Hi, flafl!

We aim to amuse!

And be informative, too, sometimes.

$2,000pp may be enough or too much. Does this include airfare? Also, over how many days do you plan to spread the $2000pp?

The travel industry in all Asia is taking a hard hit and the reason why Peter is urging people to negotiate for rooms is because you should not have to pay the going rate (horrors!) for any room this year. In other words, you should be able to get into the best hotels at less than Holiday Inn prices.

I would urge you to look at the websites of a few chains that run the top end hotels. My favorite is the Shangri-La Hotels, run out of Singapore, with a lot of joint-venture, etc. type of hotels in the major Chinese cities. I happen to like the Shangri-La Hotels because they embody the quiet, dignified elegance of old China (as much as that can be captured in the modern world and in a hotel!). Another more "modern" chain is the New World Hotels, run out of Hong Kong. Hotels run by people out of Singapore or Hong Kong tend to give you the best of both East and West. You might also want to check into more familiar names like Hyatt, Marriott, and Intercontinental.

Shangri-La has four properties in Beijing. The original Shangri-La is kind of way out from the center. The best is the China World, I would suggest negotiating for this property first. Right next door is the Traders Hotel, which is more for businesspeople and more like a barebones Holiday Inn. I have not stayed at the Kerry, which is their latest property in Beijing.

In doing a quicky web search, I came across something called "metrotel.co.uk" which led me to "planetholiday.com". The Shangri-La in Xian is listed in planetholiday as being $70! The Intercontinental in Shanghai is listed as $141. These are both 5 star properties, but, heed Peter's warning that the starring system in China is very defective. Nevertheless, on the first go-around I would not look at any properties with less than a 5 star rating in planetholiday. This means cutting out the Holiday Inns - lo!

Oh, yes, staff in 5-star hotels speak excellent English, sometimes with an impeccable British accent!

I would suggest, after you have surfed around a bit, using the planetholiday rates as your TOP end, set a bottom rate, email or snail-mail the hotel directly, and see if you can get a better price somewhere within the range that you have set for yourself. Ask for the all-inclusive price.

Speaking personally, I would be very happy if I got a 5-star rated room in Xian for $50, Shanghai for less than $100, Beijing for less than $90, and Hong Kong - who knows? - maybe less than $90 also? Peter and the other posters may have a different range of prices that they feel comfortable with.

To train or not to train, 'tis the question! This would depend on how much time you have. Certainly trains are inexpensive and, in a 5-star hotel, you should have a very willing concierge/travel desk to help you obtain tickets (for a surcharge, of course!).

If time is a constraint, then I suggest flying. The airline to use inside China is DragonAir, which is run by Cathay Pacific out of Hong Kong. I suggest trying DragonAir first before the others. You might be able to arrange flights with them while in Hong Kong, although, you know me by now, I would start contacting them from here and see what kind of bargain rates they are willing to offer you. No harm done in asking. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I have not flown Dragonair for several years, so it may have great competitors now that the other posters can tell you about.

Well, this is the best I can do for you. Travel in China can be a luxury affair with plush carpeting underfoot and relaxing soothing music with a live pianist! And today, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for it! Happy travels!

The reasoning on pricing has nothing to do with the situation this year, and should always be applied to dealing with hotels in China, whose quoted prices are positioning statements and nothing more. With certain exceptions, there is in general an oversupply of accommodation at every level.

Hotels with familiar foreign names (depending on what kind of venture they are) in most cases offer their best published prices on their web sites as a matter of policy. Shangri-La is one of these, and if you find what seems to be a cheaper price on a specialist China hotel web site you will discover that like is not being compared with like (and they should never be used for booking). The best published prices can often be beaten over the counter, but communicating by other means will not usually produce as good a price as can be found on the web.

The suggested price ranges (except possibly Hong Kong which is a completely different market) seem about right to me, for a foreign name hotel, but it depends very much on time of year. A new, comfortable, nominally five star Chinese hotel should be obtainable for less over the counter, although it will ask similar prices on its web site.

Peter N-H
http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Agree with the above warnings - when doing your initial research, understand that the star rating system is almost meaningless. Checking the planetholiday site mentioned above for Shanghai hotels, I found the Hua Ting listed as a 5 star (it might have been 12 years ago). On the other hand there are several 4 stars listed which are perfectly acceptable and would be far better alternatives. As far as making all of your arrangements from Hong Kong, I'm not sure you'll do any better in terms of savings on mainland hotels by booking in HK rather than the US.

Thanks again for all your responses. I was thinking $2000 pp inlcuding everything except flight from US to HK.
I was surprised to read that some of you thought that it'd be the same to book the inside China itinerary in HK and the US.
I am totally confused as you can imagine!

Hi, flafl!

Not only do we aim to amuse, we also aim to confuse sometimes!

Possibly a bit of clarification?

There is quite a difference in the TRAIN fares. When you are ready to consider train fares, go to seat61 which is the ultimate guide on train travel. You will see that if you purchase a ticket yourself vs having an agency, even a reputable agency, obtain the ticket, the difference in price could be 1/2 or more! Thus, you should be able to save quite a bit by purchasing the train tickets yourself. Peter has written reams on how and where to get tickets. Check here on Fodors - Asia for some of his excellent past advice.

I would suggest that you give us some more information, such as month of anticipated travel, how many days you plan to be in each city, and so on, so that we can give you better information. You should try and get your tickets the moment you arrive in the first city, e.g. Hong Kong, for travel to the second city, e.g. Shanghai.

Hotels may be a different matter. You probably could arrange for pretty terrific rates from here in the States, given what I've seen online.

If you plan your trip so that you are travelling by train at night (fairly easy to do), you should be able to save on not having to pay for hotels on those nights when you are travelling.

Hope this helps!

flafl, why 5 nights in Hong Kong? I think Hong Kong is the most expensive yet least interesting place among those cities you intend to visit. I don't see much advantage planning your trip in HK Vs. in the States. I would give Beijing 5 nights instead.