We loved our time in Lijiang, made even more special by staying at the Sanhe Hotel.
The hotel is built in a large courtyard type building and most, if not all the rooms open onto the courtyard. Our room was large and comfortable, and the bathroom was as good as any we stayed at in the entire time we were in China. As there are no cars allowed in the old city, the porters picked up our bags from the edge of town and brought them to the hotel. There is no restaurant in the hotel, but arrangements have been made with a restaurant opposite to provide economical meals. There is no internet access in the hotel, but again, you can use the internet at the restaurant opposite - just buy something small, like a pot of tea and there's no charge.

The Lijiang Sanhe Hotel is built in a large courtyard type building in historic Lijiang city. Many rooms open onto the courtyard. Second floor rooms in the courtyard area are accessed via narrow, steep stairs, but offer quiet accommodations as they are away from the adjacent pedestrian street and several streets over from the loud bars and clubs in Lijiang. The hotel has porters who can bring your luggage from the car to the hotel. Most of the front desk personnel had a level of English which allowed effective communications. The location was easy to find once we got our bearings. The hotel had a good heater, a comfortable bed (for China), and was attractively decorated with western style furniture and fixtures. On the first night, the hotel was fairly empty and our room was in the very back. In the morning, it took some time to achieve hot water for the shower, but it was fine once it came. The atmosphere in the historic buildings adds much to the China experience. Our guide arranged breakfast through the hotel at a restaurant across the pedestrian street from the hotel. The restaurant was decorated in a very interesting fashion and the western breakfast of eggs, fruit with yogurt, and coffee was very nice. As the restaurant is only open to hotel guests with breakfast in the morning, we enjoyed chatting with other westerners staying in Lijiang. The hotel was chosen by our exceptional, independent tour guide Elena (rosabeyound@hotmail.com) who lives in Lijiang but did an exceptional job guiding us to many places in Yunnan. Her cultural sensitivity, love of nature, and historical and religious perspectives made our tour unforgettable.

This hotel is centrally located and they provide excellent service! They picked us up for free at the airport and also got a porter to carry our bags into Old Town. It is a very pretty hotel and has a little bit of a B&B feel to it. The rooms are standard size, and clean with lots of nice wood and HOT showers!! I believe the bathrooms were recently renovated because it looks so new. The staff at the front speaks English and they provide service for various touristy things.

I came to Lijiang as part of a tour package, but had lots of free time to explore the city on my own. I must say Lijiang is a very pretty city indeed, although somewhat too manicured to lose some of its rustic feel. This hotel in the centre of the old town amplified the joy I had in Lijiang, but it's not an outfit worth rave reviews either.

The design of the hotel is along the style of the local architecture, so your room will very likely in a traditional-looking courtyard in design in line with those found in local houses. But inside the room, it's actually as modern as any 3 or 4-star hotel in China, with Western-style toilet and a shower stall, and a queen-sized bed with TV and all. It's comfortable enough, and basically you get to enjoy modern amenities in faux local culture.

Service was almost non-existent -- porters expect a huge tip and if you don't want to pay, you will have to lug your own luggage to the room itself. I don't think there's a restaurant at this hotel, as breakfast is at a small, Tibetan-owned cafe-like outlet opposite its main entrance. Housewkeeping was adequate and really, there is nothing too much to shout about for this hotel, except that the location gives you the option of dropping your shopping bags in the middle of your shopping, and then continue to shop after that.

One thing to note is that cars are not allowed inside the old town of Lijiang, so you'd have to pull your luggage all the way down the cobble-stoned alleys to the hotel. Lijiang is also known for its bars and nightlife, so in the middle of the night, don't be surprised if you're awoken by the banging of drums and the rock music not too far away.

That said, I still like this hotel and for the low price they charge, I think it's worth its penny. Try it but don't expect too much and you should be happy, like me, in Lijiang.