Shangri-La Guilin
East bank of the Li River, Guilin, Guangxi, China
Location
Li River, Guilin
The hotel stands on the east bank of the Li River in Guilin, Guangxi, ringed by limestone karst mountains, near the city centre, the Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill, with the river a short walk away. There is no beach — this is karst-mountain country — the natural-wonder and family leg.
Transfer
A Guilin transfer
Fly into Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL), about 33 to 45 minutes by car, with the train station around ten minutes away. The Li River and karst peaks are on the doorstep.
Villas
Around 439 rooms & suites
Around 439 rooms and suites — Guilin's largest — with floor-to-ceiling windows onto the Li River or the gardens and mountains, plus Horizon Club rooms and family rooms, from Deluxe Garden and River View rooms to the Executive River-View Suites.
Best For
Who it suits
Families and travellers chasing China's natural wonders who want the Li River and its karst peaks — a family-park garden, the city's largest rooms and the iconic river cruise — as the scenery leg.
Board Basis
B&B
Booked on bed and breakfast. Shang Palace brings regional Chinese cooking and dim sum, with Li Café's international live stations and a poolside bar in the gardens.
About the Resort
The Guilin karst-scenery family base
Shangri-La Guilin is the karst-scenery base on the east bank of the Li River, ringed by the limestone peaks that made Guilin famous. It sits on a vast riverside site with an 11,000-square-metre garden that is effectively a family park — a Kids Club, a mini zoo, an organic farm, an amusement park, go-karts, bumper boats and rock climbing — making it the most family-minded hotel on our China list. Guilin's largest hotel rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows onto the Li River or the gardens and mountains, the west-facing ones catching the sunset, with Horizon Club rooms and soaking tubs. Shang Palace serves Cantonese, Hunanese, Huaiyang and Guilin cooking and dim sum, while Li Café runs international live cooking stations. There are indoor, outdoor and children's pools, a poolside bar and a Shangri-La spa, and the river is a short walk away. There is no beach — this is karst-mountain country — the natural-wonder and family leg, and the base for the iconic Li River cruise to Yangshuo, the Reed Flute Cave and the Longji rice terraces.
Accommodation
Rooms & suites
Around 439 rooms and suites — Guilin's largest — with floor-to-ceiling windows onto the Li River or the gardens and karst mountains, the west-facing ones catching the sunset, plus Horizon Club rooms, soaking tubs and terrace family rooms. They run from Deluxe Garden and River View rooms through Horizon Club River View rooms to the Executive River-View Suites.
Entry
Deluxe Garden View Room
Sleeps two to three. Large, with garden views and a soaking tub — the entry room.
Soaking tubGarden view
River
Deluxe River View Room
Sleeps two to three. Li River and karst-mountain views, west-facing for the sunset.
Sunset-facingRiver view
Club
Horizon Club River View Room
Sleeps two. Horizon Club lounge access, with river views.
Horizon ClubRiver view
Apex
Executive / River-View Suite
Sleeps two to four. Around 84 square metres with a separate living area and panoramic views — the signature suite.
~84 sqmRiver view
Food & Drink
Dining
Regional Chinese cooking and lively buffets. Shang Palace serves Cantonese, Hunanese, Huaiyang and Guilin dishes with dim sum; Li Café runs international live cooking stations, from teppanyaki to tandoori; the Lobby Lounge pours afternoon tea; and a poolside bar serves the gardens.
Cantonese
Shang Palace
Cantonese, Hunanese, Huaiyang and Guilin cooking, with dim sum.
International
Li Café
International live cooking stations, from teppanyaki to tandoori.
Tea
Lobby Lounge
Afternoon tea in the Lobby Lounge.
Bar
Poolside bar
A poolside bar in the gardens.
Wellbeing
The Spa
The Shangri-La spa offers facials, massages and body treatments, with sauna, steam, a hot tub and a foot bath. The water runs through the resort too — indoor, outdoor and children's pools with a poolside bar — set in the vast garden that doubles as a family park.
Spa
Facials, massages and body treatments, with sauna, steam and a hot tub.
Three pools
Indoor, outdoor and children's pools, with a poolside bar.
Family-park garden
An 11,000-square-metre garden that doubles as a family park.
Activities & Experiences
Signature Experiences
Karst peaks, the Li River and a garden built for families. Cruise the Li River to Yangshuo past the cormorant fishermen, let the children loose in the family-park garden, dine on dim sum at Shang Palace, and take a day trip to the Longji rice terraces.
Li River cruise
The iconic Li River cruise to Yangshuo, past the karst peaks and cormorant fishermen.
Karst scenery
Guilin's famous karst-mountain scenery — the Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill.
Family-park garden
An 11,000-square-metre family-park garden — a mini zoo, organic farm, go-karts and bumper boats.
Shang Palace
Regional Chinese cooking and dim sum at Shang Palace.
Longji rice terraces
A day trip to the Longji rice terraces.
Getting There
Location & transfers
By road
About 33 to 45 minutes from KWL
About 33 to 45 minutes by car from Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL).
On the river
The Li River
On the east bank of the Li River in Guilin, a short walk from the water.
Guest Reviews
What Our Clients Say
★★★★★
“The most extraordinary place I have ever stayed. Nothing prepares you for the depth of the silence, the beauty of the reef, or the sheer generosity of the experience.”
✓ Verified via feefo
★★★★★
“We’ve stayed here three times now. The house reef has no equal. The stargazing was, genuinely, one of the most moving experiences of my adult life.”
✓ Verified via feefo
★★★★★
“I had stayed at Four Seasons, One&Only and Velaa before visiting Shangri-La Guilin. They are all magnificent. But this is different in a way that is hard to articulate.”
✓ Verified via feefo
Good to Know
Good to know
Board basis
- Booked on bed and breakfast, with regional Chinese cooking and live-station buffets.
Setting
- On the east bank of the Li River, ringed by karst peaks — a riverside garden hotel, with no beach.
Family
- The most family-minded hotel on our China list — an 11,000-square-metre garden that doubles as a family park.
Getting there
- About 33 to 45 minutes by car from Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL).
Book This Property
Start Planning Your Shangri-La Guilin Stay
Your HighStreet specialist will respond within 2 hours with a personalised quote and the best available rates — guaranteed.
1
Your holiday
2
Your details
3
Review
Step 1 of 2
Tell us about your stay
Dates, party size, villa preference and budget.
Destination
Dates & party
Date flexibility
Adults
2
Children
0
Budget & accommodation
Budget per person (flights + hotel)
£4,500
£500£50,000+
Villa preference
Flights
You Might Also Consider
Other China hotels you might consider
China
Banyan Tree Lijiang
A Naxi-style villa resort at around 2,000 metres just south of the sacred Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Yunnan — every villa faces the peak. An intimate collection of villas and suites carry private heated pools, jet pools and courtyard gardens; minutes from UNESCO Lijiang Old Town and the Shuhe and Baisha ancient towns (Naxi and Dongba culture), with the award-winning Banyan Tree Spa using Yunnan ingredients and Naxi-pagoda dining — a Himalayan-foothills hideaway.
China
Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at West Lake
A low-rise Jiangnan garden resort on the banks of UNESCO West Lake — acres of lily ponds, bamboo, willows and mist-covered lagoons in Song-Dynasty-garden style. Just 78 rooms and suites and three private villas (some with a private pond, pool and cinema) pair with award-winning Jin Sha Hangzhou cuisine (the legendary crispy chicken), an imperial-style indoor pool and a chinoiserie spa, Longjing tea and live guzheng in the lobby — around 45 minutes by train from Shanghai.
China
The Peninsula Shanghai
A modern Art Deco grand hotel with direct frontage on the historic Bund — the first new building on the Bund in more than 60 years, with Forbes Five-Star and Michelin Two-Key recognition. Around 235 rooms and suites carry 1920s-Shanghai Art Deco interiors and Bund, Huangpu River and Pudong-skyline views; dining runs from rooftop Michelin Sir Elly’s to Yi Long Court Cantonese, with a Peninsula-green Rolls-Royce fleet (and a restored 1934 Phantom II), a 1930s Art Deco pool and The Peninsula Spa by ESPA.