0572 Taihu Hot Spring Resort Hotel is a magical hotel located in Qidu Town, Suzhou City. The hotel sits right on the shores of Taihu Lake; heading less than 1km further west brings you to Huzhou, and it is only about 10km from Nanxun, placing it on the border of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The hotel is quite new, having opened around 2019. Once you step out of the hotel, there is truly nothing around, and there is almost no public transportation. Aside from driving yourself, there really isn’t any other way to reach the hotel…
The hotel’s facilities exceeded expectations by far, and the rooms are very spacious with huge balconies overlooking Taihu Lake. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the air conditioning was not turned on, making the room quite hot during the day. Because of the heat outside and the abundance of mosquitoes, we barely made use of the terrace.
The drive from Shanghai took about two hours. Upon arriving at noon, our room wasn’t ready yet, so we went straight to the restaurant for lunch. A meal was included in our package, and the food was served incredibly fast. It seemed everyone had ordered the same set menu, as if everything was pre-prepared; all the dishes arrived within a minute. It was simple, but tasted pretty good.
The outdoor public areas of the hotel are fairly spacious, though there are somewhat few trees, making it quite sunny and likely very hot in the summer.
As for the hotel’s public areas, although they lack the ample staffing of a five-star hotel, the environment is pleasant and quiet. In addition to coffee, the café offers milk tea and fruit teas, giving it a much more modern vibe than traditional hotels. I didn’t try the coffee, but the quality of the fruit tea was quite good.
There is an infinity pool right by Taihu Lake. Unfortunately, it was closed due to the pandemic; otherwise, it would definitely be a prime spot for taking photos.
Speaking of the room, this suite is extremely spacious with a rather deep color palette featuring solid wood combined with dark green and gold accents. Personally, I quite liked it, and both the sofa and bed were comfortable. However, the bathtub on the balcony felt a bit odd. Although it looks great in photos, the view outside is just construction sites and residential houses, making it practically impossible to actually use the tub. Plus, with all the mosquitoes outside, this might truly be the most impractical design feature…
When night falls and the lights turn on, the place feels even more trendy and Instagram-worthy. They project movies onto a white wall in the public area, but since the projector brightness is quite low, you can barely make out anything more than shadows. Fortunately, it doesn’t disturb guests’ rest. There is also a live singer performing on the central stage, and the complimentary drink vouchers can be exchanged for cocktails at the restaurant, though there are quite a few mosquitoes in the evening.
In summary, the hotel’s physical facilities far exceeded expectations, fully meeting five-star standards. However, there is still a significant gap when it comes to location, dining, and service. It would have been better if the hotel faced Taihu Lake directly instead of being separated by a road. Not many people visit usually; it probably only gets busy during the annual hairy crab season. With inconvenient transportation, nothing nearby, and insufficient entertainment facilities within the hotel itself, your only option is to drive to Huzhou or Nanxun.
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