Amanfayun

Amanfayun is absolutely unique. It provides an opportunity to stay in great comfort in the midst of a beautiful wooded landscape among ancient temples and rock carvings, with access to both at any time. Every part of the hotel is in a restored, historic building in a series of courtyards spread over a kilometre, either side of an ancient (but very well maintained) path. Although the footpath is open to the public, very few people seem to use it even when the holiday crowds are visiting the temple complex. The rooms are enormous high ceilinged 'cottages' and beautifully decorated with modern facilities and highly effective air conditioning - the only drawback is that they are quite dark. The food is excellent - we enjoyed our meal in the Tea Room and our lunch in the Steam House. Breakfast is a la carte which is unusual, but the selection and quality were impressive. Staff are very thoughtful and helpful - language was not a problem at all for us. The hotel arranged a guide for us to view the temples which was very helpful - we would have missed a huge amount without her. It's a 50 minute walk from the hotel to West Lake, with its scenic views and extensive network of paths. We didn't go into Hangzhou itself, but the main area is around 15-20 minutes by taxi and the stations are around 30 - 40 minutes away.