Hotel Bintang 3 di Shanxi, China

We had the best stay at Elswhwere Hotel West Gate. The building is restored it the nicest way really gives you the feeling of timetravel. The people working in the hotel, were carrying and welcoming. They explained us how to navigate the city, helped us buy tickets for the city sights, recommend restaurants and we even got a room upgrade and lovely gifts to take home and remember our time in Pingyao. The bed was so comfortable and we had the best sleep. Can recommend this hotel full heartedly. Would definitely come back! Thank you Helen and Fenny for making our stay so memorable.

Wow, I loved this homestay! The lively and kind lady who runs Yishui homestay is a good English speaker and very patient, so foreigners as well as Chinese will feel at ease staying here. It is a very hospitable atmosphere! Location is in the pedestrianized part of the old city, very near the Drum Tower. Therefore, there is lots to see/do/eat while walking nearby. But the location is also not far from the driving road, so it was an easy, short walk to meet my driver when going out to the hanging temple, the grottos, and the train station. The facility is an old-style courtyard home, with a beautiful wood-beam ceiling. The interior rooms are completely renovated and modernized, with great water pressure, all necessary toiletries, an excellent quality hair dryer, slippers, and super air-con/heating! (It was -3 one night during my stay, but I was warm and comfy in that room!) Clean towels are brought daily. Breakfast was included in my stay and I was very happy with the food. It is an ample Chinese-style breakfast, and you can inform the cook if there is some food you don't/can't eat. Although the breakfast was plenty of food for me, I saw a guest ask for more baozi, and he was kindly given 2 more. Fresh fruit was also offered for free several times during my stay. Within a 5 minute radius (walking), there are many eating places for lunch, dinner, snacks, and tea/coffee. There are also numerous historical sites (dragon wall, temples, ”mansions”, the Catholic Church, etc.) in easy walking distance. In fact, there was so much to see nearby that I was not able to see everything! The homestay looks very charming, and many, many people were often seen stopping to take photos in front of the homestay, as well as on the back wall of the homestay, which is next to a Chinese Opera stage--it is especially lovely at night! It is a 10-15 minute walk to the ancient city wall, where you can climb up and enjoy the sights, or visit a (Chinese) bookstore within the city wall, under one of the arches. My Beijing friends, who stayed at a nearby hotel, were equally impressed when they came to visit me in Yishui homestay, and they got the WeChat contact so that they can return to stay at Yishui homestay on a return trip--so easy to get there by fast train from Beijing!

Spent a most enjoyable 5-day stay here. The owners are really nice -- they not only surprised us with a welcome fruit platter but also sent another one on another day. When we had to wake up super early on one of the days, they actually cooked 2 hard boil eggs for us to pack for breakfast (despite us saying no the night before as we didn't wish to trouble them). The husband also sent us via his car to a nearby pick-up point that we had to assemble at 5.40am. This is a very nicely done up place, well-maintained and very clean too. Good quality toiletries provided, comfortable bed, bathroom with a shower cubicle, water that is hot enough, even a toilet bowl. Great location -- there're rows of different types of shops nearby but it's still surprisingly quiet despite our room facing the road with a balcony, there're 2 cafes nearby, a nearby eatery that sells the most delicious 'shao bing' (crispy skin pastry with meat in it) - it's freshly made when one orders and a adjoining noodle stall that serves noodles that's quite OK too. It's just opposite the Hua Yan Si temple - one of the must-visit on the list of places in Datong. Hua Yan temple is also located in a huge square with more shops and food. From the front door of the homestay, turn right and walk all the way down abt 15-20mins, go through the ancient walls and then cross the road, you'll find Parkson mall there - a huge modern mall with all your usual F & B + shops that you'll find in these malls, supermarket, etc. The bus-stop to Yun Gang Grottoes is also nearby. A new landmark that makes it easy to locate this charming homestay : a new huge pink bunny with the Chinese characters of Datong on a green artificial grass patch, that is located just abt 200m away from its main entrance.

自駕到古城，老闆娘給安排了古城牆下的停車場，20元一晚，客棧離西門停車場非常近，非常方便。客棧在古城步行街邊上，古典有特色，春節來院子裏大紅燈籠高高掛，十分喜慶，客棧十分適合旅拍，在客棧就能完成，期待旅拍的照片。老闆娘非常熱情❤️