Where We Stayed > Where We Stayed (8)
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Park Plaza Hotel - 04.07.07 - 04.10.07
This hotel is less then one year old, and has a wonderful ambiance. Located just about 10 minutes from the Wangfujing shopping area, the area couldn't be beat. The concierge also spoke pretty good English, and was able to help get us a driver for our day trip to the wall. The rooms were very comfortable and spacious, and had a nice work station for Jason. Great value for this hotel, which also included breakfast each morning as well internet. -
Sofitel on Renmin Square Xian - 04.10.07 - 04.12.07
This is the nicest hotel we have stayed in thus far on our travels between style, class and service it gets an A+. I should say this place is more of a compound, b/c it's quite large - there is a couch, a chaise lounge, two side chairs, a work station, an extra large king size bed, and a walk in closet in this pad. We were originally booked in at the Grand Mercure Hotel (since we didn't want to spend the extra money on the Sofitel). BUT, our taxi cab driver accidentally dropped us off at the Sofitel. Being that both hotels are part of the same hotel group, when we walked up to the front desk, the Sofitel amazingly upgraded us to their hotel (we hadn't even realized at that point we were in the wrong hotel). Wow, what a score, especially after we ran over to the Grand Mercure to see that it wasn't near as nice as the Sofitel. Not only that, but the good old "honey moon" trick earned us a major suite upgrade as well. We love it here!!!!
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Lijiang Waterfall Hotel - 04.12.07 - 04.14.07 - Guilin
This hotel is known for having the largest man-made waterfall in the world. As you can see from the picture, the waterfall flows down the side of the hotel for only 13 minutes each day. It attracts quite a crowd who all come to view the spectacle. I honestly wasn't that impressed by it. The room was fine, and had a nice view of the pagoda and the Li River. This was supposedly the nicest and newest hotel in Guilin - that in itself is not saying a lot! The location couldn't be beat though, right in the center of town, with easy access to restaurants and shops. -
Paradise Hotel - 04.15.07 - Yangshuo
We had read terrible reviews of the hotel, but had been guaranteed by a tour guide this was "the" place to stay (supposedly the nicest hotel in Yangshuo). We were lucky to get one of the newer rooms, which had a gorgeous view. There was really not much negative I could say about this place. It had the most central location in town, the room was comfortable, the view was spectacular, and it was relatively inexpensive. Considering it's the only 4 Star hotel in Yangshuo, I thought it faired pretty well.
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Yuzile Hotel of Modern Art - 04.16.07 - Yangshuo
Located in between Yanshuo and Guilin, we heard from people that this was a very unique hotel. That it truly is. Basically, it's a hotel that is located on 1320 acres of land, and has been converted to a museum-like retreat. It is an art park devoted to contemporary sculpture and art recognized by internationally acclaimed artists. Everything in the room is very modern looking (however you can tell cheap), and scattered throughout the property are tons of modern sculptures and funky pieces of art. It's also set in the most gorgeous and pristine location. It was just opened in 2006, so is clearly still trying to work out some of the kinks.
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Sofitel Hyland Shanghai - 04.16.07 - 04.18.07 - Shanghai
Hotel's in Shanghai are quite pricey, but we managed to find this Sofitel at a somewhat acceptable price. We really wanted to be central to Nanjiing, the pedestrian walkway, and the Sofitel is directly on the road. Great location, very nice room, a bit pricey but that's just Shanghai! Nice being on a "club floor" and getting the club breakfast.
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Lakeview Hotel - 04.18.07 - 04.21.07 - Hangzhou
This is the view from our room, which was the nicest thing about this place. We got really grossed when we discovered they were using pieces of cut onions stuffed in the corners of the closets to try and clear out the stench of cigarrette smoke in the rooms (at least that's what we think it was for). The location was superb though, and the price fairly reasonable, however the super thin sheets that revealed the mattress below it was also very distasteful.
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Metropark Causeway Bay - 4.21.07 - 04.25.07 - Hong Kong
This was one of the more reasonable hotels we could find that was located in Causwway Bay on Hong Kong Island. Jason got us an upgrade to a room with a city view, which was very cool. The major downside of the hotel was a constant mustiness in the air, which really got to me the first two nights. The location was quite convenient located a two minute walk to the subway, and next to many local restaurants. We really felt like Causeway Bay became our neighborhood for the 4 nights/days we were there. Also, awesome view from the rooftop pool as you can see in the picture!
