We stayed in a Deluxe Pool Villa. It was set up as follows: you go through a locking gate into your individual yard area. From there, you enter your villa through large sliding glass doors leading into the bedroom. The king size bed was extremely comfortable, and there was a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows behind it. You could draw wooden panels across those windows to adjust the incoming light however you want. To the right of the bed was a small study with a desk, cushioned bench, small table, and a console containing the minibar and tv. To the left of the bed was the dressing area and bathroom. The closets were spacious and there was one for each of us. The shower floor was made of heated slate, which was much appreciated on the cold mornings. All of the furniture was upholstered in richly colored raw silk, and the entire villa interior was soothing and comfortable.
The pool was at the front of our yard area, and it had a lounger on each side of it. It was never warm enough during our stay to lounge out there, but I did go in the pool one night as it was snowing. It was glorious to lay there in the hot water, gazing up at the stars and the falling snow flakes.
Breakfast at Ming Yue was tasty and they served foods on a rotating schedule so that even if you ate there day after day, you would still get a variety. We ate dinner at Bai Yun as well and found that the foods on the "local specialties" section of the menu were the best. We had a dish of seasonal mushrooms that was incredible, and the Yunnan ham was delicious.
We went to the spa one day to have massages. Our massage therapists were Thai and did Thai massage for us, although the spa offers other types of massage as well (nothing specifically Chinese, though).
The hotel staff were excellent when it came to calling for taxis and organizing excursions for us. We took a guided tour of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (unfortunately, the weather was bad and we were unable to ascend to the top) and our guide also brought us to see Impression: Lijiang (very good) and took us to meet several Naxi people who let us see their farms and homes.
The old town of Lijiang is a very short and easy taxi ride, and we never had a problem catching a ride either to the town or back to the hotel. I was very surprised to discover that the old town is a bit of a party zone at night, so if you like a quiet night's sleep, the Banyan Tree is a great choice because it's outside of town.
