My family of 3 stayed at Bruce Chalet for 3 nights in late December. The warm hospitality shown by Bella & Bruce made our Lijiang vacation memorable. We adopted their advice on sightseeing around Lijiang and Bella helped us with the transport arrangements which were very decently priced, reliable with excellent service. Bruce even gave us hand warmers for our next destination (shangrila)...Now that's certainly going beyond call of duty! The adults enjoyed the company of other guests at the cozy kitchnette every morning whilst my daughter enjoyed playing with the puppy! Location wise, its great...you can walk to Shuhe Town (UNESCO heritage site) and the Black Dragon Pool which I highly recommend is a mere 10 minute cab ride, Our room was clean with electric blanket though we would have welcomed heating in it. If we were to visit Lijiang again.....we'll stay with them again, for sure!

Stayed for 3 nights at the Bruce Chalet from December 13 to 16 with my wife. The room was tidy, clean and spacious. And the electric blankets is very comforting on the cold winter nights To echo the previous reviews, Bruce is truly accommodating and will provide you with valuable advice on where to go.

Bruce also put me in touch with an excellent guide (Ebenezer Hui) who took us to Shangrila via Tiger Leaping Gorge.

My husband I stayed at the chalet from December 4 until December 7, 2011. The decision to stay here was based on trip advisor reviews of the place. To return the favor after benefiting from my readings, I would like to share our own personal experience. We are in our 40's and we come from the Philippines. We can speak a little Mandarin but we feel more comfortable finding a place where English was being spoken. Bruce was our main resource person for our itineraries. We did our own research before going to Lijiang, but his personal input and advice were invaluable. He also made our trip easier because he had reliable taxi drivers affiliated with the hotel. The rates were cheaper than the quotes we got on our own. I would say his tie up was merely to facilitate guests' needs. Bruce is dedicated to make his guests' stay worthwhile and enjoyable. He
did not hesitate recommending to us an overnight stay in another place thinking that it might be too tiring for a day trip, which means losing a night's income for him. He also has Bella as his helping hand, who equally offered generous help to us. For instance, she helped me buy 30 packs of tea which I brought home as souvenirs for Christmas. This was going beyond their hotel's services.
We were very pleased with our decision to stay in Bruce Chalet, which is around 15 mins taxi ride from Lijiang old town and 15 mins walking distance from Shuhe old town. The main selling point of the place is the remarkable service of the truly dedicated people manning the chalet. Thank you Bruce and Bella for a memorable stay!

My partner and I stayed for 3 nights in mid November, during Lijiang and Shuhe's quieter season. The courtyard is beautifully maintained and as it's a ten minute walk from Shuhe, it offers a nice haven from the town's somewhat overly touristy bustle. The staff are extremely friendly and never failed to offer free home grown fruit, tea, and coffee. They are happy to help with travel bookings, and very generous with advice--be warned, some of the staff can be extremely talkative and you may find it hard to get away.

Our room was clean but extremely cold, with only an electric blanket to keep you warm while in bed. Showers are hot but the bathroom itself is like an ice box, with only an overhead heater for warmth. Breakfasts, though very affordable, are basic, and if you're a coffee fanatic you are best getting your coffee elsewhere as Bruce's only serves instant.

As the Chalet is a ten minute walk from restaurants and shops, be prepared for dark walks back at night, since the Chalet has a kitchen but does not serve lunch or dinner. Make sure to borrow a flashlight from staff--we made the mistake of returning in pitch black and fell into a pothole in the road. That said, after checking out several hostels in the center of Shuhe we decided that the Chalet was preferable. Especially as it has a lovely rooftop with a view of the neighboring Snow Mountain and surrounding rice paddies, which makes for a nice spot to have a drink or two at sunset.

The Chalet also generously offered us bikes for free, as there weren't many guests, and advised us to explore the surrounding areas of Baisha and Naxi villages--which were much more laid back and less touristy than Shuhe. They offer a van and driver that can take you to Lijiang for 20RMB, or to the airport for 100RMB, so everything is quite accessible. They also allowed us to keep our room 6 hours after checkout as we had a night train to Kunming.

Overall a very charming place with enthusiastic and accommodating staff, but don't expect to be warm.