GuiLin Eva Inn Hotel — Hotel in Guilin

Location: Easy to find since it's just opp Sheraton Hotel. Walking distance to the lake Shan Hu (杉湖) where the golden and silver pagodas are. Walking distance to ZhengYang pedestrian street where you can shop and eat. Small shops downstairs where you can buy water and instant noodles, etc. At least one shop was open until 11pm. I cannot comment about getting there from the train station since we arrived by car. But for exploring on foot, this is a good base. ||||Cleanliness: We went in March when it's supposed to be wet and humid, but the rooms did not smell musty and feel damp. Beds, towels, bathroom surfaces and even the water kettle seemed clean (to the touch and eyes). For public areas, we cannot comment beyond the breakfast area and reception area, but both were pretty good. ||||Security: Area felt safe enough alright. We were put off by the ad cards slipped under our door, with explicit pictures of women, but we did not see any dodgy people around. ||||Room and bath: The beds were comfortable and soft enough, and there was ample space in the room even though we had an extra bed in a twin room. The bathroom was one of the best on our trip. Water pressure and heating was strong and consistent, and drainage was smooth with no clogging or standing in your own filth. Shower curtain and bathtub was such that we didn't have flooding all over the bathroom (which is like a default situation in China hotels, somehow). Hairdryer provided was pretty strong, and there were enough power outlets in the room for all our electronic devices. One bottle of mineral water provided per person, but also some other products which are not free of charge. Room wasn't especially bright at night, but the lighting was generally ok. ||||Breakfast: This was one of our best breakfasts on the trip. Available from 7am onwards. The fried noodles were very oily but tasty. Just take from the top so that the oil has dripped off. There were vegetables, hot soupy noodles, steamed buns, fried eggs (on order), and even bacon (which was rare). Food was replenished quickly. Tissue was available at the tables, and tables were cleared quickly once the diners have left. But note that breakfast hall was on level 7 which the common lift does not access. It may not be exactly wheelchair accessible if that is a concern. ||||Others: Wifi was strong. Hotel seemed to host more Hong Kong tour groups than local Chinese tour groups. RMB300 deposit required, and only one room card per room. Not sure if there are non-smoking rooms and floors, but there was smoke seeping into our room from the corridor outside and through the...

The Eva Inn is in a perfect location. Located on the river bank, it's very close to the lakes and almost anything you'd want to see in Guilin is well within walking distance. The train station is only a 12CNY taxi ride away. It's opposite The Sheraton and on a street packed with pizza parlours, burger joints, Irish pubs and tapas bars, so if you want something to remind you of home, it's right there. Yet it's also very close to some great authentic Chinese restaurants and a couple of supermarkets.||||The lobby is bright and modern and so are the rooms, but the corridors and public areas otherwise are in desperate need of a refresh. It rather put me off at first, but in fact, who cares about corridors? The roof top restaurant does need some help, apart from it needing a thorough scrub and wash down. There is an outside patio with great views, but inside, it's a bit dingy. Breakfast is almost all Chinese orientated, but there is toast, coffee, eggs (boiled) and pastries if you don't fancy fish soup or noodles. Just don't look too closely at the state of the cutlery or linens.||||However, the rooms are clean, very spacious and quaintly decorated. I don't know what the next size up from a California King bed is (an Emperor perhaps?) but my bed was massive. Two queens stuck together it seemed. Fairly comfortable with clean bedding. The air con works well, as does the free wifi. There's water daily and a kettle, but the tea is fruit flavoured and the coffee is a packet mix that makes white coffee. An acquired taste. There's also a fridge. There is a TV, but it's hugely complicated to operate, involving multiple remotes and a set top box. Don't bother. All that's showing are Chinese channels anyway.||||The bathroom is a little tired, but clean, however the lighting is very dim. It's hard to see anything in detail in the mirror. Maybe not a bad thing.||||There's a travel agency in the lobby who will arrange tours for you very efficiently.||||A nice stay and a nice property. Well worth...

I chose this hotel because of the location and better price than other properties in the area. This is the best side of Guilin just near the River promenade. The problem is the staff hardly can communicate in English. I was the only non-Chinese staying there and this is the high season. The breakfast is very much Chinese and there is little variety if you don't like this type of food. I had hard boiled eggs and toast everyday. The room is OK decent size and clean. The TV has only local channels and only CCTV international news is in English. I didn't take a river view room I don't think it justifies the extra price. The beds were quite comfortable. The only problem was the hot water was not sufficiently hot (but it was not critical given the weather). Note two important details: One, they charge extra service charges so read your booking statement carefully. Two, Google Maps places the hotel in the wrong location. There are two entries "Eva Inn" and "Eva Inn Guilin". only the second is correct. The other one is actually the Fubu hotel much to the north. I enjoyed walking around the area especially around the lakes that surround this part of the city. Its very easy to get to the hotel with the airport bus and then with a taxi or even by foot (about 30 minutes walk). Taking the cab from the airport is about 130-140CY. The WIfi connection in the hotel is pretty good for China. it only works in your room not in the lobby or...