Designed by Hollywood, California-based 5+design, Sanya Bay Mangrove Tree Resort has opened as the largest hospitality project in Southern China.
“Mangrove is an oasis within an oasis,” says David Shia, principal at 5+design. “This project has been in the works for quite some time, and its size has only increased from the initial plans. But all parts were necessary, and we’re happy to finally see our designs come to life.”
Located on Hainan Island, the new complex includes two hotels and one convention hotel with a total of 4,400 rooms; three 350-room resort condo towers; an approximately 104,986-square-foot business tower; and a conference center with approximately 98,425 square feet of exhibition space.
A ground-level promenade weaves around a sculpted waterscape and unifies the complex, which features pavilions with broad awnings, shaded arcades, and breezeways set amongst various retail, entertainment, and F&B outlets, with each building facing inward toward the water. Additional site attractions include a waterpark, a multiscreen cinema, and an amphitheater.
“Hainan Island is China’s largest tropical island, and it’s only fitting that a project of this magnitude would find a home here,” says Michael Ellis, managing principal of 5+design. “We’re hoping that locals and visiting vacationers can enjoy this place since this project has so much to offer everyone. It was designed to bring together nearly all forms of entertainment, from a waterpark to the largest hotel art gallery. But beyond the level of recreation it provides, the resort is bringing a new focus to this part of China.”
Building façades throughout the complex allude to traditional Chinese architecture with multi-inclined roofs and bilateral symmetry, while the grand lobby references nature with an earth-tone color pallet juxtaposed with wood and ocean-inspired elements.
