Crowne Plaza Huangshan Yucheng by IHG

Very nice hotel. The gym and pool areas have great views overlooking the river. After a long day climbing the local mountains, it's a great way to relax! Consider using the hotel's car service to get to Huangshan Mountain. It's marginally more expensive, but has the advantage of being on the other side of the mountain waiting for you when you're done.

The lobby is impressive, massive ceilings, great chandelier, and loads of open space. The room was good sized, everything worked as expected. It can take a bit to figure the switches and the TV channels. Right outside the hotel is a clean river, and the walk along the river is wonderful especially if you do it in the morning. They have a good breakfast, with lots of Chinese and western choices.

Check in was a little frustrating as there was an exhibition / function taking place so a large group of people checking in at the same time. The frustration is that it is not clear who is in line, who works at the hotel, and what the different counters are for. I feel this is classic of how the things were always done… absolute chaos. The room is old school “luxury” but it feels really dark, gloomy, and outdated. The light switches in the room drove me crazy as they are all interconnected but made no sense. I spent forever going all over the room trying to switch off the lights Whac-A-Mole style and gave up after a while leaving some of the lights on. Of course the light switches also controls the TV too, which I could not find the remote to until the next morning. It is there in plain sight (in the photos) if you are observant and curious enough, but not when it is the end of a long day and I am just looking to pass out. That stayed on all night too… This room is clearly well used and the chair was rickety. The photos from a distance is quite deceiving. I was expecting a lot more for what they are advertising this hotel as.