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China · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels on the waterfront in China

Marc Delacroix

Marc Delacroix France

Updated 1 September 2026 · 34 China hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in China, out of the 34 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.9 down to 4.719512.

3 Bedroom year round lakefront home on Three Mile Pond with private dock is the one I would book myself.

3 Bedroom year round lakefront home on Three Mile Pond with private dock

Highest rated of the five

3 Bedroom year round lakefront home on Three Mile Pond with private dock

★★★★★4.9 from 208 reviews

3 Bedroom year round lakefront home on Three Mile Pond with private dock comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.9 from 208 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under the waterfront.

34 hotels in China qualified for this list and five made it. Central Maine Apartment offering 4 Seasons of Fun. is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. 3 Bedroom year round lakefront home on Three Mile Pond with private dock1

    3 Bedroom year round lakefront home on Three Mile Pond with private dock

    ★★★★★4.9 from 208 reviews

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    • Central Maine Apartment offering 4 Seasons of Fun.2

      Central Maine Apartment offering 4 Seasons of Fun.

      ★★★★★4.9940147 from 137 reviews

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      • Modern Cabin on Crie Hill3

        Modern Cabin on Crie Hill

        ★★★★★4.95 from 110 reviews

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        • Timeless Lakefront Cottage with private dock- East Pond Belgrade Lakes Region4

          Timeless Lakefront Cottage with private dock- East Pond Belgrade Lakes Region

          ★★★★★5 from 96 reviews

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          • Weekly discounts avail. Get away from it all on the start of The Belgrade Lakes5

            Weekly discounts avail. Get away from it all on the start of The Belgrade Lakes

            ★★★★★4.719512 from 246 reviews

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            How this list was put together

            34 China hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

            Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

            The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

            What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

            Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

            Marc Delacroix

            Marc Delacroix France

            Closes the shop two weeks each winter and goes wherever people make something fermented. Dairies in the Basque country, the Caucasus and rural Sardinia.

            Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.