Stayed at Elan for 5 nights!!! And no complaints!! Read the reviews of others who stayed here and booked it. When we reached Guilin, the cab driver told us that Elan is not a good hotel, for the same rate you can book other 4 stars hotel with big rooms! I got a bit worried thinking that the reviews I read could be wrong, but believe me, this is one of the best hotel rooms you can find in Guilin. Very clean and best of all the shower is awesome!! No complaints about the room and incredible $30 bucks only!! What more could you ask for??

Don't believe the cab drivers at all! They will take you to places where they get commissions! We checked in at Elan Inn, dropped off our luggage and the same cab driver took us to look at other hotels he mentioned thinking that he might be right that there are other hotels at the same rate with better rooms, but NO, totally not! Elan is still nice and contemporary!

The only drawback I would say is that there are no closet to hang your clothes. Which is not really necessary for me at least. Cause I travel with jeans and t-shirts which doesn't need to be hung. Cab ride is pretty cheap, it starts at 7 RMB. Aren't a lot of restaurants around but it was no biggie for us because we mostly went out to town to eat. Its only about a 5-10 minutes ride to the town. If you guys want good Western food, I suggest you guys go to River view Cafe near Elephant Nose Mountain which is close by. River view Cafe has really good breakfast, coffee, and great Pizza. Chilly beef pizza is really good and a must try.

Elan Inn, no complaints, will RECOMMEND EVERY ONE TO STAY THERE. 5 nights...only $150 CAD!! Incredible!! Hope they sustain the same cleanliness and price! Will definitely stay again if I go back to Guilin!!

This was a great place for the price and even twice the amount. Not sure it will maintain its low prices because it is new and this may be an introductory offer. It is most clean and well kept. Only downside is VERY few staff members speak English or any language other than a Chinese dialect.

I just returned from Guilin, China. The scenery was breathtaking...lush greenery, misty mountains and rich heritage. Unfortunately, I was totally disappointed by my 5 days stay in Elan Inn, Guilin. I booked a room via Expedia website and my Chinese friend even called up Elan Inn to re-confirm the booking plus airport transfer to the hotel in Mandarin.

We arrived at Guilin International airport at about 1.35pm and no staff from Elan Inn came to collect us. With the help of an airport staff, we rang up the hotel to check if someone was really going to collect us. They said, they would come for us but never did. On top of that, they lied that they had made a trip and it was our fault for being unable to locate us.

We finally made our trip back to the hotel using an airport shuttle bus. I had booked a Deluxe twin room and it seemed they had given that to someone. We had to settle for another twin room. The shower didn't work properly...water gushed out constantly. The towels were not clean. We didn't think of making a big fuss due to the language barrier.
Hotel staff spoke no English so I had to communicate in Mandarin with the help of my lonely planet Mandarin phrasebook.

On our second day, we were locked out of the room (the magnetic security card to the hotel room did not work properly). We were locked out of the room thrice throughout our holiday. Furthermore, they accused us of dirtying the towels and snarled RMB 25 for the towels. That was totally ridiculous!

The chambermaids did not even bother to clean our room. They did not change the bedsheets, towels nor clean the toilet etc. I was disgusted by their service!

On our final day, when we wanted to check out of the hotel...we requested for a taxi service to the airport. The staff called for one and quoted us RMB 80 to take us to another hotel (to catch the airport shuttle service to the airport). It would have only cost us RMB 10

The worst thing about this hotel is that the security guard and front desk counter staff worked hand in hand (especially non-Mandarin speaking guests) with taxi and another transport drivers (similar to that of a Tuk-tuk from Thailand and Baji from Indonesia) to rip off guests. We were harassed by this particular driver constantly throughout our stay at Elan Inn. I reported about him to the front desk staff but they did nothing. He constantly hung outside the hotel on a daily basis to bug us.

The hotel might be brand new and ten minutes drive away from the city centre but their service stinks. I will never recommend this hotel to anyone even if it is affordable and easily accessible to places. The front desk staff and security guard of Elan Inn are all conmen and women.

We stayed at Elan on our way through Guilin. The price was great; RMB218 for a room with a bath (I think it's called the POP room ?), but that may just be an introductory offer as the hotel just opened. It's walking distance from the train station (where you can catch buses up to LongJi Rice Terraces for about RMB40 each way- call 07737585655 or 13457317638 I think they only speak Chinese). Rooms were clean; free wired internet; no breakfast or restaurant on site. Could see some mountains from the 9th floor window.
The staff couldn't take our Chinese bank card- they said the machine had trouble so I should just go to an ATM and bring cash. I've had this happen before at Chinese hotels- maybe a ploy for them to avoid bank card fees? Who knows...
*One note- there is absolutely no privacy in the bathroom- the whole wall is plain glass so anyone in the room can see the bath, shower and toilet clearly. Fine for couples, but could be awkward if you're just traveling with friends or family.