Dongshan Daguan, according to the hotel’s official website: Located in the Dongshan Lake Scenic Area, where Xie An, a renowned scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, lived in seclusion before his triumphant return, the hotel is adjacent to the ancient kiln site that is the origin of world-famous celadon, and is also the setting for Xie Lingyun’s “Ode to Mountain Living.” The hotel boasts 600 mu of private Dongshan Lake, and its superior natural environment allows you to experience the artistic conception of life described as “finding true delight by dwelling amidst mountains and waters, and expanding one’s vision beyond the heavens for a grand spectacle.” As an important stop on the Tang Poetry Road of Eastern Zhejiang, it stands as a new model of Chinese aesthetic resort hotels, embodying a modern “Ode to Mountain Living.”
This hotel is essentially accessible only by self-driving. The owner is the local Shaoxing Chunhui Group. Significant thought has clearly gone into the design, and the construction costs were substantial; it even includes a Yue Kiln museum from the owner’s private collection. In Shaoxing, this place is basically top-tier.
The room I stayed in this time was on the 5th floor, a lake-view room overlooking the courtyard rooms on the first floor. The room area is 54 square meters, equipped with a capsule coffee machine and a Dyson hair dryer, making for a very comfortable stay. However, because I only brought a prime lens, I don’t have many photos of the room interior.
My check-in coincided with my birthday, and the hotel arranged decorations and gifted a small cake. The cake was made with fresh cream and fruit, and it was delicious. Turndown service included a sweet soup. Also worth mentioning is the hotel’s breakfast, which is semi-buffet style with a wide variety of options. The quality of ingredients across all the hotel’s restaurants is very high, and the fruit is particularly delicious.
The entire public area of the hotel is very spacious and grand. It is evident that the architecture, interiors, furniture, lighting, and landscaping have all been meticulously designed. There is an underground parking lot with convenient parking and numerous independent parking spaces that are very spacious.
There is also Dongshan Lake within the hotel grounds, where you can take a boat tour around the lake; there is even a Bailu Island in the center of the lake. Although the hotel opened in 2022, it is extremely well-maintained. With a total of 154 guest rooms, there aren’t usually too many guests, and there are live singers during afternoon tea and dinner.
Additionally, the entire hotel is pet-friendly, though there are some requirements for pets and an additional cleaning fee of 300 RMB. For specifics, please refer to the hotel’s official website. I must say, their website is the most thoughtfully created domestic hotel website I have ever seen; the content is incredibly rich, and they even provide official media assets for download.
During my entire stay, I dined at the hotel’s Chinese restaurant for two days. The restaurant is located on the second floor and has window-side seating. As a hotel Chinese restaurant, it is quite stylish, with very grand decor, large tables, ample spacing between them, comfortable temperature, few guests, and a quiet atmosphere.
Whether ordering à la carte or set menus, the dishes were served quite quickly, and the ingredients used were excellent, featuring many items from local farms. The flavors are slightly heavy, which is understandable given the location in Shaoxing, but you can request lighter seasoning from the server in advance. Portion sizes are not large, suitable for two people.
The only downside is that due to low foot traffic, staffing levels are somewhat insufficient; when there are just a few more guests, the staff seems a bit overwhelmed. It’s fine when there’s only one table…
In ancient Shangyue, Yue Kiln celadon was renowned both domestically and internationally. The Tang Dynasty poet Lu Guimeng once described its jade-like beauty with the verse, ‘After nine autumns of wind and dew, the Yue kilns open, capturing a thousand shades of emerald.’ Located on the B1 floor of the hotel, the Yue Kiln Celadon Museum houses over a thousand artifacts, showcasing the evolution and development of celadon, available for visitors to view and study.
Overall, this is still a hotel of very high quality. There are abundant activities within the hotel: strolling through the property, taking a boat ride, enjoying afternoon tea, visiting the Yue Kiln Celadon Museum, Hanfu photography sessions, and farm picking. Surrounding tourism resources are also relatively rich; you can visit Guoqing Temple, Grand Tutor Shrine, Fenghuangshan Kiln Archaeological Site Park, Yingtai’s Hometown Zhujia Village, Yakushi-ji Temple, Shijing Reservoir, hike the Meiwu Ancient Trail, see rapeseed flowers at Fuzhi Mountain, or view cherry blossoms in Zhangcun Village.
As for drawbacks, I felt the air conditioning in the room was a bit noisy, a double vanity would have been better, and the service didn’t feel quite upscale enough.
Support
