Kunming Hotel

“Oldie but Goodie”

The Hotel Kunming is one of the original high-end hotels in the city, and it is still stunning in many respects even though it is showing its age. The large elegant lobby, for example, is a showcase of gorgeous marble and custom wood features. The rooms (our was 1019) are spacious and handsomely … more

The Hotel Kunming is one of the original high-end hotels in the city, and it is still stunning in many respects even though it is showing its age. The large elegant lobby, for example, is a showcase of gorgeous marble and custom wood features. The rooms (our was 1019) are spacious and handsomely decorated in a classic style – thick crown molding, dark finely finished furniture. Our room had twin beds that were rather hard, with low hard pillows. There were two arm chairs, a small round table, a cabinet with small refrigerator, desk & vanity, one built-in luggage stand, a minibar with coffee/tea maker, a built-in closet with hanging rod but no shelves, and a safe. There were no drawers for clothes. Between the beds was a fancy lighting and a.c. control console that in its day must have been a marvel. It had a temperature setting for the a.c. but this didn’t seem to work and the room was somewhat warm at night. Wifi was ok, though slow at times. The front desk service was uneven – sometimes friendly and helpful, sometimes indifferent. The bathroom was large and clad in beautiful marble on the walls and counter top, but there was a serious maintenance issue with the tub/shower combination. There were heavy rust stains on the tub and heavy, ugly caulking that had apparently been an attempt to stop the water leak that had caused the rust. It was odd to find this in an otherwise upscale bathroom. Despite the unattractiveness of the tub/shower, it was still functional. Breakfast was very good, served buffet style in a 2nd-floor restaurant area that overlooked the lobby. My wife and I stayed here for two nights in early August, ‘16 at the beginning of a group tour of Yunnan Province. We flew into Kunming early, however, and spent our first two nights on our own at the Grand Park Hotel, which we felt was in a more pleasant location and overall more comfortable. If we return to Kunming we would opt for the Grand Park rather than Hotel Kunming.

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