Sofitel Boao
Dongyu Island
Boao Aquapolis
Tel (0898) 6296 6888
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.