4-Star Hotels in Gansu, China

When I booked the hotel, I was a bit worried seeing that the pick-up service was only from 8 AM to midnight. I specifically called to confirm that they could still pick me up even if my train arrived in Dunhuang around 7 AM. The hotel's location is excellent, very close to Shazhou Night Market, Dunhuang Bookstore, Dunhuang Print Bureau, and Mingsha Mountain. I'm very grateful to the kind lady at the front desk for upgrading my room and allowing me to check in early. The room was spacious and very comfortable. Oh, and the two cats at the front desk are absolutely adorable!

Out of all the hotels I stayed at during this trip, this one was hands down the best experience! From the moment we checked in, everything was incredibly smooth and stress-free. The staff were not only warm and enthusiastic but also incredibly thoughtful, proactively recommending local attractions and routes for us. The check-in process itself was super efficient, completed within minutes, so we didn't waste any time from our itinerary. What truly impressed me was the breakfast. The freshly ground coffee was exceptionally rich and smooth, providing the perfect refreshing start to each day. The hotel's specialty breakfast was also incredibly authentic, allowing us to savor genuine local flavors – I couldn't resist having a little extra every morning! Overall, the experience was absolutely fantastic. If I travel to this area again, I will definitely choose this hotel!

The service and breakfast were both good. I even forgot something, and the hotel called to thank me for it. However, the strange thing about this hotel is that the air conditioning only turns on at 6 PM. I came back from Maiji Mountain in the afternoon and was really cold, wanting to rest in the room. But I ended up having to wear my down jacket indoors. Air conditioning only starting at 6 PM? This is the first time I've encountered something like this in all my years of traveling!

The room was nice, modern and clean. Staffs are helpful and have good service-mind. Location is great, right next to the drum tower. There are a lot of shops nearby, a food street is in walking distance, the Big Buddha Temple (Dafosi) is also walkable. There is also a free coffee machine at the lobby. Breakfast was also good. A little down side, the shower area has a lot of small flies, which we don’t know where they came from, but didn’t cause much annoyances. Despite some downsides above, we will stay at to this hotel again if we come back to Zhangye.

Comfortable room, a good size with blackout curtains. The hotel is an easy walking distance from the train station no matter how much luggage you have. Free laundry facilities. Reception staff were friendly and helpful, happy to answer questions and assist with bookings and locating various services around town. The only negative is breakfast. Both days I was there one or more of the bread products were stale. Paper cups are provided for cold drinks (which seems needlessly wasteful) the one morning I tried, the orange juice was flavorless and watered down- it tasted like when you refill a juice bottle with water. The shape of the seating area is also unfortunate. There are two corners where people seem to appear out of nowhere and both days I encountered numerous children running and who absolutely should not have been allowed to bring their scooters in to the breakfast area (not the mobility kind) making carrying hot drinks and plates of food dangerous and unpleasant. Definitely recommended, just skip breakfast!

The hotel's location is excellent; right outside, you can catch buses to destinations like Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, the airport, the train station, and Xuanquanzi Scenic Area. The hotel interior is also quite new, and the bedding is good. Downsides: The water wasn't hot enough. They required a 30 RMB deposit for each room key card, which is something I haven't seen in years. For such a large hotel, it felt really petty. The front desk service wasn't bad, but it felt a bit forced and uncomfortable. I don't know why, but they barely smiled, which made me wonder if the management was mistreating them? It just made for an uncomfortable experience. They offer a station drop-off service, which I initially thought was a nice perk. However, the communication was unclear, and I wasn't sure if the car was even there. When you're traveling in an unfamiliar place and have a train to catch, punctuality is crucial. No one could give me a clear answer. In the end, I had to repeatedly press the front desk in the morning before they could confirm. It left a very bad impression; the entire management seems to have issues.

The room is great, although this time we had an issue with the morning to the airport service. We arrived on time at 6:20am and there was no room in the shuttle that was scheduled. It’s very stressful to wake up early and make sure you don’t miss a flight, and they clearly overbooked the shuttle, even though we specifically arranged this the night before. A rude family pushed past us too and the hotel staff didn’t really communicate what was going on. I appreciate the hospitality during the stay, but guests shouldn’t have to worry about missing a flight from rude other guests and miss-counted shuttles.

This was the second Mercure hotel on our trip, and overall, the facilities were quite good. **Facilities:** The hotel is well-equipped. The lobby is clean and bright. As expected from an Accor property, the decor style and design elements are largely consistent. What truly stood out was that on each floor's common area, right outside the elevator, there was a row of complimentary bottled water. This is quite rare in other hotels and very convenient for guests to grab. Breakfast is served on the 21st floor, offering a panoramic view and a great sense of openness. On another note, staying on the 14th floor, the water pressure was a bit low, and the shower felt like it didn't have enough flow. **Hygiene:** The room's cleanliness was generally acceptable, but I found a long hair stuck to a tile in the bathroom. It felt like the cleaning wasn't thorough, which was a bit off-putting. Also, there was a small tear on the bed linen. I'm not sure if it was an oversight, but ideally, it should have been replaced. **Service:** The hotel's front desk manager took my feedback very seriously. Afterwards, they even proactively called us to inform us that the issues had been rectified. This was truly excellent.

From the airport pick-up, proactively helping with luggage, to always greeting guests and reminding them about the weather – every detail felt thoughtful. The room even had soda water and yogurt. Given the dry climate in the Northwest, a humidifier was provided, and there was a foot bath after hiking. The laundry room and drying pavilion were free to use. The hotel has a cat named Zhouzhou, who is truly the ”healing ambassador” of the lobby. Zhouzhou acts like a ”lobby manager,” often leisurely ”on duty,” sleeping on the lobby chairs. He's very friendly and not afraid of strangers. He has a naturally calming presence; petting him when you're tired from your journey is incredibly stress-relieving and became an unexpectedly warm memory of my Dunhuang trip.

The hotel's location is excellent, backing onto a local food street (much richer than a night market) and facing a riverside BBQ street. It's just a few steps to the Danghe Scenic Belt, and not far from the night market. The service is great, and local taxi drivers speak highly of it. The lobby offers coffee and red date tea, plus a complete set of Mogao Grottoes mural rubbings and stamps, which is quite fun for stamp-collecting tourists. The room's underfloor heating and bedding are very comfortable; it's warm enough inside that you need to use the AC for cooling. A humidifier is also provided, and the TV comes with a VIP membership. For breakfast, the freshly made hot options include beef noodles, lamb soup, and wontons. The variety isn't huge, but the taste is decent. The only minor drawback is the laundry and drying facilities. The three self-service washer-dryer units are convenient, but the dryer's hot air power isn't very strong. Winter clothes take a couple of hours and still don't fully dry. Fortunately, Dunhuang has low humidity, so hanging them in the room overnight is sufficient. This is something they might consider upgrading.