Traveling to China? Find Dali hotels

Great facility, our room was very spacious and staffs were all so helpful. Although there was a misunderstanding in regards the shuttle bus going back to hotel from the old town, made us waited like an hour but eventually hotel sent a separate car to get us and even offered a complimentary shuttle service to the train station on the day we left. It is a little inconvenient for the location wise but hotel has free shuttle service in the morning and afternoon to the main attraction Dali Old Town. Breakfast was super good. Will come back again in the future.

Dali Five Elements ranks among the best hostels I've ever stayed at, and this comes from a frequent traveller/backpacker. It has a star in its staff, especially Amy, who singlehandedly registered my family of four, fielded all our questions on what to do with our time in Dali, booked the cable car to the Cangshan mountain for us AND made lunch for us -- all under extreme time pressure as we got in from Kunming around 1pm and wanted to take the 3pm cable car ride up. The wonderful service is topped by the good location of the hostel, just outside the old town. I'd recommend this place -- without any reservation --to anyone going to Dali.

The personalized service is excellent. Many good stuff have been said about the service here and the attentiveness of the boss and his staff. Words doesn't do justice to the attentiveness and friendliness in this place. We've staying in many 6-star hotels in Yunnan, and none of them come close. Xizhou is made extra special because of Linden Centre. One thing to note : We had intended to hire a private car and guide to bring us around. But thank god, we didn't. Because Linden Centre itself is one of the historical sites. So, you are technically living within a piece of history. And your room rate included a day tour around Xizhou town. If we had hired a guide, it would be a total waste of money. Xizhou is small and the boss practically knows everyone. All you need to do is ask. Walkabout is a breeze. If you are going to Dali, definitely stay here. It's away from the Dali ancient town, but you'll love the quaintness of Xizhou. Very unspoilted. (Dali has been commercialized to death). In my company, I have a number of really fussy people. (ie. with food, cleanliness,... you name it), and they all unanimously feel that Linden Centre is most memorable for our Yunnan 10-day trip. We will definitely return soon.

Had a great room ... could see the mountains as well as the East Gate. Room design very nice. Bed comfortable. Lots of hot water ... great after a day of touring. Service excellent and flexible. Responsive with giving tourist guidance, ordering car service, assisting with errands, learning about China, Dali, etc. Whatever we asked about and needed, we received excellent help. Would highly recommend! Would visit Dali again and stay at this property. Thank you Bella for a wonderful experience.

In the beginning I planned to stay only 2 nights but due to the good service and friendly atmosphere at the Lily Pad Inn and also of course the charming Old town of Dali I prolonged my stay with 2 more nights.I recommend warmly the lily Pad Inn for its location, its good service, its friendly and helpful staff who try all the time to make you pleased to be their guest through for exempel commun dinner with other guests for symbolic expenses.The excellent english of the staff which is not usual in China make it easy to get information on different activities and programmes, The Lily Pad Inn gaved me really much value for the modest money I paid.

This youth-hostel is probably OK if you are trying to save as much money as possible on a trip. But the quality of the rooms were not very good. A lot of sound thru doors and windows. And a "teenage-boy-nest" facing the backyard, an they kept it going all three nights with loud voices and music. Which was really annoying. The windows and door had big gaps and had no isolating value at all. Apart from that, the personal were very helpful and spoke good english. Close to everything. And "nightlife".

I spent weekend in Dali with few colleagues. We booked 2 rooms. Hotel ambience is perfect, homey with nice mini garden and tea table. Room is clean and complete. Location is strategic: 5 min walk to Dali Ancient Town West Gate and close to Mountain. Easy to find food, water, etc nearby. The best of all is the hospitality from the owner and hotel manager. They let us check in earlier because we took morning train to Dali. They provided us with free breakfast on that day. They served us with nice tea with ceremony. They helped us book cable car, taxi, etc. I can say that this is the best hotel that I experienced so far. Very value for money.

This is a boutique hotel with modern facilities in beautifully restored traditional surroundings. There might not be all the facilities you'd find in similarly priced hotels elsewhere, but staying here is a memorable experience. We stayed in a large (family-size) second-floor room. Apart from the Chinese-American manager, who is not present all the time, the staff's English skills are limited. However, they are very attentive, helpful, and generous. The restaurant has a wonderful atmosphere, especially in the evening. Value for money is not the best if you consider the food alone (and compare to local eateries), but given the convenience of eating close to home, and the unusually soothing surroundings, it's not bad. It is rare in China to be able to enjoy a bottle of (imported) wine in a romantic setting and pay less than RMB 100.- We found the location to be perfect. The hotel is located on the outskirts of Xizhou, 20 minutes north of Dali itself. This is a charming market village where tourism is less overwhelming than in Dali. There are frequent buses to Dali along the highway. The countryside around Xizhou can be explored on foot, by bike or by horse cart.

This boutique hotel is absolutely fabulous! Although it was a bit hard to drag our bags there as the road is under heavy construction (pack light and perhaps use big backpack instead of rolly suitcase) after arriving everything went fantastic. It’s a super adorable hotel with really cool decor and the room looks just like the pics from agoda (awesome shower and comfy bed by western standards). The staff was also amazing, super friendly and made us feel like we lived there with them. This hotel was a big part of the reason Dali was our favorite city in Yunnan. I would definitely stay here again and was sad to leave.

We had a very pleasant stay in Jim's Tibetan Hotel in Dali. Certainly Jim/the hotel offered by far the best and most reliable service during our whole holidays: we booked a nice tour that rescued the only really rainy day of our whole stay and onward transportation was organized uncomplicated and reliably. By the way, the food (comprehensive menue) was cooked very well (Jim is a great chef).

The couple the operates this guest house is of the highest and finest quality that you will ever meet in China. My experience with them was unmatched during my years traveling China. Warm, hospitable and genuinely caring. They are full of good advice as to what to see in Dali. They immediately treated us to tea together and had a wonderful conversation together. The rooms are immaculately clean and have nice amenities like USB chargers in the wall, a good shower with good pressure (not wet bathroom), extra blankets and pillows. They are also one of few houses in Dali that offer Air Conditioning in every room. The beds were a bit firm for some westerners, but everything else more than compensates for this. They are located in a very peaceful corner of the old town. It is amazing it is that quiet , given that it's located in the old town. It is a beautiful and well preserved house from the 1700's with a great location to see the old town. You feel very well cared for.

I really enjoyed my stay here!! There were five if us that stayed - three guys in one room, and two girls in the other. Absolutely impressed by my stay at the hotel, so much so that my view of Dali is at its best Location: Very handy. At the bottom of one of the main centers with shops, bars, supermarket etc nearby. Also not far from many sightseeing attractions for a Cab to take you. Hotel: Beautiful. Its very welcoming and pretty grande when you walk in. It has stone features and a chandelier which is quite impressive. The receptionist was very helpful. Although we had a firm grasp of Mandarin, they still had english speakers on offer. They even offered umbrellas when the weather was terrible. Thank you staff! Oh, the pool was awesome. Even though it was winter, and i was the only one swimming, it was quite refreshing!! Rooms: BEST! Of all the rooms in China the five of us had stayed at, we all thought that the Dali Regent Hotel had the Best rooms!!! We had two King sized Beds (maybe even queen; we;re not specialists lol), air con, hot showers, bath etc. we were majorly impressed by the rooms that the small town offered. Price: EXCEPTIONAL. with all taken into account, the rooms were very well priced - too well if you ask me. Value for money, definitel.

What a nice surprise. I have stayed in Dali several times prior and stayed in old traditional courtyard type hotels with no insulation or heat. Last minute trip this time in January and worried about the cold. This hotel reminds me of Residence Inn type of concept where the small buildings are spread around the hotel campus. Each building has several rooms and two stories. Each room has a private outside garden / patio area. The design and construction are way above what I expected in Dali at this time of year. It is on the edge of the Ancient city and you can walk to heart of the old city (Pedestrian Street) in three minutes. I was very pleasantly surprised a the concept, design and execution of this new hotel and it will be my first choice for my next trip in April (2014). I arrived in the early evening around 6:00 PM and left the next day at noon. I booked through Agoda. The room descriptions say (single bed) but that means one bed not a small single bed. My ned was a king and very comfortable.

Nice new building, clean well equipped rooms and friendly helpful staff. Negative’s, about a kilometre outside the ancient town South Gate. Agoda map places hotel in wrong location, it’s located near the tourist coach station. Breakfast is served in a local Chinese soup kitchen a short walk from the property. English not spoken at the property and no English TV channels. Overall a modern clean hotel if your ok walking, skip breakfast and speak Chinese.

I stayed in the Double Room with Balcony and it was very comfortable. Loved the little touches around the room, everything is clean and neat. Loved the little alcove sitting area (the "balcony") with its small window that opens into the winding vines growing upwards from the tree in the inner courtyard. I sat there with a book during the day, and a bottle of wine during the night. The bathroom was small but adequate with thoughtful supplies of the usual disposable amenities you might need. However, the hot water wasn't working very well and I only had lukewarm showers which during the summer days would be fine but it was during the colder autumn season. Strangely, the hot water from the hand basin was perfectly fine. I did not have a chance to dine here but whatever the lady owner was cooking certainly smelled delicious. Location was excellent, very easy to find and it was easy to navigate around the old Dali town from this base.

The hotel was beautiful, the staff friendly. We had a tough time finding it, but our host met us a couple of streets away and helped us with our bags when we finally approached. (The namevseems ti be different in Chinese.) The rooms and courtyard were very serene, and we were exhausted, so we had a delicious dinner there. Bed is typical Chinese (hard), and there is no door to the bathroom, only a shower curtain divider. But the shower was great. We had breakfast of bacon and eggs and congee. Location is good if you can find your way around. Several cute cats. Dryer on premises was a huge help.

After travelling for almost two months in China and India, my husband and I agreed that Dali Mountain Delights was not only the best value we'd experienced in our travels but also one of the most wonderfully hospitable and welcoming. We intended to stay one night and extended to six. Part of it was due to the location (just a short 10 minute walk to Old Town and located in a quiet alley) but most of it was due to Lin, the owner. With impeccable English, she is a natural at hospitality and went out of her way to make us comfortable. When my husband was sick, she delivered a sandwich to the room. She provided us with expert advice on the area, arranged for a driver and pointed us in the right directions. Her hotel is spotless and every need is taken care of. Our room was comfortable and peeked out onto the snow-topped mountain, there was great hot water around the clock, the bed was excellent and the breakfast one of the best we've found for a very reasonable price. After staying here, we felt that Lin (and the lovely Daisy) were friends that we would remember forever. And, of course, if you're a dog lover, Dali the Golden Retriever will be the first to befriend you. We are so very happy we found Mountain Delights and we would recommend it to anyone who is in the area.

We stayed here two nights and loved it. We got delayed leaving Dali so were due to arrive in Jianchuan around 10pm. Cato was concerned there wouldn't be any taxis at that time (there were some drivers around offering rides to Shaxi as it turned out) and organised a car to come and pick us up. Nancy also helped us to book tickets to Tiger Leaping Gorge from Jianchuan the next day, and organised a car to the bus station for us. Both Nancy and Cato speak excellent English and were extremely helpful in suggesting things to do, and helped us do some laundry free of charge at their place. There is excellent fresh ground coffee (you grind it yourself in the DeLonghi machine!), tea and snacks available from early morning until late, and you can enjoy this either on the lovely little decking rooftop area in the courtyard, or from the chairs outside your room. We were also given a free upgrade! All in all a great place to stay!

Shaxi is one of the ancient town between Lijiang and Dali. The hostel located right at the four square plaza across the ancient temple of the town. Part of the hostel is over 100 years old. Each room is small but sufficient for the basic need including private shower and toilet. A lot of young traveler stay at the hostel, the staffs are great and very helpful. My kids love the hostel and think that is is the coolest hotel, they especially love the owner's dogs which spent most of their time sleeping in the courtyard. The hostel provide family dinner for traveler for only 20 RMB per person which is great opportunity to meet others to share each travel experience. The homemade breakfast is great too with egg and beacon, my kids think that it is better than the big hotel. Even it is a bit of detour from Dali to Lijiang to visit Shaxi, but it is worth it before the town get too commercial.

After a late arrival, though we had advised the hotel about that, we realized that the young unilingual Chinese guy at the counter did not have a clue about our reservation. After many phone calls with the owner - who could hardly speak English too, and realizing that we did not have a room for the night, they finally gave us the employee's room which we had to clean and change the sheets. The day after we claimed a compensation for the previous night and the owner refused to compensate us. At my return to Canada I complained about that, but more thant one month later, they keep telling me they are taking care of the situation, but no results. I find it very frustrating to count on a reservation and when you arrive at the hotel, they do not have it. The room we got the second night was very clean and spacious.