Haidu Hotel in Dali Review

Among the hotels I have stayed in China over the last two years, this one takes the cake as being one of the most unique for me. Therefore, I decided to do this review of the Haidu Hotel in Dali.

Well, the name is pretty general but when I set foot at the main entrance of the hotel, I thought that we were lost and in the wrong place.

Really, the facade of the hotel looked more like a Chinese temple - well, that was my first impression and if you look at the main photo here, wouldn't you think so? 

Review of Haidu Hotel in Dali

Room at Haidu Hotel

Anyway, our entourage checked in quite late after a long drive from Kunming as we arrived in Dali almost about 11.00pm.

The drive from Kunming took us about four hours and by the time we got here, almost everyone was exhausted and couldn't wait to just shower and jump into bed for an early start the next day. 

Overall, the Haidu Hotel is built on two main floors in a huge courtyard compound in the old quarter of the ancient Dali town area. This means it is walking distance to the main shopping area here which is great for travellers.

The bedroom of the hotel, looking very traditional.

The fact that it is not in the core area gives me great pleasure as I prefer to walk and explore the area, instead of walking straight out into a busy town. Well, others may differ in opinions so it is entirely up to the traveller.

The rooms here really exceeded my expectations as they were quite large compared to the normal rooms.

Technically the Haidu Hotel is more like a boutique hotel in Dali due to the facilities and design. Again, a temple looks and feels from the front but a very Chinese designer style in the rooms.

I did not manage to check other rooms but the room I stayed in was pretty funky with the unique design and the sexy bathroom.

Interesting Shower System

Speaking about the bathroom, if you look at the photo, you can see that it is a glass wall with a sheer organza curtain that divides this from the room.

Now, imagine if you are sharing the room with a stranger or colleague, wouldn't that be awkward? Well, let's leave the imagination part out of this.

Anyway, the shower system was quite a challenge for me as it was something I have never before seen or experienced.

Even Japanese shower systems were pretty much easy to comprehend. This took the cake - for two days, I could not put on the shower, even asking the others, they kept telling me to turn the knobs at a certain style.

Eventually, on the second day, I managed to figure it out and felt so useless for the previous day. Complicated but so easy - That's how I term this shower system.

Very romantic bathroom setup

The rest of the room was impressive with the free traditional Chinese tea and set, multiple plug points, fancy decoration and most importantly, the personal computer!

Yes, a PC was in the room complete with 15 inch LCD screen. Talk about feeling at home, this was awesome! Except everything was in Mandarin. Oh well, I got around it eventually.

As for the daily breakfast, it was held in a small kitchen-cafe area outside of the main building. Here, the traditional Chinese breakfast of congee and noodles was served.

I wouldn't expect the regular continental breakfast but it was quite an experience though. Just so you know, breakfast here is non-halal.

Room amenities, notice the LCD monitor and personal computer in the shelf

Haidu Hotel Dali reception area

The main reception looks more like a museum than a reception. The artefact pieces, stone collections and even a traditional tea table will most definitely steal your attention when you walk in.

As for language, a couple of the younger staff here does speak some decent English so all was good for me and the entourage.

The facade of the Haidu Hotel

Again, the Haidu Hotel is located about 10 minutes walk to the Dali Ancient Town centre which is quite accessible for anyone planning to come here.

Since I visited here in March, the weather was very cooling and walking around the main town area was very nice.

There are several local attractions like the Ancient Bai Museum, Dali Shopping Street, the 4 Ancient Gates that protect the town and some others which require travelling out of the main town area.

One of the popular must-visit sites is the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in Dali and you should be prepared to spend a few hours here as the entire place is huge.

Another is the Cangshan Ropeway Mountain which is suitable for those who like outdoors and nature.

The Haidu Hotel in Dali

Conclusion

My trip to Dali was organized by AirAsia where the airline flies to Kunming China and from there, we took an overland trip to Dali and stayed at the ancient Dali town.

During our experience here, our main accommodation was at the Haidu Hotel in Dali, China.