Set on the hotel-studded Yalong Bay, this 450-room retreat’s 2008 launch marked the brand’s first in China. A captivating milieu surrounded by kilometres of sandy white beaches, rainforests and the South China Sea’s too-blue-to-be-true waters, the hotel’s architects took cues from the Chinese Royal Palace with reflecting lagoons and pillar-lined walkways that recall a majestic scene in Beijing’s Forbidden City. This property gets points both for its dining options – the particularly popular beach-adjacent eatery Sand, where guests can tuck into local king prawns and lobster, as well as a wellness programme centred around the resort’s indulgent, 20-treatment-room ESPA spa.

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