Best luxury hotels/resorts outside of cities in mainland China?
 

I am currently in the mainland and was recently thinking of vacationing at Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain, but just when I was about to book, saw that IHG benefits aren’t available. Currently reconsidering since that lowers the value proposition significantly for me.

So, hoping to crowdsource here—what are your favorite luxury hotels/resorts in the mainland outside of cities? Bonus points if Marriott, IHG, or Hilton. Thanks in advance for the recommendations 😃

The best luxury hotels and resorts are a short flight away…in Thailand or Indonesia.

Don’t bother spending top dollar for luxury in China, never worth it IMHO.

Agree you'll find better value and service in Thailand or the Philippines, but since that wasn't your question:

• JW Marriott Anji. Close to Shanghai. Close to activities like rafting (though in Anji it's more like a theme park ride, but still fun). Downside is that it's a resort so doesn't have a lounge
• Hyatt at the foot of the Great Wall. These range from rooms to whole villas. Very nice environment, and can hike to the Great Wall (I've written a review, should be in the Hyatt section)
• Various Hainan Marriotts. These range from lower mid-tier (Four Points Wanning) to mid-tier (Sheraton Sanya) to Luxury (St. Regis / Ritz) so you have your pick. Again, these are resorts so no lounge and generally no upgrades (I got upgraded to a huge ocean-front suite though at the Four Points, on a 6-night stay no less!)
• If you like skiing, the Hyatt Regency at Changbaishan is quite nice. Worth it to use points to book a suite. The lounge is quite nice too

Gotta disagree with you on the Commune at the Great Wall. Granted I went last year at off-peak season, but most facilities there were in a state of disuse or utter disrepair. Cannot recommend with any sincerity unless you're specifically looking for a place within walking distance of the Shuiguan section of the wall.

As for my own recommendations, I've stayed mostly at Hyatts here and did enjoy my time at the Park Hyatt Sanya and the Jinmao Resort Lijiang. Both are in high-traffic tourist areas but now might be the time to go, since so many Chinese travelers are letting loose their pent-up demand by hightailing it to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and so forth.

Ok it might have gone downhill since I went in 2020. Even then there were some service issues (outlined in my review).

Sad, because it's really got a unique location.

Anywhere but China. Got it ;)

I spent years researching this when I was stuck in the mainland! Would agree with the other comments that your money is probably better spent outside of China these days, but a few ideas:

• Intercontinental 1000 Island Lake Resort (Qiandaohu) - near-ish Hangzhou
• Intercontinental Sanya Bay, Hainan
• Banyan Tree Zhuhai
• Banyan Tree Yangshuo
• Hilton resort Dali, Yunnan - didn't actually stay here in the end, but looked good when I was researching
• Several international chain resorts around Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan - again, never made it here (flights to the local airport were terrible during covid), but looked like there were a few good options.

Amanfayun, in Hangzhou. Surrounded by tea fields, natural woodland and a pilgrimage circuit of seven ancient Buddhist temples.
Nanjing Ritz-Carlton, it's the best Ritz-Carlton in mainland.

I was curious about the comments that Chinese luxury hotels aren't comparable to those in SE Asia. So I did a little googling and found this article: 5 Problems with China's 5-star Hotels. Are these your reasons also?

While I stay with family more than hotels in China, I enjoyed the 3 chain hotels I stayed in (two 5-star, one 4-star). One in particular stands out as one of the best service I received anywhere. Another ties with Grand Hyatt HK as having the best lounge dinner. So was a little surprised to hear about the extreme frugalism in the article (sounds awful).

On the subject of service (which the article mostly blasts), I often feel that post-Covid in liberal places in the US, as a hotel guest I'm here to serve the employees.

The 5 problems in the article are:

1. Management-led blackouts
2. An inability and disinterest in problem solving
3. A much needed technological upgrade
4. An overall lack of deep cleanliness
5. Empty promises of unavailable services

Did some hotel searching close to work, so I can put up visitors in a hotel they'd like.
Stayed in a few hotels for this purpose, all around the same area, and found that the "extreme frugality" has to do with lack-of-guests.
So, the hotel starts out with all the right intentions; great service, great services & amenities, great staff, great food, etc. etc.
As time goes by, the huge investment in the [oftentimes] pompous infrastructure doesn't match the income.

So, gradually -over time- cuts are made:

- the Western style food takes a hit: real bacon is replaced with processed stamped, artificial crap; real orange juice is replaced by orange drink mix, etc. etc.
- air conditioning is disabled (sometimes governed by local regulations though)
- hotel VIP/club lounges hours-of-operation drastically reduced, or closed down completely
- staff either loses their enthusiasm, and/or they eventually get replaced with lower paid, less experienced employees
- maintenance issues get neglected
...and so forth.

My best advice for a good hotel experience in China: only visit brand new ones. (Same goes for malls too, by the way.)

I can understand this post-Covid, but that article was written in 2017. If this problem already existed back then, it's ironic that hotels continued to pop up like magic. I guess this is an example of the real estate boom that is now in decline.

Reminds me of Malaysia. They build new stuff and neglect them so most things older than a few years look worn. It's sad.

IME, it's universal; Covid or no Covid. They did it that way, and they're still doing it that way.
We had a huge hotel complex near where I live that went bust; then remained closed for a few years; then was redeveloped into something ~4 times bigger. It still remained pretty much empty. I recall eating breakfast in a massively HUGE hall pretty much by myself ...in Winter....unheated.
Eventually the whole complex was 'commandeered' by the government and made into a govt. meeting place.

China goes by the saying: "If we build, it they will come." Unfortunately "they" don't always turn up....

:)

This thread was moved over from the mainland China forum. Few of the hotels listed seem to me to be luxury hotels. Going forward in this thread, if you wish to continue it, please limit your postings to luxury hotels.

Thanks,
RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels and travel

After the move, this thread (as well as my posts) now makes little sense.
As far as I'm concerned this should now be closed.