No.5 Valley Lodge

We stayed in the room overlooking the infinity pool with absolutely stunning views. Liked the room, too, unique with 5 star comforts and any requests, just a WeChat message away. Were there for a Saturday night barbecue that was decently tasty. Splashed around in the pool drinking wine after the meal and had a lovely evening.

Two minor issues. 1. There are two pools, with a large pool specifically for children. I’d like this to be more enforced by staff, only having children at the other pool for limited times. When we arrived in the afternoon, there were several groups of children in the infinity pool yelling and screaming, detracting from the peacefulness of the room. At 8 AM, more screaming started. By 8:05, the noise had stopped, so I assume staff did something on this occasion. The children’s pool is the perfect solution to this, just more follow through needed. 2. I was traveling with my Hong Kong partner who can speak Mandarin. So even though the room was reserved under my name, nothing was communicated through me. When I asked another front desk staff member if he could speak English, he said he could. I’d suggest that for English-speaking guests, they use the English speaking staff to check the person in. The guy who picked us up, checked us in, and toured us through the proper spoke only Mandarin the whole time. Being in China, I normally have no issue with this, if there aren’t any English speakers around. But since there was at least one staff member, it would have been nice to know what was being said at/about this beautiful place.

View

Very poor service and restaurants

The views were stunning and the staff were very helpful especially Frankie who organized all of our tickets and passes on to the mountains.

The staff were extremely welcoming and friendly. there was a real family feel. Rain was such an awesome host! He was very helpful in arranging our trips into the national Forest. Then he set up the hot tub each evening for us to enjoy the awesome views with our kids. The beds were super comfortable and we enjoyed having a fire cute fire place to snuggle up as a family. The food was great and they were very accommodating for our picky eaters 😀. Highly recommend and we would definitely stay again.

there was nothing we disliked, it totally met our expectations.

The staff were all incredibly pleasant and Frankie was amazing. The views from all over the hotel grounds are incredible. The room that we booked was superb and the sunsets from the balcony were well worth the price. The pool is of course the talk of the town and for good reason. The food in the Chinese restaurant was also remarkable.

The walkways are quite slippery. Would liked to have seen something on the wooden paths to add grip. The Western choices at breakfast are lacking. The big golden retriever desperately needs a bath.

The rooms and view from the infinity pool were gorgeous.

We expected more from the staff for a 5 star hotel. They do not provide towels at the pool. When we sent a wechat to the staff member contact, instead of helping, they simply told us there were towels at the pool, but there weren’t. We had to use the same towels from our room for the pool and shower the first night. The staff at the pool don’t speak any English. They hid and seemed annoyed when we tried to order anything. We were the only customers at the pool. Isn’t it there job to take food and drink orders? After a friend complained, the pool staff changed and began serving us. The next days were much better.

The personal attention of the staff made my trip very memorable. I have to give a special mention for Frankie who was so efficient, professional, and genuinely interested in our wellbeing.

There was nothing I didn't like.

The owner of the lodge was very helpful. He arranged almost everything we wanted to do on our trip. He organized transportation and purchased our tickets in advance which made our sightseeing trips run smoothly and easy. It is very close to Zhangjiajie national forest park which was perfect. The room was comfortable and well air-conditioned. Loved the facilities, especially the view from the infinity swimming pool.

The western food was alright, not the best. If anything, I preferred the Chinese restaurant. Food is hard to come by in the area, not many restaurants in the vicinity. We mostly ate at the lodge which was fine.