staying in this hotel made our trip to Shangri-la area perfect...

we stayed at the new songtsam hotel just a few weeks after the opening. the rooms were huge, perfectly clean and beautifully designed. our balcony faced the back of the monastery, facing the fields, and mountains, and the view was remarkable. we wished we had more time there just to sit and stare at the views.

the staff were extremely nice and welcoming. internet is free. breakfast was included, and was nice as well. we really wish we could have stayed more. definitely the best choice of stay in the area. we can surely say that staying there upgraded our shagri-la experience to the fullest!

Firstly, the hotel is not as pictured anymore...the Tibet style building you see in the main description is closed for refurbishment. But the GREAT NEWS is that they have just opened an even better hotel called Songtsam Retreat a few hundred meters along the road up the hill behind the temple.

It truly was idealic and so wonderfully quiet. Instead of a hotel room, you are allocated a room in one of about 12 stone built buildings ranging from standard rooms to large self contained suites. You feel like you are staying in your own holiday home, rather than a room. From the wooden baths to the shampoo in little jugs not bottles, the hotel feels special.

Officially, this new hotel is not opening until next year, but we were there in soft opening phase and had a wonderful suite with views to the temple and beyond.

The service was great and very personal, and the food was fantastic, as well as being good value (try the lamb sesame!)

I have added some photos which you should review rather than official pics on this site if you want to see where you will ACTUALLY be staying

This hotel was not found in our trusty copy of Lonely Planet. So, fortune smiled on me when I found a lovely brochure while in China for this hotel that oozes Tibetan charm. I can't say enough good things about it.

The location makes this THE place to stay during your visit to Shangri-La/Zhongdian. It is right at the foot of the famous monastery.

The hotel was clean and peaceful. The food was more than fair. And the staff was warm and welcoming.

We visited this hotel in March and loved it! I cannot describe how great this place is. The rooms are nicely decorated with great bathrooms. It is an old Tibetan farmhouse turned into a hotel so it has a lot of charm. The stairs are very steep so if you have any problems with stairs I would not suggest staying here.

It is right next to the monestary so it is in a great location for wandering around there. It is out of town but town is not great anyways so no big loss there! If you want to go into town they can get a taxi for you, it takes about 10 minutes. In front of the hotel they seem to be building a boardwalk with a lake around it.

We did a day trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge and then get the hotel to pick us up at Tiger Leaping and drive us to the hotel. The scenery on the way is awesome and since we had a private driver he stopped whereever we wanted. It was not cheap to get this ride but well worth it one way at least! They organized a day trip for us and we saw some great scenery and even visited the home of family that makes black pottery. They are happy to organize these things for you.

We didn't love the food at the hotel, make sure you ask for your food to not be cooked in yak oil if you don't like it.

I cannot recommend this hotel enough and if you are in this amazing part of China you should really stay here.

I stayed two nights at the Songtsam in Zhongdian in April and wished I could have stayed much longer. This place is a real cultural feast. The staff, room, restaurant and location were all wonderful, and unquestionably the highlight of two weeks in Yunnan. The hotel is close to the Songtsam Lama monastery and some distance outside the city, which is becoming very commercialized. I spent hours walking about the narrow alleys of the Tibetan community surrounding the monastery.

We stayed at the hotel for almost two weeks in November last year. The hotel is ideally positioned away from Shangri-la and beside the Sontsam Monastery. We loved the peace and quiet of the place and the staff which were really friendly. They can advise you on walks to take around the hotel and organise a car to take you to nearby lakes and mountains. The rooms are all beautifully decorated with old Tibetan furniture and very warm even during the cold nights. The hotel does not accept large tour groups and does not have a karaoke, so it is really peaceful. We will be going back!

The Songtsam Hotel is right next to the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan, Songzanlin Monastery. A superb location with far reaching views.

The hotel is a grand building in authentic Tibetan style. The different dining rooms are intimate and beautifully decorated. Service is excellent - nothing is too much trouble. The bedrooms are a good size and have small balconies.

The hotel has its own private vehicle to take you into town, the airport and any tours. Saves the hassles of getting a taxi to come out.

It really is a great place to stay - representing great value and an authentic Tibetan experience.

stayed at Songtsam for 3 nights after 4 nights at Banyan Tree (2 nights at Ringha 2 at Lijiang), loved everything about this hotel, from the moment I 1st contacted this hotel via email, they were very responsive, the Manager Min was helpful with my questions regarding things to do in the area

as the rooms at Banyan Ringha are huge, by comparison, the rooms at Songtsam were a bit small (they actually have 2 beds in the room but would only fit 2 skinny Asians) , somehow I thought the rooms would be bigger based on their very good website (--)

(this is expected to change as they are now renovating & expanding and rooms will be bigger in the future)

the location is next door to Songzanlin Monastery and also at the #3 bus stop (to go to the old city/Gucheng)

my room had a great view of the mountains and steppes, and while very basic (i.e. no shampoo/toothbrush & etc) the hotel is very tastefully decorated, with antiques all over the place, even the TV sat on an antique Tibetan chest

food was not bad (and in fact tastier vs. Banyan), their Lamb dish was excellent, great noodles & soup, their Sichuan Tofu was very so so, hot pot was not bad, they only have local Yunnan wine but it was drinkable

my room was just across the hallway from the restaurant (they have another two restaurants opened in the summer time in the courtyard and on the rooftop-- but only when it is warmer), this was not a problem at all because the few other guests were pretty quiet and I loved being able to just stroll across the hallway for a nice cold beer

when I was there the temperature was between 8 celsius to negative 8 celsius, when I complained about the heater not being warm enough, they promptly brought me a nice warm additional heater which made my room a sauna & a wonderful sanctuary to come back to after a day in the snow & wind

hired a driver from the hotel for my last two days there (LuoSang --), he was a very experienced and safe driver, laid back, good natured, and just a wonderful driver / guide, as he knows Sichuan and Yunnan very well, hearing him talk about the areas will definitely get your feet itching (as in make you want to spend the rest of your life exploring Yunnan & Sichuan), he also epitomized what I love about Zhongdian, ie the people & also the areas around Zhongdian (Zhongdian town, esp new town, itself is kind of ugly)

Songtsam is now closed for expansion & renovation (they look like they are tripling in size), will need to come back again soon, as I wonder how long "Shangri-la" can be preserved, now that this is becoming a more & more popular destination.