Villafound Jade Lijiang — Hotel in Lijiang City

After an enervating early morning flight from Xi'an, I stepped out of Lijiang airport, expecting to pay through the nose for a taxi to the cramped confines of an inner city hotel. Having not stayed at Villafound Jade before, I did not realise how flawed my expectations were! A hotel vehicle met me within in the airport car park, and the driver was quick to relieve me of my luggage and provide me with some much needed water. Half an hour later we arrived at Villafound Jade. The hotel is far from the bustle of Lijiang, and carries and ambiance of undisturbed seclusion, but within easy reach of the attractions of the old town and surrounding mountains. ||||Having arrived in China a week beforehand, it was much to my surprise and pleasure to find many hotel staff fluent in English, all ready and willing to organise excursions for the rest of my stay. Equally pleasing to the discerning Western traveller is the climate in which the hotel is situated. Though Beijing and Xi'an perennially exceed 30 degrees during the Summer months, Lijiang was a balmy 20 degrees, with levels of humidity akin to those of the English countryside. ||||Much like the staff and surrounding weather conditions, the hotel room did not fail to please. Mine provided an exceedingly plush double bed, flat screen television, a large bath and shower, a self-catering facility, and a mini-bar, stocked daily with complimentary soft drinks and snacks.||||Though the rooms, restaurant, and amenities (pipe making workshop located on site!) make Villafound Jade a five-star mountain retreat, it was the staff who made this hotel my most pleasant stay in China so far. I was accompanied to the peak of the nearby 5,000m mountain (a trek far more demanding than a normal concierge's duties), educated and about the local Naxi people, given an guided tour of Lijiang's old town (done in perfect English), served traditional Yunnan tea, and fed local Naxi delicacies straight from the grill by members of the warm, welcoming, and wonderful staff at the...

We booked for two nights as part of a winter vacation to Dali and Lijiang. After 30 minutes at this beautiful hotel, we extended our stay and cancelled the final two days in Dali. The hotel is beautiful and immaculate. The staff is friendly and unfailingly helpful. The scenery, obviously, is beautiful, and the hotel is matched beautifully to the mountain above and the village below. (The village is a real treat: a museum to a prominent American who lived in Yuhu village for decades is worth a trip, but it is also admirable as a working ancient village: you won’t find tourist shops there, but you will see people living and working in a centuries-old village).||Villfound Jade has many good attributes; the concierge (Joe) is extremely helpful and was indispensable to us, who know almost no Chinese. He helped us see some great things in the area. The food is first-rate. Each of the staff was generous with us and our rambunctious 5-year old. We recommend this to anyone, but especially those who want a Lijiang experience a bit off the beaten path, but still accessible to non-native speakers. ||We plan to return...

This is a beautiful upscale lodge to relax at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. It’s about 30 mins from old town Lijiang, and feels remote, but mountain and town are accessible by Didi. The amenities are really nice including delicious breakfast, tea, fruit and night time dessert all included. The restaurant is excellent and we had a lamb pot one day and a spicy vegetable juice hot pot another night - excellent flavors. Minibar snacks and drinks included with the room; plush bed with L’occitane bath products. We stayed in a room in an attic (lowest cost room here for approx $170 US per night) which has very cool skylights (with shades that can be drawn shut for sleeping), although the toilet and shower space are very small with see-through glass. The service is very sweet and friendly - from the front desk to the restaurant staff, everyone is super accommodating. However, little English is spoken at the front desk and we had to book our own excursions so it can be challenging if you don’t speak mandarin. This is a super unique and beautiful experience though so worth...