Lijiang Gucheng Home2 Suites by Hilton Hotel

Breakfast was included and felt like a mini-banquet. Everything I tried was good. There’s also a little pool on one of the middle floors, a ground-floor laundry room, and a gym. Behind the hotel, a short walk takes you to a small shopping area with a mall and lots of food vendors. The streets nearby have plenty of places to eat and little cosy bars that add to the night scene. The hotel is pretty affordable for a big chain compared with places on the edge of, or inside, Lijiang's ancient town. It’s some distance from the attractions, though, so you’ll need a short Didi ride. For someone who plans to be out touring all day and just needs a hotel at night, it’s a very decent option. We stayed in April, between winter and spring, when the air conditioning seemed unable to decide what to do. It was still set to full heat, making the room unbearably warm at night, so we opened the windows. Traffic noise was terrible, and around 2 am, drunk people talking loudly below interrupted our much-needed sleep. I’d suggest a higher floor on the side away from the road. The room looks trendy and has lots of modern conveniences, perhaps a little too high-tech. Pulling the curtains opened them all the way, and closing them shut them completely. There was no way to leave them partly open for cool air and privacy, so we had to keep them fully open, which made the street noise worse.

The room felt a little small, but it was comfortable enough.