Dali Valley Resort

We stayed for 5 nights in this little oasis, just 10mins walk from the ancient town. It's on a steep hill which is doable and the distance from the old town makes it a really relaxing spot. Couple this with the amazing views and suntrap on our balcony, and it became the perfect holiday stay! The friendly and super-helpful front of house staff were a joy and speak very good English; Emma was hugely informative on what to do in the area, and gave great insights away from the usual tourist trails. We stayed in the balcony room with a mountain view - we had a STUNNING view overlooking the brook, gardens, trees and on to the mountains beyond, what a treat and worth every penny!! And the picture window in the front of the room overlooked the lake in the distance and we were able to watch a beautiful sunrise every morning from the comfort of our bed. The room itself was large and airy, it had AC/heating which the staff had kindly set going before our arrival so the room was warm when we entered. If you feel a bit chilly, there's a light blanket on the end of the bed but we discovered a thicker blanket tucked away in a cupboard, that we used every night. Be aware, although the sun may shine during the day it gets v cold at night, but with the heating on and occasional blanket use, we were very cosy. There's a separate bathroom and loo, the bathroom has a sit in bath (from which you have a gorgeous view of the mountains) with a shower and plenty of space to leave clothes etc. Clean towels every day. Lovely organic bathroom washables ie. soap and body wash/shampoo etc. which smelled fab. Slippers and sliders provided for padding around which was good because the floor was cold even though the room was warm. Hot water was a bit slow to come in but the team said to leave the tap running for the first time for a while (so don't sit naked in the bath shivering while waiting for it to kick in as we'd heard one unfortunate guest do :( ) and after that it was fab, water pressure great. Plenty of storage space. Lovely bedlinen too by the way! Breakfast is served 8-10am, and is a traditional Chinese breakfast consisting of: Chinese pancake, bowl of broth with wheat/rice noodles, greens and a small amount of spicy mince which was a delicious way to start the day! Accompanied by sweet potatoes + corn on the cob + boiled eggs. The team also offered fresh Yunnan coffee or local tea. All in all, this was definitely one of best holidays; Dali offers a chilled, laid back vibe in view of stunning mountains and lake Erhai. In addition, would highly recommend a visit to the beautiful Three Pagodas park which was a very moving and profound experience set in the foothills of these majestic Cangshan mountains.