Hotels in China
 

We are staying 3 nights in Beijing in April. We would like to be very close to Forbidden City...perhaps Beijing Hotel ?? Any suggestions..have stayed at Shangri La hotels in past and have been pleased. We need some recommendations for Nanjing and Shanghai as well.
Also, we are going independently around China, considering Xian and Shanghai area after Beijing...2 weeks total. Any comments on train travel or should we book flights . We would prefer to make transportation arrangements as we go..is this difficult to do from there. Any help is greatly appreciated.

The Shangri-La hotels in Beijing do achieve some of the highest standards of service to be found in the capital, but none is 'very close' to the Forbidden City. The best foreign-run hotels nearby (within two long blocks) would be the Grand Hyatt in Wangfujing, to the east, and the Marco Polo, about the same distance to the west. Both are good, the Grand Hyatt rather in the thick of an area of malls little different from anything you'll find at home, and conveniently sitting right on top of a metro station. The Marco Polo is rather more discreet and in a quieter area, but within a short walk of slightly more local shopping, and of metro stations on two lines (one of which takes you in three stops to the malls mentioned, if that's what you want). Of the two, the Marco Polo is usually rather cheaper. The best rates for either will be found on their web sites (hyatt.com, www.marcopolohotels.com).

In Shanghai I prefer the Grand Hyatt for its unmatched views across The Bund (humidity and smog permitting), and many consider this the best (although also the most expensive) hotel in town, but many other famous foreign names are represented there, too. Colleagues have had good words to say about the new Westin.

There are several convenient aircon expresses running overnight from Beijing West Station to Xi'an, leaving late afternoon and arriving early the next morning. These are comfortable trains. There are similar overnight services from Beijing to Shanghai, at least one of which is said to have a two-bed compartment with private washroom, although I haven't tried that, and prices appear to be higher than flying. The route between Xi'an and Shanghai is slower, but offers a banquet of scenery as much of the journey is in daylight.

Flights are sometimes little more than soft sleeper class trains, although, of course, domestic departure tax (Y50) and the cost of airport connections tend to push them rather higher.

But train or plane, you should book when in China, or face the possibility of paying as much as double. Every hotel of the class that interests you has an agent with a terminal on the domestic airline system, although you are likely to pay rather more there than if you wander into an agency on the street. In either case always bargain for a lower price.

Train prices are fixed, and if you don't want to tackle the station yourself, then the same agents, or the concierge, will tackle it for you. Typically they go a short distance to one of the railway bureau's ticket offices and pay Y5 commission per ticket, charging you up to Y50 on top of the ticket price (about Y20 is fair, including delivery to your hotel room). Note that web sites selling Chinese domestic tickets often charge as much as 70% on top (so hundreds rather than tens of yuan). Deal with it on arrival, but order each onward ticket as soon as you arrive.

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

Hi

My wife and I went to China last year and we did an independent trip to Beijing, XI'an and Hong Kong. I have posted our experience in a trip report with pictures on my personal homepage www.gardkarlsen.com :-) Maybe you can find some useful information there. Have a great trip...we had a good time in China...well, apart from the fact that we came there when SARS started breaking out :-(

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Thanks so much for the helpful information. We will definitely make our arrangements as we go. I know everyone has different tastes, however, with just having 2 weeks (a few days of which will be spent in Nanjing) do you think Xian is worth the time and expense or is there alot to see around the Shanghai and Nanjing area ?

Shanghai has relatively little to do, although side trips to any of the 'Venices' nearby add to the attraction. I'd budget less time in Shanghai and Nanjing to make time for Xi'an. The Terracotta Warriors, for all their overpromotion, are a remarkable sight indeed.

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

Thank you again Peter..you are a wealth of information. I know you don't think much of the Yangtze cruise, but my husband is in the hydro business and I know will be interested in Three Gorges. Will we be able to book a short cruise from our hotel in Beijing. Do you think we will have time to do this, travel to Xian, and still have a couple of days free at the end for Nanjing. We arrive in Beijing on Apr.15 and leave from Shanghai on the 29th. Thanks so much for your help.

If you want to try this then your best route would be Beijing-Xi'an-Chongqing (to board the faster downstream cruise), alighting at Wuhan or whatever the current Wuhan substitute is-Nanjing-Shanghai. Booking the cruise in Beijing is surprisingly difficult. Each area of China generally deals only with its own local business, but you should be able to book at CITS, although you'll pay more than you need by doing so. 50% discounts on published rates (in other words, the real price) are standardly available at the docks, even in peak season. The success of your trip rather depends on the timing of cruise ship departures. Have a look at www.orientroyalcruise.com and www.victoriacruises.com to begin with. With four days for the cruise there's little left to play with, you won't have much time anywhere. I'd make a visit Nanjing contingent upon how things are going when you reach the end of the cruise. It isn't necessary to take a cruise to see the dam, of course. It can be approached by land, too, as a day trip. You should spend probably four days in Beijing leaving late one afternoon, two in Xi'an, presuming you hit the ground running, and then head overnight, if possible and the timing works to Chongqing.

The thing is, last minute connections in China are never a good idea. Trains are remarkably punctual, planes rarely so, unexpected hiccups common. So some flexibility is needed, and on a short trip that's achieved by not trying to do as much as you might in a more developed nation.

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

How reliable is it to book a cruise through a local travel agency? I'm asking because my parents tried to book a Victoria sailing through an agency located in their Chongqing hotel (one of the big US chains). Only later did they find out by contacting Victoria cruises directly that there was no record of a booking and that particular sailing was already sold out (probably well before they "booked" with the agency). When confronted with this, the agency offered to book them on a different sailing/line which would seem to indicate that there were never any reservations made in the first place. They paid with a credit card, so in the end received a full refund after Amex intervened. I'm not trying to scare anybody but just wondering if this is a common occurance or a bizarre, isolated incident. Previous to this, I hadn't had any nor heard of any problems with agency bookings, but my experience is limited to air tickets and on rare occasions hotels, not cruises.