From what we could tell after staying at this hotel and seeing other options in town, this is one of the top choices of places to stay. It is in a good location. The rooms were clean. The beds were comfortable, and they had decent room service for breakfast. We didn't have a river-view room, but didn't feel like we were missing much since we were only in our room after dark. The cafe was passable, but we don't recommend ordering a coffee latte unless you are accustomed to having egg in it. My first sip resulted in a string of raw egg white hanging from my mouth. After hearing and having images of the locals hacking loogies (phlem) all day, it was an alarming consistency to drink. The management quickly changed our drink order to cappuccinos which we were reassured didn't contain egg. The staff for all our interactions were very helpful and spoke English well. For local tours we recommend CTIS a couple doors down. But be aware of factory tours they take you on but don't tell you about until you think you are headed home to your hotel. The quaint bohemian-like town of Yangshou at the end of the river cruise is a gem we wished we would have stayed in for part of the trip. In fact, we bailed on the tour bus back to Guilin in order to spend the rest of the day there. After enjoying the rest of the afternoon, we took the last local bus of the day back to Guilin which cost just a few USD. From the bus station we took a taxi back to the Sheraton.

We stayed at this hotel during a tour of China with Ritz tours in September.

It is an older hotel, but still quite nice. Rooms are OK, nothing special, but comfortable.

The pool is really wonderful. Food in the breakfast buffet is good. Guilin is a beautiful city.

I was truly surprised at how nice this hotel was considering the reviews on this site. We stayed in a beautiful room overlooking the Li River. It was clean, had all the amenities you want (modern bathroom, new furniture, etc.). The food in the hotel was very good and the service was excellent. We had spent a few nights at the Waterfall hotel and there is no comparison, this hotel is cleaner and the staff is much more attentive. If you are going to Guilin..this is the place to stay...One point, I did hear that some of the rooms are older..so that might influence some of the reviews, but if you request a newer room overlooking the Li River you won't be disappointed.

Some very interesting reviews about the Sheraton Guilin on the web. Very interesting to see that many of them are decidedly mixed. Having just spent "Golden Week" at this Hotel we are firmly of the opinion that the Sheraton is complacently resting on its position as being the only "western" hotel in the City. This manifests itself in over-pricing, inattentiveness to customer care, negligence and in the case of its Western Restaurant "The Atrium" food that is inedible.

Other reviews have pointed to the tiredness of the hotel decor amongst other things. Little has changed since these reviews were posted last year. In addition we had to carry our own luggage to our room because no staff volunteered to do this on our behalf on arrival, our electronic door key failed repeatedly, having to be replaced three times, and we were surprised to find that the sum of 920 RMB we paid nightly did not cover breakfast which was charged at 259 RMB for two people...

I could go on with the negatives (and indeed will be taking things further with the Sheraton's Head office.) Needless to say, the Sheraton Hotel does not offer 5 Star service (as this and other reviews testify) and certainly does not offer value for money. Indeed, Holiday Inn, Zhuhai, offering rooms at 600 RMB last Christmas should put Sheraton Guilin's thirst for profit motive into perspective as should their sister hotel's Golden Week rate of 700 RMB nightly - charged by The Sheraton Tianjin currently advertised on the web.

Whilst there are pockets of excellence at Sheraton Guilin - a superb Chinese Restaurant (The Cathay) where food and service is first class - and excellent service at The Camel Bar - the sub McDonalds quality of The Atrium and the attendant "take it or leave it" attitude does leave a very bad taste in the mouth on almost every level.

The reason behind this - is lack of western competition and the fact that on average , western holidaymakers stay at this hotel for an average of 1.8 days before moving on. This statistic we got from the Hotel Manager who despite emollient words, a courtesy bottle of wine and waiving the breakfast charges - still seemed happy with the service being provided.

In Tianjin - staff at the Sheraton were on station in the Hotel forecourt to meet guests and to escort them into the hotel from buses and Taxis in safety. No such service was provided in Guilin - leaving unwary visitors just standing outside the hotel to fall prey to the unwelcome attention of touts and pimps offering massages and sex.

It is also interesting to see that one recent review stated that Internet access at the Hotel was free. This must indeed be breaking news to some of the Hotel Staff as they attempted to charge us a daily rate of 50 RMB for Internet Use in our room - or an incredible 1 RMB per minute if we used their Business Centre.

Guilin itself is probably best seen as a staging post for the superb Li River Cruise and its stunning views. Cruises, incidentally, can be arranged for as little as 200 RMB and not 540 RMB which was the going rate at The Sheraton.

As stated - Sheraton Guilin needs to improve greatly and offer people value for money.

The Sheraton in Guilin is very conveniently located on the bank of the Peach Blossom river and in easy walking distance to the city centre’s main streets. The hotel itself is a bit tired in terms of decor and facilities, but still more than ok compared to most other hotels. The staff is very helpful and friendly. Food and breakfast at the restaurant were excellent. There was free broadband internet access in the rooms, but no safe. The pool and gym looked ok but we did not try them.

This hotel is rated first class but is more like an aging motel in the US. Adequate room sizes but worn. Motel style baths, noisy, very crowded with large groups. Poor service in the dining area. I would say not worth the trip.

We were traveling with a tour group of eight for seventeen days in Mainland China. We arrived at the Sheraton Guilin on June 6, 2006. Guilin is such a beautiful place and the Li River a definite return for us. We have been staying at five star hotels and this hotel was sooooo three star. We took the pretty glass elevator to our room on the second floor and noticed that the elevator did not go to the floor we were on. We took our hand luggage and walked up a small flight of stairs to get to our room. The room was a good size and sound proof, but the carpets, drapes, and bedspreads really need a facelift. We awoke in the morning to find our window all steamed up from the humidity even though we had the air conditioning on. I would have loved to see the river from our window but it was a half view through the trees. The personnel were very nice and accommodating. We did eat dinner and breakfast in the restaurant and found it to be okay. We enjoyed the area mangos and could not get enough, but everything else did not appeal to us. There was not much variety. It would be nice to have an ice cream bar as in the hotel we stayed in in Shanghai. I did read the reviews and hopefully you do not serve dog meat as one reviewer said about Guilin local food. We love dogs, but would rather not dine on them.

The location along the Li River was excellent. The hotel staff was pleasant and helpful but the rooms and bathrooms are overdue for a renovation. The food in the restaurants was better then average and the 100Rmb (about 15 USD) for all the laundary you can fit into the bag is a great deal.

My wife and I, Japanese expatriates living in Beijing, went to Guilin during Chinese Golden Week. There I met more American and European tourists than I expected. Guilin seems to be one of the most popular travel sites among westerners for its magnificent (even mysterious) landscape along the Lijiang river. Anyway, I make it a rule to choose HIlton, Sheraton, or Shangri-la whenever possible when I travel in China for sanitary reasons. I picked Sheraton in Guilin because that is the only one available of the three. I did survive. However, as another review pointed out, bathrooms, furniture, hairdryer, and carpets definitely need thorough renovation. Beds and linens are clean, no bugs, though. Breakfast buffet has American, Chinese, and Japanese (I don't want to call it Japanese) dishes, all so-so. But coffee was good. That was nice considering the fact that there is no Starbucks in Guilin!!! Around US$100 a night for two with breakfast-- still looks a bargain for Japanese. Lastly, Guilin's local dishes are not so great if you do not care much for river fishes or 'dogs'--not hot dogs, but real dogs!

Right on the Li River (great location), very helpful and courteous staff, nice linens and clean rooms overall. That said, it is tired. The hotel is beginning to show it age i.e. bathrooms are dated, carpets are dirty etc... It is time for a fabulous, new hotel to be built in Guilin.