Dujiangyan Qingcheng Platon Resort Hotel

I thought that I would be having a Japanese onsen experience at this hotel but this is not the case. The hot spring is located in a neighbouring hotel called Howard Johnsson. The water is from the ground and the hotel has to heat it. They also add minerals or herbs to different pools. Thus, it is not a natural mineral hot springs. But I love the surrounding and the hotel itself. Just keep your expectations low if you are here for the wellness experience.

As often with these kind if reviews one must be careful to be as objective as possible. The weather or the company that you are in may affect your experience but are totally out of the hotel's control. Also set your expectations realistically. This is not a 5* hotel and doesn't pretend to be. It is also a Chinese hotel and not part of a western chain. So with that said this hotel is pretty good. It is clean, modern, and well located. It shares a hot spring with the neighbouring Howard Johnson which is not a bad thing. The spa pools are pretty hot though ( 42 degrees) . The rooms are reasonably spacious, well appointed, clean and comfortable. The staff are smart and smiley but speak very little English, but unless you are a needy visitor this is not a problem. Breakfast is great , in fact too great as I am off to climb the mountain now!

This hotel has "International" in its name, but don't be mislead. It is completely unprepared to handle a foreign (English-speaking) guest. I've stayed at many other Chinese hotels where the English capabilities of the staff were minimal and have always managed with minimal difficulties using Google Translate. For some reason the concept of my phone translating my words to Chinese seems to be an alien concept at this hotel, and the phone translation software appeared to make little difference. The hotel also can't or won't provide the normal types of services that you would expect in a tourist destination. For example, having them order a car to pick you up in the morning to take you to the panda park or some other place seems to be an incredibly complicated process. It can take up to an hour to make the arrangements with the staff and requires consultations among 4 or more employees to make it happen. Moreover, because taxis can be hard to get for your return trip from some of the tourist destinations, it can be desirable to hire a car to take you there, have the driver wait and bring you back or take you to your next local destination. This seems to be too complicated for staff to handle. I've stayed in hotels all over China, and there's never been an issue with this at any other hotel. Asking for assistance or advice concerning the local tourist attractions is a similar dead end. The tourist map the hotel provides shows the locations of the tourist destinations, gives their Chinese names and shows a picture of the place. If you ask about even the most famous of the tourist sights, it's as if the staff folks have never heard of them. There's much staring at the map and another huddle among 3 or 4 staffer before you learn that nobody knows anything about it. It really is unbelievable that a hotel in a major tourist area could be so unhelpful. A final disadvantage is the location. They tout their access to the local hot spring, and their website would make you believe that the hot spring is right there at the hotel. In reality, it's somewhere off the hotel's property. It's about a 20 minute taxi ride from the hotel to Dujiangyan, and Dujiangyan is closer to most of the tourist attractions anyway; so you're much better off staying in Dujiangyan rather than here. On the plus side, the rooms are adequate but nothing special. My room came with a pleasant balcony. Just beware of mosquitoes if you leave the door to the balcony open for too long. Compared to other Chinese hotels in similar locales, it's a bit overpriced, though still inexpensive by Western standards.