All in all, my husband and I had a very pleasant stay at Xiangsheng Grand Hotel on Putuo Mountain Island. The Island is a real retreat if you manage to keep away from the masses that are pouring into some of the amazing temples ... not all and not at all times though ...
The hotel itself looks very beautiful and it is kind of build on the rocks looking onto the sea. We had a room with a balcony with ocean view and we loved this fact - even the big amount of rain we got on "our" Putuoshan weekend didn't disturb this. The room itself was quite big and clean, as was the bathroom. Towels and bedding were up to standard. The only thing that bothered a bit was the smell in the room - smoker (although they did some fresh air treatment) and also a bit moldy ... but with the possibility to open the windows (and a working AC when the windows were colsed) it was bearable and didn't destroy the overall good impression.
The hotel also has an indoor pool and a beautiful outdoor pole with bar, but unfortunately both were closed ...
The breakfast buffet was very typical Chinese, but quite big, so we definitly found something that we liked and didn't have to start the day hungry. Both mornings, my husband had a freshly made noodle soup with veggies that he liked very much. There were also pastries and fruits offered. For coffee drinkers I would recommend to take your own favorite coffee drip bags and then just add hot water as the coffee that was avaible for breakfast was sweetened and with milk powder - not my cup of coffee!
The hotel employees, especially one really kind lady, were quite helpful and friendly. We were happy to use the shuttle buses of the hotel that picked us up from the ferry terminal and also dropped us there on the way back - the busses also got us to special stops on the island, from which we could reach every place worth visiting. The hotel gave us big umbrellas to use during the day - very useful service as we got tons of rain.
All over an enjoyable time out and very much recommandable!
번역