Howard Johnson Neodalle Resort Zhangjiajie

Check in staff is polite and the process is straightforward. The hotel is good and close to local restaurants and the East Gate of the park.

The facilities are outdated with broken socket plate and broken USB connections were not working. After advising the front desk, no fixes and improvements could be provided. The room was extremely warmed and the air- conditioning couldn't cool it down much. Then, there was subtle cigarette smell inside the room. Probably, it was the rentilation issue with the old system. My throat felt a bit irritating when I got up in the morning.

Very big rooms, nice bathtub. Great views.

Buffet breakfast was messy and crowded. Swimming pool very cold.

Beautiful hotel in a great location. We were given upgrades to both our rooms which was very nice. Unfortunately the outdoor AND indoor pools were both closed for maintenance and renovation. The breakfast was a letdown given the huge variety. I’m very easy to please and happy with an omelette, but there was no egg station here besides the fried sand boiled eggs. They did make an omelette at my request but had zero ingredients besides egg. There are tour buses constantly beeping each other with loud air horns at early hours of the morning. The upgrade we were given kind of makes up for the above, so it’s hard to say if I’d stay here again.

One more thing was the handheld for the bathtub was blocked. I opened it up and there was a slimy residue which was the cause of the blockage.

The hotel has nice facilities, but it clearly needs better maintenance — for example, the carpets in both the common areas and rooms are stained, and the toilets and shower tiles show marks from age and use. The property is conveniently located near Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, but it’s about 35–40 minutes away from other main attractions like the Glass Bridge/Grand Canyon, Tianmen Mountain, and the 72 Wonders Building. Zhangjiajie National Park itself can easily be seen in one day.

Unfortunately, the hotel smells like cigarette smoke throughout, and it caters mainly to large Chinese tour groups, which makes the atmosphere noisier and the breakfast area extremely crowded. The breakfast buffet is almost entirely Chinese food, with very few Western options, which makes it difficult for guests who aren’t used to eating Chinese dishes in the morning. On top of that, the pastry items always tasted stale — I stayed for three days, and the breakfast was exactly the same every single day, unlike other hotels that rotate their menu. It honestly wouldn’t be surprising if some of the leftover food from the previous day was being reused, as it tasted noticeably old. The staff is friendly, but no one speaks English, which made communication very challenging. The only receptionist who was said to speak English barely understood most of what we asked.