Howard Resort Xitou

Howard Resort Xitou (managed by FuHua group) is one of the best hotels we've stayed. They have 4 different types of guest rooms at different buildings. We stayed at the latest Mandarin Glory Building which has lift access and a private (ie only for that building's occupants) room for afternoon tea from 4 - 6pm. All other meals are at the main site Yun-Shan Building (where we checked in) ust a few minutes walk away. The rooms are super clean & comfortable & overlooks a great view of the countryside. Breakfast & dinner at the Yun Shan Restaurant offers an excellent variety of healthy and fresh local food - you'll be spoilt for choice! There are 2 other smaller cafes located at ground level, which also gives you good options for lunch & tea. The surrounding environment is peaceful with plenty of nature trails and hikes with varying degrees of difficulties that you can choose from. On our first afternoon, we went on the 'Magic Tree" or 'Shen Mu' trail, a level 2 hike (ie mostly wide stone steps). Sadly the Shen Mu was already dead for a few years (as told to us by the locals) but the hike was still worth it. We joined in a night tour at 8pm at the University Building site - our guide is really knowledgeable plus super humorous! We were all tickled by how she explained about how to tell the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous yams. Plus showing us some nocturnal animals (flying squirrel) and their indigenous plants and trees. All in all, a very educational and enjoyable 1 hour night tour! On day 2, we decided to be ambitious and went for a level 3 hike to the top of Xitou. It was tiring but the mountain air was refreshing. Took us about 5-6 hours to go up & down.