Stayed here for a night. Don't think I can stand it for more than that. The room was dated and not very clean. Scum was found in the toilet. The carpet was stained. The bed and pillows were uncomfortable The breakfast was terrible. Service non existent. the food was bland and non apertising.
We were told that this hotel, which touts itself as a 5 Star Hotel, was really a 4 Star Hotel. It was far from that! The carpets were dirty and stained. The air conditioning did not cool the room (--it was only a fan as no cool/cold air came out in the 2 days we were there; we had 2 rooms, so this was not an isolated issue). The bed consists of a single mattress on a wood frame--the frame sticks out from the bed by about 10" on all sides, which is fairly dangerous for anyone who gets up after the lights are out since the rooms are so small! The room had insects, which buzzed around your face and ears throughout the night. The mats in the bathroom were a yellowing plastic (--not cloth as one would expect in a true 5 Star Hotel). Not one member of the staff (at reception or in the restaurant) spoke any English. The Breakfast was directed at Chinese tourists (--and there were many of the huge bus loads of them staying at the hotel) and offered few Western options. There was no doorman or bellboy, though one could be summoned from one of the other buildings to help if requested (--we were staying in the "high end" building of the few at the hotel). We had to pay a 400 RMB deposit on our room key (--one of those plastic throw away keys every hotel issues). Amenities in the room are NOT all free (--there was a package with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a few other things offered for 60 RMB). There is no WiFi (not even in the lobby), though they do offer Ethernet in the room. We were in the back of the building over a neighbor's yard and their dog was incessantly barking. They have a swimming pool, but it was not heated in July. I do NOT recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a 4 or 5 star accommodation. The hotel is too far from the Old Town to walk there, and there are few restaurants nearby (--no English at all is spoken in the closest restaurants).
Very large hotel in the lovely town of Dali. We enjoyed our stay in Dali (is a fascinating city with many industries and villages nearby) but the hotel was a bit of a challenge. It was very large and it was quite a hike to find our room through hallways and twist backs. The room was pleasant at first viewing but the bed was hard as a rock, it was sleeping on plywood and I could not get a good nights sleep (which is necessary when doing all the travelling and walking we were doing in China). I finally had to curl up on the small couch which gave me about an hour of sleep.
Yes, it is a large, mainly Chinese hotel, fading at the seams, but it has big rooms, and though the beds are a bit hard, that's fairly normal in China. What we liked about the place was the exceptionally helpful Englis speaking Assistant Manager, Linda, who went out of her way to be helpful and making us feel at home. Thank Linda! Taxis are a general rip off in Dali, especially from the new town to the old so at least here we were told what the price was of the taxi we hired from the hotel and what we were getting for it. Price is reasonable too for a large room. It is a bit outside of the old town, maybe 30 minutes walk from the restaurant area/10 Yuan taxi ride, again not on the meter. Breakfast is adequate, slight selection of western food, all fruit and bread was ok.
This is one of the largest hotels in Dali, and whilst we had a clean and comfortable ( "deluxe") room sometimes there was no hot water. The hotel caters more for Chinese guests than european ones.The ground floor of the hotel is like one very large shop selling marble and stoneware. Finding one's way around is a challenge - the place is huge.
The business centre was never open - you have to locate an english speaking member of staff (hard to find!) to ask for it to opened specially. The restaurants were particularly poor - gloomy and dismal, cold plates for hot food, rather unhelpful staff. The Chinese restaurant has a picture menu - but the pictures were so unclear it made it difficult to order. The impression is that they produce a vast array of different dishes when it would have been better to concentrate on doing a few dishes well. Unheated outdoor pool - very cold at this time of year!
