Place is great with a beautiful view on Yanshuo city. Hotel is very quiet, far from yangshuo city noises but ideally located to go for daily trips by bike/boat/walk. Shelly, her daughters and staff were very nice and always available.

Shelly's Riverside Retreat executes perfectly one what it is designed for: being a getaway from the bustle of the town.

It sits on atop a hillside overlooking Yangshuo, providing a gorgeous panoramic view of Yangshuo nestled among the fantastic karst peaks and cradled by the Li River which twists its way around the city. You can enjoy this wonderful view from the rooms or the patio, where you can also have your meals.

The place is perfect for having a large dinner party outdoors. Your group can dine on delicious Chinese specialties or seek comfort in Western cuisine while also looking out over one of the best views in all of Yangshuo. Shelly's also got an awesome cook who prepares the most marvelous banquets. I myself can't speak for the meat dishes since I'm vegetarian, but judging based on the reactions of other guests, they more than appreciated the cook's superb dishes.

The accommodations range from modest to luxurious, but in all cases they're clean, comfortable, and spacious. The hotel itself also has an internet capable PC and wireless internet access. For any services not itself at the hotel, Shelly will be happy to arrange it for you, ranging from tour guides, impression light show, massages, etc.

Shelly's Riverside Retreat is the perfect escape from the crowded, loud downtown in West Street. It provides an excellent atmosphere to relax and soak in Yangshuo and China's culture and beauty.

Absolutely loved the Riverside Retreat!

My family and I stayed for 4 nights, and took up 3 of the 4 rooms on the 3rd floor - the 2 queen bedrooms with balconies (awesome views through big glassed windows), and the 'sunshine room' which is a bit larger and has an enclosed sunroom, and a bathroom with views. Overall I think the views were probably better from the Queen balcony rooms. Rooms were simply furnished with wooden furniture, and kept very clean.

The retreat was really relaxing, & it was great not being right in Yangshuo town. (easy to walk to the river, catch a 1RMB boat across & walk to Yangshuo, and then catch a taxi on the way back).

Eating a freshly cooked breakfast on the balcony whilst looking at the the karsts (mountains) in the distance was a highlight.

There is also a pool (too cold to swim in at the time), some bikes for hire, and my brother and I went horseriding up on the ridge with the neighbours horses (the neighbours came along to guide us). Also recommend the Lui Sanjie Light Impressions show which Kate can organise tickets and transport to.

Everyone at the retreat is friendly, and Kate does a fantastic job running the place. I contacted her by email to arrange the rooms, and she organised a minivan to pick us up from the airport in Guilin, and helped fix up our flights when our scheduled one was cancelled. She is also a great cook! (try her fried bananas with ice-cream!).

We all felt relaxed and rejuvenated after our stay here - highly recommended!

We stayed 3 days in November 2007 at the Yangshuo Riverside Retreat. Shelly, an English teacher by profession, built the house 2 years ago. With its raw brick facade, it's not exactly appealing, but it delivers what it says it does, a nice, relaxed family-style place in a peaceful setting. The house is in a spread out village, but it's wooded enough, so you don't see a lot of the neighbouring houses. It's a peaceful environment compared to downtown, but you're bound to hear the boats on the Li river blowing their (loud) horns throughout the day, and occasional loud music coming from parties in the distance. During our stay it was very silent at night.

Our room on the 3rd floor had a panoramic window, a small balcony, and a glassed bathroom (see pictures on their website [--] or [--]) - fantastic views. The room was comfortable with a good bed and basic furniture. Suggestions: an opaque curtain for the bathroom, and fixing the smell problem from the drains. Maybe bottled water also.

We met Shelly once, but Kate was really running the place - efficiently and with a good command of both English and Western customer expectations. We liked the simple style of the resort kitchen, and its reasonable prices. The resort has 4 bikes for rent, and 2 horses available from the neighbour. Kate picked us up on arrival in Yangshuo. She also arranged for us a bamboo raft trip on the river Li, a drop off at the village of Jiuxian, and tickets + transportation to the Impressions Liu Sanjie show. Everything was priced right, and Kate would always mention the right fare for buses and taxis. She even walked us to the main road to flag down the right bus to Xingping. The only problem was that noone spoke English when she was not around.

Overall we really liked the place, and found our room was priced right at 200 yuan - even with the taxi trips into town at 20 yuan each. We came to Yangshuo to experience both the spectacular site and a bit of rural China, and the Riverside Retreat was a good choice in both respects.