When we arrived at this very big hotel we thought we were in for the usual impersonal big group experience. Seeing around 14 coaches in the carpark did nothing but manage our expectations. Traveling just the two of us we resigned ourselves to what lay ahead, easpecially when we heard there was a shuttle bus to the old town in the evenings!
Well we were surprised. The reception staff were pretty friendly and we were alloacted a lake view room on the 6th floor. The room was basic but big with a view of the carpark and road and somewhere in the distance the lake. It was pretty wet and hazy so we could not see much at all. They provide apples in the room, which was a nice change as was the hair conditioner. The lifts in the hotel have the floor carpet changed everyday to tell you what day of the week it is. This was actually useful after travelling for for about 40 days!
The gym was very tired and the equipment didn't look like it even worked. The lobby has a coffee shop that sells bread, beer and some other supplies. There is a money changing machine and free broadband access in the lobby. This was best closest to the business centre. We even managed to find some people to talk to in the lobby and it did not feel as impersonal as some other huge Chinese hotels.
Breakfast was ok - avoid the cereal but the banana bread was good. It seemed very chaotic though.
We took the free shuttle bus into the old town for dinner. It was fine, We were unsure of the time back to the hotel but there was already a crowd waiting at the bus stop and it was not too long a wait.
This hotel turned out to be okay in the end!

We stayed at Asia Star as part of our tour package to Yunnan. Asia Star is the vision of a lovely business woman from Taiwan.

Asia Star is not what I would call luxurious, but it's pretty good for Dali. The hotel does appear to be a bit dated of what once was a very nice hotel. There are so many beautiful flowers in the lobby, and there's a huge mural in the lobby atrium.

I had a chance to enjoy the herbal/floral spa and a massage at the hotel spa. The individual rooms are large, clean, and well decorated. The experience was wonderful. First you take a shower in the back of the room, then soak for about 30-40 minutes in the herbal/floral bath. Then a nice massage follows.

We had a vegetarian lunch at the hotel restaurant. It was my most memorable meal during the whole trip. Fresh organic vegetables from the hotel gardens and tofu fish, shrimp, and other imitation meat makeup this delicious meal.

It was an enjoyable stay.

It was a regrettable mistake to ruin valuable holidays by staying here. The breakfast is not suitable for international guests and the garbage cans were being filled right next to the buffet table inside the breakfast room. We cannot advise you to drink the water supplied in the water machine is the room as when leaving our room we saw the staff fill up the bottles from other half filled containers... better bring your own water bottles. The dirty carpets and smelly towels give a picture of neglect suited to a 2 star hotel standard, not one of the most expensive hotel in this area. There is also no safe in the room.
The only nice points we found were closeness to old town, the friendly bellboys and the free shuttle bus to the old city (we reccomend to take this one, as some taxis will try to cheat you even on this short distance).

This hotel looks like it began as an aspiring 5 star luxury hotel, but just didn't make it. When we stayed during the Nation Day holiday week, they only had a handful of guests (a tour group and some solo travelers that were with guides). I made the mistake of booking a lakeview room--it was actually more of a constuction site and highway view room, with the lake in the distance (several hundred meters away). The mountain view rooms are probably great, though, as we enjoyed the view from the restaurant very much. Also, the windows were dirty and there was considerable noise from passing trucks during the day, though it did quiet down at night. The room itself was very nice, particularly the bathroom. The TV only has Chinese programming.
One of the best things about the hotel is its location, near the old city and Foreigner Street. Although it's within walking distance (about 10-15 min), the hotel runs a shuttle bus in the evenings. It's also not far from the 3 temples, and is considerably closer than the other hotels, which from downtown Dali are a 20 minute taxi drive (as is the hotel).
The breakfast buffet was not good: Chinese, but not much selection (mostly noodles and bread), though they have good baozi if you get there early enough (when they ran out of anything, it wasn't refilled). They have fried eggs, which are dumped into a pan and left to sit there. The service was also not good, as we had to get our own napkins from a neighboring table, and everything is self-service, including coffee. We had only one other meal there, which was okay, but just mediocre.
Because of the location, and the mountain view, I'd consider staying here again in a mountain view room, but I'd plan on eating elsewhere.