The Sightseeing Hotel is a high-rise property in the center of the city, within walking distance of most everything (as are most hotels located in the downtown area). The modern rooms either face the Mekong (Lancang) River, barely visible on Floor 8 and above, or the city. The city-view rooms can be more spacious, have a balcony, and more window area. It seemed to me when I looked at about a dozen rooms that the hotel was facing the wrong direction. That is, the larger rooms with more window area should have been facing the river valley rather than the streets and parks of Jinghong.

The staff, although not all well versed in English, tried very hard to please in all areas of the hotel, from the front office and the bell desk to the dining room. They are well trained to be helpful to westerners. In many out-of-the-way Chinese hotels, the employees avoid westerners because they are self conscious of their lack of English. Not so at the Sightseeing Hotel. One young and... more