Lijiang Sunshine Nali Inn

Rooms and decor

Rooms here run 18-22 sqm in a plain, restrained Naxi style — twin or double beds, clean linen, an LED TV, air-con, and a kettle with free Pu'er tea and Yunnan coffee you can refill as much as you like. The detail that gets guests excited is the third-floor north-facing rooms: large windows that look straight at the 5,596-metre Jade Dragon Snow Mountain on a clear day. At sunrise the light washes the peak gold, and people end up waking early just for it.

Food and amenities

There is a small Chinese restaurant doing Yunnan mushroom hotpot and spicy fish for around $11-21 a dish, plus a shared lounge with free Pu'er tea poured all day. Up top, a rooftop sun terrace stays open from morning on, with a 360-degree view over the blue-grey tiled roofs. Amenities run fuller than you'd expect from a 2-star: free Wi-Fi in every room, train and flight ticket booking, and 24-hour luggage storage. The 9.8 guest score leans mostly on the service — the owner is a local Naxi, speaking Mandarin and Naxi with basic English.

Location and getting there

This is the whole pitch. Xinyuan Lane, off Guangyi Street, sits about 80 metres from Sifang Square at the centre of the old town — a real 1-minute walk — with the 800-year-old Mu Palace only 1-2 minutes beyond. Step out at 6am and you can shoot the empty stone canals; walk back from the night market two minutes later without flagging a taxi. Black Dragon Pool is about 2 km away and the old Yuhe canal is a 10-minute walk. The train station is around 10 km and the airport about 28 km.

Things to know before booking

It is a 2-star inn, so the rooms are basic and small — don't expect resort touches. Sitting in the busiest stretch of the old town means tour-group crowds through the middle of the day, which is the trade-off for the address. And the mountain-view rooms are few and go fast in high season, so book ahead and name the room you want.

Our take

Sunshine Nali Inn is for the budget traveler who wants to open the door and see the Mu Palace. A 9.8 score at around $17 a night in a UNESCO town is rare. We'd point solo backpackers, budget couples, and friends who only need the room to sleep — the kind who spend their days out — straight at it. Ask for a snow-mountain room when you book, and book about two weeks ahead.