Get off at Fenghuang Bus Terminal and take bus 1 to the south gate. In front of the south gate is Tuojiang Bridge. After you get off the bridge, you can reach Tuojiang River. There are swimming lanes on both sides of the river, with the bridge as the center, and there are inns on both sides of the river. The price is around 100- 150 yuan. Depending on your bargaining level, you can walk up and down the Tuojiang River and look for it slowly. The downstream inn is closer to the core scenic spot of the ancient city, but it is crowded and expensive.
Also, there are no tickets in Fenghuang Ancient City. If you don't go to several scenic spots in the ancient city or scenic spots outside the city, you basically only need accommodation, catering and transportation. Personally, I think it is ideal to live in the lower reaches of Tuojiang River for a period of time and return to several private inns near Longge after crossing Hongqiao.
As long as it is not the National Day Golden Week every year, you can always find inns, and there are many.