I booked the place after seeing good reviews from XHS and on this site. We were met with not the lady boss on day of arrival but a grouchy man with curt instructions. And no assistance was given to help us carry our luggage to the 3rd floor. Lucky, it was a single luggage. So both my sis and I were able to do it on our own.
The room itself is clean but very basic with no place to hang our clothes though hangars are provided. As we were only staying for one night, it was ok. Towels are provided with shower gel and shampoo. The hotel location is good/central as it is near the Sun Moon Plaza. Did not get to see the drone show as there were thunderstorms that night.
We were glad when we met the lady boss the next morning. Very warm and friendly personality. She also helped us with arranging our luggage pickup by the service centre. Breakfast was mainly Asian with also bread, porridge and the small dishes cooked on order by the lady boss were tasty. The homemade soya milk was great too.
Overall, i think the hotels in Gubei Watertown are overpriced with such basic room amenities. I paid nearly the same rate for a 5star hotel in Beijing with much bigger room with better room facilities/service. Suggest to go for day trip if possible. But if you want to go for overnight stay and climb Simatai the next day, suggest to stay inside the scenic area so you pay half the price and enjoy flexibility to move within the scenic area anytime.
Check in and out was easy. From bus station, I had a leisure walk for 10mins to the trousim checkin building (The only way to enter Gubei Wtown). They gave free entrance ticket to Gubei because my hotel provides. If your hotel stay is outside, you will need to buy another ticket everytime you re-enter this area. My hotel is a 20mins walk from the Tourism checkin building so make sure you talk the free shuttle. They have luggage delivery but be warned they may take long hours to deliver during peak season. Deyuelou is nice to stay, simple. my Kang's room has a window to see a river. The aircond is also a heater. Easy to use once I Google Translate the buttons.
I like this hotel not because the location is quite central to everywhere, and the price is average as compared to the other hotels there. There is a rustic feel to the place that I like and the lady boss is so extremely friendly that I feel at east at the place. Overall recommend to stay there.