Banyan Tree Lijiang

The triditionalsetting and the snow mountain facing location of the hotel makes it beautiful, breath taking in fact. Unlike the busy Lijiang old town, the area is quiet and peaceful, a small village is about 5 minutes walk away which is perfect for our family to take a after dinner walk, in where we also booked our tours. Well, there were not many service or facilities in this hotel, compare to the other international resorts. The little gardens in the villa were where my family enjoyed the most, (with the tea sets provided by the hotel) a pot of tea, lit up the incence, family time when the sun was setting. Overall I have to say, good experience, it was just a little pricy.

Rooms are traditional Chinese decor, black and red lacquer furniture. Rooms are a little dark particularly if you don't want to open back curtains to the patio/terrace. Hotel grounds are nice but you can be a ways from the lobby/dining rooms. Hotel is located a short walk from a nice town that is more charming and less hectic than Lijiang Old town. Staff good but most don't speak English so if you had an issue you might need more than one attempt to get it solved (but it would be). Good breakfast with local specialties.

We stayed at a pool villa at the Banyan Tree for 4 days on the weekend of July 8. Positives: The location is quite excellent (short 10 min walk to a smaller shopping/bar area) and the landscape/environment is superb and serene. Negatives: In our villa, when one person is using the shower (hot water), no one else can use the toilet or shower or use water lest you change their temperature. The management blamed their older facilities but given that this is standard in any house built after the 90's let alone a 5 star (very expensive hotel and resort), it's extremely disspointing. Management said that the whole complex is like this. We also found Wi-Fi to be extremely spotty and slow (another big let down considering it's a 5 star at expensive rates). Lastly, during our stay we found a cockroach and a millipede inside the house. Not a huge deal, but again not worthy of a 5 star hotel and this price. Management: They said that there was nothing they could do for all above as all facilities had the same water, Wi-Fi problems and they offered a 20% discount at their restaurant for our problems. Suffice it to say, this didn't exactly make me feel a lot better. Conclusion: If you've stayed at any other 5 stars (Intercon, Westin, Hilton, etc...) and have an expectation of what a 5 star means, then this Banyan Tree will disappoint. If none of the cons above is an issue, you may much enjoy this location.

We stayed in a jet pool villa for a long weekend over Dragon Boat Festival. The individual courtyards provide great peace and privacy for the guests. We did several tours through the hotel and found the price point quite reasonable. Tour quality was excellent, as was the English proficiency of our guide. I was unaware that many people stay a few days in Lijiang before continuing on to the Ringha Banyan Tree via hotel car. This seems like a fantastic option and I am somewhat sad we weren't able to make the trip. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay anyway. Service was quite good. James, in particular, was always helpful and a delight to talk with. Upon his suggestion we attended the Beer Festival/BBQ at the resort. Food was terrific and the live band was truly amazing. Overall, another nice Banyan tree stay.

Our room is a villa, equipped with a massaging pool and the view of the Yu long mountain. Fantastic view and service. Location of the hotel is in the center of most of the tourist sites. (E.g. Shu he town, li jiang town, and the Yu long mountain) Go for a try if you have a chance!