The Wuxi Taihu Hotel (Wuxi Taihu Fandian) is a garden style hotel located near scenic Taihu (Tai Lake) and a number of the area's popular sights. Over 250 guestrooms are complemented by an assortment of luxury villas. Each is equipped with international direct dial telephone, satellite TV, in-room safe and internet access, and many afford spectacular views over Taihu. A range of restaurants, bars and banquet halls serve a rich variety of dishes and drinks. The Taihu Hotel's function hall is equipped with an advanced audio visual system.Guests can also make full use of recreation facilities including an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna and massage center.
"No hotel is perfect, but some definitely have standout features. Taihu Hotel, I highly recommend it!
Even though it's called Taihu Hotel, it's not directly on Lake Taihu. Only some of the lake-view rooms actually offer a glimpse of the lake, and there are no public areas with lake views either. So, if you're staying at Taihu Hotel and your budget allows, I'd suggest a lake-view room, especially one with a balcony. In spring or autumn, sitting on the balcony, you can see Yuantouzhu (Turtle Head Isle) – that green shoreline across the lake. The balcony faces directly onto Yuantouzhu's ferry terminal, offering beautiful and delightful scenery. I had initially planned to find a lakeside cafe to relax, but this balcony was just too good to leave. The room came with a capsule coffee machine, so I brewed a cup and sat on the balcony. A gentle breeze was blowing, a few swallows circled overhead (I assume their nests are on the hotel roof), and the lush greenery enveloped me in the fresh scent of plants. The view was expansive, with boats coming and going on distant Lake Taihu, yet it felt incredibly tranquil.
I didn't catch the sunrise or sunset, but I did witness the moonrise. I'd never seen the moon rise before; usually, when I look up, the moon is already high in the sky. There's a small hill directly opposite my room, and to my surprise, I saw the moon slowly ascending. It happened to be the 15th day of the ***** calendar, and the night sky was deep blue and cloudless. Unfortunately, my photography skills aren't great, so I couldn't capture it, and my literary abilities aren't good enough to describe it in words. All I can say is, it was incredibly beautiful. I'm not sure if this is visible every season, or if the moon might rise from a different spot sometimes. My knowledge of astronomy and geography isn't the best, but I imagine the moon doesn't always appear from the exact same location.
The greenery between the hotel and Lake Taihu isn't all part of the hotel property, and you can't walk through it as there are fences marking off third-party property. The hotel's back garden is quite large; it takes a good half-hour to wander through every corner. In the evenings, they show open-air movies on the lawn. It's not too cold or hot right now, and the mosquitoes haven't started working yet, so it's quite comfortable. However, I'm not sure if this happens on non-holidays. Around May Day, they even had fireworks in the evenings. Fireworks aren't normally available on weekdays, and I'm not sure about weekends.
This is a resort-style hotel. The hotel's facilities are pretty good. I was initially worried about it being outdated since it was renovated in 2016, but it didn't feel old at all, and the decor was quite nice. The parking lot is huge, with both an underground garage and outdoor parking spaces. There's a gym, ping-pong, tennis courts, and a pool. There's also an AI trail, which is a 1km loop around the back garden. They have small three-wheeled scooters, but I'm not sure if they're free or require a QR code payment to use.
The staff are all very friendly and provide good service.
There are a few areas for improvement. The gym has a sort of cable machine, which is great, but the accessory options are a bit limited. Also, the hotel's signage is a bit unclear. The underground garage is actually on the hotel's 1st floor, but there are no signs indicating how to get from the garage to the public areas on the 1st floor. When exiting the garage to check in, the elevator sign says the hotel lobby is on the 3rd floor, and reception is on the 5th floor. Taihu Hotel's layout is a bit different from other hotels, so I was slightly confused and went to the 3rd floor looking for the lobby, but check-in is actually on the 5th floor. Perhaps it would be helpful to add a note like ”Reception (Check-in)” next to ”Reception” on the signs."