Good attentive housekeeping with WeChat butler service.

F&B options limited and quality of breakfast very mediocre. Adequate but not Hilton standard that I have seen elsewhere.

Asked about family theme package (with tent or kids amenities) but was told they do not have any.

Was told during check in that I was upgraded to sea front villa which seems to be a mistake because I DID book a sea front villa. That wasn’t an upgrade....

Had lunch at the same restaurant where we had breakfast and the lights were out and there was only 2 families including us. It was 1pm and we thought it was odd the restaurant seems closed for business although they did take our orders. We took up the staff recommendation of a pizza and paella and was surprised when the bill came for 700 RMB... that’s USD 100 for a regular pizza and a paella. The paella cost RMB 500. We just shook our heads and signed the bill.

Order room service. Food is not great but acceptable and won’t be surprised by the bill.

One interesting observation: one day we were recommended a villa seafood bbq package which my wife paid upfront via WeChat instead of letting us sign to the room bill. During checkout I was informed that that expenditure cannot be counted towards my Hilton points. That’s about USD 300 of spending that is not allowed to accrue to Hilton points. Why? I suspect F&B spending goes to local owner of the hotel which sort of explains why F&B experience is so substandard.

Overall adequate experience but could have done so much better with F&B for a Hilton establishment.

My baby and I just couldn’t get tired of playing at the private swimming pool in our villa, big enough for exercise or fun, right temperature with spacious room. Staff was ready to help us at any time, and even when going around the villa at night can be a little scary as per the solitude on the roads between the villas, we always where just a call away to hop in their club cars. Room service was a bit slow but they delivered tasty, fresh food.

This hotel promotes the fact that it's one of the oldest on the Haitang Bay Strip (including ~10 other 4/5 star hotels now)....and it shows.

Come here for the villas with private plunge pools - at least the weekend I was in town, these seemed to be selling at rates similar to what a basic room cost at one of the most expensive choices (The Edition), and only a couple hundred more than many of the other hotels.

But otherwise everything after that is a bit of a let-down, and probably needs some help to meet what the Conrad brand is aiming to be. The age certainly shows in the dinged-up fixtures, drained/empty pools, closed restaurants, and the overall decor seems like 1990s US luxury / 2000s China. It wasn't dirty or uncomfortable at all - just not what you'd expect from Hilton's high-end brand. Similarly, the breakfast was underwhelming - honestly one of the poorest/most limited I can remember having in a 5-star Western brand hotel in China in a while. And you could just kind of tell the hotel may not have cared anymore - not a lot of effort put into the presentation with bowls and power cords just sitting out. The room service menu was more-than-criminally overpriced - we actually stayed one night at the Intercontinental 3 km up the street, and noted some of the dishes were half the price (we had a credit we needed to use at the Hilton - otherwise just use Meituan/ele.me for delivery).

After walking around several other Haitang Bay hotels, and staying at the Intercontinental as well, it seems over-building is a bit of a theme - and places struggling to keep up and adapt to Chinese guests who don't use the features Western designers may have expected (eg, poolside bars, beaches). But this hotel seems to be struggling more than others...I would be surprised to see it stay a Conrad for more than a few more years...