Li River-View Hotels in Guilin & Yangshuo
8 Riverside Stays to Wake to Karst Peaks Over the Water

We open the view list with the stay that puts you closest to the water and scores highest — Banyan Tree Yangshuo scores 9.6/10 from around 5,138 real guest reviews. It's a five-star villa resort in southern-Chinese style on the Li / Yulong rivers at Fuli Town, Yangshuo, with karst peaks on three sides. What earns it the top spot on a view list is that the rooms are villas right on the river — you step out to the water and the peaks filling the frame — and the top-tier villas have a private pool that looks straight onto the river. Guests love the privacy, the mountain-and-river views and the relaxed honeymoon-friendly mood. The honest catch: it's in Yangshuo, ~65km from central Guilin (and Fuli Town is further out again from Yangshuo town itself), it's not the pick for seeing the city, and it has the highest from-price on the list.

A design resort on the Li River that ties for the top score — Alila Yangshuo scores 9.6/10 from around 2,043 real guest reviews. It's a five-star resort converted from a 1960s sugar mill on the Li River in Yangshuo, with raw brick-and-concrete shells that are the draw in themselves. For anyone here for the view, the pick is that it has a River View room that faces the Li directly, and a swimming pool set on the old sugar-conveyor platform that looks out at the karst peaks over the water. Guests say the same things over and over: the architecture is striking, the atmosphere is calm, and the mountain-and-river views are worth the trip. The honest catch: the entry Sugar House rooms are in the mill and don't all face the river, so you need to upgrade to a River View room for the water view; it's in Yangshuo, ~65km from the city; and it's design-resort pricing.

Guilin's flagship riverside five-star, the one with the clearest water view of the in-city group — Shangri-La Hotel Guilin scores 9.3/10 from around 4,143 real guest reviews. It sits on the east bank of the Li River in Qixing district, by Seven Star Park, with spacious riverside grounds. For the view, the pick is that the river-view rooms look out over the water with the karst peaks behind, and the Horizon Club rooms get both the river view and lounge access. Guests praise the lovely river views, the reliable Shangri-La service and the relaxing grounds and pool by the water. The honest catch: it's on the east bank, not in the walkable sightseeing core (a ~10-minute taxi to Central Square / the pedestrian street), and the city-view rooms don't get the river at all — specify a river-view room when booking.

The standout of the view list for a midscale budget — a four-star that scores higher than several of the city-centre five-stars and has the cheapest river-view room on the list — Universal Hotel scores 9.5/10 from around 5,293 real guest reviews. It's a value four-star in the city centre by Liberation Bridge (解放桥) in Xiufeng district, an easy walk to the Two Rivers Four Lakes, and what guests rave about — and what fits this list — is the Lijiang Sunrise View room, where you open the curtains in the morning to the bridge and the karst peaks over the water. And the river-view room starts at just around ¥200, far cheaper than a river-view room at a five-star. The honest catch: it's a four-star with no resort facilities, the entry rooms are city views (you need the Lijiang Sunrise View for the water view), and the Liberation Bridge area is busy in the evening.

The riverside boutique with the best icon-view edge on the list — Jolie Vue Boutique Hotel scores 9.5/10 from around 3,476 real guest reviews. It's a boutique hotel on Binjiang Road on the Li River in Xiufeng district, and what puts it on a view list is that the hotel faces Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山) head-on, and its 7th-floor restaurant terrace has a 180° view of Elephant Trunk Hill and the Li River, day and night. Guests praise the full-on icon view of the city, the riverside location that's easy to explore on foot, and a warm boutique feel at a reachable price. The honest catch: it's a small boutique with few rooms (it fills up fast in high season), some entry rooms are city / garden views, so you need to specify a river / Elephant Trunk Hill-view room for the water view, and it doesn't have a Wherebest review page yet (tap through to the OTA for rates).

The riverside five-star that pairs the water view with the most central location on the list — Sheraton Guilin Hotel scores 9.1/10 from around 4,876 real guest reviews. It sits on the Li River on Binjiang Road in Xiufeng district. For the view, the pick is that it has Li River-view rooms that aren't easy to find from a city-centre hotel, and it's a ~5-minute walk to Elephant Trunk Hill, so you can step out to the riverside and the hill every morning. Guests praise the walk-everywhere location, the river-view rooms, the Sheraton-brand service and the Executive rooms with Club Lounge access. The honest catch: the building has been open a while, so the styling is classic rather than the newest in town, the city-view rooms don't get the river, and rates rise in high season and on holidays.

The budget-friendlier riverside pick, and a long-loved guesthouse for foreign travellers — Yangshuo Mountain Retreat scores 9.2/10 from around 748 real guest reviews. It sits on the Yulong River (遇龙河) at the foot of Wanggong Mountain in the Yangshuo valley, about 10 minutes from the West Street. What fits this list is that it has river-view rooms that look out at the clear Yulong water with the karst peaks in front, plus a riverside restaurant where you can eat with the view. Guests praise the calm river-and-mountain setting, the English-speaking staff who help with bamboo rafts and cycling (free bikes), and the riverside countryside feel that's different from the city. The honest catch: it's a three-star guesthouse, not a luxury resort, the entry rooms are garden / mountain views (you need a River-View room for the water view), it's out in the valley away from the city, and it doesn't have a Wherebest review page yet (check rates / reviews at the OTA).

We close the list with the stay that gets the 'view from the banknote' at the lightest budget — Xingping Liyin Li-River Inn scores 9.2/10 from around 218 real guest reviews. It's a small riverside inn right by the Xingping wharf (兴坪), the old riverside town on the Li River just north of Yangshuo town. What fits this list to a tee is that it's right by the 20-yuan banknote photo spot — the stretch of the Li River where the karst peaks line up most beautifully — a few minutes' walk away, with river-view rooms facing the Li and a rooftop where you can eat looking at the river at sunset. Guests praise the riverside location with easy access to the view spot, the English-speaking staff, and a price that's remarkably light for a view like this. The honest catch: it's a two-star inn / homestay with basic facilities, the entry rooms are old-town views (you need a River-View room for the water view), it's out at Xingping a fair drive from the city of Guilin, and as a local property it doesn't have a Wherebest review page yet (confirm foreign-passport check-in when booking).