Located in the scenic spot of Nineteen Peaks, The AHN LAN Xinchang covers 45,000 square meters along the Hanfei River and colonize a hilltop overlooking the hotel facilities in the canyon. Designed by famous HBA Design firm, the resort blends in with the surrounding nature without compromising its personality, either back against the cliff, or facing the Hanfei river or on the hilltop. Nestled between scenic and tranquil landscaped tea plantations, the 105 villas of all sizes are perched on the banks of the river and one is high on the peak. Guest can dine either at the all-day-dining restaurant with 7 private rooms or at the hilltop restaurant while taking a panoramic view of the majestic 19 peaks, thus overlooking the whole hotel in the valley below. Tea house, state-of-the-art meeting facilities, Spa, Gym with indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a variety of recreation activities allowing people to indulge in the tranquility and long history of riverside and natural life.
"Let me start by explaining how to get from Anlan Xinchang to the popular Xiayanbei village (something rarely mentioned online!!!) ⬇️⬇️
You call the local businesses and tell them you're coming for a meal. The owner will pick you up and then drive you back to the hotel after your meal. (Personal experience: This usually works for restaurants, but not for coffee shops.)
Now, let me share my personal experience of a three-day, two-night stay.
First, the pros ✅👍
1. The hotel's location is truly superb: nestled by mountains and water, each room is a standalone villa.
2. The hotel's 'Dengyun Ladder' (Cloud-Ascending Ladder) is a major highlight. Taking it to the clifftop for afternoon tea is truly a delightful experience. The combination of the ladder and clifftop afternoon tea offers a unique experience and is very photogenic.
3. The cleaning staff (aunties) are very diligent. They keep the rooms spotlessly clean even without specific instructions.
4. The cocktails at the pool bar are delicious. Enjoying a drink 🍹 with the blue sky, white clouds, green mountains, and the pool is truly blissful.
Now, let's talk about areas for improvement ⬇️❌
I'm only mentioning these because I don't want such a well-located hotel with great views to go to waste. I hope the details can be improved! This would provide a better experience for future guests, rather than just good photo opportunities.
1. The staff answering the phone and the front desk staff processing check-in were impatient 👉🏻 During my two-night stay, I proactively called to ask if there were any room upgrade benefits. The staff member on the phone was impatient (they had a condescending attitude, as if they were a knowledgeable expert explaining things to a naive person).
2. Many staff members didn't have the patience to listen to guests. Questions were interrupted before they were finished, and the answers weren't even what the guest asked. This was very off-putting.
3. The shuttle service is really infrequent!! Every time I called for a shuttle, I had to wait for about 10 minutes. The response time is too slow!! The staff explained: ”The hotel is too big...” Coincidentally, I stayed at 4 resort hotels this holiday, 3 of which had shuttle services, and they were all very large, but Anlan had the slowest response time.
4. The staff are not enthusiastic. Many don't proactively greet guests... The shuttle drivers' tone of voice was less polite than the guests'... I think this is an issue with the hotel management ❌ For example, with the shuttle service, operating outdoors in the summer heat means their workload is severely increased due to understaffing. It's so hot, it's genuinely hard for them to maintain a good attitude and temper.
5. Communication with the front desk was difficult and unprofessional... I told the front desk I wanted a shuttle to take us around to see the hotel's scenery (not during peak hours). However, when the shuttle driver arrived, he said he knew nothing about it... My friend couldn't find her hair tie and just wanted to ask the front desk for one (a cleaning lady had come to tidy up during that time). The front desk asked the cleaning lady to take the trash to the room, and the lady looked so pathetic, almost having to dig through the trash to prove it... We just wanted a hair tie, and the person in the middle of the communication was truly speechless, making the cleaning lady look pitiful.
6. The hotel breakfast variety is not extensive, and the taste is very ordinary.
7. The placement of trash cans in the room is unreasonable: in such a large room, there's only one trash can in the bathroom and one at the sink. There should be another trash can for general waste in the room (although we called the front desk and asked for one).
8. The hotel's pool setup is also unreasonable. In the hot summer, the outdoor pool has no shade, making it easy to get sunburnt when playing in the water. Coincidentally, two days before staying here, I stayed at another resort hotel. Their clifftop infinity pool had a tree planted without compromising the aesthetic, so even when playing in the afternoon, there was some shade! This way, the pool wouldn't just be a decoration in mid-summer, but genuinely usable!
9. The tissues were not new and unopened; they were only delivered after I called...
💰 Price: 4000 for 2 nights on a weekday during summer vacation.
This was already a super discounted price after a group purchase. For a hotel that normally costs at least 2500 per night, the details really need to be improved. Don't disappoint future guests."