Aini Garden

When I started planning our itinerary for our 15 day Yunnan holiday, I plotted out our path to go all the way up to Shangri-la, back down to Kunming and then to Jiaozi Snow Mountain and Dongchuan Red Land. Then I chanced upon a video of Aini Garden and fell in love! The only reason we came to Pu'er was to get to Aini. This was the first place I booked, and I really took a chance because it has a no cancellation policy and I really had to stick to the date once it was made. The initial pre-arrival experience was less than pleasant. I didn't know how we were going to get to the manor and my WeChat messages went unanswered. The hotel we stayed at in Pu'er finally got in touch with someone and got them to message me. I asked how we could get there and the answer was a curt "take a taxi or charter a car". No pleasantries of "we look forward to seeing you" or offering to arrange a car. When we arrived, no one was at reception and no one came out. Our driver was so perplexed he wondered if we were in the right place and if the place was open. Finally a young girl came out and registered us in. There was an air of aloofness from everyone else. However, once we were checked in, things warmed up quickly. We were offered coffee and freshly cut papaya and had a nice introduction chat with the lady staff. The bedroom and bathroom is well appointed, spacious and comfortable. We would have enjoyed sitting on the balcony if the chairs were more comfortable. I love the floor to ceiling glass windows but the panel above the door should also be glass (it is just netting) so traffic sounds from the road actually comes through at night. I actually wanted to book the cottage in the hills but opted for the standard room in the main house because I was worried it would be cold. Big regret as it is actually magnificently located with stunning views. However take note that you will need to call for a buggy ride or make a 1km hike every time you want to eat or get to the main house. If you are self driving, no issues as you can park right next to the cottage. Anyway it's a small price to pay for an unlimited view of the milky way and seclusion. This is as close to a Ryokan experience as you can get in China, minus the hot springs. 3 days 2 nights of blissful, carefree living is not quite enough. They make sure they feed you well, with the freshest produce available for hotpot dinner and home-cooked Yunnanese dishes for lunch. There are so many activities organised, from taking you up the mountain for a glimpse of sunrise (with mountain goats for company ❤️) to coffee plantation education tour to horseback riding along the mountain ridges (the view is spectacular!) to scavenging for wild vegetables and fruits to drinking, dancing and singing around the campfire! So much to do, so little time! One area of improvement I personally would like to see is the coffee serving. They tend to be quite snobbish about how their coffee is taken. Neat, with nothing else. Asking for sugar or milk feels nearly scorned upon. Coffee is a versatile drink and can be savoured in a huge variety of ways. How else is Starbucks so successful? I felt kind of stifled and deprived because I love a good latte and had looked forward to enjoying an unlimited indulgence of coffee throughout our stay. Anyhow, I love the ecotourism efforts here. It feels natural and unpretentious. I love the people and the camaraderie they cultivate. I especially enjoyed talking to their consultant 敬梅, a beautiful lady with extensive knowledge in Yunnan culture and ecological progress. Also thank you to 徐芳 for arranging transport back to town and giving helpful recommendations. We hope to return again.

愛伲莊園的照片放不完。後來在西雙版納還去吃了愛伲牛肉火鍋。 星空木屋離接待中心800多米，走路15分鐘左右，開車幾分鐘，就是我特別擔心遇到車沒法交匯，路很窄。有兩個泳池，兩個温泉池，小朋友游泳很開心。沒來得及參加2點的溯溪活動。 星空木屋風景太美，不夠看，半夜不睡覺看螢火蟲，在房間往外看看到了4-5支。整個山頭就一家住着。感覺很特別和奇妙。多雲，沒看到星空。早上起來圍着房子拍拍拍，捨不得進屋。房間蚊蟲還好，沒被咬。同行人太陽下山了去山上探路看看哪裡看日出，開了很久，黑不溜秋的都嚇死了。很遠，走不到，汽車也不建議自己開去。 小火鍋還行吧，無功無過，能吃飽就行。早餐種類不多，不過現煮的米線很好吃。 第二天參加了咖啡溯源活動，電瓶車帶着逛了圈莊園，去了咖啡基因庫看咖啡鮮果，小朋友嚐了幾個 説好吃。外面真看不到，更別説吃到了。

很好的體驗！ 有關於咖啡的學習，有摘野果的體驗，有熱情友善的工作人員......

服務超棒，牛肉火鍋好吃，炒菜味道也不錯。喜歡紅毛丹飲料，咖啡瑰夏的層次好豐富，買了豆子。星空房視野好贊

環境很好，莊園活動安排也比較豐富。

這次入住愛伲莊園，體驗超棒！四周環繞着翠綠的茶園或咖啡園，如置身綠色海洋，空氣中瀰漫著茶香或咖啡香，寧靜愜意。房間雖然舊了點，但設施齊全，床又軟又舒服，晚上睡得特別香。餐飲也有特色，愛伲牛肉鮮嫩多汁，更推薦中餐。莊園自產的咖啡香醇濃郁，一口美食一口咖啡，太滿足了。工作人員特別熱情，辦理入住迅速，還耐心介紹周邊好玩的地方。