This may have been the first time I wish I had gone with a hotel rated less on tripadvisor, and a reminder that more than just acting needs to be taken into consideration when selecting a hotel.

First off, this looks like a shiny polished hotel on the surface, but that's about where it ends. The room was not memorable (can barely remember what it looks like and it's just been 2 months since I've been there).

The amenities are what I had a problem with. There were few western choices for dinner. I knew choices would be limited, and I realize we ARE in China, and I live in China so am used to the food, but there was very little we found palatable (especially since we had kids with us). We ended up walking over to the Pullman for lunches and dinners. I should have gone with the Western hotel chain. If you are more adventurous, then this may not bother you.

The bar and drinks in the hotel were the other things that really bugged me. For a 4-5 star hotel, one should be able to get a drink by the glass that isn't beer. At the Chinese restaurant, I asked for the wine menu. All it had were wines by the bottle, highly inflated prices, and all Chinese wines. when I asked if they had any French wine, they came back with a bottle that was over $100. Really, I just want A glass of wine with dinner.

So, ok, no wine for me. How about a cocktail? Surely, they would offer a cocktail. When I asked, they provided me with the cocktail menu that had scotch, bourbon, and whiskey ... All by the bottle. I'm guessing that their bread and butter customers are Chinese men who are a different type of drinker that the average Western woman. So, coca cola lite it was. Grrrrrr!!!

I couldn't believe this, and seemed to remember seeing a bar (quite empty) in the lobby. So I trekked on down to see if the menu was the same. Sure enough, exact same bottles of hard liquor were on the menu. Not a single person at the bar (except for the quite bored waitstaff).

I will mention that the Pullman offered drinks by the glass, both wine and cocktails. I really regret not booking the Pullman.

A few other notes. There is a small kids playroom for the kiddos. We were the only ones in there most of the time. Clean and brightly lit. It was also right next door to the ping pong room, which my husband and I used with enthusiasm.

We also tried out some massages. Not only did I find them strange (a whole lot of slapping goes on, and I'm not exaggerating at all), but I followed out another group of Chinese tourists who had just had massages as well, and I know enough Chinese and can read body language well enough to know that they thought it was strange as well. You could hear the slapping upand down the hall in the "spa" area (if you could call it that). It was rather funny.

While I didn't visit the pool myself, my husband checked it out and chose not to swim on account that it was small and had a funny smell.

I booked this hotel based upon reviews on this and other sites. I wasn't disappointed. The hotel seems brand new. My room was large and spotlessly clean. It's a 10 to 15 minute walk of the park entrance, just a few minutes to the center of the city. (I this up before booking on Google Maps satellite view.) The hotel desk staff spoke sufficient English to accommodate all of my questions and requests. The entire staff there were friendly and courteous. The included buffet breakfast was one of the best I've had in the nine years that I've stayed in equivalent hotels in other places in China.

Hotel is in a quiet street/location. It is clean and has a new feel. Our room for 3 adults is large, fitting in a super-king sized bed and a foldable bed. Mattress gives good support and is not hard. The attached toilet is large, with a bath tub and separate stall for shower. The hot water, air-con, hair dryer all work. There is a mini fridge that is empty. No free bottled water is provided. The room also has: electric kettle; safe. Large LCD TV with BBC, KBS, Sports, Star movies, and lots of China channels.

Breakfast: large spread of international and Chinese food. Breads, cakes, salad, fruits, hot and cold drinks, hot foods, egg station, noodle station…

Zhangjiajie national park has a few entrances of which 2 are more relevant to international tourists: (1) Wulingyuan entrance, for access to newer attractions; and (2) ZJJ national park entrance, where the ‘old’ attractions are. Hotel is a 15 minute walk to entrance 1, or RMB10, 3-minute taxi ride. The route to entrance 1 is filled with shops, restaurants and convenience stores. Entrance 1: do a loop comprising entrance – Tianzi mountain cable way – Yuanjiajie - Bailong elevator - 10-mile natural gallery – entrance. Connection by internal shuttle bus.

Hotel is 18 km from entrance 2. Attractions in entrance 2 include: Huangshi village with quiet tracks, Huangshi village cable way, Golden Whip brook.

Distances from hotel: Baofeng Lake 4 km; Yellow dragon cave 7 km; Grand canyon scenic area 30 km; ZJJ airport 40 km; ZJJ railway station 35 km; ZJJ bus station: 35 km; longest cable car in the world to Tianmen mountain & cave – 35 km.