Sheraton Xishuangbanna Hotel, located in the city of Jinhong in Yunnan Province, China has 326 rooms. There are 250 55sqm Deluxe, Handicapped, Grand Deluxe and Club Deluxe Rooms. There are another five suite categories with seven 106sqm Junior Suites, nine 110sqm Deluxe Suites, three 140sqm Club Suites, three 167sqm Ambassador Suites and one 343sqm Presidential Suites. The hotel offers Nanao River on-site hot springs, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, fitness centre, a kid’s club, hair salon, chess and card rooms, an animal and plant ecological experience zone as well as the Shine Spa.
The hotel is located around an area that is under development and not too far away from the city centre. Xishuangbanna is an eco-tourist destination with lush tropical rainforests in the Lancang – Mekong River basin and is contiguous to Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. They share the same national ancestry and culture. Xishuangbanna is also known as the “Kingdom of Plants and Animals” and ” An Emerald on the belt of the Earth”.
There are also 13 minorities living here including the Dai, Hani, Jinuo and Bulang. Those familiar with Thailand’s Songkran Festival would appreciate a similar Songkran Festival here celebrated by the Dai people. The Hani People celebrate the Gatangpa Festival while the Jinuo people celebrate Temaoke Festival.
Xishuangbanna has many cultural and scenic sights to visit. I highly recommend visiting the beautiful vast fields of tea at Tea-Horse Road which is located in Menghai County, four kilometres from the town centre. It occupies 1,500 hectares of land and is developed by the Tea Research Institute of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Xishuangbanna Tea Culture Science Park Co., Ltd.
Here you can pluck your own tea leaves and learn about tea culture and technology. Other outdoor activities that you can participate in include the Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley or trek the tropical rainforest with a professional backcountry guide which you can also learn to cook a meal using nature’s resources.
Be sure to visit Gaozhuang Xishuangjing or ‘Nine Towers and Twelve Villages”, a scaled-down reproduction of the ancient city of Jinghong within the modern city. Enjoy an authentic Dai-style dinner at Manfeilong Restaurant.
A must for all visitors to Xishuangbanna is to watch “Shui Wu Yuan” cultural performance. It is a spectacular water-based song and dance stage show about local Dai etymology, history and culture. The production will stun you with the performers’ flexibility, colourful costumes, lighting, effects and a spectacular drum show. It is an epic performance and not the usual cultural show that you may have ever experienced. End the night with a visit to the Starlight Night Market and pick up some souvenirs or taste the street food.
I checked into the Deluxe Suite at Sheraton Xishuangbanna during its official opening in March this year when it was still hot and humid. I was impressed by how big and spacious the suite was. As you enter the Deluxe Suite, you walk into a huge living room which leads to a balcony. There is a walk-in wardrobe area which leads to a huge bathroom with a bath tub in the middle surrounded by a separate shower and toilet.
The Living Room
The living room features a dining table for three, a sofa area where you can watch television or just sit around to chat as well as a work desk. Behind the workdesk is a balcony which overlooks the resort and vast land of construction in the area.
The Bath Room
The Bed Room
The bedroom also has an attached balcony which is connected to the balcony at the living room. The suite’s wooden flooring is ideal as I always feel carpets tend to collect a lot of dust.
The Facilities
The resort offers many other leisure activities. There are indoor and outdoor pools, hot spring waterpools, tennis courts and other recreation and sports activities available on site.
Get a tan by the outdoor pool area or if you prefer you can swim indoors so you don’t get a tan. This area seems a little bare but give the trees some time to grow.
The Hot Spring area offers a bit more privacy compared to the pools where you can enjoy a soak. There are four such hot spring waterpools.
If you prefer to go for a walk or run, the hotel provides a 1.2km route from the Hotel to Mansa Village. This route passes the Xishuangbanna Daxing Winery and Mansa Buddha Temple. You can learn about the Dai people, their culture and living space. Enjoy the view of the farms, pineapple trees, banana plantations, rubber trees and ponds.
If you prefer something further, there is a 3.2km route which brings you to the Mandiu Dai Village. This route will bring you to more sites including the Banna Red Wood Timer Processing Plant, Fuyuan Hotel and the Kailai Centre.
If you need to get some work done or need to surf the web, head down to the LINK@SHERATON. This Sheraton Hotels feature offers terminals and complimentary wireless broadband. The area is also connected to the Lobby Lounge where you can socialise or just enjoy a tipple. LINK@SHERATON also provides hotel guests the opportunity to mingle with other hotel guests.
The Sheraton CLUB offers a spacious abode if you want to get out of your room and enjoy a space to just chill or perhaps do some reading. The CLUB is not air conditioned so it may get a bit warm on hot and humid days.
Food & Beverage
Sheraton Xishuangbanna Hotel is located in quite a secluded area. It has a couple of food and beverage options for hotel guests. Besides the Lobby Lounge, this hotel offers three other restaurants – FEAST, Yue and Red Basil Restaurant.
FEAST serves up a selection of western and eastern cuisine. The wide buffet spread is an easy choice if you cannot decide what to eat from the ala carte menu.
Yue offers traditional Cantonese cuisine and other local and regional Chinese dishes. The private rooms here are luxurious if you are travelling in a bigger group.
Red Basil Restaurant is a Thai restaurant offers you authentic Thai dishes.
Sheraton Xishuangbanna Hotel is located at Yuntou Road, Gasa Town, Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna,Yunnan Province, China. There are no direct flights from Singapore to Jinhong. The fastest way is to fly SilkAir and China Eastern via Kunming Changshui International Airport. The flight and transit time is around 8 hours 35 minutes.
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