Dali Ancient City Xiting Inn

Booked the family room at courtyard level as I had elderly and wanted an accommodation which is easy to access. I also did not want to be hoisting luggages up and down and over cobbled streets in the old town and somewhere along the city wall so it is easy to start our tour of the sights around Dali in the morning. Room: Simple efficient clean layout with open concept. Rooms are relatively new. Sink area is located outside the bathroom which is good. The beds are hard in my opinion but elder felt the bed was comfortable. Bottled water was provided everyday (left outside our door). Room Temperature control was ok and the hot water for the shower heated up quick and could maintain at a stable level which is a plus unlike some other hotels in Yunnan. There is flight of 3-4 steps to room which is manageable for our elder as the room is slightly raised above the courtyard. We had an early check-in as the room was ready. The staff helped us move the luggages to our room. You could also book the entire courtyard for larger groups. The owner is building additional new rooms in the annex but the construction happens during the day and it is not noisy as most guests would be out. Location: It is near the South Gate (there is a local market nearby check the maps or ask the owner) and our local driver could stop right outside our accommodation. We didn’t get breakfast from the bnb as there were food shops offering noodles, congee and fried dumplings around that open early at 7am. You can also make your way to the local market near the gate. You could also go up the South Gate for free to catch the sunrise or sunset view. Touring around Dali If you can comms in Chinese, you could message the owner ahead to assist to arrange for a car transfer from Dali Fengyi Airport or the Dali Railway station to the BnB. It cost RMB50 for us from the Railway station to the BnB. You could also arrange with him for a day driver to take you around the sight seeing places around Dali /Erhai Lake, Mt Cang or a driver to send you to Lijiang. We felt was more efficient and relaxing with an elder. It took ~3h drive instead of travelling south to the Dali train station to ride the train to Lijiang and finding a cab from Lijiang railway to the old Lijiang ancient city. You could also easily catch a Didi or a cab which could be cheaper. A cab/car ride to the 3 Chong Sen Temple pagodas was about 10rmb for 3-4pax which is comparable to waiting for Bus 4 which cost 3rmb per pax.

First, the correct name of the hotel is Xiting not Yuting. There was a bit of misunderstanding over which room we booked, which I take to be the result of language communication between Trip.com and the hotel. But the manager was very sweet and Accommodating. The rooms are lovely and it’s in a good location in the old city but relatively quiet.