Alila Yangshuo
Li River, Yangshuo county, Yangshuo, China
A 1960s sugar mill on the Li River, converted by Vector Architects into a 117-room resort among the karst peaks of Guangxi.
Why we recommend it
Alila Yangshuo is one of the most admired hotel conversions in China. Architect Dong Gong of Vector Architects kept the brick buildings of a disused sugar mill at the centre of the resort and added plain, gabled wings around them, with interiors by Ju Bin. The restaurant sits in the old pressing room, the bar in the refining room, and the swimming pool runs under the truss once used to load sugar cane onto river boats.
It is the reason to spend several nights in Yangshuo rather than pass through: a hotel with a real sense of place, facing the limestone hills, and a base for walking, cycling and time on the river.
Location
The resort stands on the bank of the Li River in Yangshuo county, Guangxi, a short drive from Yangshuo town and around an hour and a half by road from Guilin, the nearest city with an airport and high-speed rail.