InterContinental Kunming

The hotel fell short of expectations and does not meet their 5 star in many ways. 1. The hotel staff upon check in told me to pay a deposit which is almost another full day rate for my room. - Since this is not a normal practice, I questioned why is the deposit such a high amount? Almost 3000? Right after questioning, the deposit amount became an incredibly low amount of 70 yuan? The huge variance in the deposit amount which seems to be decided by the staff checking me in threw me off and made me wary of all my transactions with them from then on. 2. We booked 3 rooms. One of the room was incredibly far from the main entrance. By far I meant the walk took us 8-10mins of leisure walking. The hotel should invest in a buggy to bring their guest around and pick up from the block back to main lobby. 3. Deliveries - we ordered deliveries but there is no one to help you pick and send the order to your room. Unlike other hotels. You are expected to walk all the way out to pick it up. Mind you this is a really huge hotel the walk is at least 5 minutes from your room to the pick up area when we usually are able to get the concierge to pick up and send over the deliveries.

I've stayed in dozens of "5-star" hotels throughout China (inc. one in Hangzhou that was horrifying!); Kunming's Intercontinental is a TRUE 5-star hotel. The service, amenities, extensive grounds, and rooms are all top tier. The location is great for the West Lake scenic spot (other than that it's quite far from the city hubbub... to be expected when the hotel grounds require a fold-out map!). The dinner & breakfast were excellent (although all the fanciest dinner options were seafood, if that matters to you). Pay the little bit extra, stay at this hotel, you won't regret it.