清水湾 Qīngshuǐ wān is the broad, calm, singing-sand beach on the south-east coast of 陵水 Língshuǐ, and it is where the county keeps its best hotels. The resort strip here is not the high-rise wall you find at some of the island’s better-known bays; it is a row of large, low, self-contained resorts strung along the twelve or so kilometres of sand, each with its own pool, its own garden and its own stretch of beachfront, and a good deal of space between them. The result is a beach that stays open and a stretch of coast that never feels crowded, which is the quiet draw of 清水湾 against the busier bays to the north.
The resorts here cater to the family holiday and to the long stay. A typical one is a low block or a cluster of low blocks set in a garden of palms and lawns, with a large pool as the centrepiece and a beachfront below it. The rooms are what you would expect of this class of place: a balcony or terrace facing the garden or the sea, air conditioning, a big bed, a bathroom with a walk-in shower and usually a bath. The better ones add a kids’ club, a couple of restaurants, a small spa, and a beach club where you can take a swim and come back for lunch without ever leaving the resort grounds. Some have tennis or a putting green and a direct path down to the sand, and the quietest are the ones that keep their distance from the road.
What 清水湾 has, and what the resorts here bank on, is the beach. The sand is fine and pale and it sings underfoot on a dry day, and the water is clear, shallow and calm, held by a reef out beyond the swim lanes, so it is the safest swimming on this coast. A day here is a slow one: swim in the morning, read by the pool in the afternoon, take a walk along the sand towards the quieter eastern end in the early evening, and eat the 疍家 seafood at a raft restaurant in the nearby lagoon before returning. It is a coast that rewards the unhurried, and the resorts are built for exactly that.
What the Rooms Are Like
Expect a standard international resort room of thirty-five to fifty square metres, with a balcony or terrace, a king bed (and a sofa bed for a third guest in the family rooms), air conditioning, a flat-screen television, a minibar and a kettle. Bathrooms are large, usually with both a shower and a tub in the better rooms. The pools are the centrepiece and are kept at a comfortable temperature; the beachfront rooms go for a premium and are worth it if you want to wake to the sea. Wi-Fi is fast and reliable, which is more than can be said for some of the island’s smaller towns.
Practicalities
Price. A double at a 清水湾 resort runs ¥600 to ¥1,200 a night in the shoulder season, and frequently double or more for the first week of October, Chinese New Year and the summer school holidays, when the coast is at its busiest. The cheapest off-season deals start near ¥400 for a garden view. Breakfast is often included in the higher rates.
Address. The resorts line the beach of 清水湾, better known as 清水湾旅游度假区 Qīngshuǐ wān lǚ yóu dù jià qū, on the south-east coast of 陵水黎族自治县, about thirty to forty minutes by car from 陵水 town and roughly an hour from 三亚. The 环岛高铁 ring railway stops at 陵水站 Língshuǐ zhàn, from which a taxi runs down to the coast.
Rooms. Book a sea-facing room on a higher floor for the view, and ask whether the resort has a direct path to the beach or whether you have to cross a road, because the difference is real. Confirm what the breakfast covers and whether the pool is heated out of season. The quietest rooms face the sea and the garden rather than the car park.
Getting there. From 三亚, 清水湾 is about an hour by car along the coast; from 陵水 town it is thirty to forty minutes. The ring railway’s 陵水站 is the nearest station, and a pre-booked transfer or a taxi covers the final leg. Most resorts run an airport shuttle or can arrange one for a fee.
flowcloud would say that a coast which kept its beach open and its resorts low, rather than walling the sand behind a row of towers, has understood that the beach is the asset and the hotel is only the guest.
Where to stay: the resorts along the 清水湾 beach in 陵水黎族自治县, reached by road from 陵水 town or the ring railway’s 陵水站. Book a sea-facing room, confirm the beach access, and think of it as a two-hour drive from 三亚 that buys you a calmer, clearer stretch of sand.