More about hotels in Guizhou
Guizhou sits in a fold of southern China where limestone hills rise straight out of rice paddies and rivers disappear into caves before turning up again kilometres downstream. It's home to Asia's biggest waterfall, one of the largest cave systems on the planet, and the small town that makes China's most famous spirit. Guiyang's mild, cool-summer climate also makes it an easy base year round, without the sticky heat you get further into inland China. If you want scenery you won't find anywhere else in the country, this is it.
You might be here to chase a waterfall, disappear into a cave system, climb a limestone cliff face, or just eat your way through a proper bowl of sour fish soup. Whatever the plan, there's a base in Guizhou to match it. Here's where to stay and what it costs.
Where to stay in Guizhou
Four cities cover most of what Guizhou is known for.
- Guiyang is the provincial capital and the easiest base if you're flying in. Free-roaming macaques wander Qianling Mountain Park in the middle of the city, and the riverside Jiaxiu Pavilion lights up at night for one of the best photo spots in town.
- Anshun, about two hours from Guiyang, is the gateway to the two biggest names on any Guizhou itinerary. Huangguoshu Waterfall is a chain of 18 separate falls where the main drop alone runs close to 78 metres high and 101 metres wide, and Zhijin Cave is a limestone cavern so vast it holds the record for the widest unsupported roof span of any cave on Earth.
- Xingyi is your base for Wanfenglin, a rolling sea of nearly 20,000 cone-shaped limestone peaks known as the Forest of Ten Thousand Peaks, ringed by rice terraces and pockets of dark-timber farmhouses raised on stilts against the hillside. It's also the closest city to the Getu River, where the water vanishes into a limestone skylight and re-emerges through a natural stone arch, now one of the world's newer rock-climbing destinations with hundreds of bolted routes across the valley.
- Zunyi is the closest city base to Maotai Town, the birthplace of Kweichow Moutai, China's most famous baijiu and one of the best-selling spirits in the world by value. Worth the detour even if you're not much of a drinker.
How much is Guizhou accommodation?
A hotel room in Guiyang, the easiest place to compare prices across the province, averages somewhere around AU$75 a night, though it swings a fair way in either direction depending on season and location.
- Backpackers and hostels: from around AU$25 per night. Basic, but fine for a night before or after a cave trip.
- Budget hotels and guesthouses: from around AU$40 per night. Simple rooms, usually with breakfast included.
- Mid-range and business hotels: from around AU$75 per night. Novotel Guiyang Downtown sits comfortably in this bracket, with reliable four-star basics right in the city centre.
- Boutique stays: from around AU$130 per night. Smaller properties with more character, often closer to the old town or the riverside.
- Luxury and resorts: from around AU$170 per night. Kempinski Hotel Guiyang and Anantara Guiyang Resort both sit at this end, with full-service spas and pools.
Top-rated hotels in Guizhou
- Anantara Guiyang Resort is the fullest resort experience in the city, built around the brand's usual spa-and-pool formula rather than a standard business-hotel layout.
- Kempinski Hotel Guiyang brings one of Europe's oldest luxury hotel names to the capital, with large rooms and a proper breakfast spread.
- Sheraton Guiyang Hotel is a five-star with three restaurants and an indoor pool, handy if you'd rather have everything on site than head out each night.
- Novotel Guiyang Downtown covers dependable four-star basics right in the city centre, an easy trip to Jiaxiu Pavilion and the rest of downtown Guiyang.
Tips for finding the perfect accommodation in Guizhou
- Base yourself in Anshun, not Guiyang, if Huangguoshu Waterfall and Zhijin Cave are the main reason for the trip. It saves a return drive on mountain roads every day.
- The waterfall runs fullest in the wet season, roughly May to October, so book ahead if you want to see it at its biggest. Outside those months the flow is gentler and the crowds thinner.
- Check whether breakfast is included before you book. Guizhou food leans sour and spicy rather than sweet, and a hotel breakfast spread here can look nothing like what you'd get elsewhere in China.
- Stay in Xingyi rather than commuting from Guiyang if Wanfenglin or the Getu River are on your list. It's a long way between the two for a day trip.
- Prices climb hard during Chinese national holidays, especially the first week of October and around Chinese New Year. Book well ahead, or plan your trip either side of those dates if you can.
- Look for a hotel with an airport transfer if you're flying into Guiyang Longdongbao Airport late at night. It's the only major airport in the province, so most itineraries start and end there.
