tower

First visit back to China since '84 scheduled for early spring '06....changes seem to be massive throughout the country from what I've read. Lodgings were at best "iffy" back then...like a family of rats sharing our "superior" room in Kunming!

Anyone who has traveled to Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Shanghai recently, please chime in with recommendations of comfortable, clean well-located lodgings (hotels, guest houses, etc) for Shanghai, and the other mentioned locations. Would like to stay in the under $150 range for a double, which should buy us a four or five star from what I've seen.

I also remember staying in the brand new Great Wall Hotel in Beijing where everything seemed to be falling in disrepair...faucets coming off the handles, elevator rarely working, flushing a rarity, etc.

DW and I do look forward to returning to what was a fascinating, car-less, bicycle-oriented country 22 years ago.

Thanks for your help.

Stu T.

hawaiiantraveler

ttt
also interested in the same

Mole

We were in Beijing & Shanghai in June this year. In Beijing we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Wangfujing and loved it. We booked it via the official website (www.ichotelsgroup.com)as they guarantee to be the best price on the web, we got a great price on a room on the club floor which included free breakfast, free minibar drinks, cocktails in the executive lounge and free internet etc. The location is great, right on Wangfujing street.
In Shanghai we stayed at the Holiday Inn downtown (big mistake), we again booked via the official site (ichotelsgroup own Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Intercontinental hotels). We regretted not staying closer to the Bund/Nanjing road area. While we were there we had a look at the Sofitel Hyland on Nanjing road and when we return to Shanghai in the future we would probably stay there as the location is great.
Good luck, we really enjoyed our time in China.

lxchiang

For your budget of under US$150 (including tax and service charge) in Shanghai, consider Equatorial Hotel and Rendezvous Merry Hotel -- both 4-star hotels located in the Jin An Temple district about 3 miles west of the Bund.

We stayed at both hotels (twice at Merry Hotel; it's slightly cheaper) and find them very acceptable.

tower

Thanks all for these suggestions....Crowne Plaza on Wanfujing sounds perfect...still need some updated suggestions for Xian and Guilin

Stu T.

nagiffag

I just booked my parents in the Howard Johnson Ginwa Plaza Hotel in Xi'an. It's located immediately outside the South Gate, so it should be a good location. It has 5 Chinese stars and costs less than US$100/nite.

tower

Thank you, Nagiffag..hate to tell you what Xian looked like 22 years ago...the only "decent" hotel was the old Xian Hotel ("box&quot near the Bell Tower...unkempt, unattractive, and totally uremarkable....I'll keep Howard Johnson in mind...when I was a kid growing up in Quincy, Massachusetts, Howard was the town "hero"..having just started his Ice Cream/restaurant chain...soon had a mansion on the hill. Even after he made his first millions drove an older Chevy around town. My mother's close friend became his first secretary ...he was unable to pay her very much but instead gave her thousands of shares in the company...when it became "public" she had over 50,000 shares and became an instant millionaire. Her husband who worked as a night shift laborer in the shipyard kept his job until he retired in the 60's. She stayed on with Howard's company until she, too, retired.

Stu T.

Stu T.

seagee

On a recent trip to Shanghai, which was business with a bit of pleasure mixed in, I actually stayed at the Pudong Shangri-La, in the older tower, for about $150/night. It's a 5-star hotel and I would highly recommend it! It's right on the Hungpu river, right across from the Bund, next door to the huge "Super Brand Mall" and just a block or so away from the Pearl TV tower. Very conveniently located.

In Beijing for a weekend, I also stayed at the a Crowne Plaza, the one near to the Forbidden City (Palace Museum) for $100 a night.

tower

Thank you all for the recommendations..will write a report next spring upon return.

Stu T.

jhw0101

Dear Tower:

I have been to Xi'an twice with a bunch of co-workers on an arranged tour. Xi'an is a wonderful city that you should plan to spend at least several days there. I have been there twice for a total of 7 days, but still have not seen everything.

In terms of hotel, we stayed at Jinshi International Hotel both times, it's a 5* hotel, I checked their website, only $75 for a deluxe room. Strongly recommend it. http://210.51.188.46/chinese/sinohot....html?hid=1397

tower

Thanks for the tip, Jhw.

ST

Lia

Here are my votes:

Beijing - Peninsula Palace
Shanghai - JC Mandarin or Howard Johnson (the one near Renmin Park)

I've stayed at each of these for US$150/nt but prices are going up so you may need to look for deals. Also depends if you will be there around a holiday.

sma818

Guilin - try the Lijiang Waterfall Hotel. I stayed there in March as it is the best hotel in the area. Went into the Sheraton while I was there and its very old and I would say worse off than the Waterfall hotel.

Lijiang is not a 5* hotel when youre comparing to hotels in the big cities, I would say its 4* for Chinese standards.

sma818

Beijing - the Grand Hyatt is pretty nice here, and so is the Kerry Center Hotel (operated by Shangri-La)

EllenLM

My teenage son and I stayed at the Hyatt in Xi'an. We wanted to be a part of China as much as possible during the day but needed to retreat into a western environment in the evening. I got an Internet rate of less than $100/night (but it did not include breakfast). It's a pleasant enough hotel, but not up to European or American 5-star standards.

In Shanghai we stayed at the JW Marriott and were able to walk to the Bund daily. If you can combine some loyalty program points or snag an on-line deal, I'd recommend it highly. The hotel was splendid.

tower

Ellen:

Just where on the Internet did you get that $100 rate for the Xian Marriott? Best I can do is $125, which is aldo a great rate. Thanks

Stu T.

tower

Ellen: Sorry, I meant the Xian Hyatt.

Stu T.

valtor

In 2001 we were in China and India - a so called tour for independent travel (we had a private guide and a car with driver). We stayed at the following hotels in China:

Guilin - Royal Garden - on the bank of Li River - large rooms 32 sqm, clean, 150 $

Shanghai - Jin Jiang Tower - we had here an apartment at a high floor (over 30, I do not remember) with a nice view. The apartment was huge. On the top of the tower was a revolving restaurant - open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a a covered rooftop pool. Very nice view. The price was above 200.

Xian - Ana Grand Castle
120$, modern, designed after Big Goose Pagoda

Beijing - Holiday Inn Downtown - a big hotel, the service was not so good.

EllenLM

Stu, the <$100 rate is for the Hyatt in Xi'an and is available at Hyatt's website (I just checked a random date in November and it came up as 765 yuan for a queen-sized bed).

You might want to try emailing the hotel directly to see what rates they have. I got a quote from a Kunming hotel that was easily 10% less than any Internet site.

Good luck!

JaneB

Another vote for the Sofitel Hyland in Shanghai and Crowne Plaza in Beijing. Location, location, location!