Ji Yun Yao Resort

This has honestly been the best getaway from the bustling city in a long while. Ji Yun Yao is exactly what we wanted, a light luxury hotel nested in the middle of the mountains, away from the the crowds and the traffic. - Location: there’s about 12 mins of a drive before arriving to the hotel, where you need to navigate through the narrow one lane road with at lease 2-3 steep turns. You’ll need to contact the receptionist beforehand to make sure no car is coming down before you make your way up. It can be a bother to some, but I think it was worthwhile once we were up there, especially because it means there were no day trippers visiting to take photos and leave. - Facility: there are 31 rooms in total, each with great privacy. The room we stayed in was quite new. We loved the spacious design, and our own private hot spring tube. The common areas are super well designed, and really blended the arquitectura and the landscape really well. - Service: we really enjoyed the service we received. All staff was kind and polite. Most of them greeted us appropriated just like they would in a five star hotel. The attention to detail was very heartwarming, especially one of the restaurant waiter who remembered our coffee order from the previous day and the baby food order, before we even asked it. It would be nice if they had name tags so we can recognize their efforts. - Food: Breakfast and afternoon tea are complimentary from the hotel. You can choose from Western or Chinese breakfast each day. Lunch and Dinner are not included in your stay. There is only one hotel restaurant that serves Chinese food. Waimai may or may not reach the hotel (we didn’t try). The hotel restaurant had pretty great food, so we dined there the two days we stayed there. -Activities: there’s a play room and playground for kids, which was well maintained. There’s also a small river/lake which you can walk around. We really enjoyed sitting by the water in one of the platforms and take in the scenery and the quietness. I would recommend this hotel for anyone looking for a break from the noise, and anyone who would enjoy a quiet retreat in the mountains.