A Gentle Sunrise Getaway—Xiangsheng Grand Hotel, Putuoshan

The Xiangsheng Grand Hotel, Putuoshan is located on a north-facing hillside overlooking the sea. It is about a 10-minute walk from the cable car. The hotel provides shuttle service to the pier and various scenic spots.

🏨Hotel Environment:
Unlike other single-building hotels, the Xiangsheng Grand Hotel covers an area of 35,000 square meters. It is a complex of 15 three-story buildings nestled against the mountain and facing the sea, with just over 200 guest rooms. The hotel was built and opened in 2016, making it nearly 20 years old. It is a long-established hotel in Putuoshan. To be honest, the hotel is starting to show its age, and several buildings are currently under renovation. However, thanks to the low density of guest rooms, the hotel is very quiet and comfortable, a place of birdsong, flowers, tranquility, and serenity.

🌟Highlights and Features:
1. The hotel's ocean-view rooms and viewing platform offer stunning sunrise views. The outdoor restaurant in the hotel lobby has a heart-shaped check-in spot where you can capture the sunrise framed within a heart. However, the outdoor restaurant is closed during winter, the off-season, and windy days.
2. It is said that in summer, you can enjoy breakfast facing the sea in the open-air restaurant in the lobby.
3. Sutra copying amidst the fragrance of flowers and birdsong. Even in early spring, we could copy sutras while listening to the chirping of birds.
4. The hotel has several vegetable gardens, and it is estimated that in summer, they provide their own vegetables or offer activities such as vegetable planting and picking.

🏘️Room Type/Layout: We stayed in a classic room, which was very spacious, including the bathroom and balcony, totaling about 50 square meters. It featured a 2-meter wide bed, a two-seater sofa with two seats and a chaise lounge, and a bathroom with a shower and bathtub. The 3-meter long balcony offered views of the courtyard and the distant sea.

🧹Soundproofing/Hygiene: The soundproofing was decent, and the hygiene was good. To be honest, the hotel shows its age, and some areas need proper maintenance. However, these minor flaws do not detract from the overall experience. The spaciousness of the rooms, the hotel gardens, and the sea-view platform are truly classic. One can imagine that in summer, the lush gardens, vibrant flowers, and the tranquil sounds of birdsong create a perfect environment for meditation.

🍽Dining Recommendations:
The hotel's Chinese restaurant offers the classic dishes of a long-established restaurant. My friend said that she has dinner here every year and always orders fried rice noodles, and the taste is consistently delicious. We recommend the garlic-flavored ribs, crispy, salty, and fragrant; and the sweet fermented glutinous rice balls with osmanthus, fragrant, glutinous, and delicious.

🏕️Nearby Attractions:
1. Zhoushan Cable Car: about a 10-minute walk
2. Huiji Temple: 10 minutes on foot, 15 minutes by cable car
3. Baotuo Lecture Temple: 5-minute walk

💗Other Tips:
1. Hotel breakfast is CNY 58 per person, CNY 48 per child.
2. The hotel also offers a vegetarian buffet lunch from 11:00 to 14:00.
3. The hotel's Chinese restaurant is also very good.