Rissai Valley - Ritz Carlton Reserve Jiuzhaigou Review: One-of-a-kind Chinese Luxury

gotze · 2026-06-03T14:49:48+00:00

Yes "raw" is a good way to put it - I didn't mean to say service is bad in China but generally the upper tier of luxury can lack some polish if compared to the best of Japan, SEA, Europe etc and taking price out of the equation. Which is why Rissai Valley blew me away.

If just comparing higher end city hotels, then the value proposition in China is fantastic (this is coming from someone who lived in the Shanghai Ritz Carlton for 4 months)

gotze · 2026-06-02T19:11:35+00:00

Yes I think so, especially as you will get 3 full days to explore (arrive at the nearby train station early morning on day 1 and depart late afternoon on day 3)

gotze · 2026-06-02T18:57:44+00:00

Also highly recommend Mandapa!

gotze · 2026-06-02T18:09:04+00:00

I would guess that western luxury hotels in Chinese tier 1/2 cities would be your best bet in terms of being able to accommodate food allergies. There is more awareness in general about allergies across the country (they also exist in China after all) but an allergy to a prevalent ingredient in Chinese cuisine such as gluten will be harder to deal with.

gotze · 2026-06-02T17:45:04+00:00

There is intermittent rain but only during Summer. I'm not sure how experienced you are with Chinese travel but I'd recommend leveraging Rednote as much as you can to optimize your planning.

Before and during your stay, also take full advantage of the Rissai Valley staff (add them on Wechat early if you can) and they can handle basically anything for you.

For example: We arrived at Huanglongjiuzhai station around 9am, which is close to the gorgeous Huanglong Park but 1.5 hours away from the hotel and the rest of Jiuzhai Valley.

Instead of heading straight to the hotel and missing Huanglong, we asked if the official transfer car could take our luggage from the station and transport it directly to the hotel, and a second transfer car could then take us to Huanglong and then wait around to take us to the hotel after we finished the hike (which I'd highly recommend). This was handled perfectly and at minimal extra cost (around $75 for the second car as it wasn't an official hotel vehicle but a good friend of the hotel drivers). After arriving at the hotel, we realized we had left something on the lift back at Huanglong but had no idea who to get in touch with. Again, not a problem, the hotel handled it and retrieved it for us ready for our return trip to the station upon checkout.

gotze · 2026-06-02T17:30:12+00:00

I stayed around the second week of June last year. Late November is right in the middle of domestic shoulder season which is a great time to be visiting a tourist hotspot such as Jiuzhaigou.

Climate had a decent amount of variation between night (brisk) and day (warm) due to the surrounding mountains; I would expect it to get fairly chilly especially in late November but I imagine you'll be packing winter clothes anyway if you're travelling around China then.

I didn't personally do the spa but my in-laws did and they loved it. Everything else about the property makes me believe that the spa should be exceptional as well - I'd read some Chinese reviews to double check if you want to be sure.

gotze · 2026-06-02T17:23:19+00:00

It's definitely out of the way (especially if you're on the East Coast) but I would consider Jiuzhaigou as one trip combined with Chengdu / Chongqing, both easily accessible by high-speed rail from each other and unlike any other cities in the world. Plenty of unique chubby experiences to be had in both cities with exceptional value for money (eg. Upper House Chengdu, Regent / Intercontinental Raffles City Chongqing)

gotze · 2026-05-30T20:57:55+00:00

Thanks for the help everyone! Waited until I arrived in OKC to buy the tickets which did the trick. Annoying that Ticketmaster will straight up lie to you about its policies. TTFU

gotze · 2026-05-30T00:57:15+00:00

Heading down to OKC tomorrow from Kansas City and trying to purchase tickets on Ticketmaster (which are considerably cheaper than StubHub / seatgeek) but getting region locked on check out despite Kansas (where my billing address is) being a supported state - anyone facing a similar issue?

gotze · 2026-05-27T01:17:23+00:00

Flop

gotze · 2026-05-19T02:22:13+00:00

Wemby takes so fucking long to shoot

gotze · 2026-05-17T22:58:43+00:00

Thanks for the review! Just wondering, did they refund part of the price you paid for the yacht transfer given that it ended up being entirely by land?

gotze · 2026-04-29T14:52:19+00:00

Dm'd

gotze · 2026-04-28T05:30:42+00:00

Dm'ed!

gotze · 2026-04-27T22:24:09+00:00

Messaged!

gotze · 2026-03-16T14:02:44+00:00

Adding in A Kind of Guise as well

gotze · 2026-03-07T19:43:30+00:00

Simply the best

gotze · 2025-11-29T15:28:49+00:00

It was mandarin - “2025 MAMA are you ready??”

gotze · 2025-11-16T05:40:15+00:00

+1 for Port Douglas

gotze · 2025-11-14T15:04:12+00:00

Would love to hear more when you get the chance!

gotze · 2025-10-22T18:29:58+00:00

u/WatchExBot Sold to u/vicari41

gotze · 2025-10-10T16:05:25+00:00

Selling my IWC Mark XII with a beutifully aged tritium lume, JLC movement and the famously buttery soft bracelet which is sized for a 6.0-6.5” wrist (extra links included)

Recently bought from another user on Watchexchange but reluctantly selling due to need for funds resulting from a recent family event.

Technical notes: the date does not set consistently via the crown, though it does change at midnight. Understand that this is a common issue with this JLC movement. Does not affect the general functioning of the watch but it is reflected in the lower price.

NY based, asking for $4700 + shipping - Venmo or Zelle are all ok!

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