New choice for Yangcheng Lake vacation - Banyan Tree/Willow Tree Relax!

Yangcheng Lake finally has a second option besides Indigo - Banyan Tree/Willow Tree, which will open in August 2024 with brand new rooms and facilities. (Apart from the typhoon factor) The hotel environment is good, located in the beautiful leg, the environment is relatively quiet, and the number of Willow Hotel is more than Banyan Tree Hotel. If you stay at the hotel, it is recommended to book the superior room type (suite or above) of Willow, which is much more cost-effective! The superior room type of Willow is about 1,000 yuan cheaper than the lowest room type of Banyan Tree, but you can enjoy the facilities of both hotels (even the gym and swimming pool of Willow are better), which is very cost-effective. Banyan Tree's strengths are that they serve alcohol for breakfast (a tipsy breakfast), have fancier room products (like Dyson hair dryers vs Philips), and take a boat to the hotel for check-in (a bit of a gimmick). I have to say that the breakfast at Yueliu is of great quality, varied and clean. It is not too crowded even during peak hours, and the desserts are excellent. Yue Liu's Chinese restaurant Yue Qing (Hunan cuisine) currently only offers set meals, but the food is very good. It's just that the service may not be up to par during busy hours (there are too few waiters at the new opening). The Baiyun Restaurant at Banyan Tree is as excellent as ever, with good service and delicious dishes. Currently, the restaurant does not charge corkage fees and you can bring your own wine. The Willow gym is well-equipped and the swimming pool is large. It is really nice to swim alone if there is no one around. There is also a hot spring bath (for both men and women), but it is just a hot spring pool, not a hot spring, and there are no snacks available, which is a bit useless. Overall, it is a #cost-effective hotel where you can enjoy a deserted holiday. But one thing is, if there are few people (like we were on the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival), breakfast will be concentrated in the Banyan Tree, and it is semi-buffet with fewer choices, so the cost-effectiveness is much worse. So the experience here depends a lot on luck...it is indeed very comfortable when there are few people. Typhoon + new hotel experience, a holiday with plenty of rest!