phoenix pagoda fonglou retreat

we stayed at the most amazing place during our time in magical yangshuo! we cannot recommend phoenix pagoda fonglou retreat highly enough – truly!

the hotel, which really is a retreat in that it is totally a relaxing little haven among spectacular beauty, is located in the small village of fonglou about twenty minutes from the town of yangshuo. it’s a beautifully redone old farmhouse that is well thought out and full of charm. we loved feeling secluded but also having really easy access to the city center and the best hikes, biking trails and sights this amazing area has to offer. the facilities are perfect and the rooms are comfortable and beautiful without being too fancy (so rates are very affordable), which makes phoenix pagoda just the ideal spot for any visitor to yangshuo.

 
the vistas from the numerous decks around the property!!:

we spent a lot of time chilling out on our room’s balcony which afforded absolutely amazing views day and night.
 
phoenix pagoda has a really delicious restaurant, and we ate most of our meals on the top deck of the hotel. i wish i would have taken pictures of the food – it was beautiful and delicious! the menu includes both chinese and western food and everything we had was super yummy.

undoubtedly the best part of our stay at phoenix pagoda fonglou retreat (and there were lots of fantastic parts!) was the service. the owner, jerry, was outrageously helpful in every way, and even took us and some of his other guests on a free biking tour for a few hours one morning. (the hotel has bikes always at the ready for guests to use.) the manager, lily, was around the hotel lobby all the time cheerfully making sure we had everything we needed or wanted and even drew us maps (see one pictured below) any time we set out to explore. not only were jerry and lily very, very gracious and helpful – they were also just fantastic company. we loved getting to know them and spending time with them.
  
one of my favourite things at phoenix pagoda was the view from the shower, which was so hard to capture! we enjoyed overlooking the scenery while showering both during the day and by moon and starlight – magical!

we even got a phoenix pagoda cap as a farewell gift before we left (watch for it in coming photos – ian is obsessed)! we love jerry and lily!
 

we highly, highly recommend a stay at the phoenix pagoda fonglou retreat! we have been talking about how fantastic our time was there ever since.

{this post was written in partnership with the hotel. all opinions are definitely our own!}