Luxury in Guilin & Yangshuo
6 Riverside Design Resorts and City Five-Stars Real Guests Rate 9.1–9.6

If you want the luxury stay that's the signature story of Guilin–Yangshuo, and the highest score — Alila Yangshuo (糖舍) is a design resort built from a 1960s sugar mill on the Li River in Yangshuo, keeping the raw brick-and-concrete bones of the old factory and weaving contemporary architecture through it, with a pool set on the original sugar-loading platform looking out at the karst peaks. It scores 9.6/10 on Trip.com from around 2,043 reviews — the highest score in this article. The draw is award-winning design that photographs beautifully from every angle, an Alila spa, distinctive rooms and a Li River setting where you wake to mountains and water. Guests say it's not just a hotel but a piece of architecture you can stay in, the service looks after you well, and the calm riverside setting is a charm the city hotels don't have. The thing to know: it's ~65 km from the city of Guilin, a 1–1.5-hour drive, and a fair way from Yangshuo's West Street, so you ride out for food and sightseeing, the starting rate is high, and rooms fill fast in high season — but if you want the area's signature design resort with karst-and-river views, this is the answer.

If you want a riverside villa resort ringed by karst peaks, with a signature spa — Banyan Tree Yangshuo sits by the river in Fuli Town (福利古镇) in Yangshuo, laid out as southern-Chinese-style villas with karst peaks on three sides, looking out at the Li/Yulong River and the hills. It scores 9.6/10 on Trip.com from around 5,138 reviews — the most reviews of any stay in this article. The draw is the privacy of the riverside villas, the renowned Banyan Tree spa, a pool, and a calm setting made for proper rest and honeymoons, plus family-villa options and pet-friendly stays. Guests say it with one voice: the mountain-and-river views are genuinely beautiful, the spa is relaxing, and the service is warm. The thing to know: it's in Yangshuo, ~65 km from the city of Guilin, and in the quiet Fuli Town a fair way from West Street, so you ride out for food and sightseeing, and it has the highest starting rate in this article (¥2,000) — but if privacy, riverside villas and the spa come first, it's hard to beat in this area.

If you want a riverside five-star in the city of Guilin where you wake to river-and-mountain views — Shangri-La Hotel Guilin sits on the east bank of the Li River in Qixing District, by Seven Star Park (七星公园), with rooms facing the river that look out at the water and the karst peaks behind. It scores 9.3/10 on Trip.com from around 4,143 reviews. The draw is a riverside location quieter than the city-centre hotels, warm Shangri-La service, river-view rooms guests love, a pool, a gym, and a Horizon Club Lounge for the upper-tier rooms. Guests say the river view from the room is genuinely lovely, the service is good, and it's a fine base for exploring Guilin. The thing to know: it's on the east bank, not in the heart of the shopping-and-street-food district like the Sheraton/Lijiang Waterfall, so it's a ~10-minute taxi into the centre, and the city-view rooms start a fair bit cheaper than the river-view ones — but if a riverside river view and quiet within the city come first, it does it all, at a lighter rate than the Yangshuo resorts.

If you want the most central riverside five-star, a walk to everything — Sheraton Guilin Hotel sits on the Li River on Binjiang Road in central Xiufeng District, a ~5-minute walk to Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Guilin's landmark, and a walk to the Two Rivers & Four Lakes area and the Zhengyang pedestrian street. It scores 9.1/10 on Trip.com from around 4,876 reviews. The draw is a location that's hard to fault if you want to explore on foot, river-view rooms that aren't easy to find from a city-centre hotel, a pool, a gym, an atrium garden and standard Sheraton/Marriott service. Guests say they came for the location and weren't disappointed — everything is an easy walk. The thing to know: it's a classic-brand property that looks more classic than the freshly renovated newcomers, the city-view rooms start cheaper than the river-view ones (specify the river view when booking if you want it), and the riverside city-centre district is busy with tourists — but for a walkable location plus a river view, it does it all, at a lighter rate than the Yangshuo resorts.

If you want a five-star city-centre stay that's a landmark in its own right, a walk to everything at the lightest rate — Lijiang Waterfall Hotel sits right by Central Square (中心广场) facing Shanhu Lake (杉湖), with its signature feature a giant artificial waterfall that pours down the facade — a Guinness-record one, run to a schedule for onlookers. It scores 9.1/10 on Trip.com from around 2,996 reviews. The draw is a central location within walking distance of the Two Rivers & Four Lakes area, the Sun and Moon Pagodas and the Zhengyang pedestrian street, plus an indoor pool, a kids' pool, an executive lounge and the lightest starting rate in this article (¥350). Guests say the location is great and walkable, the facade waterfall show is a novelty, and it's good value, good for families. The thing to know: it's an older landmark property that looks more classic than the newest towers, and it sits by a busy Central Square, with city-view rooms starting cheaper than the lake/waterfall-view ones (specify a waterfall-side room if you want to catch the show) — but for a central location plus value, it does it all.

If you want a riverside stay in Yangshuo that's calm and private, with rice-field-and-mountain views, at a lighter rate than the big-brand resorts — Yangshuo Mountain Retreat is a small boutique on the Yulong River (遇龙河) at the foot of Wanggong Mountain, long owner-run, where you wake to green rice fields and karst peaks reflected in the water. It scores 9.2/10 on Trip.com from around 995 reviews. The draw is a calm riverside setting made for real rest — it's a launch point for the bamboo-raft cruises and rice-field cycling along the Yulong River, the prettiest in Yangshuo — plus a river-view restaurant doing Western and Chinese food. Guests say the riverside view is calm and lovely, the owners and team are friendly, and it's a more relaxing stay than a city hotel. The thing to know: it's a small boutique, not a big-brand resort, so the facilities aren't as full as Alila/Banyan Tree (and the review base is the smallest in this article, ~995), and it's on the Yulong River about 10 km from West Street, so you ride out for food and sightseeing — but if a calm, private riverside setting and value come first, it's the charming boutique pick in Yangshuo.