When traveling in Yunnan, where to find the best hotels? Lijiang and Xishuangbanna spring to mind. But mention a destination no less famous –
When traveling in Yunnan, when it comes to good hotels, the first places that come to mind are Lijiang or Xishuangbanna. But mention Dali, which is no less famous, beyond the poetic 'wind, flowers, snow, and moon', what often springs to mind are the countless guesthouses by Erhai Lake.
For years, Dali had precious few international brand hotels, and prices never really took off. That was until the spring of 2018, when Dali Hainar Cloud Villa Resort burst onto the scene, rewriting Dali's history of having no luxury hotels. From its opening, it was snapped up by the Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) alliance, which became my own reason to visit.
Nestled into the hillside, this hotel sits within the secluded, tranquil Canghai International Golf Resort at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. It looks directly across the golf course, its putting greens a sweep of emerald, framed by the sapphire Erhai Lake in the distance – a paradise on earth.
This hotel perfectly illustrates what a Small Luxury Hotel should be, striking an exquisite balance that gave me the wonderful illusion of being back at a boutique seaside resort in Phuket, Thailand.
Small but Complete / Well-appointed Facilities
At Dali Hainar Cloud Villa Resort, you never have to worry about crowds. The entire hotel’s guest rooms and public facilities are spread across eight villas, with only 23 rooms of varied types.
Despite its small size, the public amenities are exceptionally complete, and nearly all are clustered conveniently along the central axis, making them easy for guests to use.
|Above: Central axis. Below: Elevated reception at the entrance|
The hotel’s most eye-catching and already-viral feature is undoubtedly the outdoor transparent infinity leisure pool!
Crystal-clear water seems to float above the golf course; its all-glass design lends itself to countless photo ops – shots here instantly flood your social media!
The hotel also seasonally offers a floating afternoon tea, brimming with summer vibes. The afternoon tea spread balances sweet and savory beautifully, with both gorgeous presentation and delicious flavors. Picture yourself splashing in the water, gazing out at Cangshan and Erhai Lake, while savoring gourmet treats – the feeling is simply sublime!
Around the leisure pool you’ll find the hotel’s various dining amenities. The Cloud Restaurant is the only restaurant, combining views of the pool, the golf course, and Erhai Lake into one stunning panorama. We enjoyed an incredibly lavish seasonal mushroom hot pot here.
If you’re lucky enough to visit Yunnan in summer, don’t miss the mushroom hot pot. During this annual 'grand gourmet festival', you can taste the widest variety and highest quality mushrooms. Matsutake, the season’s 'soft gold', is also not to be missed; this doesn’t go into the hot pot – the hotel thoughtfully prepared matsutake sashimi for us, satisfying our palates!
Beyond hot pot, the restaurant offers a range of Chinese and Western dishes. With our Chinese stomachs, we tried some Yunnan home-style dishes that delighted us with their delicate flavors.
Connected to the Cloud Restaurant is the hotel’s tea room. As a major tea-producing province, Yunnan is world-famous for its Pu'er tea. Guests can enjoy a complimentary welcome tea here, or choose to sample rarer teas at their own expense.
On the other side of the leisure pool are two adjacent bars: a wine bar and a cigar bar. The wine bar boasts a collection of fine wines from renowned global estates, including Dali’s local 'Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon' specialty wine, and also offers wine storage for guests.
The cigar bar houses many privately treasured premium cigars from the owner’s collection, all stored in specialized cigar cabinets for aficionados to share and savor.
Past the cigar bar, just across a stone path, are the hotel’s mahjong room and meeting room, correspondingly well-equipped.
In an adjacent villa, you’ll find a fully equipped gym and a Balinese-inspired spa therapy room, ready to cater to guests’ physical and mental needs.
By this point, I was already marveling at how such a small hotel could pack in such exceptional facilities. Then my butler told me there was more: the hotel also has an indoor golf simulator! All guests can enjoy a complimentary session here – especially thoughtful for beginners wanting a bit of practice.
LUXURY
Luxurious and Exquisite / Wonderful Experiences
The 23 guest rooms of Dali Hainar Cloud Villa Resort are distributed among eight villas. Some villas can be rented as a whole (containing 3–4 completely independent rooms), perfectly meeting the needs of large families or small team retreats.
I adored the water features woven between the villas, making the entire space feel more fluid. At times, Dali’s blue skies and white clouds reflected on the water’s surface, inadvertently adding another scenic layer to the hotel.
Built along the hillside, the eight villas present a sleek, modern Chinese style that is both chic and relaxed – like coming home to your own private residence at the foot of Cangshan. Stepping into a standalone courtyard, the inherent luxury of a villa hotel washes over you.
For this visit, I stayed in a Cloud Villa Sea-View Suite on the second floor of Block C. It’s the most popular single-room category, spanning 100 square meters. The four-story villa has one room per floor, each a different layout; as mentioned, the entire villa can be rented together.
|The grand viewing terrace at the villa entrance, shared by all guests renting the whole villa|
This suite features a horizontal tri-zone layout and comprises both indoor and outdoor spaces. The bedroom sits at the suite’s center, flanked by the living room and bathroom.
The room’s design concept is themed around 'elegance, tea, enjoyment, seclusion', with tea-green and light gray tones interwoven to create a serene, expansive atmosphere. The standout feature is the indoor sunken bathtub with a view – soaking in bath bubbles while gazing at the sea view is pure holiday bliss.
The in-room hardware is also top-notch, reflecting understated luxury: a York underfloor heating system keeps the room spring-warm all year; a now-discontinued Bose SoundTouch 30 Series III desktop Bluetooth speaker delivers unbeatable sound quality; a top-of-the-line Sony audio-visual system; an iPad mini entertainment system; a WMF temperature-control electric kettle; original Italian GESSI bathroom fixtures; a Toto Washlet classic model toilet, and so on.
Another plus is the bed! I’m somewhat particular about bedding, and their linens are of exceptional quality, wonderfully smooth, suggesting a very high thread count. The mattress is a King Koil collaboration with ICA, great for correcting sleeping posture. For bath amenities, they’ve chosen the classic Tuscan Soul collection by Salvatore Ferragamo. And the slippers! They truly made a huge impression. Disposable slippers at domestic hotels rarely have supportive edges; these were almost like real shoes, and the cotton-linen fabric was breathable and comfortable.
What impressed me most, though, was the choice of coffee machine. Instead of the ubiquitous capsule machines, they’ve opted for a Philips fully automatic American coffee maker. This machine uses whole coffee beans, grinding and brewing on the spot – essentially a professional barista among home coffee machines. Freshly ground coffee really tests bean quality, and I’m happy to report the deep-roast beans here were superb. The moment the machine started, the whole room filled with the aroma of coffee. Over two days, I finished an entire jar of beans – pure bliss!
The outdoor terrace of this suite is the real highlight.
The terrace area is almost as large as the indoor space. Beyond a four-seater dining set, there’s a daybed with canopy! From here, enjoy close-up views of the green fairways and the azure Erhai Lake in the distance. Facing east, you can even catch a glorious sunrise over the lake right from your terrace.
The main entrance to this villa is on the third floor, so my room was one floor down. Continue further down to find another Instagrammable room type: the Cloud Villa Select Suite. At 120 square meters, it’s the largest single-room category, and I paid it a special visit.
It also has a tri-zone layout with a terrace, but the living area is more spacious. Since it’s on the lowest floor, the view is limited to the golf course. However, it charms with an oversized outdoor bathtub, which somewhat compensates for the view.
On the villa’s entrance level lies the hotel’s base category: Cloud Villa Courtyard Room. While it’s more compact, the hardware configuration isn’t much different from the suites.
Interestingly, this room type enjoys a quirky advantage: on the same floor, there’s a huge living room with a terrace. Besides a lounge area with a TV, there’s a large dining area. If you wish, daily breakfast and other meals can be served here privately! Of course, other guests staying in the same villa can also share this space.
I tried having breakfast here. At the pre-arranged time, the staff delivered my pre-ordered breakfast to the living room. The hotel operates an à la carte breakfast system – just tick off your choices on the menu the day before. Many items are unlimited, reflecting their generous spirit. Both Western eggs Benedict and local Chinese treats like ersi noodles and rice noodles tasted wonderfully authentic.
If you’re traveling with another couple, I highly recommend the Cloud Villa Two-Bedroom Sea-View Pool Villa. Perched in the highest area of the hotel, it naturally boasts the best views of Erhai Lake.
|Second-floor viewing terrace|
This two-story villa strikes a bolder palette with dazzling red accents. Each floor has a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom; the ground floor also features a living room and a dining room. The ground-floor outdoor area is a terrace with a swing chair, while the second floor features a sun-lounger terrace with a clear, sweeping view of Erhai. In comparison, the ground-floor bedroom is more compact.
|Above: Ground-floor bedroom. Left: Living room. Right: Ground-floor terrace|
The second-floor bedroom offers a more spacious layout and an even broader, brighter view. Here, the bathtub has been moved out of the bathroom to sit beside the bed, enhancing the holiday atmosphere.
After dark, turndown service is provided, with a different little gift each night – perhaps a sweet soup or a snack. Whatever it is, it reflects the hotel’s thoughtful care.
|One evening, the turndown treat was flower cakes and candied fruit|
If the luxury of the rooms can be felt physically, there’s another kind discovered with the eyes. The dominant design element at Dali Hainar Cloud Villa Resort is golf, and golf-themed touches appear everywhere. From directional signs to decorations, and in small details like easel and lamp bases, you’ll find the motif. And of course, that giant golf ball you notice the moment you enter!
As I wandered the public areas, lost in thought in the reading nook, or even just caught that first glimpse upon returning from an outing, I could feel this exquisite luxury deep inside. Perhaps that’s exactly the genuine feeling the designer hoped to impart to every guest.
If you’ve exhausted the on-site facilities and fancy a stroll out, there’s no shortage of options. Golf lovers shouldn’t miss playing a round at the very Canghai International Golf Course where the hotel is situated. The club boasts two international championship courses – the 'Mountain 18' and the 'Sea 18' – with a maximum elevation change of 189 meters, a real treat for enthusiasts.
Right beside the main road leading to the hotel are Dali’s iconic Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple. The famous Dali Ancient Town is also just a stone’s throw away. You could even head there in the early morning for a wander, to experience authentic daily life in the old quarter – perhaps more atmospheric than its bustling nights.
Another highly Instagrammable option is the famous S-bend by Erhai Lake, a fabulous spot for artistic photos and posing. It’s only a 15-minute drive from the hotel, incredibly convenient. The natural scenery there is truly first-rate, and there are cozy cafes to linger in. I went photo-crazy there myself!
And I believe everyone holds their own private vision of Dali. Whatever your Dali looks like, I hope there’s a little space in it that belongs to Hainar. Don’t you agree?
Written by Khaven, Photography by Pan Changyong
