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Scott McCormack / China Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Banyan Tree Ringha :: Large Rooms But Lazy Housekeeping

Where: Hong Po Village, Jian Yang Town, Shangri-La County,, China, 674400

Big is the word when it comes to the Banyan Tree's newest location, Ringha in Yunnan, China. Banyan Tree has already created a healthy fan base, including the New York Times.

The five-star hotel woos guests with their menu of favorites such as WiFi, satellite TV with three languages, and a full-service spa. As for the rooms, Scott McCormack found them everything but small:

Huge. The rooms are all on two floors. The smallest, a Tibetan Suite, has 2,200 square feet and feels more like a cozy mountaintop chalet than a hotel room. Dark woods and hand-carved paneling are offset with white European-style duvets and extra long pillows. The decorator went a little heavy on red-lacquered furniture, the type you can find in any Chinatown. But the kitsch is kept in check by more traditional touches, like the latticed windows and Tibetan-style quilted curtains. All the rooms have a second-floor terrace that offers sweeping views of the Shu Du Gang River and the snow-capped Hengduan Shan mountains.

Even the bathroom was so large it felt like a spa. Of course, big isn't always better. In this case the food and service fall slightly short of the large expectations prompted by the square footage of the rooms.

McCormack wasn't the only one to be disappointed with the food. Another past guest found the food to be "basic". And according to another guest, housekeeping has come up with a way to clean those large rooms in record time--by sweeping the dust under the rugs.

Related Stories:
· Check In Check Out [New York Times]
· Banyan Tree Ringha Reviews [TripAdvisor]