Sofitel Boao Dongyu Island Boao Aquapolis Tel (0898) 6296 6888 www.sofitel.com/sofitel/fichehotel/gb/sof/resort/5452/fiche_hotel.shtml Built in record time as a showcase for world leaders attending the Boao Forum for Asia, the Accor-managed Sofitel is a hotel to wander around in awe. With convention facilities that can accommodate 5,000 people - including a 560-seat cinema - this is no ordinary hotel. Off-season, however, there is a chilled ambience to the place and a good chance you will have the lake-sized swimming pool to yourself. The 437 rooms range from a spacious 51 square metres to a palatial 267 square metres and come with either sea or golf-course views. There are indoor and outdoor hot-spring spas, two free-form pools to wallow in, and another for laps, and an international-class, 18-hole golf course. Throw in the excellent Mediterranean, Southeast Asian and Chinese cuisine, and you have the perfect all-in-one getaway. Boao Golden Coast Hot Spring Hotel 8 Golden Coast Avenue Tel (0898) 6277 8888 The hotel was built to host the first Forum for Asia in 2001. The lobby and lobby bar seem to recall another era - oddly almost Casablanca 1930s. The rooms are bright and equipped with personal computers. Chief among the hotel's attractions are the sprawling swimming pool and hot-spring spas.