The breakfasts were fantastic and Bahgdad eggs became a firm favourite of mine.
They even served dumplings one evening, much to everyone's delight!
I did lots of research and we considered the Phillapines, Thailand and Vietnam but for the length of time we wanted to go for, the tropical island of Hainan seemed to fit what we wanted. Lots of people avoid it like the plague as it is still China, however as we have not left China for fourteen months and are still sane, that was not going to phase us!
We got a good deal including our flights to stay at the Intercontinental Resort, Sanya. We opted to stay in the Club rooms, as most of the food and drink appeared to be included! Both Sam and I were pretty excited as it was the first time staying in this type of 5* resort. We had to wait over 30 years for the experience whereas William and Oliver waited just under 5!
Our flights left Shanghai early on Friday morning so we were at the airport in plenty of time so that we could get coffees and tuck in to our bacon sandwiches, the key to getting a good start to a holiday!
William and Oliver were quite excited when they realised that we were getting a bus accross the runways to get to our plane and that we would actually have to walk up the stairs of the plane - just like royalty! Everyone was posing on the steps and having their photos taken by the plane reminding us that for a lot of people on the plane it was their first time flying. One of the things that we often have to remind ourselves of in Shanghai is that although the city is modern, the country is still developing and activities like tourism are very new still.The flight was early and we got a taxi with no problems and were at our hotel by lunchtime. Anna had contacted them to tell them that we are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this year and we had a very nice reception. On arrival I was presented with a bouquet of roses and asked at what time we would like our cake!
As the resort is large, guests are ferried around in golf buggies. This, as you can imagine, went down well with Oliver and William.
When we got to our room more decorations were awaiting us. The room was fantastic, there were two double beds and a balcony with practically another bed on it! Our bed was decorated with rose petals and swans made from towels and flannels!
Swimming gear was donned and we headed to the pool, which was pretty much the pattern for the rest of the week. We had a club pool (with a sandy bottom!) for use by people in the club rooms only, but we had it to ourselves most days. And just when we were feeling rather hot a pool attendent would appear with iced towels!
We also made it out of the pools to the beach for a paddle and a swim but only so we could say we'd been in the sea as the pools were far more tempting!
One of the highlights was an Indiana Jones style rope bridge. I was rather nervous about crossing it but the boys, having not seen the flim, were keen!
On William and Oliver's birthday they lept out of bed demanding to be measured as they were both convinced that they would have grown in the night! After reassuring them that they were big boys now we had a birthday breakfast followed by present opening.
The family pool opened for the first time during our stay on their birthday, having been closed for cleaning. The timing couldn't have been more perfect as we had been swimming in the three other pools and fancied a change! Oliver and William loved going down the slide and swimming round the 'rivers'!
The staff spoilt the boys and gave them a Hagen Daz each as a birthday treat and they were allowed to choose toppings.
In the evening the staff in the club lounge produced a birthday cake and sang happy birthday! They really were turning 5 in 5* style!
As we were staying in the club room our food was all included. The breakfasts were fantastic and Bahgdad eggs became a firm favourite of mine.
We tended to picnic by the pool for lunch returning to the club lounge for afternoon tea where we discovered William had a love of oranges and Oliver and penchant for cashew nuts, he ate several bowls of them a day!
Each evening we had 'happy hour' from 5.30-8. It was billed as cocktails and canapes but every drink you can imagine was available and the food was fantastic. We felt very spoilt!
They even served dumplings one evening, much to everyone's delight!
Our last day was spent swimming in the sea and trying to get a last swim in at each of the pools. It was a fab and relaxing holiday but the first beach holiday we have ever been on where we have returned home to hotter temperatures! We are now in the process of convincing Sam that it should be an annual get away!
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