Pullman Zhangjiajie

For exploring ZJJ national park, the location is hard to beat. Restaurants in town are within walking distance, and the area felt safe, as China generally does to me. The hotel has good facilities, friendly staff, and very good value. I stayed three nights and would definitely recommend it. The room decor felt a little dated, though, and the AC seemed fixed to warm, so the room was too hot for us.

The hotel is near the national park entrance, and the staff are enthusiastic. The concierge gave us useful sightseeing tips, helped with tickets, and suggested a good guide. There’s local and Western food at the restaurant, and the price is accessible. We booked a superior deluxe room, which came with drinks and snacks during happy hour as well as late checkout. Service was reliable and the room was clean and comfortable.

The long carpeted corridors and sheer number of rooms made it hard to roll luggage along while looking for our room. The windows only open a little on two sides, and with three layers of curtains, leaving them wide open overnight didn’t feel like a sensible option. This was the worst hotel of my trip, mainly because the air conditioning in the room didn’t work. It was so warm I couldn’t sleep or even dry my hair properly. I know it was chilly outside, but I didn’t want to sleep in an oven.

The smell of cigarette smoke was strong in the corridors, gym, and elevator, and there didn’t seem to be fresh air circulating. It was hard to breathe comfortably. The hotel entrance and the walk to our room were both very dim, which felt unsettling and unsafe. In the room, there was mould on the ceiling, and a cracked bathtub tile hadn’t been fixed back into place. I felt weird and uneasy sleeping there all night. The stay was poor, and I wouldn’t recommend this hotel.