Loft Travelling Hotel

Rooms and decor

We open our Dali Old Town (Dali Gucheng) list with a place that feels like an artist friend's house in the middle of the walled city — Loft Travelling Hotel, where rooms start at just $34 a night and real review scores run as high as 9.4. Inside, raw white-plaster walls play off black steel frames, the floors are honey-toned old pine, and the modern tables stand on iron legs. High ceilings with exposed beams keep the air moving. Our room ran about 22 square metres with a big window onto the grey-tiled, Ming-Qing-style Bai houses across the lane, a firm king bed, and crisp cotton-linen sheets. The whole thing reads like a designer's studio that's deliberately kept hostel-warm.

Food and amenities

The part we fell hardest for is the courtyard garden, planted with bamboo, Chinese olive trees, and the pink camellia that's Dali's own flower. A stone table holds cups of Pu'er tea, free all day, and reviewers say they read here for nearly two hours over a quiet morning — a soft fountain and birdsong drowning out any sense that you're in a tourist town. The lobby carries a gentle smell of pine and Pu'er. The Bai staff are genuinely kind and like to send guests off to try grilled rushan cheese and clay-pot fish soup at the morning market.

Location and getting there

The hotel sits inside Dali Old Town, just a 5-minute walk from the central Wuhua Tower and 7 minutes more to Renmin Street, the "Foreigner Street" packed with live-music bars, Bai restaurants, and local tie-dye fabric shops. Want to loop Erhai Lake on an e-bike? Rent one out front for about $7 a day. Bus C2 runs straight to the Three Pagodas. From here you can also catch the sunset over Cangshan Mountain in the evening, with wind coming off the lake. The location score of 9.3 is the real thing.

Things to know before booking

This is a small property, so the room count is limited and it sells out fast — book well ahead, especially in high season. Facilities stay at basic boutique level: you get the design, the garden, and friendly help, but not the extras of a bigger hotel. And note that this stay replaces the article's original number-one pick, which no longer has an online booking page.

Our take

Loft Travelling Hotel suits couples, independent travellers, and creative workers who want a stay with real taste on a budget under about $69 a night. The old-town address plus that quiet courtyard garden covers both the people who want a late night on Foreigner Street and the people who'd rather sip tea in silence. We're proud to open the list with it — the value lives up to the price.