Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

The entire experience staying here was exceptional. It’s always hard trying to determine where best to stay when you have never been to a new town. After visiting Yangshuo, I’m so glad I chose Yangshuo Mountain Retreat. Located right on the Yulong river, its location is perfect for a blissful and picture-perfect getaway. You can stroll up the riverside path 850 metres and do a leisurely bamboo raft ride. It’s about 15 minutes away from Ruyi cableway via Didi. You can cycle or walk the surroundings and admire the incredible karst scenery. The grounds and facilities are wonderful. The food and drinks are wonderful. The staff are wonderful. This is not one of these new hotels with fancy amenities and pictures that promise viral Instagram posts. Rather, what you get here is a magnificent retreat that I believe is amongst the best in the area.

I didn’t have a problem with it - for me it was a positive - but some people might not like it’s a 10-15 Didi ride back into the town centre. If I had one personal wish is that their sceptic system could cope with toilet paper. You have to use a manual bidet to wash yourself.

The location on the river was fabulous! So easy to go for a bike ride and walks - the hotel has bikes and maps. Staff are fabulously helpful and friendly.

Nothing

This was by far our favourite hotel we stayed at during our trip around China. The room exceded our expectations and was much larger than expected. The shower was large with good pressure, and there was plenty of space for our luggage, clothes, as well as space for us to sit and relax. The ground-floor balcony had the most beautiful views of the mountains. The staff were very friendly and helpful, organising us excursions and taxis whenever we needed them. I messaged then prior to our arrival on WeChat and they were very quick at responding to every message. The restaurant had a lot of choice for both western and chinese cuisine, and was in a beautiful location on the riverfront. The number of excursions and activities to do is vast and everything felt very authentic. The location is beautiful - only 15 minutes into the centre of Yangshuo, but on a beautiful, wide pedestrian river path that connects the little villages in the surrounding area. Our favourite activity was borrowing the hotel's bikes and going to a ride up and down the pedestrianised path. Our favourite meal was at the neighbouring Chinese hotel's restaurant, downstream of the hotel, which is situated at the end of a small planked path through the rice paddy. We had the beer fish and it was delicious. Our favourite coffee was upstream of the hotel, and was served by a young man and his dog. It was delicious and the place felt so peaceful. I would highly, highly recommend!

There was barely anything I disliked about this place - the only downside was that there were mosquitos in the evening. This is to be expected by water, and the hotel does try to mitigate the issue by having screens on all the doors, but I would advise bringing bug spray as an extra precaution.

We loved this hotel. We had a beautiful view from our room and it was the perfect way to have a few days relaxing after travelling in China. Take advantage of a massage and enjoy a bottle of Prosecco whilst taking in the view.