Ramada Kunming North

An oasis / oddity in the middle of rural Yunnan, 1 and a 1/2 hours drive from Kunming (1 from airport). the hotel is part of the aqua development - a golf / nature / equestrian / sport / conference centre with hundreds (?) of slightly Germanic holiday homes - mostly still under construction. Seems to be in soft-launch mode, with some areas complete and others under construction / to be developed - so some teething troubles and service glitches. It's a beautiful location, looking out on the hills in the distance and surrounded by farms. but the architecture is...bizarre. Unless you like windmills and castles... A nice place for a break from the city, for golf, or for a conference from which delegates cannot escape (if they can find it in the first place). I heard total investment is RMB3.5bn. It will be huge when finished.

This is clearly intended to be a luxury resort, but I have the impression it was planned and built before the property bubble burst in China, and is not really in full commercial operation. There is, for instance, a range of shops outside the hotel with cheerful facades but no shop fitments or stock that I could see. I was there during a large conference, and was accommodated on my own in a three bedroomed house on what was evidently a holiday estate of some kind. It was furnished as if for a real estate agent's show house (cardboard books), but in luxurious style. Many other houses nearby seemed to be unfinished shells. Meals and meetings were in the hotel, which is huge. I only ate the Chinese food at meals taken en masse, and it was of an acceptable standard. Breakfast did however fail my usual test: the 'orange juice' at the buffet was clearly just orange squash. The personnel were (as usual in China at places of this kind) eager to please and unfailingly friendly and polite. I do hope they get some real business to keep them in work! If you want to plan a really big conference and want no distractions (it is an hour away from Kunming), please consider it. The golf course looks nice, and you can apparently ride horses too. Plus I would like the nice staff to have more work to do!