The Lalu, Sun Moon Lake

Lalu is a gem in the Sun Moon Lake area. The atmosphere takes you to another time when life was quiet and simple. The staff is very welcoming and helpful. Breakfast amazing quality. The pool is great to have some laps. Beautiful tea options in their tea house. And their Japanese restaurant is very refined.

We stayed here 2 nights at the end of March 2026 in a Suite with Lakeview. Very nice hotel at very nice location. The hotel has 3 restaurants, a swimming pool and a tea house. Although our room is very nice and spacious (+/- 80 m2) it is not very practical: the lighting is poor and not easy to operate. The remote control of the airconditioning is only in Chinese and there are only 3 electricity sockets, of which 2 in the bathroom. When taking a shower it is impossible not to wet the wooden floor outside the shower. The room has a complimentary minibar and bottled water, a Bose sound system, a television, watercooker, a bath ánd a separate shower, 2 sinks and a large balcony. This is the first time ever we have a fire place (using gas) in our hotel room. The bed, shower and WiFi are very good and the breakfast buffet is excellent. The many staff members are all very friendly and helpful.

The Lalu is set in China Kai Shek's favorite Sun Moon Lake retreat, a stone's throw away from the busy resort district of Shuishe. It sits at the top - and tip - of the small peninsula, with its own private jetty that used to be for Chang Kai Shek's private use. You will not find a better location with the most fantastic view of the lake! there are seven room floors. We were booked on the first (lowest) floor, which led directly into the infinity cum lapping pool, and below that, the jetty and the Hanbi trail, and beyond that, the lake itself. As you come out of the elevator on the first floor, the hallway directly leads to the infinity pool - what a view. The rooms on the ground floor have their own small grass garden plot, hemmed by hedges and the lake is clearly visible beyond the hedges. The upper floor rooms have balconies that also give a great view of the lake. We were a family of nine and we booked two suites. Each suite had a bedroom on one side that had a connecting door to a twice-as-big a room, since it had a room plus a living room that was accessible from the smaller room. The living room had a large sofa bed, a large divan, and a table for four. There were also several cabinets which included wine glasses, hot water kettle, coffee maker, and ref. Everything inside the ref was complimentary - nice. It was an interesting suite concept since the bedroom in the larger space wasn't completely enclosed. There was a larger 8 ft by 8 ft cutout that had a low cabinet and a revolving TV that could swing to face the living room or the bedroom - but this resulted in little privacy if the connecting door was unlocked. The rooms have all-wood floor tiles. All the walls and cabinetry were made of wood, including the bed frames and headboard. You could separate the T&B area completely from the bedroom with the sliding door. The T&B had separate his and hers washbasins which my wife and I appreciated. There were separate stalls for toilet and for shower. And it seems that five-star hotels always have fresh orchids. Roller blinds covered the large glass sliding doors which opened into the grass garden. There were cushioned day beds on the terrace. We didn't appreciate that there were so few outlets in the whole suite. So we were busy hunting for places to plug our devices. There were only two trash cans, both in the T&B, so we took one to move it to the living room. There wasn't enough lighting in the front part of the living room. And our final complaint with the room - there were hanging cabinets above the lower cabinet area in the living room - but they were low and of the same depth as the lower cabinet, so I wound up hitting my head on the cabinet quite a few times during our two night stay. Breakfast was on the seventh, one floor below the lobby but best reached by going out the hotel entrance then going down an elevated walkway. The breakfast place was spacious and decently-designed. Food was varied as you would expect from a highly-rated hotel, with traditional western-continental mixed with asian flavors. However, some of the food were not warm enough. Service was acceptable. The top floor, the lobby was one long space, marked by a reception area in the center and several seating and exhibition areas to the side. Keep in mind, every room in the Lalu was guaranteed to give you a great view of the lake - and they do. They also have a shuttle mini van that brings guests to the commercial area a few minutes drive down. Here you can browse through several stores and restaurants as well as take boats out for a lake cruise. Sun Moon Lake is a wonderful travel experience and The Lalu is the best place to go if only for the views it uniquely affords.