Shilin Hotel (黄山狮林大酒店) - Buffet Dinner, Night Entertainment @ Huangshan in China

The line of beautifully photographs showcasing the scenery of Huangshan would have made many visitors stopped in their tracks, but not when you have walked a few kilometers up and down the UNESCO world heritage site.

I did stop to take a photograph with this monkey, given that I am born in the Chinese zodiac year of the monkey. Plus, this came as a request from my dad, from whom I inherit my love for phototaking.

Kids could also take the opportunity to recite the text, with help from the hanyu pinyin, that spoke of the strange rocks in Huangshan. My generation is trained in hanyu pinyin too and I have gone rusty with the four types of tones used to articulate the Chinese characters. 

Dad and Alex with a bouquet of fake flowers wrapped around the trees. Frankly, I am more into the nature feel of things, including decorations that augment well with the natural setting. 

This was funny though; showing just the back end of a horse. As it is the zodiac year of the horse, this would be a physical manifestation of hit the horse's butt. In Chinese, it means the action of "kissing up, boot-licking, or excessive flattery".

Entrance of the hotel building at night as I didn't manage to have a good picture of it in the daytime. There's a barrier which prevents the freezing cold air from seeping into the hotel lobby. 

Inside of the hotel; with a pretty large lobby! Basic information of Shilin Hotel; located at the foot of Lion's Peak, it has a total of 161 rooms, and even though it was built in 1998, its recent renovation was in 2014. 

You can rent traditional Chinese attire at RMB 20 Yuan (about S$4) an hour or get something to drink from the small convenience stall, including a bottle of Starbucks Cheese Latte at RMB 25 Yuan. 

Weather predictions for the next day, including timing for sunrise / sunset and the likelihood of catching the sunrise. If the likelihood is high (more than 55%), the hotel would even provide a guide to bring hotel guests to a vantage location for the sunrise. 

Room 7116 - the allocated room for my sister and I. Small and compact, we didn't have any complaint except for its size but well, it's just for one night, and the radiator was working well to warm our room.

A buffet dinner within the hotel's resident restaurant was covered in our tour package and even though this was more than 1,600 meters above sea level, with ingredients painstakingly carried up by porters; the variety wasn't limited.

In summary, I enjoyed the tender pork, and also the sweetness from those small mandarin oranges. Food served were more suited for the local palate so don't expect international offerings.

Those who didn't opt for buffet dinner should note that the pricing was RMB 160 Yuan, around S$30. Well, I can only say I am glad this was covered under our tour package.

At 7pm, the hotel lobby shall come alive. As we overlooked the timing, all tables and seats were already taken up; leaving us to stand on our two tired feet.

Start of the performance, with lion dance! Organized by the hotel, I think this was just a way of ensuring guests don't get too bored as there's really nothing else to do once night falls. And rest assured, the performances are suitable for kids.

The lion would also interact with the audience, resulting in excitement and laughter from the many kids catching the performances. As it was public holiday in China, there were quite a number of kids.

Second performance; the playing of guzheng!

Last performance was an activity exclusive to China; known as tossing the silk ball. Used in instances "where a young woman throws a colorful, handmade silk ball into a crowd of suitors" and the one who caught it shall become the husband. An activity that would no longer apply in the modern world. 

In this segment, however, the person who caught the ball the most times shall become the designated hubby. And the funny thing is; another young lady, who is super tall, was the winner! So, it's literally a lesbian couple; not sure if this would be agreeable for the Chinese government.

Concluding act, where everyone comes together.

So-called couple! The young lady tossing the silk ball was so pretty! Back during the segment, it was the so-called maid who came out and a gentleman standing next to us was so bad as he loudly said "this one cannot"! 

Dad with the lions!

Video for your viewing pleasure.

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Address

Within Scenic Area, Huangshan District, 

Huangshan City, Anhui, 245800, China

Click HERE for our 8 Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China via CTC Travel Agency

Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills - Family Deluxe Room at Hotel De Strasbourg in Vietnam

Many visitors to Bana Hills would just pop by for a day trip, take pictures with the iconic golden bridge, and then return to Danang City that's less than an hour away! That's absolutely not preferred! 

For me, it's a minimum of two-night stay and just in case you are wondering if there is any hotel at Bana Hills; there's only one and it's under the Mercure brand under Accor group! Today, I shall start by stepping into Hotel De Paris; for our check-in process! 

Despite its mercure name, there were a total of seven buildings in the collection, and they came with seven different hotel names! Day visitors would be surprised to know that the facade for the European buildings actually served a practical purpose.

Let's have some self-serviced infused water, while waiting for our key. Honestly, the lobby was crowded with people and pretty small for a hotel with a total of 461 rooms spread out. 

Thank god it wasn't raining; although we had the help from the hotel porter who was tasked to bring us to the building assigned to us, and diligently pulled our two pieces of 28-inch luggage along the uneven stone flooring. Of course, a small tip was necessary.

Arrival at Hotel De Strasbourg; which was located at the base of the Spiritual Zone of Sun World Bana Hills, and within the French Village although not exactly "village centre".

Corridor seemed alright.

Not creepy like some hotels.

Room 7104

Located on basement one of the building, it's actually the first out of four levels of Hotel De Strasbourg and given there were three of us; we had to go with the slightly pricier family deluxe room.

Photographs of the hotel room for your reference; with a queen sized and single bed, a small television, and a ceiling fan with no carpet flooring. Oh well, just a place to sleep. 

Do you like paintings in your hotel room? I am actually okay if they show sceneries or even abstract art; and less alright when it comes to portraits and facial expressions would be something.

Other amenities; bottled mineral water was provided but hardly sufficient to make the recommended liquid intake for a hotel. If you need more, I would recommend D-Mart - The Convenience Mart, located next to Hotel De Toulouse.

Our "windows" were actually doors leading to an external passage that's creepy as hell at night! Imagine hearing knocks on the door when you sleep, even though that absolutely didn't happy throughout our two-night stay. 

p.s. not much view also.

Washroom might seem alright at first with two sinks. Problem was that this would be the only place with mirrors when it should be common to have at least an extra vanity mirror in the living section. 

Another issue was that the doors were only reserved for the shower area and the toilet, and the latter didn't even have a shelf to put my bottles of anti-dandruff shampoo and sensitive facial foam! Space for the two enclosed areas was also small; even I found it hard to change clothes in the shower cubicle! 

Swimming Pool

Housed at La Piscine (not exactly easy to find but always ask the staff for directions, this would likely be one of the most beautiful indoor pools I have been, although the design was a bit tacky. Nevertheless, kids would likely have a great time here. 

Fitness Centre

Our room at Hotel De Strasbourg was pretty close to the fitness centre, and this meant a daily visit for my routine jog! p.s. location was incorrectly indicated as within La Piscine even though it's closer to the breakfast buffet restaurant at Hotel De Nice.

You can choose to sign in.

Opening from 6.00am till 9.00pm, equipment was basic but sufficient for my needs. I am bit puzzled as to why I didn't choose to jog outdoors since Sun World Bana Hills were not crowded in the early morning when the sun rays were still comfortable for the skin.

Note to fill your empty bottle water using the water dispenser in the gym! 

Buffet Breakfast

Provided complimentary as part of our booking, the breakfast was at La Cote D'Azur on the ground floor of Hotel De Nice. I am not going to say too much here as there's a separate posting specifically talking about the buffet breakfast; click here! 

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Useful information as above.

Transport service provided by the hotel; prices were actually not unreasonable and we eventually opted for a one way trip from Bana Hills to Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel at Da Nang City.

One big advantage of staying over at Sun World Bana Hills is the above; the golden hour at golden bridge, where you can beat the massive crowd before they arrive past 8-9am! Earliest timing is at 6.00am and you can say goodbyes to the usually many heads, bodies and photobombs! 

Address

Sun World Bana Hills,

Thôn An Sơn, Hòa Vang, 

Da Nang, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Website

https://all.accor.com/hotel/8488/index.en.shtml

Pricing

Family Deluxe Room (for two nights)

7,893,905 Vietnamese Dong