Pipaxi hotel is a decent hotel with clean but charmeless room, though some rooms have a nice view of the mountains.
The hotel staff is nice but with a very limited English (not really a problem because you can always makes yourself understood ;-).
Breakfast is not great...
The hotel is within walking distance to the south entrance of the park, from which many hikes are possible. It is located in the nice and lively Zhangjiajie village (the hotel is quiet).
And the national park is wonderful!

This hotel is quiet and lovely with clean rooms and very accessible to a park gate. But there are some things about this whole region that travellers should know. Almost NO ONE can speak English and it is very difficult to get information about how to get around. The hotel staff were not much help at all. The food in the restaurant went from acceptable to really bad in the short time we stayed. The business center, shops, and bar are all kept locked unless you request them to be opened. Be prepared to be constantly photographed and roundly laughed at during your stay in Zhangjiajie. Everything from the cable car rides to the food in the village is very expensive. You will need to buy a park pass which is good for 2 or 7 days. It is about 300 yuan for the longer pass. The buses in the park are free, but it is extremely difficult to find out where they are actually going. The scenery in the park is spectacular and worth the trouble, but it is better to come prepared for the difficulty posed by being a "pioneer" of sorts in a very Chinese forest park. The hikes to Huangxi Village and along the Golden Whip Stream are NOT to be missed! Come prepared for major rain.

This is a good government hotel and everything says so. Rooms are in good condition, the place is well spread out and has a good feel about it.

Breakfast is Chinese but it's very good. You do get coffee. We were there in January and just wanted a warm place but the aircon just can't handle it. Look elsewhere if you want to stay warm.

The hotel is quite dreary, and very basic considering the price of RMB 480/ night. It is not a place to lounge or sleep-in. I guess it must still be one of the better places to stay, as they have a long list of famous people who overnighted here, including a Thai princess and various Polit bureau members. Staff were unable to help us with a car service to the airport, which is about a 45 minute ride away.

The Pipaxi hotel is a 15 minute walk from the Western entrance which is separated from the main part of the park by a mountain (that you have to climb to get to the others side, or circumvent by following the stream). Walking paths are very unclearly marked so ask instead of guess.

The Eastern entrance to the park leads to many more interesting walking routes and is serviced by a tourist boom town. It is also easy to access other top attractions in this area from the Eastern entrance (such as the Baofeng mountain lake and the Huanglong Cave).

Summing up: The hotels at the East gate are more idyllically situated, but lead to a secluded part of the park with longer travel times to other area attractions. While staying close to the West Gate means you're basically staying in a city hotel.