Shan en Hotel is a dog lovers dream!
Dog friendly rating would be a 5/5, but my stay I would rate a 3/5
The guest house itself was really well maintained. The room had basic facilities, but was spacious with a nice king-sized bed, en suite bathroom and wifi that worked really well in the room. Again, no small print on the dog not being allowed to sleep on the bed, he was perfectly fine in with me. As it is a guest house and not a hotel, The Boy was perfectly fine sitting with me during meals, he didn’t need to be kept away which I really appreciated.
The best part
The biggest selling point for me on the guest house was the beautiful courtyard area outside. There were plenty of places to just sit and let the dogs run around in the courtyard. As the guesthouse was on a hill, there was no passing traffic which meant I could let The Boy place as he wanted to. You very easily could spend your entire day in that courtyard, especially as the guest price provided really high-quality dishes at reasonable rates.
Things to note
My main issue was that the guesthouse was secluded. As I don’t drive, we had hired a driver from Shanghai to the guesthouse. This meant when we were there, we were really stuck to the area the guesthouse was in. Whilst the surrounding area was undeniable beautiful, there weren’t any trails or hikes into the mountains as I would have hoped.
There were no pavements, which meant when cars came past, we had to scoot towards the edge of the road. My dog is very good off leash, but if I had a skittish dog, the lack of pavement would be a big worry for me and I think I would have to keep them on leash. Also, walking through the quaint villages, you must be aware that random dogs are suddenly going to come out and bark you out of town- perhaps not the friendliest area for off leash fun. We did enjoy our hike up through the mountain, and as it was only road, it was well surfaced and a relatively easy walk for us both. It was also well shaded, so despite the hot sun, I wasn’t having to worry about pavement temperature for The Boy.
Overall, it was a pleasant stay. If you’re looking for somewhere for a couple of nights to just sit and enjoy the countryside, its perfect. If you’re on a walking holiday, pick somewhere with better surroundings and do some research. Mountains doesn’t always mean trails!
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