No.1 Wenlin Garden Hotel

My sister and I chose Wenlin Gardens because we wanted to stay somewhere a little nicer than the hostels we had been visiting to date on our trip through China, and were very pleased with Our decision. Located to the East of the old town, it is just off one of the main streets, has a secluded courtyard and a peaceful rooftop gardens with chairs overlooking the rooftops of the old town. The room was lovely, and the bed was soft with amazing white linen - a very welcome change! We only stayed one night, but it was enough to leave feeling refreshed from our visit! We had read that there wasn't hot water, but it actually turns out the the labeling on the tap is somewhat counter intuitive... You need to turn the handle to the far left to get a warm shower!

A lovely, small hotel in a quieter area of Lijiang, near the old town. Lijiang can be very crowded and loud, but No1 Wen Lin is reasonably quiet. The hotel is within walking distance of the main touristy area. Built in the traditional Chinese (Naxi) style, the centre courtyard is well looked after and gives this small, family-run hotel a nice feeling. Rooms are cozy and comfortable, there is a nice terrace on the top floor, where you can sit down, relax and enjoy a bottle of local beer surrounded by a nice view of neighbouring roof tops and the mountains in the distance. Free wifi; a simple, but tasty breakfast.

I chose Wenlin Gardens because my daughter loves what she calls "snow dogs". We moved in with Miao and her two dogs for a few days - It was wonderful - our room was clean and comfortable, with wifi and lovely puffy comforters with white covers. Miao was friendly and helpful, giving us advice on how to take the bus/taxis around to the locations we wanted to visit. She let us use the laundry and we made cup of noodles using the teakettles in the room. It is quiet there, about a 10 minute walk at an adult pace from the heart of the action. One afternoon, with my book, I sat on the upstairs deck. It is one of the moments that has stuck with me and is a place I can now "go" when I am riding a crowded train for a moment of peace. My daughter is still talking about the wonderful dogs. It was one of our favorite places in China and we stayed in quite a few this trip.