Travellers' Checks | Yangshuo gets second high-end resort with Alila opening in July
Former sugar mill given tasteful conversion for the better-heeled visitor to limestone karsts of Guilin in southwest China
The town of Yangshuo – a former backpacker haven on the Li River, about 60km southeast of Guilin, amid Guangxi’s trademark limestone karst hills – gains a second high-end international resort next month with the opening of Alila Yangshuo.
Described as “a modern retro resort” with 117 rooms, suites and villas, the interesting-looking property occupies an old sugar mill, with most of the original buildings apparently kept intact thanks to what appears to be an unusually tasteful renovation.
Alila is, not surprisingly, running with the sugar theme, with a restaurant called Sugar House, similarly named accommodation and a bar that serves rum from its own distillery. Room rates should start from 1,380 yuan (HK$1,570) per night.
It was once possible to reach Yangshuo from Hong Kong by ferry and bus, via Wuzhou, but the service was suspended some years ago. Today, it’s probably easiest, and safest, to fly to Guilin and take the bus. Cathay Dragon flies there and back daily.